Photo by AP
Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao has added another award to his trophy room by being named the ESPN ESPY “Fighter of the Year” at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.
Pacquiao bested the ageless Bernard Hopkins, 2010 Boxing Writers Association of America “Fighter of the Year” Sergio Martinez and UFC welterweight champion Georges Saint Pierre.
Pacquiao has been nominated for the award four times and has won it on three occasions, the last time being 2009 when he bested Sugar Shane Mosley among others.
This time, fans around the world demonstrated their overwhelming support for Pacquiao as the best fighter in both boxing and mixed martial arts.
In his last two fights Pacquiao demolished Antonio Margarito and Mosley, respectively. Eight titles in eight weight divisions, Pacquiao was named the “Fighter of the Decade” by
the BWAA.
His trophies include the 2006, 2008 and 2009 Ring Magazine “Fighter of the Year” awards, 2006, 2008 and 2009 BWAA “Fighter of the Year,” 2008 and 2009 ESPN Star
Sports “Champion of Champions ” and the 2008 Yahoo Sports “Fighter of the Year.”
In addition, the Filipino southpaw, who was elected congressman of Saragani province in the May 2010 elections, was also named by Time Magazine as one of the most influential people in the world in 2009.