BoxingWatchers.com 2009 Fighter of the Year: Manny Pacquiao

What, you expected someone else?

All three of the BoxingWatchers are big Manny fans - and only some of the reason is because we're part Filipino. Pacquiao delivered the goods both times he stepped in the ring in 2009, knocking Ricky Hatton silly with a single second-round punch in May and battering Miguel Cotto into a stoppage in the final round last month.

As you've no doubt read, Pacquiao won a world title in his seventh different weight class. That's an impressive achievement no matter how you slice it, and one we're not likely to see again any time soon, even in an age of many championship belts and fighters who switch weight classes all the time.

On top of that, Pacquiao is simply good for the sport. He fights with the entertainment value of the fans in mind, and he comes across as a humble guy, at least relative to his enormous success over the last few years.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that even though he's on top of the boxing world right now, there are some dark clouds on the horizon for the Pac Man. Assuming they get the wrinkles ironed out, his next (huge) fight will be with Floyd Mayweather, the one man on the planet I'm not sure he can beat.

And what about those steroid allegations? I don't put a lot of stock in the ones made by Floyd Mayweather Sr. or Paulie Malignaggi, but the behavior and requests made by the Pacquiao camp over the drug testing flap have been curious to say the least.

I firmly believe that Manny isn't taking stuff on a regular basis to get an edge. But I would not be stunned if one of his many hangers-on gave him something questionable without him telling Freddie Roach or doing enough research into it on his own.

Despite all that, Pacquiao deserves our Fighter of the Year nod for the second straight year. The difference this time is that I'm fairly confident someone new will take the crown in 2010.

Previous winners:
2008 - Manny Pacquiao
2007 - Kelly Pavlik

Honorable mentions: All hail King Arthur Abraham, who simply did what he always does in 2009: he went 3-0 with two knockouts. The level of his competition prevented him from more serious consideration... Speaking of level of competition, Paul Williams may have defeated two tougher challenges than anyone else, knocking off Winky Wright and Sergio Martinez. His drawback is that many folks think he was lucky to get the decision over Martinez... Vitali Klitschko continued his impressive run after his 2008 comeback, going 3-0 for 2009 with two KOs. Time to take on his little brother, perhaps?

Posted by The Franchise