Time sure does fly when you’re having fun doesn’t it? As we wind down 2005, boxing is lining up what looks to be an eventful 2006, with fights like Erik Morales-Manny Pacquiao II and Jeff Lacy-Joe Calzaghe already scheduled, and bouts like Floyd Mayweather-Zab Judah also on the horizon.
But before we look forward to these matchups, we take one last look at the year that was. And as always, plenty of things took place, in and out of the ring.
The yearly K9’s have become what the Academy Awards are to the motion picture industry, only without the tradition, esteem, importance and the distinctive trophy. But outside of that, it’s the Oscars of boxing – and I don’t mean De La Hoya.
My good friends at HBO were going to do a special 30-minute preview on my awards, but those plans were scrapped as now, not so surprisingly, they will now be doing instead another Yankee documentary, ‘How the signing of Johnny Damon Changes the Life of Billy Crystal’.
But my show will go on. Folks, take a seat, and welcome to the 2005 K9’s.
FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
1- Ricky Hatton: the ‘Hit Man’ had the most definitive, dominant victory over a pound-for-pound entrant with his stoppage of Kostya Tszyu in June. He finished out the year by grabbing the WBA crown by starching Carlos Maussa.
You can no longer say he’s just a protected European fighter. But we all look forward to seeing him on this side of the pond in 2006.
2- Jose Luis Castillo/Diego Corrales: They split two memorable bouts in 2005 and no matter what happens in their rubbermatch in February, their names – like Ali and Frazier – will always be linked.
4- Winky Wright: Pitched a virtual no-hitter in blanking Felix Trinidad in May, and then got by the awkward Sam Soliman to finish out his campaign. He came into 2005 as a perennially underrated fighter; now he’s listed among the game’s elite.
5- Jorge Arce: Beat Hussy Hussein in a fight-of-the-year type battle in March and then blew him out in the rematch. Finished the year by stopping the respected Adonis Rivas. Pound-for-pound, he’s one of the game’s most exciting performers.
FIGHT OF THE YEAR
Diego Corrales TKO10 Jose Luis Castillo: Do I really need to expound on this one?
FIGHT OF THE YEAR NOT INVOLVING CORRALES AND CASTILLO
1- Erik Morales W12 Manny Pacquiao: The great news is that they do it again in a few weeks.
2- Roberto Vasquez W12 Beibis Mendoza: What was a thrilling back-and-forth affair finally turned on the youth and exuberance of Vasquez, who won the WBA 108-pound title in the process.
3- Jorge Arce TKO10 Hussein Hussein I: Back in March, when this slugfest took place, it was an early leader for this award for about 45 minutes. Then Morales and Pacquiao got to work.
4- Tomas Adamek W12 Paul Briggs: It’s too bad one of the best light heavyweight bouts in recent years will go largely unseen by the public. Adamek builds an early lead to hold off the late charge of ‘The Hurricane’.
5- Jhonny Gonzalez TKO3 William Gonzalez: Gonzalez vs. Gonzalez was about as contentious as a divorce, with five knockdowns in less than three stanzas.
KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR
1- Brian Viloria KO1 Eric Ortiz: With a single right-hand that won the WBC junior flyweight title for him, Viloria showed why is dubbed ‘The Hawaiian Punch’.
2- Allan Green TKO1 Jaidon Codrington: It was Chin-Checkmate for Codrington in less than 20 seconds. Also, if you need a new car, Green knows this great dealership.
3- Jose Luis Castillo TKO4 Diego Corrales II: ‘Chico’ got hit so hard by Castillo’s left hook, he forgot to take out his mouthpiece this time around.
5- Lamon Brewster TKO1 Andrew Golota: Remember that old USFL team? Well on this night, Brewster was the Chicago Blitz.
THE VILLANOVA-GEORGETOWN AWARD( for the year’s biggest upset)
1- Roman Karmazin W12 Kassim Ouma: Before this thrashing, ‘the Dream’ was thought of as the most dangerous threat to guys like Winky Wright at 154 pounds. The look of shock and horror on the faces of the Golden Boy brass (which had just inked Ouma to a deal) sitting in the front row was priceless.
2- Carlos Maussa TKO7 Vivian Harris: Who would’ve thought Harris would be the fourth best junior welterweight on this night in Atlantic City?
3- Zahir Raheem W12 Erik Morales: OK, so this is why guys like Raheem are avoided.
4- Silverio Ortiz W10 Daniel Seda: Seda, a perennial contender, was beaten by a guy who was coming in on a six fight skid. Again, that’s why you fight the fights.
5- Marcos Primera TKO4 Carlos De Leon Jr: There’s always been something exciting about seeing a tough trialhorse like Primera pull the plug on an undefeated prospect.
THE WINONA RYDER AWARD( For worst robbery)
1- Katsushige Kawashima W12 Jose Navarro: The one judge that gave the bout to Navarro had it a virtual shutout. Most observers who viewed the contest felt as though Navarro had won at least eight rounds.
Adding insult to injury, when Navarro fights for the WBC 115-pound belt again, this time against Masamori Tokuyama, he has to go back to Japan.
2- The Marco Antonio-Mzonke Fana Pay-per-view: Seriously, $39.95 to watch this horrific mismatch?
3- O’Neil Bell W12 Dale Brown: Forget Winky Wright or Floyd Mayweather, Bell in the state of Florida is the toughest guy to beat in boxing.
