Ten years into the 21st century Manny Pacquiao, a rather diminutive prizefighter from the island nation of the Philippines, has emerged as the foremost professional boxer of the decade and also for 2009.
It began slowly for Pacman, who arrived 10 years ago in the now famous Wild Card Boxing gym to ask Freddie Roach if he would help make him a more complete fighter. The rest is near legend.
Pacquiao, already a world champion at flyweight, has since won six more world titles in six different weight classes. It's never been done before.
This past November, Pacquiao easily defeated Miguel Cotto for the welterweight world title. To me, he is the most dominant boxer for 2009, the fighter of the year and the fighter of the decade. It's not even debatable.
Several other fighters had good years:
Brothers Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko combine to hold three heavyweight world titles;
Palm Springs' Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley enjoyed a lopsided win against Lamont Peterson;
Paul "The Punisher" Williams dominated Winky Wright and edged Sergio Martinez;
England's Carl Froch showed grit in two big fights;
Oakland's Andre Ward wowed fans with a win over Mikkel Kessler;
Sugar Shane Mosley shocked the boxing world with a knockout of Antonio Margarito;
Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero moved up another weight class and still won;
Celestino Caballero continues to scare the heck out of other junior featherweights;
Japan's Hozumi Hasegawa knocked out the bantamweights he faced, and Yonnhy Perez surprised two bantamweights from the African continent;
Nonito Donaire continues to excel, and little Ivan Calderon is still undefeated after all of these years.
Let's not forget Canada's Lucian Bute and Armenia's Arthur Abraham, who made their mark in 2009.
Pacquiao's only real competition for best fighter of the decade comes from Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr., who participated in the most watched fight ever when he beat Oscar "Golden Boy" De La Hoya. He also beat Ricky Hatton before retiring for a little less than two years. Now he's returned to the ring and will probably face Pacquiao in a fight that should exceed the De La Hoya blockbuster.
When people look back at 2009 -- and for that matter the first decade of the 21st century -- they'll definitely remember the name Manny Pacquiao. He dominated a decade and put fans in the seats, following a long tradition of prizefighters such as Henry Armstrong, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and De La Hoya.
Fight of the Year
When Paul "The Punisher" Williams and Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez clashed a few weeks ago, it matched two of the most avoided fighters in the world. They did not disappoint, though Williams won a very close decision that many felt Martinez should have received.
The fight of the year for 2009, in my opinion, goes to middleweights Williams and Martinez.
Fight of the Decade
Best fight of the decade has to go to the late Diego Corrales against Jose Luis Castillo on May 7, 2005. Corrales survived what looked to be a sure loss after several knockdowns, roaring back with that indomitable spirit that he exhibited over and over. The come-from-behind 10th-round knockout of Castillo, who would beat him in the rematch, exemplified what prizefighting is all about: The fight isn't over until the last second of the last round. It's hard to imagine boxing without Chico Corrales, who died exactly two years to the day after his greatest triumph.
KO of the Year
Pacquiao's one-punch destruction of Ricky Hatton in Round 2 on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was amazing. Pacquiao proved a smaller man could beat a bigger man with sudden and shocking finality.
KO of the Decade
Anyone remember Antonio Tarver's second-round knockout of Roy Jones Jr. back in 2003? Jones had just reached the top of the boxing world with a victory over John Ruiz to win the WBA heavyweight title. Some were praising him as the best fighter in the history of boxing until Tarver landed that overhand left.
Best Referees of 2009
Pat Russell, Tony Weeks and Kenny Bayless remain the elite of boxing referees, and you can add Jack Reiss, Benjie Estevez and Raul Caiz Jr. to that group. If there is an important boxing match, those are the guys to have as the third person in the ring.
Best Judges of 2009
Jerry Roth, Max De Luca, Marty Denkin, Patricia Byrd, Julie Lederman and Ray Corona proved to be the best in 2009. Corona, Byrd and Lederman are newcomers to this list. Finding judges that are consistent and accurate is invaluable in a sport that often relies on a decision that could mean the difference in a fighter's career.
That's it for 2009 and the first decade of this century.
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