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Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao again established his global popularity after being nominated in two major categories for the 2009 Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards or ESPY.

Nominees for the annual event organized by famed American cable television network ESPN had already been announced, and Pacquiao is among the prominent athletes in the list of the top personalities in the world of sports.

Pacquiao had been nominated twice – in the “Best Fighter” and “Best Play” categories.

The nomination came in the heels of Pacquiao’s earlier achievements as one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time Magazine and as a member of the richest athletes in the world today according to Forbes magazine.

The Filipino boxing idol’s brutal second round knockout of Briton Ricky Hatton last May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas made it to the “Best Play’ category, where also vying for honor are Washington Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin’s

MANILA, Philippines – Ricky Hatton was upset at the way he fought Manny Pacquiao, but he didn’t mind losing to a fighter whom he referred to as “terrific.”

The day after absorbing his first defeat – and worst overall – as a junior welterweight, Hatton readily extended apology to his throng of British fans who expected him to overrun the less stronger Pacquiao.

Unfortunately, the 30-year-old Englishman only lasted two rounds with the Filipino, who knocked him out cold on his back behind a solid left hook to the jaw.

“I am desperately sorry for all my fans who came over and everyone who watched on TV,” he said. “It’s really tough to take this defeat, very hard.”

Lawyer Garreth Williams, head of Hatton Promotions, admitted how down the Manchester native was following the humbling setback.

“He was in a somber mood. I have

Preliminary hearing set Monday for Pacquiao’s ‘bookkeeper’
JOSEPH G. LARIOSA, GMANews.TV

CHICAGO – Judge Kristi Lousteau of the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles will hold a preliminary hearing on Monday for the case of a woman accused of stealing $89,000 from Filipino boxing great Manny Pacquiao.

Lousteau scheduled the hearing following an “early disposition hearing’ of the case against Pia Anatalia Quijada last Wednesday at the District Criminal Justice Center at Department 050 in Los Angeles.

Quijada, 27, is charged with one-count felony “grand theft of property over $400″ and 32-count felony forgeries.

Sandi Gibbons, public information officer of the District Attorney’s office of Los Angeles, said Quijada could face a minimum of 16 months to a maximum of three years in jail if she is convicted for each count of grand theft of property over $400 and of the crime of forgery.

“The judge may run the prison terms concurrently or consecutively

His eight-round methodical drubbing of boxing’s former golden boy Oscar de la Hoya made him the logical and apparent heir as king of pay per view tickets.

On his shoulders rests the onus of carrying the load of boxing’s waning popularity following the expected exit of de la Hoya, the sport’s biggest draw and cash cow.

At 29 years old, boxing superstardom and legacy are the Filipino’s to lose if he chose to ignore the honor he grabbed from de la Hoya and now is bestowed upon him.

Pacquiao is a once-in-a-generation kind of gifted athlete – one who defies logic and one very difficult to dissect. read full story

NO Filipino comes close to being called a global sports icon than Manny Pacquiao.

He has thrust the tiny Philippine archipelago into the world consciousness as he holds a planet of admirers inside his battle-scarred fists.

Because of his accomplishments inside the ring, Pacquiao has gained the hearts of his countrymen, captured the imagination of millions of his supporters and earned the respect of his peers.

In so doing, he redefined the term “world-class Filipino”.

Even after 52 professional bouts and four world championships, Pacquiao’s face-off with Oscar de la Hoya amps up that reputation.

The Dream Match celebrates Pacquiao’s meteoric rise coming out of the woodwork in General Santos and later, solidifying his stature as one of boxing’s most important names.

The Dream Match culminates Pacquiao’s journey, embarking on a professional career that began in obscure venues in Mandaluyong, Muntinlupa, and Phuttamonthon (that’s in Thailand), and later on

LAS VEGAS — By the seventh round, his trainer was telling him to press the action, to finish the job. But Manny Pacquiao’s mind was telling him something else.

He could sense what everyone else could plainly see, that Oscar De La Hoya, his left eye swollen shut, his reflexes gone, more than likely was fighting his last fight.

“I felt pity for him,” Pacquiao said.

Moments later, the fight was over. And quite possibly, a career.

De La Hoya, his face a puffy and purple mass, failed to answer the bell for the ninth round, providing Pacquiao a lopsided TKO victory Saturday night in front of a crowd of 16,000 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

It was a mismatch from the opening bell, only not the one many in the media had forecast.

De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) was supposed to be too big and too strong for Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 KOs), who