Another year in pugilism is in the books so here we go! Time to unveil the In This Corner best of boxing for 2014.
FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
GGG, Gennady Golovkin. Three stoppage wins brings his record to 31-0 with (28 KOs). It not just that GGG wins, it's how he wins. Along with my runner up Sergey Kovalev 26-0 (23KOs), they are the best seek and destroy fighters of today.
FIGHT OF THE YEAR
Terrance Crawford?s ninth round TKO over Yuriorkis Gamboa. Crawford is emerging as a superstar and is putting Omaha on the fistic map.
TRAINER OF THE YEAR
Abel Sanchez. Abel is doing a terrific job in guiding GGG.
ROUND OF THE YEAR
Round Two of the Lopez versus Ponce De Leon II fight, March 15, 2014 in Puerto Rico. This time it took two.
KNOCK OUT OF THE YEAR
Nicolas Walters KO, round 5 against Vic Darchinyan. Devastating! This year?s runner up is heavyweight prospect Joseph Parker of New Zealand, with his KO round 4 over Irineu Beato Costa, Jr.
BREAKOUT FIGHTER
Nicolas Walters, 25-0 with 21 KOs. ?The Ax Man? had stoppage wins over Nonito Donaire, Vic Darchinyan and nineteen others who are part of his unbeaten roster. Honorable mention to Kell Brook who turned a lot of boxing heads with his win over Shawn Porter in August.
UPSET OF THE YEAR
Miguel Cotto?s ten round total destruction of Sergio Martinez. Cotto looked very sharp under the guidance now of Freddie Roach. In the fight, Sergio looked injured and even worse, may be a shot fighter.
WORST DECISION OF THE YEAR
Mauricio Herrera with two decision losses this year to Danny Garcia then Jose Benavidez.
MOST IMPORTANT WINS
Daniel Jacobs and Anthony Dirrell, who are both cancer survivors winning world titles.
PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
Golden Boy Promotions
WISH LIST FOR 2015
Better health care for all fighters, past and present and a pension plan for retired fighters. More random drug testing for PEDs and others drugs, and oh yes, a certain long overdue mega fight but I won?t even mention their names.
So, as the great Mills Lane would say, ?Let?s get it on? with 2015!
James Smith.
In This Corner is starting its 11th year in national syndication with 60 episodes of the greatest fighters, past and present. Check out pre and post fight coverage of major events and interviews with the boxers in the ring at InThisCornerTV.com. Download the Fight Night boxing app for up to date news and to score the major fights.
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