Fighter of The Year: Manny Pacquiao

He capped off the year in style, avenging a loss to rival Erik Morales of Mexico by coming back from a shaky start in the early rounds to stop Morales for the first time in his career in the 10th round. It was a bad battering down the stretch that left many fans wondering if Morales' career would ever recover, and it never did.

A return in July saw Pacquiao easily decision former super bantamweight champion Oscar Larios, before a frenzied crowd in his hometown of the Philippines. The month of November was most impressive performance of Pacquiao's career, as he entered the ring for the third time in the year, in a trilogy bout to settle the war of words with Morales.

The third meeting with Morales was not a competitive back-and-forth battle like their previous two. It was a one-sided destruction of a man considered by many as the best Mexican fighter of this generation. Morales was beaten, knocked down three times, and upon hitting the mat for the third time in the bout — in the third round — he motioned to his corner that he was not going to continue with the contest and took the referee's full count of 10.

The passing of the torch was complete as Morales raised the hand of Pacquiao as the outcome was announced to the crowd. There is no shortage of prospective bouts for 2007, if a pending lawsuit between Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank, over who is the rightful promoter of Pacquiao can be settled in a timely fashion. Around the corner for new year is Joan Guzman, Juan Manuel Marquez, Edwin Valero, Joel Casamayor, Chris John and Marco Antonio Barrera wait in line, all calling for a Pacquiao bout.

Honorable Mentions: Floyd Mayweather Jr., Wladimir Klitschko, Joe Calzaghe, Oleg Maskaev

Fight of The Year: Somsak Sithchatchawal TKOs Mahyar Monshipour in 10

The fight was barely seen by the American public because the bout was not televised in the United States, nor was it televised in many of the major boxing markets around world. But, it was fight that was so good that its legend spread to every corner of the boxing world within weeks.

The date was March 18, the stage was set at the Palais des Sport Marcel Cerdan in France. Mahyar Monshipour of France, the WBA super bantamweight champion, was making the sixth defense of his title since winning the belt in 2003. Somsak Sithchatchawal of Thailand was 45-1 coming into the fight, and was riding an unbeaten streak that started in April of 1998.

Very few thought much of the bout when it was signed, but end result was a fight worthy of a standing obviation after every single round. In the opening round, Sithchatchawal scored a knockdown, Monshipour made it to his feet and the two men exchanged punches for 10 action-packed rounds that resembled a fight to the death.

When it appeared Sithchatchawal was in trouble during the 10th round, he began to bludgeon Monshipour with left hands and uppercuts that prompted British referee John Coyle to finally stop in the fight as Monshipour resembled a lifeless Jose Luis Castillo prior to being stopped by Diego Corrales in their first meeting.

In the opinion of many, the battle was so brutal that neither fighter fully recovered from pounding they gave to each other. Sithchatchawal, unbeaten since 1998, and before a cheering hometown crowd in Thailand, lost the title in his first defense of the newly won crown when he was knocked out in three rounds by 24-2 Celestino Caballero (the only man to beat Daniel Ponce De Leon). Monshipour has not fought since.

If you search Youtube.com, you will find the fight broken up into four parts. A gem to watch for any true fight fan.

Honorable Mentions: Manny Pacquiao TKO10 Erik Morales II, Sergei Liakhovich W12 Lamon Brewster, Tomasz Adamek W12 Paul Briggs II, Israel Vazquez TKO10 Jhonny Gonzalez, Kermit Cintron TKO10 David Estrada, Jermain Taylor D12 Winky Wright

Prospect of The Year: Andre Berto

Many prospects came, and many prospects fell. Andre Berto stood a bit taller above the rest. The powerful welterweight fought seven times in 2006, ending the year with a 16-0 record with 14 knockouts to his credit. His final bout of the year saw him dispatch of 24-5 Miguel Figueroa in a nation showcase on HBO. It took him six rounds to stop Figueroa, who was only stopped one other time in his career, by a young Joel Casamayor in 1998.

The destruction of Figueroa caught the attention of fight fans, and the bigwigs at HBO, who want the 23-year-old to return to their network in 2007. The potential is there, the power is there and some polish on his blossoming skills will make him a force to be reckoned with for the current crop of welterweight stars in the coming years.

