Nonito Donaire is Ring Magazine's 2012 'Fighter of the Year'

Four-division world champion Nonito Donaire Jr. is voted as The RING Magazine’s 2012 Fighter of the  Year. The Filipino Flash's impressive wins this year sealed for him one of boxing's most-coveted titles.

The award is another feather to Nonito Donaire's cap as he was also hailed ESPN's "Boxer of the Year" a few days ago.

Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20 knockouts) garnered 55.2% of the votes in RingTV.com's year-end poll to capture a landslide win over closest competitor to the title, Juan Manuel Marquez, who received only 27.3% of the votes.

Ring Magazine editor Doug Fischer said that Marquez may have scored the Knockout of the Year in the Fight of the Year by icing his arch rival Manny Pacquiao in the sixth round, but fight fans recognized Donaire accomplishing more than the Mexican legend inside and outside the ring.

Among those elite fighters – those precious few who fans and boxing media view as the pound-for-pound best, seldom fight more than twice a year – Donaire was the busiest this year.

"The 30-year-old veteran fought four times in 2012 and in the process of doing so the former flyweight and bantamweight titleholder established himself as the best 122-pound fighter on the planet, as well as the Fighter of the Year in the eyes of the fans who took part in RingTV.com’s year-end awards poll," Fischer reported.

Just like ESPN's Dan Rafael, Fischer also commended Donaire for being the only high-profile professional boxer who is willing to commit to comprehensive year-round drug testing conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).

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Nonito Donaire Hailed ESPN "Boxer of the Year"

The Filipino Flash Nonito Donaire Jr. was hailed as the 2012 "Boxer of the Year" by ESPN.com. The "Boxer of the Year" title was previously held by Andre Ward and has been won three times by People's Champ Manny Pacquiao (2006, 2008 and 2009).

"It might sound strange, but no, Manny Pacquiao was not the best fighter from the Philippines in 2012,” wrote ESPN’s Dan Rafael. "That honor goes to 'The Filipino Flash,' junior featherweight titlist Nonito Donaire, who had a year for the ages."

Rafael said that Donaire has been an easy pick as ESPN's 2012 "Boxer of the Year," having won with great fashion four of his fights this year.

In February, "The Filipino Flash" moved up to the 122-pound division and captured the vacant WBO super bantamweight title by beating Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. by split decision at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

In July, Donaire knocked off the IBF belt holder, Jeffrey Mathebula at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, the same venue when he stopped Japanese Toshiaki Nishioka via a round 9 TKO in October, successfully defending his IBF and WBO super bantamweight belts.

Nonito Donaire put an exclamation point to his credentials this year after knocking out Jorge Arce in third round in their December 15 fight at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

Nonito Donaire was also commended for being the first and only boxer in the world to undergo random drug testing with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association on a year-round basis.

Donaire edged out Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez (who floored Pacquiao a week before Donaire knocked out Arce) as "Boxer of the Year." Nonito also beat other contenders for the award which include fellow Pinoy Brian Villoria, Danny Garcia, Robert Guerrero, Leo Santa Cruz, Andre Ward and Carl Froch.

Photo courtesy of Inquirer Sports

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Mayweather Jr. Wishes Pacquiao Well, Hopes Pacman Can Bounce Back

Floyd Mayweather Jr, deemed as Manny Pacquiao's erstwhile rival offered words of encouragement for the Filipino Champ who suffered a 6th round knockout loss from Juan Manuel Marquez last December 8 (December 9, PHL time).

In an interview with Ben Thompson for boxing website FightHype.com, Mayweather praised both Pacquiao and Marquez  and wished the former well after that stunning knockout.

"Marquez is a true champion. Manny Pacquiao is a true champion. Both of them went out there and put on a good performance, and that's a good thing for the sport of boxing," Mayweather said. "I wish Pacquiao nothing but the best. I wish he can bounce back and he can recoup from this….You have to really, really dedicate yourself to your craft. I think he's got so many different things on the outside that he worries about, you know. But it was a good thing that he was able to come into the sport, you know, piggyback off my name, and get a bunch of endorsement deals and make a good living. That's a great thing."

Mayweather, who admittedly felt bad for Pacquiao's loss gave the 8-division world champion pieces of advice before the epic battle between him and Manny can ever come into fruition.

"Pacquiao's focus should be trying to take a vacation, get his mind right, and get a few tune-up fights so he can bounce back. I'm not here to talk bad about Pacquiao. I feel bad for him, honestly….There's a difference in the ways you can get knocked out. When you gotta wake a guy up with smelling salts and he got a concussion and he gotta go to the hospital over night, that's crucial. I mean, that's close to the death."

"Hopefully he's [Pacquiao] okay. My prayers go out to the Pacquiao family. I know he loves the sport of boxing, so hopefully he can bounce back," the pound-for-pound and undefeated champion added.

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Justin Bieber Makes Fun of Manny Pacquiao, Instagram Photos Go Viral

Canadian popstar Justin Bieber became the subject of online hate among Pacquiao fans and disappointment from Pinoys after he posted a series of photos on Instagram making fun of Pacquiao's knock out loss with Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez.

Last December 8, Manny Pacquiao suffered a 6th round knockout from Marquez in Las Vegas and as Filipinos grieve his loss, many other make fun of it and posted several memes on social networking sites mocking the knockout moment of Pacquiao (those what they call Mannying and Pacquiaoing). However, Justin Bieber's posts have been more viral.

Bieber posted three photos on his Instagram account, one showing Marquez's knock down moment from Mayweather during their fight in 2009 captioned "Look what Mayweather did to Marquez.. #moneyteam #nocompetition."

