MANILA, Philippines – Filipino boxing icon Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao was unable to add another ESPN.com Fighter of the Year citation to his resume, losing out to Irish boxer Carl Frampton.

Pacquiao won the ESPN.com honor in 2005, 2008, and 2009, and was one of the contenders this year after victories over Timothy Bradley Jr. and Jessie Vargas.

But Frampton's 2016 campaign was far more impressive, as the 29-year-old star won titles in two divisions (junior featherweight and featherweight) while beating strong opponents.

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He overwhelmed Scott Quigg in February, winning a split decision, then came away with a majority decision win over Leo Santa Cruz in July for his first belt as a featherweight.

"It's been a great year for myself," Frampton said on ESPN.com. "I've fought on the road twice against two good fighters."

Earning ESPN.com Fighter of the Year honors is "a huge honor… and very humbling," said Frampton. But the boxer insists the best is yet to come. "I'm kicking off 2017 with a bang, and it has the potential to be even better than 2016," he vowed.

Pacquiao came in fourth in the ESPN.com list. The "Pacman" was lauded for his decisive victory over Bradley in their trilogy bout last April, as well as for cruising past Jessie Vargas to regain the WBO welterweight belt in November.

In second place was Ukraine's Vasyl Lomachenko, who highlighted his 2016 campaign by forcing the erstwhile unbeaten Nicholas Walters of Jamaica to quit on his stool in the seventh round of their featherweight bout.

In third place was Omaha's Terence Crawford, a potential opponent for Pacquiao in 2017. Crawford remained unbeaten in 2016, notching victories over Hank Lundy, Viktor Postol, and John Molina.

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)