Manny cops ESPY best fighter title

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao added another title to his mounting list of achievements, winning the “Best Fighter” crown in 2009 Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly awards or ESPY.

The plum is one of the awards handed out by famed American cable TV network ESPN to honor the year’s outstanding athletes in major sports.

The Gen. Santos City-native, considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, bested the MMA (mixed martial arts) stars Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva and fellow boxer Sugar Shane Mosley for the prestigious award.

Pacquaio, 30, earned the nod of ESPN’s online voters for his sensational demolition of erstwhile IBO light-welterweight champion Ricky Hatton last May, and his dismantling of boxing icon Oscar De La Hoya last December.

Machida was nominated for his knockout victory over erstwhile unbeaten Rashad Evans, which clinched for him the light-heavyweight title at UFC98; Silva for his wins over Patrick Cote, Thales Leites and James Irwin; and Mosley for his stunning TKO victory over Mexican Antonio Margarito.

Pacquiao’s impressive knockout of Hatton was also in the shortlist for the “Best Play” award but lost out to the Ben Roethlisberger-to-Santonio Holmes last-minute touchdown catch in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Super Bowl XLIII win over Arizona.

Others which vied for “Best Play” were Washington Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin’s goal opposite the New York Rangers during Game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoffs and Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree’s game-winning catch against the Texas Longhorns.

As ESPY’s Best Fighter, Pacquiao joins an elite lineup of a who’s who in world sports that includes Michael Phelps (Best Male Athlete and Best Record Breaking Performance); LA Lakers (Best Team); Lorena Ochoa (Best International Female Athlete and Best Female Golfer); Usain Bolt (Best International Male Athlete); LeBron James (Best NBA Player); and frequent winner Tiger Woods (Best Golfer).

Pacquiao’s ESPY award came after he was named one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time Magazine and among Forbes’ richest athletes in the world.