WBO names Donaire as Fighter of the Year
-A A +AThursday, October 25, 2012
FILIPINO boxing stars Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire Jr. were given awards in the 25th World Boxing Organization (WBO) Convention at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Florida the other day.
Pacquiao was named by the WBO as its “Fighter of the Decade”, while Donaire Jr. as its “Fighter of the Year” according to Philboxing.com.
In the past decade, Pacquiao had beaten renowned boxers like Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Oscar De La Hoya and Antonio Margarito.
Pacquiao won the organization’s welterweight crown in 2009 with a 12th-round technical knockout over Cotto. He defended it twice against Shane Mosley and Marquez but lost the crown this year to Timothy Bradley.
Donaire Jr., on the other hand, won the WBO bantamweight belt with a brutal second round stoppage over Fernando Montiel and defended it against Omar Narvaez.
Pacquiao is scheduled to face Marquez for a fourth time on Dec. 8 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, while Donaire Jr., the current WBO and World Boxing Council Diamond super bantamweight champion, is tentatively slated to fight Mexican veteran Jorge Arce the same month.
Other Filipinos who were also handed with awards—AJ Banal as “Fighter of the Year”, Jerwin Ancajas and Mark Anthony Geraldo for “Fight of the Year”, Sammy Gello-ani for “Promoter of the Year” all for the Asia-Pacific area.
Philboxing editor and owner Dong Secuya was also given a special award by the WBO for his contribution to boxing.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 26, 2012.
Sports
Forum rules: Do not use obscenity. Some words have been banned. Stick to the topic. Do not veer away from the discussion. Be coherent and respectful. Do not shout or use CAPITAL LETTERS!
