By Rey Danseco
THE World Boxing Hall of Fame (WBHF) of Riverside, California has awarded future hall of famer Manny Pacquiao and the explosive world flyweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. with awards for their impressive showings in 2007.
Pacquiao took the “Fighter of the Year” award for winning against two formidable Mexican opponents while Donaire acquired the “Most Outstanding Boxer of the Year” after taking two world titles with a single left-hand punch.
Pacquiao, who greeted his fans in Cebu yesterday in a motorcade, gave previously unbeaten Jorge Solis a boxing lesson before scoring an emphatic 8th round knockout on July 14 at Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
On October 6 at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Pacquiao showed he’s the better man when he dominated Marco Antonio Barrera for the second time, he won their first fight with an 11th round stoppage in November 2003.
Donaire stamped his class over over-the-hill fighter Kevin “Bobo” Hudgins of Florida when he scored a devastating first round knockout win in his initial fight for the year on May 12 at Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada. The bout was in the bantamweight class.
On July 7 in Bridgeport in Connecticut, the 24-year old native of Bohol move down to flyweight to avenge his older brother Glenn Donaire’s loss when he knocked out previously unbeaten Australian-Armenian Vic Darchinyan to claim the International Boxing Federation and International Boxing Organization flyweight titles.
Training at US Karate and Boxing Gym in Hayward in California, Donaire is preparing for another fight, a title defense against veteran Luis Maldonado of Nicaragua on December 1 at Foxwood Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
The presentation of the award to the two popular Filipino fighters was given during the 28th Annual Boxing Hall of Fame Banquet and Inductions at Doubletree Hotel on Vinyard Avenue in Ontario California.
The 2007 inductees in the “Boxer Category” included Larry Holmes, Ricardo “Finito” Lopez, Efren “Alacran”Torres, Alvaro “Yaqui” Lopez and Gerald McClellen.
In the “Expanded Category”, the Hall inducted George Benton, Joe Cortez and Steve Albert. In the “Posthumous Category” Dick Sadler, Lily Rodriguez and Jose Vasquez De La Torre was inducted.
The WBHF has flyweight Pancho Villa and super featherweight Gabriel “Flash” Elorde as their only Filipino inductees.
The WBHF is one of two recognized boxing hall of fame organizations, with the other being the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) of Canastota, New York.
