When the end of the boxing year arrives and it?s time to pick the best of the best, I have a difficult time. I?m not one of those folks standing up on his barstool insisting that Ali will defeat Joe Frazier any day of the week. Instead, I try to see both sides of the case, quietly sip my beer, and actually give a lot of weight to both arguments. Frazier may win, but Ali might, too.
Thus, when I have to determine the best fighter, the best fight, and the KO of the year, I try to nuance my opinion a bit, giving merit to some that may be passed over and of course giving props to the obvious ones. I find in boxing as in all courts of public opinion no one pick is the correct one. We are all influenced by various things.
The Ancients felt the same way. The era that brought us that great bout between Epeios and Euryalos in Homer?s ?Iliad? also gave us a means to weighing arguments based on a person?s reason, reputation, or emotion. Formulated by Aristotle, these three means of appeal are called logos, ethos, and pathos.
Some of us may like the obvious choices for fight of the year. That is we may leave emotion and a fighter?s reputation out of the equation. All things are equal; boxers exist on a level playing field. In this case, we are looking for the fight, the fighter and the KO that brought the best out of the competing fighters and that helped move boxing onwards and upwards as a sport in itself. That?s using logos.
Some of us may look at those fighters who have carried boxing on their backs for the last decade or so. That is, we may do the mainstream thing and think boxing is all about those who have had great fights before. We may look at the fighters who were watched by many but who didn?t necessarily put on the best performances of the year. The Winky Wrights, the Floyd Mayweathers, the Bernard Hopkins, and the Oscar De La Hoyas all fit this mold. These are the fights involving the best fighters who have the best reputations but who have already reached or passed their best. These are the fights and fighters with a great ethos.
Or some of us may choose the fights of the year as if our opinion is the only one that counts and go with emotion. That is, we may choose the best fight, the best KO, and the best fighter as a fan. It?s the same feeling that makes me think the best thing Max Boxing could do is publish my twelve part series on retired Canadian heavyweight Willie DeWitt. That?s an argument of pure pathos.
So, when choosing my 3 fights of the year, 3 fighters of the year and 3 KOs of the year, I figure by using the model set out by Aristotle, the tutor of Alexander the Great, perhaps the greatest fighter of them all, I can?t go wrong.
LOGOS FIGHT OF THE YEAR: VAZQUEZ-MARQUEZ II A boxing truism is that the second fight of a trilogy is always the worst one. If that is still valid, Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez III in March should outdo the Thrilla in Manilla. Going into the Vazquez-Marquez rematch in August, I expected Vazquez to lose. He had quit in their first go-round after suffering damage to his nose. It seemed to me that after a career with a series of wars and a memorable comeback against Jhonny Gonzalez, Vazquez just could not win the rematch. Some felt he was coming in too soon against Marquez after suffering that loss.
But in the rematch, Marquez and Vazquez put on their own version of Hagler-Hearns. As Hearns won the battles early in the bout with Hagler, so too did Marquez: he boxed well and was behind only a point going into the last round. But also like Hearns, he was clearly losing the war. When Vazquez, both eyes cut, knocked down and continued to stagger Marquez in the sixth, the referee stepped in to stop the fight. At the time, I was disappointed because I wanted to see if Marquez could come back. But now, I am happy it ended the way it did. Vazquez lost the first fight because his nose was busted up; Marquez lost the second because the referee stopped it too soon ? both fighters have excuses. Part three should be a great fight for 2008. For those reasons, the Logos Fight of the Year is Vazquez-Marquez II.
LOGOS FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: JUAN DIAZ Juan Diaz moved from being a windmill with no power to a crusher of good fighters. He stepped up his competition in 2007. He moved on from fighting Fernando Angulo and Jose Miguel Cotto of 2006 and winning decisions to beating very good fighters like Acelino Freitas and Julio Diaz and not just winning decisions ? he made them quit. Now, that?s something.
