Happy New Year RSR Readers! As 2009 ends and 2010 begins, we cannot help but look back and reflect on what the past year has brought us. In the boxing world, we witnessed some incredible performances and heartbreaking moments side by side. These annual awards take you back in remembrance of boxing’s highs and the lows for the calendar year. Enjoy!
Buster Douglas Upset of the Year Award – Marcos Maidana TKO6 Victor Ortiz
“Oscar De La Hoya anointed Ortiz as the future face of boxing only days before this fight. Does that mean Oscar is boxing’s version of the famous Sports Illustrated cover or Madden curse?” –Jeff Stoyanoff
“Maidana looked like the Terminator in this one. He never stopped coming. The story before the fight was all about Ortiz, but the story after the fight was all about Maidana.” –Daniel “Tex” Cohen
Honorable Mention: Shane Mosley TKO9 Antonio Margarito, Juan Carlos Salgado TKO1 Jorge Linares, Martin Honorio UD John Molina
Round of the Year – Paul Williams vs. Sergio Martinez round 1
“Williams was losing the first round of their fight until he cunningly caught the off-balance Martinez for a knockdown. Martinez, angry and hungry for violence, returned the favor with a much more thudding shot to punctuate the round. Great start to a great fight.” – Daniel “Tex” Cohen
“There is nothing more fun than trading knockdowns in the first round.” –Brian Wilbur
Honorable Mention: Lucian Bute vs. Librado Andrade round 4, Jaime Moore vs. Ryan Rhodes round 7
Disappointment of the Year – American Heavyweights
“I vote for Chris Arreola and Kevin Johnson: for bringing American heavyweight boxing into disrepute.” –Geoff “The Professor” Poundes
“I knew Vitali was going to beat Kevin Johnson with little to no problem, but I had no idea that Johnson wasn’t even going to fight.” – Daniel “Tex” Cohen
Dishonorable Mention: Antonio Margarito, Judging, Kelly Pavlik, Floyd Mayweather, Lamont Peterson
Should Not Have Been On PPV Award – Roy Jones vs. Jeff Lacy
“Lacy, having nothing left, was an ideal hand-picked opponent for Jones to face. It was a meaningless fight that did not merit a price tag.” –Geno McGahee
“WOW! It takes a lot of nerve to demand payment to watch that fight.” –Jeff Stoyanoff
“A “nearly-was” versus a “has-been” in a meaningless match-up.” –Geoff “The Professor” Poundes
Dishonorable Mention: Miguel Cotto vs. Michael Jennings, Kelly Pavlik vs. Miguel Espino
Ike Ibeabuchi’s Missing In Action Award – Shane Mosley
“A star this big, this special and with the momentum he had coming off of the brilliant destruction of Antonio Margarito should have been showcased in a couple of mid-level bouts if a mega-fight wasn’t in the cards. As it stands, Team Mosley has done both Shane and the fans a great disservice. It remains to be seen how much of that momentum is gone when Mosley meets the much younger Andre Berto on January 30th – 53 weeks after his last match. Somebody on Team Mosley needs to be fired!” –Mike “Rubber Warrior” Plunkett
Dishonorable Mention: Kelly Pavlik, Gerald Nobles, James Kirkland
KO of the Year Award – Manny Pacquiao KO2 Ricky Hatton
“I was very concerned about Hatton when he hit the floor. It looked like a dangerous knockout.” –Geno McGahee
“This is one of the easiest calls to make. In one of the most important fights of the year, the destined Fighter of the Year and Pound for Pound King released a thunderously murderous punch that obliterated the challenger to the throne.” –Daniel “Tex” Cohen
“I picked Manny to stop Hatton at the midway point of their bout – but I was shocked at how fast Pac stretched Ricky.” –Mike “Rubber Warrior” Plunkett
Honorable Mention: Carl Froch TKO12 Jermain Taylor, Arthur Abraham KO12 Jermain Taylor, Shane Mosley TKO9 Antonio Margarito
Padded Record Award – Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
