Best Fighter
1) Ricky Hatton- After June 4th Hatton suddenly became one the most feared boxers in the world as he won the IBF Junior Welterweight Championship by dominating Kostya Tszyu over eleven rounds forcing the once invincible champ to quit on his stool before the final round. Before this career defining night in his homeland of England, Hatton was looked at like someone who only fought B-level opposition while building up his undefeated record. The doubters were silenced after the victory over Tszyu. Hatton followed up the Tszyu win by unifying the IBF & WBA titles with a ninth round knockout over the tough and awkward Carlos Maussa who was riding high over an upset victory over Vivian Harris. Now “The Hitman” is considered the best fighter at 140 and is one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. Hatton is 15ROUNDS.COM’S fighter of the year.
2) Jermain Taylor- Taylor started off the year by easily defeating overmatched Daniel Edouard in Los Angeles in February. This bout was a co-feature of the Bernard Hopkins-Howard Eastman fight. Taylor and Hopkins were both victorious which then set up a July middleweight super fight. Taylor won a very close and controversial split decision over “The Executioner.” A rematch was inevitable so the two did battle again in early December. The rematch did not live up to expectations after the competitive first fight. Even though the fight could have gone either way it was one of the dullest and least action packed high profile fight in recent memory. In any case Taylor won unanimously this time and was 2-0 against the living legend in 2005. That’s good enough for us; Taylor was the clear cut number two.
3) Jean-Marc Mormeck- Although Mormeck only fought once in 2005 he made a major impact with his unification title victory over Wayne Braithwaite back in April. The win was considered a mild upset that drew more attention to the longtime drought of the cruiserweight division. Now Mormeck is the first cruiserweight since Evander Holyfield that brought the division back to the respectable fashion it once was.
Mormeck came from out of nowhere to snag our number three spot.
Best Fights
1) Diego Corrales vs. Jose Louis Castillo 1- The fight of the year could have easily been fight of the century. Even non boxing fans would be glued to the television set during such an epic battle. Back and forth action was reminiscent of Morales- Barrera 1 or Gatti- Ward 1 but the tenth round put this one over the top and far surpassed those two wars. The tenth and final round was enough for the whole year as I almost decided to stop watching boxing from that point on, convincing myself I have seen it all. Just in case you have been in a hole for the last eight months make sure you obtain a copy of this classic. Who I’m I kidding, I can never stop watching this sport, “Corrales is down but not out.” Result: Corrales by TKO in the tenth.
2) Erik Morales vs. Manny Pacquiao- The anticipated March fight matched-up two of the most action packed boxers in our sport today. Mexican Erik Morales who has been in many wars throughout his twelve year career including three grueling battles with fellow countryman, Marco Antonio Barrera went up against wild Filipino, Manny Pacquiao. The night lived up to expectations as both fighters got off through a twelve round blood bath. The difference in the fight turned out to be Morales’ overpowering strength and size as this was the fifth fight for him in the junior lightweight class and was now considered a natural 130 pounder. Pacquiao had moved up from 126 and looked undersized and small against the bigger Morales. Pac-man held his own but came up just short by losing a close but convincing unanimous decision. Result: Morales by UD.
3) Jorge Arce vs. Hussein Hussein 1- This WBC title eliminator bout exceeded all expectations and happened to be the co-feature on the Morales-Pacquaio PPV broadcast. These two flyweights barley top the 200 lbs. combined and never stopped throwing punches through twelve rounds that had the audience thirsting for more. Arce dazzled the crowd with his Hector Camacho type antics and displayed skills we have not seen in smallville since Michael Carbajal. The fight was wild at times but both fighters kept their composure. Hussein hung around by standing in there toe to toe but came up short as the vicious onslaught of Arce caused the referee to stop the fight midway through the tenth. Fifty bucks was well spent that night for two fight of the year candidates. Result: Arce by TKO in the tenth.
Arguably the most devoted promoter in Boxing today, Gary Shaw is now recognized as one of the [best] promoters in boxing. Best Promoter
Gary Shaw- Move over Don King and Bob Arum … In 2005, Promoter Gary Shaw became a household name in our sport by bringing us both Castillo vs. Corrales fights, along with taking IBF Super Middleweight Champion, Jeff Lacy to superstar status. Shaw also made sure fans finally appreciated Winky Wrights’ “non flashy” style as he dominated future hall of fame inductee, Felix Trinidad over twelve rounds. The new addition of Manny Pacquiao should keep Gary Shaw Productions on top. Let’s see if Shaw takes super middleweight hot prospect “Bad” Chad Dawson to the next level in 2006.
Best Trainer
Freddie Roach- Israel Vasquez’s victory over Oscar Larios earlier this month iced it for Roach, I guess sparring with Manny Pacquiao pays off in the long run as this easy win surprised just about everyone. Speaking of Pacquiao, he hung in there against a bigger Erik Morales before losing a close decision then rebounded nicely by stopping Hector Velazquez in September. Despite James Toney testing positive for steroids after what was thought to be a victory over John Ruiz for the WBA Heavyweight Title (later was ruled a no contest) now Toney is considered by many the best heavyweight in the world. Working second in Roman Karmazin’s corner in the upset win over Kassim Ouma definitely raised his stock. Contender reality T.V. star Peter Manfredo Jr., hot prospects Vanes Martirosyan and Eric Bautista should keep Roach hot come the new year.
2005 proved to be a breakout year for one of Boxing’s oldest franchises, and 2006 is already stirring up something enormous for Showtime Championship Boxing. Best Network
Showtime- In the past Showtime had always played second fiddle to HBO, but those days are over. The commentary of long time boxing analyst gives the viewers what they need-KNOWLEDGE OF THE SPORT. The first Saturday of the month, Showtime has provided us with a number of fights that we needed to see, such as, Castillo-Corrales 1 & 2, Hatton- Tszyu in England LIVE even though it was 2AM over there, the energy was unbelievable! Zab Judah capturing the undisputed welterweight crown by defeating Cory Spinks in front of 22,000 strong, from St. Louis. Showbox still aired last year and continued to bring us the best prospects in boxing. Showtime had a year like they have never had before and hopefully we will see the same in 2006.
Best Announcer
Al Bernstein- This former ESPN analyst now calls the blow-by-blow on Showtime which is now the best network for our sport. The two formed a perfect marriage earlier this year as Bernstein helped make Showtime the new leading network in boxing.
Comeback of the Year
Ike Quartey- Quartey returned in June from a five year lay off and didn’t seem to miss a beat. “Bazooka” defeated top raked junior middleweight contender Verno Phillips in a hard fought ten round decision. In December Quartey looked flawless in a tenth round TKO victory over Carlos Bojorquez and has lined himself up with a possible title shot sometime next year. The jab that made Quartey is still there which means he’ll be trouble for any one at 154. Maybe more fighters should take five years off to open up hotels.
Best Prospect
Joel Julio- Julio reminds me of Felix Trinidad when he was coming up as a welterweight. He punches like Tito, is built like him but one thing he does better is box. Julio is only 20 years young and looks to have the whole package-power, speed and skills. In March, Julio made quick work of Carlos Wilfredo Vilches (TKO 3) who went the distance with Ricky Hatton less than a year earlier. He followed that victory with three more quick knockouts. This kid will be around for a long time, look for the Columbian knock out artist to make more waves in 2006.