In the running for Logos Fighter of the Year was Miguel Cotto who kayoed Oktay Urkal and Zab Judah and beat Shane Mosley. The difference between Diaz and Cotto for me is the way Diaz beat Freitas and Diaz and the fact that he has come a long way to unifying a division now held hostage by old man Joel Casamayor. The same thing could be said about the welterweights, being held hostage by Floyd Mayweather, but Mayweather is still at the top of his game and Cotto hasn?t unified any belts yet. So my Logos Fighter of the Year is Juan Diaz.
LOGOS KO OF THE YEAR: NONITO DONAIRE KO 5 VIC DARCHINYAN I like the sweet science of boxing. That is, I like seeing boxers who show good technique and the confidence in that technique to stand in there and make it work for them as De La Hoya did when he stood in against Ricardo Mayorga, making him miss and staying in the pocket and making him pay. In July, Donaire showed the same confidence against the Mayorga of the flyweights, Vic Darchinyan. Donaire out boxed the champ for most of the fight, but Darchinyan never stopped trying. In the fifth, he launched another assault and came right at Donaire whose back was to the ropes. Instead of jabbing or ducking and side stepping, Donaire hung in there. He timed Darchinyan and landed a left hook to the jaw that put the indestructible champion on the canvas. Technique won out over brawn, and for that reason my Logos KO of the year goes to Nonito Donaire.
ETHOS FIGHT OF THE YEAR: JOE CALZAGHE-MIKKEL KESSLER The Calzaghe-Kessler match in November was perhaps the most anticipated super middleweight bout ever. Both fighters were undefeated. Both fighters had cleaned out the division. Joe Calzaghe defended his WBO title 20 times and had hit mainstream attention with his demolition of American super middleweight hope Jeff Lacy. Mikkel Kessler was taking on Calzaghe after defeating super middleweight champions including Marcus Beyer, Librado Andrade, Anthony Mundine, and Eric Lucas. The fight started well for both fighters as they split the first four rounds. In the fifth, Calzaghe showed why he had held his belt for so long. He adjusted and found the distance and discovered he could out speed the more powerful Kessler, bloodying the Dane?s nose by the end of the round. As the fight progressed, Kessler was outclassed and Calzaghe was the clear victor.
This fight had two top professionals against each other. They fought a clean fight that was hugely entertaining for the 50 000 fans at ringside in Cardiff, Wales and the millions watching on television. It was competitive but neither fighter seemed damaged after the twelve rounds: they will both fight another day. For these reasons Calzaghe-Kessler is the Ethos Fight of the Year.
ETHOS FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: FLOYD MAYWEATHER Floyd Mayweather was champion at 130, 135, 140, and 147 pounds. In 2007, he moved up to 154 and beat Oscar De La Hoya for his junior middleweight title. He then defended his lineal 147 title against the lineal 140 pound champ Ricky Hatton. He took care of business against two fighters who are no strangers to pound-for-pound rankings. Mayweather continues to be the class of boxing ? at least in the ring. There are no fighters at 147 who could say they have the edge over him, but Cotto, Williams, Mosley, and Margarito, I?m sure, want to show otherwise. For his consistency at the top of the boxing world and his defeat of De La Hoya and Hatton in 2007, the Ethos Fighter of the Year is Floyd Mayweather.
ETHOS KO OF THE YEAR: FLOYD MAYWEATHER KO10 RICKY HATTON For a fighter of boxing artistry but too often ring safety, Mayweather surprised many with the way he kayoed Ricky Hatton. Hatton fading late in the fight rushed Mayweather in a corner, throwing a left hook. Mayweather responded with a left hook of his own. Hatton?s missed; Mayweather?s landed. Hatton tumbled face first into the turnbuckle and collapsed on the canvas. This knockdown one-upped Marco Antonio Barrera?s slamming Naseem Hamed?s face into the turnbuckle: unlike Barrera, Mayweather showed how a fighter can do it and keep it legal. Although Mayweather?s demolition of Hatton continued for a few more seconds, that knockdown is the defining moment of the fight and is what led to the knockout of Hatton. For using his ring skills to create a uniquely beautiful knockdown of Hatton, the Ethos Knockout of the Year goes to Floyd Mayweather.
