Filipino ring icon and national treasure Manny Pacquiao who was named ?Fighter of the Year? by Sports Illustrated and ?World Boxer of the Year? by the World Boxing Council is way ahead of Malaysia?s squash world champion Nicol David in the finals of the ESPN Star Sports on line poll to choose the ?Champion of Champions.?
In the latest tally as of 12 noon on December 26, Pacquiao had garnered 87.82 percent of the votes compared to David who had received 12.18 percent.
Voting closes on December 30 and the winner will be announced on the popular ESPN Sportscenter program
Pacquiao earlier overwhelmed one of the all-time cricketing greats, Sachin ?The Little Master? Tendulkar of India in the semi finals to set up the showdown with David in the finals.
ESPN Star Sports profile on the squash player said ?Malaysia?s Nicol is the World number 1 ranked squash player and the first Asian to top the sport?s rankings. She is the current World Open and British Open Champion having won both of those prizes in 2005 and 2006 as well. In July, Nicol David was among 497 honoured in conjunction with the 70th birthday of the Penang Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas. The Penang-born Nicol, became the youngest person from the Malaysian island to be conferred a Datukship.?
In the voting for ESPN?s All SportsNation team Pacquiao was totally annihilating the others. At last count he had an incredible 97.4 percent of the votes while Olympic gold medal swimming sensation Michael Phelps had a mere 1.7 percent and Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt only 1.3 percent.
In its preface to the online poll ESPN said ?which five athletes, who dominated athletic excellence in 2008, should make up the All SportsNation team?
Sure. All-Pro or All-America selections are nice, but there are more appetizers when compared to the honor of the All SportsNation Team. Unlike a simple acknowledgement that an athlete is merely one of the best in his or her own sport, making the All SportsNation roster means an athlete has what it takes to beat the very best from every sport.
So what are the criteria for such an awesome honor? Well, that?s entirely up to you. You?ve got to match up a hot-dog eating champion against the world?s fastest man, a bowling champion with a gold-medal winning gymnast among others. It?s up to you to consider what truly matters.?
It?s your team, so you decide which five athletes meet the criteria you establish as the very best of 2008.?
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