Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, the pound-for-pound king who had just made a record-breaking achievement by being a champion in 7 weight classes, has been named by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) as 2009 fighter of the year. Pacquiao will be presented with his third Sugar Ray Robinson trophy on the 11th of June at the 85th annual banquet of BWAA in New York.
The Pacman had achieved his welterweight title by stopping Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto in the 12th round during their Nov. 14 fight last year. Prior to that, he won the world junior-welterweight by scoring a devastating second-round knockout of Ricky Hatton. Pacquiao’s career record is 50W(38KOs)-3L-2D and hoping to add more victory by his upcoming March 13 fight against Joshua Clottey.
The Filipino boxing hero, who was also named 2009 fighter of the year by Ring Magazine and ESPN.com, was also voted as the fighter of the decade (2000-09) in a star-studded pool of great boxers nominated. The nominated group was graced by the names of Bernard hopkins, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Juan Manuel Marquez, Joe Calzaghe, Shane Mosley and Marco Antonio Barrera. Manny Pacquiao had set 24W-1L-2D during the decade and won six world titles. He’s also now recognized as the pound-for-pound king and a box office sensation.