Honorable Mentions: Andre Ward, Amir Khan, Vanes Martirosyan, Gary Stark, Jr., Joe Greene, Anthony Dirrell, Andre Dirrell, Rey Bautista, Andy Lee

Upset of The Year: Carlos Baldomir W12 Zab Judah

On Jan. 7, before Judah's hometown crowd in New York's Madison Square Garden, a fighter that very few had ever heard of was mentally set to shock the entire sport by capturing the unified welterweight title, beating the man recognized as the best welterweight in the division. Baldomir was 41-9-6 with 12 KOs when he entered the ring to face Judah, and was universally thought of as "safe" tune-up opponent for Judah's April pay-per-view clash with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Prior the bout, Judah was criticized for even fighting Baldomir, an aging veteran who was considering retirement. Baldomir appeared so slow in his open workouts, that few reporters and fans even stayed home that Saturday night to watch the fight. We all anticipated a quick knockout win by the unified welterweight champion, but Baldomir had other plans. A heavy underdog, some circles had Baldomir penned as a 14-1 underdog, some had him even higher.

After a few rounds, it appeared that something was wrong. Baldomir was being hit, but kept coming forward and refused to stop throwing punches. After six rounds, Judah appeared to be in a panic, as he was unsure on how to proceed in the fight, as Baldomir was gaining more confidence.

In the seventh round, the momentum completely changed as Baldomir not only hurt Judah when he caught him with numerous right hands on the chin, he had the champion in serious trouble. Judah held Baldomir for dear life and ran around the ring in order to kill time while waiting for the bell to signal the end of the round. Judah was never the same man after the seventh round. Baldomir took over the fight and went on to win a unanimous decision to earn him title of Cinderella Man from the boxing public.

Judah still went forward with an April clash with Mayweather, when the IBF decided to hand back the title he lost to Baldomir, because Baldomir did not pay the sanctioning fee. Judah lost another unanimous decision to Mayweather, and his involvement in a ring riot during the final quarter of the bout resulted in a suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Baldomir went on to have the best year of his long career, picking up a big payday when he stopped Arturo Gatti in Atlantic City in a fight also considered an upset, and lost a decision to Mayweather in Las Vegas in November, but picked up another huge payday in the process.

Honorable Mentions: Oleg Maskaev TKO12 Hasim Rahman II, Carlos Baldomir TKO9 Arturo Gatti, Jose Andres Hernandez KO8 Jason Litzau, Sergei Liakhovich W12 Lamon Brewster, Joe Calzaghe W12 Jeff Lacy.

Promoter of The Year: Golden Boy Promotions

Talk about a spectacular year for a promotional company. All four of the equity partners saw in action in 2006, and all four won impressively. Oscar De La Hoya, president of the company, returned to the ring in June against Ricardo Mayorga, and while many had him as the favorite, few thought De La Hoya could knock Mayorga out, but he did. Shane Mosley knocked Fernando Vargas out not once, but twice. Marco Antonio Barrera pulled out two decisions over Rocky Juarez, and Bernard Hopkins went up two weight divisions to dominate Antonio Tarver for the light heavyweight title.

They scored a major coup when they came to terms with Winky Wright to co-promote his fights, while helping Wright establish his own promotional outfit, Winky Promotions. They added Filipino stars like Z Gorres and Rey Bautista. Co-promotion deals were made for Joan Guzman, Kassim Ouma and Sultan Ibragimov. They picked up Juan Manuel Marquez along the way and finished off the year by landing Rocky Juarez.

Among the other athletes in their stable are Jorge Barrios, Israel Vazquez, Jhonny Gonzalez, Daniel Ponce De Leon, Fernando Montiel, Oscar Larios, Demetrius Hopkins and a host of others.

They staged the most successful boxing pay-per-views of the year and are set to stage the one of the largest in the history of the sport when De La Hoya meets Mayweather on May 5 in Las Vegas. If they win a lawsuit against Top Rank for the right to promote Manny Pacquiao, 2007 could become a better year for the company than 2006.

Honorable Mentions: Don King Promotions, Top Rank, Sycuan Ringside Promotions, Warriors Boxing

Round of The Year: Manny Pacquiao vs. Erik Morales III: Round 3

The third round of the third fight between Manny Pacquiao and Erik Morales saw the last stand of a Mexican hero. Already down in the second round and being physically battered in the fight, Morales went for broke in the third round by throwing everything in his arsenal, but it was not enough to win the fight, or stop the inevitable from taking place.

Morales came out cautious, but Pacquiao's relentless aggression quickly brought the warrior out in him and they went to war. A Pacquiao left hand stunned Morales as he backed into the ropes and several Pacquiao combinations had Morales reeling around the ring. A combination that was punctuated by a left sent Morales down to the mat. He got back to his feet and did the only thing he knows how to do: fight. He began to throw punches from all angles, backing Pacquiao up with right hands, but was unable to send the tough Filipino down as Pacquiao fought back with his left hands that were landing flush over and over again.

