After a short intermission – shorter than any of the undercard bouts on the Pacquiao-De La Hoya pay-per-view telecast – we return to honor the best of the rest that 2008 had to offer.
FIGHT OF THE YEAR
1- Israel Vazquez W12 Rafael Marquez: They did the impossible as they actually raised the intensity of their rivalry over 12 memorable rounds that saw a mesmerizing ebb-and-flow capped off by a furious 12th round rally by Vazquez. This bout sealed Vazquez-Marquez as one of the sport?s historic trilogies.
2- Antonio Margarito TKO11 Miguel Cotto: ‘The Tijuana Tornado’ goes through hell to overwhelm Cotto with a steady, grinding body attack. On this night, Cotto would have beaten any other fighter in the world – except the man he happened to be facing on July 26th.
3- Tomasz Adamek W12 Steve Cunningham: There is finally a cruiserweight fight to go alongside Holyfield-Qawi I. Adamek’s chin and heavy hands were the difference in this rousing battle.
4- Rogers Mtagwa W10 Tomas Villa: Telefutura leaves us with one more lasting memory as these two blue collar workers just banged away at each other all night.
5- Joel Casamayor TKO10 Michael Katsidis: A fight with huge swings in momentum is finally won by Casamayor, who turns back the spirited effort of Katsidis with a huge left hand to begin the 10th frame.
Honorable mention: Manny Pacquiao W12 Juan Manuel Marquez, Jose Reyes TKO4 Ivan Valle, Chad Dawson W12 Glen Johnson, Jorge Arce, TKO9 Rafael Concepcion, Oscar Larios W12 Tak Oah, Chris Arreola TKO3 Travis Walker, Kendall Holt TKO1 Ricardo Torres
ROUND OF THE YEAR
1- Vazquez- Marquez Rd. 12: Vazquez, who was trailing, needed something big, and that’s precisely what he got as he assaulted Marquez for three minutes before finally scoring a late second knockdown that was the difference in a razor thin split verdict.
2- Kendall Holt-Ricardo Torres Rd1: It’s not often you can fit two knockdowns and then a knockout (from the guy who was decked twice) in 61 seconds.
3- Arreola- Walker Rd.3: Arreola gets sent to his knees by a right hand from ‘the Freight Train’, but then scores two knockdowns of his own to turn the fight in his favor.
4- Margarito-Cotto Rd.2: This back-and-forth stanza served notice that this fight would more than live up to its billing.
5- Alfredo Angulo-Richard Gutierrez Rd.5: Angulo is buzzed early by a left hook but he storms back to stop Gutierrez.
6- Mtagwa-Villa Rd. 10: Mtagwa’s corner had threatened to stop this fight after their fighter was sent down in the ninth round, but needing at least a knockdown or two, Mtagwa would pull a series of right hands out of his back pocket to stunningly knock out Villa.
Honorable Mention: Vazquez-Marquez III Rd. 4, Dawson-Tarver Rd.11, John Duddy-Wladit Smichet Rd. 1, Brandon Rios-Manny Perez Rd.10
ROBBERY OF THE YEAR
1- Nicolay Valuev W12 Evander Holyfied: ?The Real Deal’ gets a raw deal against the Russian, and the not-so-neutral Swiss partisans boo and hiss.
2- Ishmail Arvin TKO6 Anthony Thompson: Thompson just can’t catch a break. After flooring Arvin twice early on, he is then stopped on a cut that was caused by a clash of heads.
3- James Toney W12 Fres Oquendo: Most observers (who could stand to watch this abomination of a fight) had Oquendo winning comfortably.
4- Billy Dib W12 Zolani Marali: Even a third round knockdown of Dib couldn’t keep a hometown decision from occurring. Marali controlled the action throughout. Even the Australian announcing crew believed he had lost. Yeah, you can say it, Marali was robbed by ‘Billy the Kid’.
5- Duddy W10 Smichet: Duddy was the crowd favorite at the Madison Square Garden but he was out-fought and out-punched all night. This win was costly, as Duddy?s cuts kept him from facing Kelly Pavlik months later.
Honorable Mention: Jose Gonzalez Draw 10 Jason Lehoullier, Vic Darchinyan Draw 12 Z Gorres
THE JOEY PORTER AWARD (for comeback of the year)
1- Vitali Klitschko: Hadn’t performed since 2004, yet dusted himself off to easily dismantle Sam Peter for the WBC strap.
2- Darchinyan: Turns out that the knockout loss at the hands of Nonito Donaire could be the best thing that ever happened to him.
3- Jhonny Gonzalez: Put up a string of impressive stoppages coming off his 2007 loss to Gerry Penalosa. Still a player in the bantamweight division.
THE GIANTS OVER PATRIOTS AWARD (for upset of the year)
1- Breidis Prescott TKO1 Amir Khan: It’s not often Frank Warren prospects who are this highly touted get tripped up this early.
2- Carlos Quintana W12 Paul Williams I: Quintana, an 8-1 underdog, would out-box a flat Williams to take his WBO welterweight title.
