Sports Illustrated will announce its choice for 2013's Sportsman of the Year on Dec 16th & Floyd Mayweather Jr is a current nomination.

Sports Illustrated will announce its choice for 2013's Sportsman of the Year on Dec. 16. Here's one of the nominations for that honor by a former Sportsman recipient. Achievement in boxing has always been built on a combination of hard work, belief in oneself, intestinal fortitude and that special something that's very hard to describe in just one word. Very few athletes are able to reach a level of unprecedented and sustained success.

But excelling in a sport (competing in must-see events, breaking records, remaining undefeated) can sometimes promote a less enthusiastic approach to the day-to-day maintenance. Athletes may rest on their laurels and find it hard to stay focused and, as a result, even that "Eye of the Tiger" drive becomes difficult to maintain. But there is one fighter, one champion, who has shown the world that he is something different, something special, something great in that roped square. Who comes to mind when pondering which athlete should be this year's Sportsman of the Year? None other than Floyd Mayweather, Jr- "Sports Illustrated