Two other photos showed Pacquiao's knockout moment from Marquez, one pasted on the photo of the late Michael Jackson performing on stage with his signature move and the other one with a Simba icon waking up the motionless Pacquiao. The photos caption read: "Pacquiao doing the lean with MJ .. Classic moment" and "Dad wake up."

Justin Bieber, who is known to be a proud supporter of American boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. also commented on the idea of a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout, an exact opposite of what he tweeted years ago when Pacquiao defeated Margarito and he supporting the idea of Pacquiao vs Mayweather as an epic battle.

“He has nothing to gain fighting pacqiao, Floyd has never in his professional career lost a fight and Pacqiao lost his last two fights. If Floyd wins its not that big of a deal Cuz it would be his third loss in a row, and lf he loses he's gonna ruin his legacy either way there's no big win for Mayweather.. Mayweather is boxing.”

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Manny Pacquiao Open to a Fifth Fight with Marquez

After losing to a round 6 knockout by Juan Manuel Marquez, People's Champ Manny Pacquiao said that he is open to the possibility of a fifth fight with "El Dinamita.' Pacquiao, however, is not considering retirement soon, as he said that he will take a rest for a few months and will go back to training in preparation for another fight.

Read: Pacquiao-Marquez 4 Fight Result and Undercard Bouts

In a post-fight interview, Manny said that if Marquez's camp will give them a chance, he will fight the Mexican again.

"Yes, why not?" he said when asked if he wanted to fight Marquez again. "It’s a good fight. I just got confident on that fight because I thought I got him," added the humble Pacquiao.

Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum was also in for a fifth fight between the two fighters. "Why not? People love this action." said Arum. "This fight will go down in history as a ring classic. If they wanna fight again, why not?"

Pacquiao admitted that Marquez is such a tough fighter.

"He’s not an easy opponent, he’s a tough fighter. I did my best but you know, that’s boxing, that’s sports," said the Filipino fighter who suffered his first ever knock out loss since 1999.

"I just didn’t see his punches… I never expected that punch," telling everyone that he was caught unguarded by Marquez with that knock out punch.

The phenomenal knockout win by Marquez which stunned millions of boxing fans was regarded as a defining moment in Marquez's boxing career. Needless to say, it might elevate Juan Manuel Marquez to a legendary status, something Pacquiao has achieved past in his career.

Will Marquez be amenable to a fifth fight with Pacquiao now that he has proven to all that he can beat him down the canvass?

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Pacquiao-Marquez 4 Result: Marquez Wins by Knockout (Round 6)

The Pacquiao-Marquez 4 fight happened Saturday night, December 8 (December 9 Manila time) at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Juan Manuel Marquez knocked out Manny Pacquiao during the 6th round, a phenomenal win after their previous three controversial bouts.

The battle was the fourth time Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez fought on the ring. The first time they got in the ring was in 2004, and that one ended in a draw. The second and third time Pacman and Dinamita met on the ring were in 2008 and 2011, respectively— both ending with a controversial majority decision in Pacquiao's favor.

Chelsea Emata sang the Philippine National Anthem, Lupang Hinirang in a ballad-like fashion while Mexico had the services of Ana Barbara to sing the Himno Nacional Mexicano with the help of the Mexican crowd as she's somewhat lost her voice.

Read: Manny Pacquiao Open to a Fifth Fight with Marquez

Marquez scored a knock down on the third round while Pacquiao did the same for Marquez at the 5th round. However, a solid right straight connecting into Manny Pacquiao's chin rendered him unconscious—end of the fight.

Before the much-awaited main event, two Filipinos already emerged victorious in non-televised undercard bouts—Dodie Boy Peñalosa Jr. who beat Jesus Lule Raya via a round 2 TKO and Ernie Sanchez who one over Coy Evans via unanimous decision in an 8-round fight.

In the televised title undercard bouts, Javier Fortuna (Dominican Republic) won vs. Patrick Hyland (Ireland) via unanimous decision to capture the WBA Interim Featherweight title. Miguel Angel Vazquez of Mexico successfully defended his IBF Lightweight title against Filipino Mercito Gesta in a win via unanimous decision. Another Filipino, Michael Farenas suffered a lost against the bigger Yuriorkis Gamboa. The former Cuban Olympic gold medalist won the WBA Interim Super Featherweight bout by unanimous decision.

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Pacquiao-Marquez IV Pre-PPV undercard fights result:

Featherweight: Alexis Hernandez won vs Jazzma Hogue via 1st Round TKO
Light welterweight: Jose Ramirez won vs Corey Seigwarth via 1st Round TKO
Featherweight: Dodie Boy Peñalosa Jr. won vs Jesus Lule Raya via 2nd Round TKO
Featherweight: Ernie Sanchez won vs Coy Evans via unanimous decision in an 8-round fight

Photos courtesy of Al Bello/Getty images

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Pacquiao-Marquez 4 Undercard Free Livestream

The Pacquiao-Marquez 4 is happening live on December 8 (December 9 in Manila) from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Before the Pacquiao vs. Marquez pay-per-view broadcast, make sure to watch the live online stream of the non-televised undercard and see former Olympian Jose Ramirez make his pro debut. Two Filipinos will also be fighting: Dodie Boy Penalosa and Ernie Sanchez.

Pacquiao vs. Marquez 4 live stream undercard

Featherweight: Dodie Boy Penalosa Jr vs. Jesus Lule

Featherweight: Ernie Sanchez vs. Coy Evans

Light welterweight: Jose Ramirez vs. Corey Seigwarth

Featherweight: Jazzma Hogue vs. Alexis Hernandez

The live streaming video feed of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez 4 undercard starts at 7:00 PM ET/PT courtesy of  Yahoo! sports and Top Rank:

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