IT WAS a pretty eventful year for the ?Sweet Science,? but some of the significant occurrences that purveyed the sport did not even happen inside a ring.
We know that all writers have their own preferences for particular sports stories that merit a second look and so I hope you will indulge me mine.
The most compelling story for me this year was the suicide of undefeated Venezuelan fighter Edwin Valero after he murdered his own wife.
It was a bizarre and macabre ending to a pattern of violence he had inflicted on his wife Jennifer Viera. When you think of how strong a man Valero was?27 knockouts in 27 fights with 20 of those in the very first round?it?s almost too horrifying to imagine what his wife went through that fateful night.
On the pugilistic side, there will always be that unanswered question of how he would have fared against fellow southpaw puncher Manny Pacquiao had these two warriors met inside the ring.
Tragically, we will never know.
MANNY?S 8TH. On to more positive feats this year, would of course be Pacquiao?s unprecedented feat of coveting his 8th world title in as many weight divisions.
Though Antonio Margarito was a tainted fighter coming into the fight with the loaded hand-wrap issue, the ease with which the Pacman handled an opponent with a tremendous size advantage was indeed phenomenal.
SUPER SIX. Honorable mention should be made of the ?Super Six? super-middleweight tournament which, despite the withdrawals of some of its protagonists such as Mikkel Kessler and Andre Dirrel?continues to be an interesting template for future boxing promotions to emulate.
In fact, Showtime followed it up with an ongoing mini-tournament in the bantamweight division which appears to be an unqualified success.
If this trend continues, this might yet prove to be a savior of the sport and help lure back some of its dissatisfied customers due to the inability to produce big fights between boxing stars.
The formula appears quite simple, although the logistical issue might not be nightmarish. Sign up a fighter, tie him to a contract to fight any one of the other superstars in an elimination tournament, and voila, you get not one but several high profile match-ups.
Finally, this year also saw the rise of Sergio Martinez who knocked out Paul Williams on top of an upset victory against Kelly Pavlik early this year.
MILAN. On the local front, the boxer that shone the brightest would have to be Milan Melindo (23-0, 7KOs), who went 4 for 4 this year and capped it off by demonstrating poise and maturity beyond his years in outworking Carlos Tamarra.
Of course, WBO minimum weight champ Donnie Nietes (27-1, 15KOs) is right up there with him. Once again ?Ahas? quietly plied his trade in faraway Mexico and notched up another consistent performance in repelling the challenge put up by Mario Rodriguez.
Another bright spot on the local horizon would be Mercedito Gesta (20-0, 10KOs) of Mandaue City who won all his 4 fights abroad, 3 via the short route.
Of course, we all know the bummer of the year was the continuing inability to finalize the much anticipated Pacquiao-Mayweather superfight. Floyd Jr.?s legal woes also merited some newspaper space this year, but frankly, people seem to forget that the name Mayweather is almost synonymous with aberrant behavior.
Floyd is just being himself. But I certainly hope he doesn?t take it to a more sinister level next year and do a Valero.
LAST ROUND. It?s on my kumpare Jesus ?Ditdit? Gorne who recently celebrated his birthday. Cheers!
