THE world?s best pound-for-pound boxer Manny Pacquiao ended 2008 with a bang as he was named ESPN STAR Sports? Champion of Champions on Wednesday after topping a monthlong online poll that decided the sports personality of the year who made the biggest impact in the world of sport.
Fans across Asia made Pacquiao the unanimous winner after he amassed a total of 1,459,494 votes, or 90.62 percent, in the Finals over Malaysia?s world No. 1 squash player Nicol David, who managed to only garner 151,142 votes, or 9.38 percent, when voting in ESPN STAR Sports? web site www.espnstar.com concluded on Tuesday evening.
The Filipino ring sensation reached the Finals after stunning Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar in the semifinals. Pacquiao also earlier beat out Liverpool striker Fernando Torres of Spain in the quarterfinal round and motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi of Italy in the first round.
The inaugural Champion of Champions competition aimed to garner public opinion to determine the individual who has gone beyond achievements and new levels of excellence to leave his mark on sports fans in 2008.
The ?People?s Choice? was chosen from the original list of 16, which was predetermined by fans across the region through forums, and the voting mechanism was in the form of a knockout format.
The sports personalities were drawn against each other in pairs through an open draw conducted LIVE on ESPN?s SportsCenter, as well as live streaming on www.espnstar.com on November 28. Members of the public were able to cast their votes immediately after the draw, and the sports personality with the most votes went through the next round. Following the first stage of elimination, a quarterfinal, semifinal and final round were conducted.
Pacquaio?s victory is no fluke as there were other high-profile sports personalities who made the last 16, namely, football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, F1 champion Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain, World No. 1 tennis player Rafael Nadal of Spain, cricket hero MS Dhoni of India, reigning NBA MVP Kobe Bryant and golf superstar Tiger Woods, both from the United States, Beijing Olympics record-breakers and headliners, Michael Phelps of the United States and Usain Bolt of Jamaica and air rifle sharp-shooter Abhinav Bindra, who became India?s first Olympic gold medalist in 28 years.
