2016 has been a mixed bag when it comes to boxing. In fact, there?s a chance most people will remember it as the year the incomparable Muhammad Ali passed away or the year of two excellent pugilistic blockbuster films (Creed and Bleed For This) than they will for anything particularly immortal between the ropes.
That being said, 2016 saw its fair share of epic fights and classic moments. And there were a handful of fighters who contributed to this more than once.
So, who was the standout boxer of these past 12 months?
The first big name that springs to mind is Manny Pacquiao. Recognised as one of the sport?s best and one of the finest of all time, the surefire future hall-of-famer nonetheless fell short of superlatives in his 2-0 record this year.
His win over Timothy Bradley was an anticlimax, ?deciding? a series that was only tied at 1-1 because of judging controversy in 2012. Pacquiao then embarked on one of the most shambolic retirements in boxing history (and that speaks volumes), returning to the ring in less time than it takes some active boxers to compete in their next bout without pretending to hang up the gloves.
That bout, versus Jessie Vargas, could also have been better. Many were clamouring for Pacquiao to test himself against a Terence Crawford, for instance. As a result, though Manny?s 2016 was better than his 2015 he certainly wasn?t the year?s top fighter.
Speaking of Crawford, the unbeaten American deserves a mention. Victorious in all three of his 2016 bouts, Terence added the WBC and The Ring (lineal) light welterweight belts to his WBO strap. The big factor against choosing the man from Omaha would perhaps be a lack of a huge marquee fight, but it?s impossible to shoot down anyone who puts his name forward for FOTY 2016.
Andre Ward returned to regular competition for the first time in five years, fighting a three-bout year which culminated in victory over Sergey Kovalev after two comfortable wins on his regular stomping grounds of Oakland, CA. However, those first two victories were pretty much tune-ups for a massive unbeaten vs unbeaten clash with Sergey, which was ultimately a very close and contentious points success. It was a great year for Ward?s hopes of returning to the top of the heap, but it probably wasn?t the best 2016 of them all.
Another pound-for-pound elite fighter putting in a top 12 months was Roman Gonzalez. The Nicaraguan began 2016 as the undisputed king of the flyweight division and ended it by conquering another weight class, one up at super-fly. While Gonzalez remains unbeaten and is, in the eyes of many experts, still the world?s top P4P boxer, his two-fight resume this year has also been topped.
By whom? Vasyl Lomachenko? Perhaps. The former Olympic standout from Ukraine has still had only eight professional bouts, with a quarter of them coming in 2016. Only his professional debut was not for a world title, and Lomachenko became the fastest boxer to win a world title in two weight divisions when the WBO featherweight king moved up to knock out Roman Martinez for that governing body?s junior lightweight belt at MSG in June before he retained it with a dazzling display versus Nicolas Walters a month ago. While his overall resume isn?t on the same level as Gonzalez just yet, I?d put his two-fight showing this year above that of ?Chocolatito?.
And yet, there?s another boxer who fought twice this year that tops both of them. He also earned the FOTY accolade from many other publications, both fight sports and mainstream. He also happens to be British.
Yes, Carl Frampton is my pick for boxing?s 2016 fighter of the year. After years spent sitting on unlimited potential earning modest accolades, ?The Jackal? well and truly emerged from the shadows and joined the sport?s elite this year.
His much-anticipated showdown with domestic rival Scott Quigg wasn?t the five-star fight people hoped for, but it was a five-star tactical display from the Northern Irishman who went on to add the WBA super-bantamweight title to his IBF strap. His next move was to abandon the belts immediately and pursue glory at featherweight ? and he wasted no time in finding it.
His cracking dust-up with Leo Santa Cruz at Brooklyn?s Barclays Center in July made history and also echoed the famous bout which saw his mentor Barry McGuigan claim the WBA featherweight belt from Eusebio Pedroza in front of 26,000 fans at Queens Park Rangers? Lofus Road stadium back in 1985.