PATHOS FIGHT OF THE YEAR: STEVE MOLITOR KO9 TAKALANI NDLOVU Steve Molitor has been on Canadian boxing minds for many years. He?s been on my mind ever since he kayoed my hometown favorite, Edmonton based Scotty Olson for the Canadian super bantamweight title. No one in Edmonton liked the cocky Molitor before the fight with Olson. Many respected him afterwards. Steve Molitor continued fighting and finally got his shot at a title. He traveled to South Africa only to have his IBF super bantamweight chance scuttled by a champion who couldn?t pass the pre-fight physical. Instead he went to England and kayoed Michael Hunter for the super bantamweight title. His first defense was in July against South Africa?s Takalani Ndlovu, a tough fighter ranked in ?Ring?s? top-ten. In this fight, Molitor showed his full arsenal, fighting on the outside and on the inside, engaging when he should, and stepping away to create room until he wore the challenger down in the ninth. This fight made Molitor a household name among super bantamweights.
My choosing this fight as Pathos Fight of the Year is based purely on an emotional connection. Recounting his own connection to a fighter century past via a punch in the nose, A.J. Liebling said ?the Sweet Science is joined onto the past like a man’s arm to his shoulder.? And I share that kind of past with Steve Molitor. I once met Scotty Olson in an Edmonton gym who biffed me on the shoulder and quipped ?so this is what a boxing gym looks like.? Olson was then defeated by Steve Molitor. And Molitor went to England to win the super bantamweight title and then defend against Ndlovu. For these emotional connections, I award the Pathos Fight of the Year to Steve Molitor-Takalani Ndlovu.
PATHOS FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: GERRY PENALOSA Gerry Penalosa is well known to any boxing fan residing in South Korea. Before he faced Daniel Ponce De Leon on the under card of the Juan Manuel Marquez-Marco Antonio Barrera fight in March, many in my local Seoul gym were excited about it. After all, Penalosa, in a long career, had lost only four times since an early loss — twice to In-Joo Cho and twice to Japanese-based ethnic Korean Masamori Tokuyama. Many in the mainstream American boxing press thought this was a dangerous fight for Penalosa, the kind of fight that could leave him permanently damaged if his corner let it go on too long. Boxing fans in Korea knew different. They knew that if Penalosa had fought Cho and Tokuyama outside Korea, those four losses could?ve been four wins for Penalosa.
Against Ponce De Leon, Penalosa showed why these thoughts were justified. In a beautiful performance, Penalosa dodged and blocked and countered Ponce De Leon?s wild swings and had the heavy hitting champion in full retreat over the last four rounds. I thought Penalosa won eight rounds as did others. A lopsided decision went to Ponce De Leon instead. It was a moral victory for Penalosa, though.
In August, he got a shot against bantamweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez, the same Gonzalez who knocked down Israel Vazquez twice in their fight in 2006. Gonzalez out boxed Penalosa early while Penalosa concentrated on the body. Penalosa?s concentration paid off as Gonzalez threw a right hand and the southpaw Penalosa dug in with a left to the body, putting Gonzalez out in the seventh and winning the title. For showing why he is Hall of Fame material and for keeping the two Korean fighters he lost to in HBO?s notable losses column, the Pathos Knockout of the Year goes to Gerry Penalosa.
PATHOS KO OF THE YEAR: LUCIAN BUTE KO 11 ALEJANDRO BERRIO Before Bute?s title shot against IBF super middleweight champion Berrio in Montreal in October, I spoke to Stephan Larouche, Bute?s trainers. Larouche said that although Bute could get in the ring and out slug Berrio, he said that was the only hope for right hand slugger Berrio. Instead, Bute would take his time. That?s exactly what happened. Using his boxing skills, Bute controlled the fight, but it was pretty boring until the knockout. Every now and then Bute would step in with power shots, but seeing that Berrio would survive, he would back away. Finally, in the 11th, he caught Berrio in a corner and threw a left uppercut and follow up with shots that kept Berrios standing upright but bereft of his senses ? he was out on his feet, so the referee stepped in. For following the instructions of his corner and showing the best way to win is to win without taking needless punishment or getting ones head beaten in, the Pathos Knockout of the Year goes to Lucian Bute.
