Manny Pacquiao, boxing's reigning pound-for-pound king, cemented his place among the sport's all-time greats with two memorable wins in 2009. First, on May 2, Pacquiao knocked Ricky Hatton out cold in two rounds. Then, on Nov. 14, he scored a punishing 12th round TKO over Miguel Cotto. Pacquiao's two wins - coming on the heels of his 2008 stoppage of Oscar De La Hoya - made him boxing's biggest star and positioned him for a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and, in all likelihood, the most lucrative payday in boxing history.
The runner-ups for boxing's 2009 Fighter of the Year, in descending order, are:
2. Timothy Bradley: Bradley outpointed Kendall Holt in April, was beating Nate Campbell in August before the bout was declared a No Contest, and outpointed Lamont Peterson in December. Bradley's big 2009 puts him in position for an even bigger 2010.
3. Vitali Klitschko: Klitschko had a busy 2009 with dominating wins over Juan Carlos Gomez (TKO 9) in March, Chris Arreola (TKO 10) in September and Kevin Johnson (W 12). Don't blame Klitschko for the lack of depth in the heavyweight division - he's facing the best available opposition and winning nearly every round he fights.
4. Andre Ward: 2009 was a breakout year for Ward with wins over Henry Buchanan (W 12) in February, Edison Miranda (W 12) in May, Shelby Pudwill (TKO 3) in September, and - most impressively - Mikkel Kessler (TKO 11) in November. Ward will continue to test himself against the best super middleweights in the world in 2009 as part of Showtime's Super Six tournament.
5. Paul Williams: Williams didn't get the fight he really wanted in 2009 (Kelly Pavlik) but stayed busy - and productive - with an impressively one-sided win over Ronald 'Winky' Wright (W 12) in April and a razor-thin (and somewhat debatable) decision over Sergio Martinez (W 12) in December. 2009 looks bright for Williams with either a rematch with Martinez or a fight with Pavlik - or maybe both - looming on the horizon.
6. Carl Froch: Froch emerged from relatively obscurity in 2009 with wins over Jermain Taylor (TKO 12) in April and Andre Dirrell (W 12) in October. Like Ward, Froch is a participant in the super middleweight tournament so will not be lacking for big fights in 2010.
7. Chad Dawson: 2009 was a deja vu year for Dawson. In 2008, he scored 12 round unanimous decisions over Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver. So what did he do for an encore in 2009? He once again scored 12 round unanimous decisions over Johnson and Tarver. In 2010, it's time for Dawson to move on and fight someone else.
Wondering why Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are missing from the list of finalists? It's because they each fought only once during 2009 and, while each delivered an impressive performance against a top-notch opponent, a single fight is not enough to merit consideration for 2009 Fighter of the Year when compared to the accomplishments of their more active peers.
Vote in our poll and see who other readers selected as 2009's Fighter of the Year.