3- Tim Bradley W12 Junior Witter: Some thought that Bradley was an untested mis-mandatory who had no business getting a shot at the WBC 140-pound champion. Boxing for the first time away from the safe and familiar confines of California, Bradley comes on strong to take the belt.
4- Sergio Mora W12 Vernon Forrest I: Forrest was dismissive of Mora and was then out-hustled down the stretch. Mora became the first ‘Contender’ to win a major world title.
5- Brian Vera TKO7 Andy Lee: Vera, a former ‘Contender’, simply bulls his way through Lee, the highly touted middleweight prospect that Emanuel Steward couldn’t stop raving about.
6- Jose Luis Herrera TKO5 Aaron Williams: No prospect was safe on this past season of ‘Wednesday Night Fights’.
Honorable Mention: Alex Bunema W10 Roman Karmazin, Reynaldo Lopez TKO3 Mike Oliver, Deandre Latimore TKO7 Sechew Powell
THE MARIANO RIVERA AWARD (for best save)
Tomasz Adamek: At least for now, with his exciting victory over Cunningham, Adamek gives Main Events life.
THE PRICE IS NOT RIGHT AWARD (for over-pricing)
Roy Jones-Felix Trinidad: No wonder this fight did well on pay-per-view. With ringside seats going for $15,000, who the hell could afford a ticket?
THE TRL AWARD (for series no longer on the air)
Wednesday Night Fights and Solo Boxeo: Hey, boxing was boxing, and they will be sorely missed.
THE CHARLES BARKLEY AWARD (for best athlete in-studio)
Allan Green: Was very insightful in studio on ESPN2, but too bad it’s the last we saw of him this past year.
THE JANET JACKSON AWARD (for seeing better days in the past)
Antwun Echols, Jesse Feliciano, Rubin Williams, Jose Luis Castillo, Jaidon Codrington, Oscar De La Hoya, Bobby Pacquiao and William Joppy: Nobody here is telling them to retire, I’m just saying…..
THE ELI MANNING AWARD (for hard-earned respect)
Antonio Margarito: After years of vain efforts to land big fights, he finally got his shot versus Cotto and he didn’t squander it. Now, he is the hunted.
THE MILLS-MCCARTNEY AWARD (for divorce)
1- Cameron Dunkin and Gary Shaw: Nonito Donaire and James Kirkland were like the kids in the middle, with Dunkin eventually getting custody.
2- Marco Antonio Barrera and Golden Boy Promotions: So what becomes of ‘Golden Boy Mexico’?
3- Robert Guerrero and Goossen-Tutor: ‘the Ghost’ disappeared for much of 2008 trying to extricate himself from his promotional deal. After winning his freedom in court, he would ink a deal with Golden Boy.
4- Willie Savannah and Don King: C’mon, who didn’t see this coming?
THE JUNIOR JONES-MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA I AWARD (for KO turned DQ)
Chris Arreola DQ3 Chazz Witherspoon: After getting shellacked for much of the round and getting sent down, Witherspoon’s corner would get on the ring apron before the official conclusion of the round. Hence, the disqualification.
THE MITCHELL ROSE AWARD (for exposing a novelty act)
Monte Barrett KO1 Tye Fields: TIIIIIIMMMMMBBBEEEERRRRR!!!
THE TIMEX SOCIAL CLUB AWARD (how do rumors get started?)
After his victory over Cotto, rumors out of Puerto Rico started to swirl that Margarito was on steroids – much like Bernard Hopkins was supposed to have been after his 2001 conquest of Trinidad. They might have been better off saying that Margarito had kevlar lined into his chin.
THE MILK CARTON AWARD (for missing persons)
1- Winky Wright: Where’s Winky? Not in a boxing ring.
2- Robert Guerrero: By the time he returns he will be a 130-pounder starting anew with Golden Boy and not the IBF featherweight champion he was.
THE JUMPING THE SHARK AWARD (for good series gone bad)
24/7 on HBO: As you watched this series for Pacquiao-De La Hoya, you kept on having images of the Fonz jumping over Jaws wearing his iconic leather jacket. Never has Roger Mayweather been so missed.
OTHER CUTS AWARD (for worst hairstyle)
Paulie Malignaggi against Lovemore Ndou: OK, who told Paulie to come into the ring like ‘Milli Vanilli’ Malignaggi? As his dread locks kept getting in the way of his vision, his locks were taken off by Danny Milano in the middle rounds, giving new meaning to the term ‘cut man’.
THE MEL GIBSON AWARD (for being a ‘Road Warrior’)
Tim Bradley: This guy had not only never fought outside of the United States, he had never even fought outside the borders of California. But he would travel to Nottingham, England to beat the awkward Witter and capture his first world title.
THE DAVE BARRY AWARD (for long count)
Marlon B. Wright: Who was so wrong for his handling of the late seconds of the bout between Lucien Bute and Librado Andrade, where Bute was floored in the very late seconds of that bout. As of today, Wright’s count has just reached five.
THE TRAMPLER/GOODMAN AWARD (for Top Rank’s top matchmaker)
Larry Merchant: The genesis of Pacquiao-De La Hoya was from the fertile mind of Merchant. And Bob Arum is forever grateful.
