Golfer Tiger Woods, basketball superstar Michael Jordan and pound-for-pound best boxer Manny Pacquiao have been honored together many times before.
All three, for instance, have been included in the list of the richest athletes in the world, not to mention the list of the most influential persons in the entire universe.
They also have been in the cover of the TIME Magazine.
The Filipino boxing hero, the only man to win seven world boxing championships in seven separate weight divisions, however, unlike Woods and Jordan, has yet to be named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.
Woods made it as SI Sportsman of the year twice – in 1996 when he swept the US National and NCAA championships and in 2000 when he won three major championships, while Jordan in 1991 when he took the NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP and handing the Chicago Bulls to their first of a series six NBA championships.
According to two of the most respected boxing writers – Michael Marley of Boxing Examiner.com and Norm Fauenheim of 15Rounds.com – Pacquiao, a cinch for the “Fighter of the Year” accolade, should be considered.
Marley went to the extent of recommending to SI editor Terry McDonnel that such an honor be bestowed on the Filipino ring warrior, emphasizing a suggestion of Frauenheim made in an earlier column.
How fitting is Manny for this year’s honor, Marley wrote, is his athletic accomplishments that can match up those of Tiger, Kobe Bryant, Albert Pujols, LeBron James and all the usual candidates from the more mainstream sports.
Wouldn't this big jug look lovely in the Pacman Mansion? Michael Marley says hell, yeah!
Marley went further saying that “what makes Pacquiao different and so worthy of this honor are the factors that SI’s sister publication, Time Magazine, recognized by putting Manny on the cover of its Asian edition recently on the strength of his being the biggest sporting idol 97 million Filipinos have ever had, His good and charitable works including his recent aid for typhoon victims, his coming from a humble bed and never forgets it, and his modesty and his attribution of all his success to a Supreme Being is no act
“No boxer and few athletes have captured the world’s imagination the way Muhammad Ali did in his epic career,” Marley continued. “Muhammad Ali stood for important matters way beyond the thimble world of boxing.”
“Manny Pacquiao is a Muhammad Ali circa 2009 and his influence and popularity continues to grow.Sports Illustrated should slap Pacman on the cover and declare him the 2009 Sportsman of the Year. He clearly deserves it,” the Boxing Examiner writer asserted.
Frauenheim, for his part said,”Critical acclaim for Manny Pacquiao after his stoppage a couple of weeks ago of stubborn Miguel Cotto included a moment in the post-fight news conference that defined the Filipino’s ongoing emergence and pointed toward recognition that he has yet to achieve.”
He quoted Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum called him “boxing’s Tiger Woods’’ and Yahoo columnist Kevin Lole offered an amendment, saying that Tiger Woods is “golf’s Manny Pacquiao.’’
He event suggested that not only Sports Illustrated must name Pacquiao its Sportsman of the year, but, likewise, the Associated Press.
“It’s not often that any athlete can single-handedly captivate a nation. But Pacquiao has. (Roger) Federer, James, Bryant and (New Orleans quarterback Drew) Brees are all terrific athletes and ambassadors for their respective sports. But Pacquiao has become a reason to cheer, almost an island of hope, for Filipinos hit by typhoons in October and political violence during the last week, “ he said.
“I’ve heard a Pacquiao story that might be apocryphal, but it is worth repeating. Warring rebel and government troops call a cease fire when Pacquiao fights so they can watch and/or listen. After it’s over, they go back to war. If that’s even close to true, the Nobel people got the wrong guy when they picked President Barack Obama for their peace prize. It should have gone to Pacquiao,” he wrote.
Source: philboxing.com
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