Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Originally published 2021 updated 12/2025
Key Takeaways
- Historic Achievement: Manny Pacquiao is now the only boxer besides Sugar Ray Robinson to win the “Triple Crown” of legacy awards: Fighter of the Year, Decade, and a century level honour.
- The Centurion Style Honour: Pacquiao holds the WBA Centennial Champion recognition, created to celebrate the WBA’s one hundred year history and awarded to an all time great.
- Exclusive Club: This honour cements Pacquiao’s status as the greatest offensive fighter of his era, placing him in a two man club with the sport’s greatest legend.
Manny Pacquiao has rewritten the record books so many times that even boxing historians struggle to keep count. But this week, he added a milestone so exclusive that only one fighter in the entire history of the sport had ever achieved it before: he is now the only boxer besides Sugar Ray Robinson to hold all three of boxing’s major honorary legacy distinctions: Fighter of the Year, Fighter of the Decade, and a century level legacy honor.
With the WBA confirming his Centennial Champion status as part of its centennial cycle recognitions, Pacquiao has entered a club that had just one member for nearly a hundred years.
And the story behind these honours paints a picture of Pacquiao’s greatness in a way championship belts alone never could.
Fighter of the Year: The Prime Years That Shook Boxing
Pacquiao didn’t just win these awards, he earned them during some of the most explosive years boxing has seen this century.
The Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year:
- 2006 – After stopping Erik Morales in their trilogy fight and rising through divisions with unmatched ferocity
- 2008 – A year that saw him dominate Juan Manuel Marquez, move up in weight, and demolish David Diaz for the WBC lightweight title
- 2009 – The year he became a global superstar, destroying Ricky Hatton in two rounds and then overpowering Miguel Cotto at welterweight
BWAA Fighter of the Year:
- 2006 and 2008 (runner up seasons of his rise)
- 2009 (official winner)
WBC Fighter of the Year:
Awarded during his peak run as he captured championships at super featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight, breaking economic and sporting records in the process.
These were the seasons where Pacquiao was not just winning, he was beating elite names across divisions, often as the smaller man, and doing it with a style that electrified arenas worldwide.
Fighter of the Decade: A Ten Year Reign Like No Other
The Boxing Writers Association of America named Pacquiao the Fighter of the Decade for the two thousands, spanning 2000 to 2009.
Those ten years included:
- Title wins from 122 lbs to 147 lbs
- Victories over Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Miguel Cotto
- Becoming the first and only eight division world champion
- Becoming the face of global boxing, breaking pay per view records and carrying the sport into the modern era
The award wasn’t even close. Pacquiao owned the two thousands in a way no fighter has owned a decade since.
Fighter of the Century: A New Honour, A New Chapter
The newest and most historic addition to his legacy. Pacquiao was earlier recognised by the WBA as its Centennial Champion in twenty twenty one, a special honour created to mark the association’s one hundred year celebration and to recognise an all time great. That WBA recognition is part of the legacy trio often cited by historians and fans.
The WBA Centennial Champion honour was created to celebrate the association’s century milestone and is awarded only to a fighter whose accomplishments and influence transcend multiple eras. It recognises:
- The sport’s first eight division world champion
- A career stretching across four decades
- Historic victories over twenty two world champions
- Global cultural impact and influence across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas
Separately, recent headlines have also noted a WBC centurion style honour being presented in late twenty twenty five. Because multiple organisations have used century level language in recent coverage, some articles conflated the issuing body. The clear, verifiable fact is that Pacquiao holds the WBA Centennial Champion recognition from twenty twenty one and that century level honours have been referenced by more than one body in recent reporting.
The honour remains one of the strongest legacy validations he has ever received.
Only One Man Did It Before: Sugar Ray Robinson
For nearly a century, only Sugar Ray Robinson, widely regarded as the greatest boxer ever, held this full trio of historical honours.
Robinson’s recognitions include:
Fighter of the Year (The Ring):
- 1942
- 1951
Fighter of the Decade:
Retrospectively awarded for the nineteen forties, where he dominated both welterweight and middleweight divisions.
Fighter of the Century:
Awarded by the Associated Press in nineteen ninety nine following an expert panel vote selecting him as the most outstanding boxer of the twentieth century.
Robinson’s name is synonymous with boxing perfection.
Pacquiao now stands shoulder to shoulder with him.
A two man club in a sport with over one hundred fifty years of recorded history.
A Legacy Written Across Four Decades
Pacquiao’s journey is one of the greatest underdog stories in world sport. From selling bread on the streets of General Santos City to becoming a global icon, he defied expectations at every turn.
These three legacy recognitions aren’t just honours, they are historic confirmations of a career that transcends weight classes, generations, and borders.
Manny Pacquiao is now officially one of the two greatest legacy figures in the entire history of boxing.
And he earned it the hard way.
Frequently Asked Questions About Manny Pacquiao’s Legacy
How many weight divisions did Manny Pacquiao conquer?
Manny Pacquiao is the only boxer in history to win world titles in eight separate weight divisions, climbing from one hundred twelve lbs to one hundred fifty four lbs.
Is Manny Pacquiao the greatest boxer of all time?
Many boxing historians consider Manny Pacquiao the greatest offensive fighter of his era. His recognition as a century level honouree places him in an exclusive two man club with Sugar Ray Robinson, strengthening his argument for being the greatest of all time.
What major boxing records does Manny Pacquiao hold?
Pacquiao is the only boxer to hold world championships across four different decades and one of only two men ever to achieve the full legacy trio.
