Pacquiao CLOse to booking Landslide Victory in ESPN STAR Sports Champion of Champions
WITH the way things are going, the world?s best pound-for-pound boxer Manny Pacquiao looks headed for a landslide victory over world No. 1 squash player Nicol David of Malaysia as he continues to gain a majority of the votes in the Finals of ESPN STAR Sports? Champion of Champions competition, an online poll that will decide the Sports Personality of the year who made the biggest impact in the world of sport.
As of midday Monday, Pacquiao has garnered more than 90 percent of the votes over David in ESPN STAR Sports? web site www.espnstar.com. Fans can still vote until late Monday before the Champion of Champions is announced live on ESPN SportsCenter on Tuesday.
The Filipino ring sensation reached the Finals after knocking out Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar in the semifinals. Pacquiao outvoted Liverpool striker Fernando Torres of Spain in the quarterfinal round and motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi in the first round.
The Champion of Champions competition aims 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? will be chosen from the original list of 16, which was predetermined by fans across the region through forums, and the voting mechanism will be 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.
Other personalities who made the last 16 include football superstars Cristiano Ronaldo, F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, World No. 1 tennis player Rafael Nadal, cricket hero MS Dhoni, reigning NBA MVP Kobe Bryant, golf superstar Tiger Woods, Beijing Olympics record-breakers and headliners, Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt and air rifle sharp-shooter Abhinav Bindra?India?s first Olympic gold medalist in 28 years.
