Looking back at 2008 it was a busy year in boxing and there were quite a few surprises.
I thought Bernard Hopkins was dead after he got so easily handled in a brilliant performance by Joe Calzaghe.
But like those vampires in those old movies, Hopkins rose up from his coffin and took a bite out of Kelly Pavlik, whom I was growing to believe was the cream of the American boxing crop.
I?m only going to hand out a few 2008 awards and then try to present a look forward into 2009. Here goes:
FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: It?s hard to argue against Manny Pacquiao. The PacMan fought three times in three different weight classes and won impressively, capping off the year with a stunning victory over Oscar De La Hoya at welterweight. Pacquiao proved to be the most enthralling fighter of the year for us in the States. Runners up in this category include Joe Calzaghe, who fought twice in the U.S. and beat a couple of ring legends ? Hopkins and Roy Jones, Jr., and Antonio Margarito, who whipped Miguel Cotto in a match that turned one-sided in the end.
FIGHTER WHO SHOULDN?T IN 2009: At the top of my list for this award is Roy Jones, Jr. I know you?re thinking Evander Holyfield, but we?ve been wishing him away for so long that he doesn?t belong in this category anymore. He actually won a fight (against Nicolay Valuev) that he didn?t get the decision for. But the pick here is Jones, who looked every bit his 39 years of age while getting flogged by Calzaghe at Madison Square Garden in November. After beating Felix Trinidad, Jr., in a competitive bout that kicked off 2008, Jones looked like a shadow of himself in a disappointing performance against Calzaghe. It may have done some slight damage to his legacy. I hope he retires to his chicken farm in Pensacola for his own good.
TRAINER OF THE YEAR: You think Pacquiao got to the top by himself. The man behind the PacMan is Freddie Roach, who put together a brilliant strategy for Pacquiao against De La Hoya. Before the match Roach said De La Hoya couldn?t pull the trigger anymore ? an observation he made following De La Hoya?s loss to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. He was right, but no one believed him until Pacquiao began to pummel a defenseless De La Hoya into submission. Roach brilliantly coached Pacquiao how to take away De La Hoya?s jab and his left hand, rendering De La Hoya nothing more than a spectator at his own beating.
TRAINER I?D LIKE TO SEE MORE IN 2009: Without a doubt it?s Floyd Mayweather, Sr. I don?t know if he could have coaxed more out of De La Hoya against Pacquiao, but i t would have been worth it to see. He worked wonders with Ricky Hatton, changing his lunging style into something more aesthetically pleasing. The way that Hatton looked against Paulie Malignaggi, who was acclaimed as a slick boxer, you have to think that Mayweather is a miracle worker. Plus no one has spun a sonnet as sweet as Mayweather since Will Shakespeare hung up his gloves. I?d love to see Mayweather back working his son?s corner when the prodigal one returns from his boxing sabbatical.
FIGHT OF THE YEAR: You think I?m going to say Pacquiao-De La Hoya, but you need both guys throwing punches to constitute a fight. My pick is Tomasz Adamek-Steve Cunningham for the IBF cruiserweight title that very few people saw. I saw it live at the Prudential Center in Newark, a place typically reserved for pro hockey. It was a sparse crowd of just over 5,000 and they were treated to a rousing display of courage and guts. Adamek had Cunningham on the canvas three times in the fight, and twice he had him down and hurt. But Cunningham kept bouncing back up and firing at Adamek, who has a granite chin. It was a back and forth fight that saw Adamek squeeze out a 12-round split decisio n. How either man stayed upright for 12 rounds is beyond me.
FIGHT I?D RATHER NOT SEE IN 2009: Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones, Jr. It is a rematch that should have happened 15 years ago and now it would just be a shame if they decided to try to stoke the flames of a rivalry that is no longer relevant. Hopkins could be called the Comeback Fighter of the Year after dismantling Kelly Pavlik. But Jones could just as easily be called the Don?t Comeback Fighter of the Year for his showing against Joe Calzaghe. Hopkins said he didn?t want to fight Jones following that performance against Calzaghe. But that was when Hopkins thought he still had a chance to fight a rematch against Calzaghe. Financial terms in boxing make for strange bedfellows. This is one sleepover I?d rather not witness.
FIGHT I MOST WANT TO SEE IN 2009: It has to be Mayweather-Pacquiao. It would match the current No. 1 Pound-for-Pound champ against the man he replaced at the top of the list. It?s a can?t miss boxing event that would put a jolt of electricity in the sport that hasn?t been around since Sugar Ray Leonard fought Marvin Hagler. Mayweather-Pacquiao would be a match that needed no hype because both guys are the consummate boxers. And both guys have beaten Oscar De La Hoya. Pacquiao made him quit, while Mayweather won a decision. That should give them something to talk about. And that would certainly be in the running for 2009 Fight of the Year.