“This poor guy! He just seems to fight weak opposition, and become perfectly content with that. Still waiting for that menacing factor his father had in the ring.” –Mike “Mykers” Boehm
“JCC Jr. easily wins this.” –Geno McGahee
“Enough already! Get this kid an opponent with a pulse!” –Mike “Rubber Warrior” Plunkett
“Chavez could win the award every year. In 2009, he fought three nobodies who had beaten nobody else. If that’s not padding, I don’t know what is.” –Tex Cohen
Heavyweight Fight of the Year – tied between Vitali Klitschko vs. Chris Arreola and Nikolay Valuev vs. David Haye
“Many of the RSR voters made it a point to vote for ‘none’ in this category, voicing their displeasure with the quality of the glamour division. Indeed this was a weak year but I have to go with Klitschko vs. Arreola here because it was fought between two top ranked fighters and at least Arreola wasn’t afraid to throw punches.” –Brian Wilbur
“I haven’t liked the heavyweight division since Lennox Lewis. So, as far as heavyweights go, I liked this fight. But I also think that it more falls under the mismatch of the year category.” – Gina L. Caliboso
“Ok, Haye vs. Valuev was not the best fight in the world, but historically it means a lot and puts Haye into the title picture. It was a compelling 12 round fight that may not have been exciting, but it was surely interesting and meaningful.” –Geno McGahee
“I’ll give it to David Haye and Nicolay Valuev. Sure, the fight stunk, but it was good theatre with a biblical theme, and finally brought a bit of flair to championship heavyweight boxing. Let’s face it, you couldn’t give it to the Klitschkos!” –Geoff “The Professor” Poundes
Mismatch of the Year – Floyd Mayweather vs. Juan Manuel Marquez
“Not easy to see this pre-fight, but in retrospect there was always going to be one winner.” –Geoff “The Professor” Poundes
“Marquez is a great fighter. However, he had the wrong style and he did not carry 144 pounds well at all. Floyd Mayweather was in absolutely no danger that night.” –Jeff Stoyanoff
“The size and skill difference made this one a no brainer.” –Geno McGahee
Fighter of the Year – Manny Pacquiao
“A modern-day facsimile of Henry Armstrong.” –Mike “Rubber Warrior” Plunkett
“His continual destruction of quality opposition makes him an easy choice.” –Geno McGahee
“Manny Pacquiao seems to fit the award perfectly based on his accomplishments for the year.” –Mike “Mykers” Boehm
“Who else? Until someone beats him, he is the man.” –Jeff Stoyanoff
“Pacquiao beat Cotto and Hatton with ease, made Time Magazine’s top twenty-five list, and proved that he is one of the best fighters ever to don gloves. He is so obviously the Fighter of the Year that any other vote would be fabrication.” –Daniel “Tex” Cohen
Fight of the Year – Sergio Martinez vs. Paul Williams
“Paul Williams was supposed to win by a landslide victory. However, very rarely do you see a match where two fighters are elevated by their performances, specifically for Sergio Martinez. Can’t wait for a rematch!” –Mike “Mykers” Boehm
“The fight had everything; tactics, adjustments, a nice ebb and flow, and a lack of any bad rounds. Plus, they were flat out cracking each other all night, it was boxing and it was a fight. I could watch these guys fight every week. It would be great for me, a little hard on them.” –Jeff Stoyanoff
Honorable Mention: Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto
“The sheer virtuosity of Pacquiao in that contest made this fight stand out.” –Geoff “The Professor” Poundes
“Despite his first round jitters against Cotto, Pacquiao went on to dominate Cotto over the course of 11 rounds. Despite distractions dramatized by HBO’s 24/7 series, Pacquiao went into the fight strong and Cotto felt a lot of his punches and could not escape his speed. I loved this fight because it showed just how good Pacquiao has become.” –Gina L. Caliboso
