Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao failed to come off, Wladimir Klitschko v David Haye did but failed to live up to the hype, Amir Khan and Carl Froch lost their world titles, but there was plenty of excitement to be had both domestically and internationally this year.
Mayweather appeared just once inside the ropes, which resulted in a controversial knockout victory over Victor Ortiz, while Pacquiao made Shane Mosley look the old man he is before being gifted a decision against bitter rival Juan Manuel Marquez, who was once again aggrieved by the result of the third fight in their trilogy.
Haye barely won a round against Klitschko – but had a broken little toe ready as an excuse – while Khan complained bitterly against the decision to give Lamont Peterson the win in their Washington showdown, despite most observers feeling the American just about deserved it.
Andre Ward emerged as one of the most talented fighters in any weight class with an impressive Super Six final success against Froch, while there were also defeats for world title challengers Matthew Hatton and Ryan Rhodes, who both lost to Saul Alvarez, and Matthew Macklin and Martin Murray, who were both unfortunate to lose on points to Felix Sturm.
However, Britain still have two world champions as we head into 2012 – Nathan Cleverly became the fully-fledged WBO light heavyweight champion while Ricky Burns defended his WBO super-featherweight belt twice before stepping up to win the interim lightweight strap.
The feud between James DeGale and George Groves dominated the domestic scene – the two former amateur rivals clashing in May with the latter winning by the narrowest of margins in a fight that never really took off. The pair look certain to meet again somehwere down the road.
Fighter of the Year: Andre Ward
It’s fair to say Ward was the find of the inaugural World Super Six Classic tournament – to give it it’s full title – with his crowning glory coming against Froch in Atlantic City.
The former Olympic gold medallist entered the event – which hoped to find the best super-middleweight in the world – over two years ago as something of an unknown with the only ‘name’ on his CV being former middleweight contender Edison Miranda.
