LITTLE REALLY TO COMPLAIN ABOUT IN 2006!
Arlington, VA-So often, boxing is defined by its faults. The insidious politics; networks that gouge the public with poor pay-per-view cards; but a quick scan of boxing history finds those elements to have always been part of the fabric of the game. They do not define it. It is the moments between bells that define the sport. The thrill of punches exchanged; the character defining moments when warriors decide their fate through their own courage or have it decided by a single devastating blow. 2006 was full of memories that exemplify those defining moments.
THE NOT-QUITE FIGHTER(S) OF THE YEAR!
Having already covered the ?Fight of the Year,? we look now at the individual athletes who stood out in this calendar year. There were a number of fighters who had awesome year but fall just short of being among the top five achievers of the year. Honorable mention for Fighter of the Year goes to:
Oleg Maskaev (34-5, 26 KOs) : Captured the WBC heavyweight belt and upset boxing?s best laid plans with a second knockout win over Hasim Rahman.
Mikkel Kessler (38-0, 29 KOs) : Unified the WBC/WBA 168 lb. belts to emerge as number one contender at his weight. Certainly likely to be ducked in 2007.
Eagle Kyowa (17-1, 6 KOs) : Retained his WBC strawweight belt throughout the year and did it with extreme guts by beating Rodel Mayol in one of the years best fights and following that win by coming off the deck twice to decision Lorenzo Trejo.
Hozumi Hasegawa (20-2, 7 KOs): WBC 118 lb. titlist stopped Verapol Sahaprom and followed it with a rugged decision over Genaro Garcia.
Joe Calzaghe (42-0, 31 KOs) : Had the years most dominant big-fight win against Jeff Lacy and gained recognition as THE World champion at 168 lbs.; sadly followed that win with a pedestrian win over Sakio Bika and then signed for questionable defense against Peter Manfredo.
Joel Casamayor (34-3-1, 21 KOs) : Picked up three wins and captured first real World title in defeating then-lightweight champ Diego Corrales.
Carlos Baldomir (43-10-6, 13 KOs) : Unbelievable year for formerly unknown fighter included a reign as World welterweight king and wins over Zab Judah and Arturo Gatti before succumbing to Floyd Mayweather.
Israel Vasquez (40-3, 30 KOs) : Captured vacant Ring Magazine/World title at 122 lbs. with indecisive cut-stoppage of Oscar Larios and followed it with a win in one of the years best fights against Jhonny Gonzalez.
Wladimir Klitschko (47-3, 42 KOs) : Long thought of as the best athletic talent at heavyweight, Klitschko had a career year. He picked up the IBF belt with a devastating KO of Chris Byrd and followed it with a brutal stoppage of former US Olympian Calvin Brock.
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS FIGHTERS OF 2006!
5) Nobuo Nashiro (9-0, 5 KOs) : If a guy with only nine pro fights is in the running, you know he had one hell of a year. Nashiro, like Israel Vasquez, picked up his best win of the year on an unfortunate cut stoppage but had stayed with then WBA 115 lb. titlist Martin Castillo every step of the way. This as Castillo seemed to be creeping towards the Pound for Pound elite. He followed it with a tough battle against veteran Eduardo Garcia to emerge as the leading light in one of Boxing?s best divisions following the exit of long standing World champion Masamori Tokuyama.
4) Bernard Hopkins (47-4-1, 32 KOs) : Captured the Ring Magazine, non-linear, version of the World light heavyweight title with a stellar victory over the decade?s best 175 lb. warrior, Antonio Tarver. Has retired and unretired in short fashion.
3) Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (63-2, 31 KOs) : Relatively low quality of competition is inexcusable in the sports most talented weight class (112 lbs.) but the World flyweight champion defended his title four times in 2006 (the most of any champion) and shattered the decades old mark for consecutive title defenses (he?s at 16 and counting; the old mark was 14) in one of Boxing?s original eight weight classes. His title descends directly from the man whose record he beat, Miguel Canto.
MAYWEATHER SECOND BEST IN 2006
2) Floyd Mayweather (37-0, 24 KOs) : Floyd takes a lot of criticism; here?s the flip side. In 2006, Mayweather beat two of the world?s top three welterweights (Zab Judah and then-champ Carlos Baldomir) and became the first legitimate former World unior lightweight (130 lbs) champion to win the World welterweight championship. It?s the third legitimate title for Mayweather who also reigned at lightweight (135).
ALL HAIL KING MANNY!
1) Manny Pacquiao (42-3-2, 32 KOs) : I?ve written a lot about Pacquiao and there is more to come later this week when I examine the Pound-for-Pound leaders. Fighter of the Year in 2006 was an easy one. Manny Pacquiao, the only man in history to capture the World flyweight (112) and featherweight (126) championships, absolutely ended a Hall of Famer in Erik Morales twice over along with a rugged win over Oscar Larios to cap the most scintillating year in the career of boxing?s most exciting fighter.
THESE WERE THE BEST OF THE REST!
After Fight, and Fighter, of the Year, there are still other moments and fighters that deserve their recognition. Here are my picks. Round of the Year: Round 12 Chi-Lopez: Coming in just under the wire, In Jin Chi and Rudy Lopez spent the last four rounds of their clash for the WBC 126 lb. belt turning out the lights. The final round was the best of the bunch in the last great fight of 2006. Both men threw tons of killer shots with the old veteran just shading the gutsy young man in a round for the ages.
Knock out of the Year: Jamie Moore-Matthew Macklin: In an unbelievable brawl for the British junior middle crown, Moore laid Macklin flat on his face in a fight that had me jumping around my living room.
Robbery of the Year: Chris John-Juan Manuel Marquez: I am still willing to sit with anyone in the world and wait to be convinced that John won even six rounds of this fight. Should have been an easy 8-4 for Marquez. One major news entity, without seeing the fight said the call was just. It was just, just crap!
Rising Stars of the Year: Koki Kameda and Edwin Valero: This is what most would call ?prospect of the year? but rating guys on potential seems superfluous to me. The reigning WBA 108 lb. and 130 lb. titlists might not qualify as prospects to some. I disagree. Let?s face it; winning belts anymore is often just a merit badge for beating a single top ten opponent and I don?t see how one can be a prospect without having faced anyone with a pulse. These are the two biggest potential superstars out there worldwide and each beat their first ranked foes in 2006. 2007 could be big for both. Valero gets points for beating Vicente Mosquera in front of the best hostile fight crowd you?ll ever see.
MORE TO COME?
I?m not quite done with 2006. I?ll be back this week to look at my end-of the- year Pound for Pound list. Hope everyone is having a great holiday season.
