PA Sport hands out its imaginary, yet considerably coveted gongs to the boxing heroes of 2005…
BRITISH FIGHTER OF THE YEAR:
1. Ricky Hatton. Impossible to look beyond the Manchester ‘Hit Man’ who timed his march into the big-time to perfection when he outboxed the great Kostya Tszyu, forcing the Russian to retire on his stool. Overnight Hatton came to be regarded as one of the pound-for-pound best in the business and went on to underline his potential with a savage knockout of Carlos Maussa. America awaits in 2006.
2. Clinton Woods. The unsung Sheffield hero finally claimed the IBF light-heavyweight title he craved at the fourth attempt. The 33-year-old Woods stopped Rico Hoye to earn his belt, then proved it was no fluke by clearly beating Julio Gonzalez on points.
3. Michael Jennings. The Chorley welterweight emerged as the small-hall star of the year with four wins including a stunning first round knockout of Birmingham hard-man Jimmy Vincent, followed by a fight of the year contender against Bradley Pryce.
WORLD FIGHTER OF THE YEAR:
1. Jeff Lacy. The St Petersburg super-middleweight went beyond the call of duty to establish himself as one of the best in the business. He could have been forgiven some time off after easily beating Rubin Williams and Robin Reid – instead he squeezed in an impressive stoppage of leading contender Scott Pemberton to make himself favourite for next year’s showdown with Joe Calzaghe.
2. Jermain Taylor. Taylor may not be the best middleweight in the business – that honour arguably falls to Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright. But few could argue with his 2005 statistics which showed two wins over the supposedly invincible, decade-long champion Bernard Hopkins.
3. Antonio Tarver. Tarver did not shirk the hard route to establish himself as unquestionably the best light-heavyweight in the world. After retaining his titles in a rematch with Glen Johnson, Tarver then went on to hand the great Roy Jones another beating.
BRITISH FIGHT OF THE YEAR:
1. Michael Hunter v Esham Pickering. This super-bantamweight triple title affair at Hartlepool’s Borough Hall showcased everything that is great about small-hall boxing. In front of a roaring home crowd, Hunter survived two knockdowns in the first two rounds to storm back and claim a narrow points verdict over his more stylish opponent after 12 rounds of ferocious action to win the European, Commonwealth and British titles.
2. Michael Jennings v Bradley Pryce. Jennings’ first defence of his British welterweight title almost turned into a nightmare when he was decked by Pryce in the first round. He took plenty more punishment in an action-packed contest before retaining on points.
3. Graham Earl v Kevin Bennett. Earl recovered from a heavy sixth round knockdown in a non-stop British and Commonwealth lightweight title affair at Bethnal Green. Earl grabbed victory when a sustained attack had Bennett out on his feet in the ninth.
WORLD FIGHT OF THE YEAR:
1. Diego Corrales v Jose Luis Castillo. The best fight of this and just about any other year, this lightweight battle is rightly being hailed as one of the greats of history. Floored twice in the 10th round, Corrales was on the verge of being stopped before he mounted a miraculous recovery, forcing his opponent to the ropes before unloading a crashing left hand which left Castillo out on his feet.
2. Erik Morales v Manny Pacquiao. Awesome Morales edged a points decision over Filipino firebrand Pacquiao after 12 fast and furious rounds in Las Vegas. Pacquiao pursued his taller, stronger foe around the ring but was picked off by the Mexican in a classic.
3. Ricky Hatton v Kostya Tszyu. For raw emotion, Hatton’s dethroning of the great light-welterweight champion Tszyu takes some beating. Hatton’s fans crammed the MEN Arena on an unforgettable early June morning and watched him retire Tszyu on his stool after 11 rounds.
BRITISH PROSPECT OF THE YEAR:
1. Amir Khan. Hype is not necessarily a boxer’s best friend but Khan has shouldered every expectation foisted upon him since winning his Olympic silver medal in 2004. Four professional wins have showcased his obviously dazzling talent and the way he dispatched awkward Sheffield veteran Daniel Thorpe in December suggested his ambition of becoming Britain’s youngest ever world champion may be realised.
2. Kevin Mitchell. The Dagenham light-welterweight has inevitably been forced into Khan’s shadow but a 17-fight unbeaten record suggests the 21-year-old could have just as big a future. Mitchell is surely now in line for an early 2006 domestic title shot.
3. Lee Haskins. Away from the bright lights and big promoters, Bristol 22-year-old Haskins is breathing new life into the British flyweight division. The stylish star has won all 13 of his paid bouts to date and bids for the Commonwealth crown in February.