For the first time in his career, Morales tried to hold on and use his legs to get himself out of danger. Pacquiao stayed right on top of him by throwing non-stop power shots to the head and body, with a final that saw Morales fly backwards and crash to the mat. He sat on the mat, appearing in serious trouble and gave a signal to his father that he was not going to get back up.

A devastating ending to one of the best trilogies in boxing.

Honorable Mentions: Somsak Sithchatchawal-Mayar Monchipour Round 9, Sergei Liakhovich-Lamon Brewster Round 6, Tomasz Adamek-Paul Briggs II Round 9, Kermit Cintron-David Estrada Round 6, Israel Vazquez-Jhonny Gonzalez Round 10

Knockout of The Year: Daniel Ponce De Leon KO1 Sod Looknongyangtoy II

It came out of nowhere, 52 seconds into the first round. A left hand by Daniel Ponce De Leon knocked Sod Looknongyangtoy silly. He was out cold before he ever hit the canvas, falling face first and laying motionless like a man that was shot dead with a bazooka. The referee had no reason to even finish the count as he waved off the fight and medical personnel rushed to ring to give immediate attention to the Thai fighter.

Looknongyangtoy had never been stopped in his career, and his lone previous loss was a defeat on points to Ponce De Leon in 2005 when the two men faced off for the vacant WBO super bantamweight title.

Since the defeat, Looknongyangtoy has been able to come back to win a decision in Thailand. Ponce De Leon has established himself as one of the best super bantamweights in the sport, knocking out Al Seeger within eight rounds in his next bout, and gunning for a major bout in 2007.

Honorable Mentions: Calvin Brock KO6 Zuri Lawrence, Shannon Briggs TKO12 Sergei Liakhovich, Demetrius Hopkins KO9 Michael Warrick, Jose Hernandez KO8 Jason Litzau, Oleg Maskaev TKO12 Hasim Rahman, Edwin Miranda KO1 Willie Gibbs, Wladimir Klitschko TKO7 Calvin Brock.

Comeback of The Year: Oleg Maskaev

They said he was old, they said he was a shot fighter and no longer capable of taking a heavyweight punch. The word "they" does not refer to the fans or even the writers, it refers to his former trainer, management and the handlers around him. Mismatched by his promoter and left for dead, Maskaev picked up the pieces by keeping himself mentally strong and moved forward with his career.

After being knocked out in 2002 in eight rounds by journeyman Cory Sanders, few thought Maskaev would ever be able to recover and come back to win a major heavyweight title at age 37. The only people that knew he would once again return, bigger and better than ever, were his family, his newfound trainer Victor Valle Jr. and new promoter Dennis Rappaport. Everyone else had written him off.

Maskaev entered the year as one of the last heavyweights anyone could have anticipated becoming a major player when the year was over. In his first bout of 2006, a rematch with WBC heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, recognized as the second-best heavyweight in the world, he fought the fight of his life and turned up the heat in the 12th and final round of a close bout to stop Rahman and capture the heavyweight title.

He achieved one dream, but he wasn't done. Another dream was completed when Maskaev returned to Russia, as a champion and successfully defended his title against Peter Okhello.

Undefeated since 2003 and riding a 12-fight win streak, Maskaev will face the winner of the upcoming rematch between Samuel Peter and James Toney. Should he be successfully in his mandatory defense, IBF champ Wladimir Klitschko, WBA champ Nikolai Valuev and even middleweight great Bernard Hopkins are all knocking at his door for a bout that would put some major dollars in his bank account.

Honorable Mentions: Carlos Baldomir, Bernard Hopkins, Oscar De La Hoya, Shannon Briggs, Evander Holyfield

For Gerry, this would be his career defining fight. A win againts Rafael Marquez would surely secure his legacy as one of the best boxers the Philippines had ever produced. But that won't be an easy task. At 34, he doesnt have the speed and quickness that he used to have. But still posses the technical abilities which has been his greatest asset since he started his stellar career.

In his last fight againts Tomas Rojas serving as the undercard of the Pacquiao-Larios main event, I was very impressed with the way he fought againts Rojas. Fighting againts an opponent which was at least 4 inches taller and had a sizeable reach advantage, Penalosa simply outboxed the much taller Rojas. Just to give you an idea of how good is his technical abilities, there was even a couple of rounds wherein Penalosa was out jabbing Rojas.

Looking at Gerry's fight record, (50-5-2 33kos) all five of his losses were by descision with 4 of the 5 were all disputed Split descisions.

Gerry had been waiting for this fight to happen. Penalosa promised to kick ass come fight night. Peñalosa said he plans to leave for Los Angeles "at least 12 weeks before the fight" to train under the celebrated Freddie Roach at his Wild Card Gym.