4- Bobby Pacquiao W10 Carlos Hernandez: Right after the bout, Pacquiao’s own trainer, Freddie Roach, admitted that he thought his man lost.
THE CARL LEWIS/ ROSEANNE BARR AWARD( for misconduct with a national anthem)
R Kelly: But what’s his excuse? Lewis ran track for a living and Roseanne was trying to butcher the anthem on purpose.
THE R KELLY AWARD( for misconduct with a minor)
Eric Morel: Oh, did I just go there? No, I didn’t. Well, yes, I did.
THE GAYLORD PERRY AWARD( for most effective cheaters)
Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo: I guess one good turn deserves another. I just wonder what stunt these guys will pull in February to win their third encounter.
THE SECRET SERVICE AWARD( for most protected fighter)
1- Andre Ward: And the scary thing is that the 2004 gold medalist is coming perilously close to losing. What happens when they run out of white guys from the Midwest?
2- Audley Harrison: You saw against Danny Williams (well, if you didn’t, you were lucky) why many in the British press derisively dubbed him ‘Fraudley’.
3- Laila Ali: Pretty soon, this award will be named after her.
4- Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.: At least this guy has an excuse – he’s young and he didn’t have an amateur career. He recently got held to a draw against the game Carlos Molina for his lone professional blemish.
THE ACELINO FREITAS AWARD (when the going got tough, they didn’t get going)
1- Mike Tyson: For many, seeing Tyson lay down against Kevin McBride was worse than when the Fat Boys broke-up.
2- Kostya Tszyu: An unfortunate ending to a glorious run against Hatton.
3- Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.: I don’t think quitting against a Grover Wiley is exactly the way Chavez wanted to say adios.
THE MADONNA AWARD (It’s over guys)
Tyson, Antwun Echols, Yory Boy Campas, Chavez, Riddick Bowe, Rocky Balboa, Courtney Burton and Johnny Tapia.
THE KIRSTIE ALLEY AWARD (for weight issues)
1- Mike Anchondo: Seriously, did he forget he had to make 130-pounds before he fought Jorge Barrios?
2- Jose Luis Castillo: Yeah, he was a lightweight for his rematch with Corrales, give or take three pounds.
THE FRANK McCOURT/ LARRY COKER AWARD (for not living up the standards that were set for great franchises, but with hope for the future that things will improve)
Ross Greenburg/ Kery Davis: HBO says things will get better in 2006; they couldn’t get much worse than they did the past year.
THE NORMAN STONE AWARD( for ill behavior)
Norman Stone: C’mon, who else? But I love the stand he made in Germany after John Ruiz was decisioned by Nicolay Valuev – you may have taken our WBA title, but you ain’t taking our belt!!!
THE JAKE LA MOTTA AWARD( for best comeback KO)
1-Diego Corrales TKO10 Jose Luis Castillo: I still can’t believe what I saw.
2- Fulgencio Zuniga TKO12 David Lopez: The stunning loss halted the momentum of the rising Lopez, who was ahead on the cards when he ran out of gas.
THE ARTURO GATTI AWARD( for consistently coming off the deck to win thrilling bouts)
Miguel Cotto: He showed against DeMarcus Corley and Ricardo Torres that he is more Gatti than Felix Trinidad.
THE JESSICA SIMPSON-NICK LACHEY AWARD( most notable break-up)
1 – Jay Larkin and Showtime: Showtime loses a sharp mind. Writers lose a quote machine. Boxing fans hope that Showtime doesn’t lose its mojo.
2- Bernard Hopkins- Bouie Fisher: I guess handshakes don’t mean that much in this game. Now that I think about it, neither do signed contracts.
3- Lamon Brewster and Sam Simon: DOH!!!
4- Hasim Rahman and Don King: Geez, you steal a guy away after winning the heavyweight title in 2001, then you get him back up the rankings fighting a bunch of stiffs and this is the thanks the Don gets?
5- John Ruiz and Norman Stone: Say what you will about Stoney, but nobody fought harder for his man.
THE DOC KEARNS AWARD (Manager of the year)
Frank Espinoza: He doesn’t have a lot of fighters, but nobody had as successful a 2005 as he did, as his charges Martin Castillo and Israel Vazquez went undefeated in championship bouts.
Nobody cares for and fights for his boxers like Espinoza.
THE MITCH KUPCHAK AWARD (Worst manager)
Nacho Beristain: It seems as though the only thing that can stop the dynamic duo of the Marquez brothers is their own management.
THE TOO TALL JONES AWARD (for boxing’s latest participant from another sport)
Kendall Gill: Now that I think about it, I always thought Lowell Hamilton and Marcus Liberty would have been pretty good heavyweights.
THE LL COOL J AWARD( Don’t call it a comeback)
Kevin Kelley and David Tua: No, they are no longer in their primes, but they showed that they are still pretty serviceable fighters.
THE BRADY QUINN AWARD( For fighter most likely to do huge things in 2006)
Joel Julio: I admit, this is really to appease Main Events V.P./ matchmaker and noted Notre Dame honk Carl Moretti. Seriously, these Irish fans can be insufferable, damn that Charlie Weis.
But JJ is a fighter who looks poised to break through to the next level in the upcoming months. This Colombian is a skilled offensive fighter who makes for pleasing fights. He could settle in nicely as a welterweight/junior middleweight contender by the end of the next year.
He gets his first outing on January 6th as the headliner on ShoBox.
