Pacquiao, Roach up for sweep of major world boxing awards

MANILA, Philippines - The numbers don't lie. Three wins in three divisions 12 pounds apart. Two world championships. And one send-off demolition job for a boxing legend. That should be enough for Manny Pacquiao and his trainer Freddie Roach to take home the two major year-end awards in international boxing. "Siguro, pwede nang pang-Fighter of the Year, ano? Si Freddie pang-Trainer of the Year na rin ba? (This one's for Fighter of the Year, isn't it? How about Freddie for Trainer of the Year?)" a smiling Pacquiao joked as he chatted with his entourage on the bus trip back to Los Angeles on Sunday. After inarguably his most stellar year as a professional boxer, Pacquiao's 2008 credentials are no laughing matter. Collectively, they put Pacquiao in serious contention as boxing's best. Pacquiao won via split decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in April to win the junior-lighweight (130-pound) world championship. He knocked out David Diaz less than three months later in June to secure the lightweight (135-pound) world title. Pacquiao capped his perfect season on Sunday after he thrashed Oscar de la Hoya in a welterweight (147-pound) match. "Grabe ito, tatlong division sa isang taon. May nakagawa na ba niya? (Anybody else ever done what I did?)" Pacquiao said. Well, not in the last 70 years. Henry Armstrong, later inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame, won matches in the featherweight (126 pounds), lightweight and welterweight categories all in the same year in 1938. The rarity of Pacquiao's feat should be enough to give him Fighter of the Year nod by the two most prestigious award-giving bodies in the sport: the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Ring Magazine. It will be the second time Pacquiao takes home the BWAA hardware. The boxing scribes also handed the FoY award, officially called the Edward J. Neill trophy after the late Associated Press sportswriter and war correspondent, to Pacquiao in 2006 after he knocked out Erik Morales twice that year. The Ring Magazine also named Pacquiao its best fighter in 2006. Roach, Pacquiao's coach seven years running now, is also a cinch to end up as the year's best. He previously won the BWAA trophy, officially called the Eddie Futch-John FX Condon Award for Trainer of the Year, in 2003 and '06. Futch, one of the sport's most venerable trainers, used to be Roach's cornerman when Roach was still a boxer. Condon was a respected announcer at the Madison Square Garden. "Kaya nga sabi ko eh, boxing history," Pacquiao declared. "Syempre, malalagay nila yan sa history ng boxing. In one year, nakatatlong division ako. 'Yung isa, mataas na division pa. Ilang division ang nilaktawan ko, dalawa, tatlo? (That's three divisions. And I even went up to 12 pounds to get to the third one.)" Pacquiao is scheduled to make a visit at the Wild Card gym in Los Angeles Tuesday (Monday afternoon, Manila time), before he leaves for Manila in the evening via Philippine Airlines. - GMANews.TV