Pacquiao and Roach were the hands-down choices for the top honors of Yahoo Sports because of what they have achieved together in the sport of boxing.
Pacquiao, known to legions of his fans worldwide as “PacMan,” won the Fighter of the Year plum on the basis of his three wins against quality opponents in three different weight classes, and winning two world titles.
“He [Pacquiao] established himself clearly as the best pound-for-pounder fighter in the world. He took on the most significant challengers and came out on top,” said Kevin Iole, Yahoo Sports’ eminent boxing scribe.
PacMan first won a split decision over Juan Manuel Marquez on March 15 to win the World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight title; knocked out David Diaz in the ninth round to win WBC lightweight title on June 28 after giving up the super featherweight crown; and stopped Oscar de la Hoya in the eighth on December 6 in a non-title welterweight super fight.
“The race for the 2008 Fighter of the Year award is not much of a race at all,” said Iole. “It’s about as competitive as the 1973 Belmont, when the great Secretariat won by 31 lengths, or the 1940 NFL championship game, when the Chicago Bears routed the Washington Redskin 73-0.”
“Picking the winner this year is as easy as falling asleep on the couch after a large holiday meal. It doesn’t take much effort.”
Iole pointed out, however, that there were plenty of good individual performances in 2008, including second placer World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight champion Antonio Margarito (37-5, 27 knockouts) who knocked out Kermit Cintron in the sixth round on April 12 to win the International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight title; stopped Miguel Cotto in the 11th round on July 26 to win the WBA title after giving up the IBF belt.
In third place was Juan Manuel Marquez (49-4-1, 36 knockouts), who lost a split decision to Pacquiao in March and then went on to inflict the only stoppage loss of Joel Casamayor via an 11th round technical knockout (TKO) on September 13 to win Ring Magazine lightweight belt.
Coming in fourth was knockout artist Juan Manuel Lopez, WBO super bantamweight champion (24-0, 22 knockouts). The Mexican power puncher won by third round TKO over Jonathan Oquendo on February 23; first round TKO over Daniel Ponce de Leon on June 7 to win WBO super bantamweight title; first round knockout of Cesar Figueroa on October 4; and first round TKO over Sergio Medina on December 6.
In fifth place was unbeaten Joe Calzaghe, Ring Magazine light heavyweight champion (46-0, 32 knockouts), who won a split decision over Bernard Hopkins on April 12 to win the Ring belt, and went on to outclass Roy Jones Jr. on November 8.
In choosing Roach as Trainer of the Year, Yahoo Sports underscored how the renowned American trainer “methodically molded Pacquiao into the world’s greatest fighter.”
Iole observed how Roach helped develop and refine PacMan from “once strictly a one-handed fighter who was not difficult to hit,” into a formidable boxer who packs power in both hands, and “no longer eating the big blows he took earlier in this career.”
Roach helped Pacquiao improve his balance, increase his defensive awareness, develop his right and tighten his punches, Iole said.
“Roach is almost a master game planner as well as a sharp eye in the corner. He’s able to suggest subtle changes during a fight that can make the difference between winning and losing,” he added.
Roach edged out other great trainers like Javier Capetillo, Margarito’s coach; former US Olympics team coach Kenny Adams who is polishing the rough edges in super featherweight knockout phenom Edwin Valero; and Enzo Calzaghe, father and trainer of unbeaten light heavyweight champ Joe Calzaghe.
By Jun Medina, Special Correspondent
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