he ballot box for 2006 is filled with a lot of the usual suspects, but a year full of familiar condemnations and dire forecasts is defined by Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao’s signature is there in the beginning and in the end with bookend victories over Erik Morales in January and again in November.
Between Pacquiao’s brilliance, there were weight-gate sequels involving fighters unable or unwilling to shed mandatory pounds, and a vanishing heavyweight division.
Even Pacquiao couldn’t steer clear of complications. With newfound power in his right, he has kept both hands busy with punches and a pen. In 2006, he won three fights and signed dueling contracts with promotional rivals Oscar De La Hoya and Bob Arum.
The fear is that the fight of the year in 2007 will keep Pacquiao out of the ring and in the courtroom.
Attorneys for De La Hoya and Arum are preparing to do battle for the rights to Pacquiao, a Filipino who could open the door to the Asian vault for an American promoter.
The potential of the Asian market was never more apparent than last week in a bout featuring a 108-pound fighter who is mostly unknown anywhere east of Hawaii. Koki Kameda’s victory over Juan Landaeta in Japan drew reported television ratings that topped 30 percent.
Until the hype machine begins to heat up for the De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jr. bout on May 5 at Las Vegas MGM Grand, Pacquiao is the story as the new year begins, simply because he is the runaway choice for Fighter of the Year.
A few other choices with a hint at what they might mean for 2007:
Trainer of the Year
Freddie Roach, who has made Pacquiao what he is today. Roach has told Filipino media that he thinks De La Hoya’s deal is the best option for Pacquiao, but he is in an awkward position. There’s talk that he, not Floyd Mayweather Sr., will train De La Hoya for the Mayweather fight.
Honorable mention: Chuck McGregor, the underrated Valley trainer who engineered Shannon Briggs’ upset of Sergei Liakhovich for a piece of the heavyweight title on Nov. 4 at Chase Field.
Knockout of the Year
Briggs put an exclamation point on a dreadfully dull fight by sending Liakhovich of Scottsdale through the ropes and onto a ringside table in the final second of the final round. Liakhovich manager Ivaylo Gotzev later protested, saying the timekeeper goofed and then that the ropes were too loose. The World Boxing Organization denied both protests. Briggs defends the title on March 10 against Russian Sultan Ibragimov. Briggs will get a big raise, from $400,000 for fighting Liakhovich to $1.25 million for the bout against Ibragimov.
Honorable mention: Pacquiao’s third-round stoppage on Nov. 18 of Morales, a tough guy who in the third round gestured to his corner he had enough in a fight that probably marks the end of his Hall of Fame career.
Fight of the Year
Pacquiao’s 10th-round stoppage of Morales on Jan. 21. Pacquiao was just beginning to show signs of the dominance he exhibited in November.
Honorable mention: Battered and bloodied John Duddy’s tough decision on Sept. 29 in New York over a surprising Yory Boy Campas, a Phoenix-based middleweight.
Bust of the Year
Super-middleweight Jeff Lacy. Joe Calzaghe methodically exposed the 2000 U.S. Olympian as overrated through 12 one-sided rounds on March 4 in Manchester, England. Lacy was pegged as an emerging star, but he hasn’t shown many signs that indicate he will regain his promise in 2007.
Dishonorable mention: James Toney. He was overweight and overhyped in losing a disputed decision on Sept. 2 to heavyweight Samuel Peter in Los Angeles. Toney can recover in a rematch on Jan. 6, the opening bell to the new year.
