SONAHR: December 30, 2013 – Thirteen is supposed to be an unlucky number. For the sport of boxing, however, that wasn?t the case in the year 2013. The past 12 months were packed with all the top-quality matches and performances a fight-fan?s cable and pay-per-view budget could handle.
Love him or hate him, Floyd Mayweather Jr. continued to show why he is still the top pound-for-pound pugilist of the present time. He hardly broke a sweat winning easy decisions over the creditable Robert Guerrero and Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez. In fact, he was so brilliant against Guerrero that he dazzled one judge into seeing a near-shutout as a draw! At 36, Mayweather has yet to lose a step ? or a fight.
At 48, Bernard Hopkins continues to defy age like Oil of Olay. He won the IBF light-heavyweight title from Tavoris Cloud, then successfully defended it against Karo Murat. Hopkins?s goal may well be to remain a world champion at age 50. He just might do it.
Meanwhile, Andre Ward and Manny Pacquiao made successful returns to the ring after long absences. And a cluster of new stars are on the rise, including Gennady Golovkin, Adonis Stevenson, Danny Garcia, Mikey Garcia, Sergey Kovalev, and Ruslan Provodnikov.
And WBA/WBO junior-featherweight champion Guillermo Rodriguez, with two dominant-but-boring decision victories in 2013, is firmly establishing himself as the best fighter no one wants to watch.
Even the heavyweight logjam is showing signs of movement, however slight. Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko continued their long-term dominance of the division. However, Vitali has become the WBC?s ?champion emeritus? (don?t ask) to pursue politics in his native Ukraine. Bermane Stiverne and Chris Arreola are slated to fight for the ?interim? title. Stiverne won an upset decision over Arreola in 2013, so their rematch is something of a grudge showdown. Wladimir is likely to challenge the winner in hopes of collecting all four major alphabet belts. In the meantime, 2014 could be the make-or-break year for several undefeated heavyweight prospects, such as Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and Kubrat Pulev. They will either step up, or be ?exposed.?
Here?s how this corner sees the high and low points of 2013:
Fighter of the Year: Adonis Stevenson At the beginning of 2013, Stevenson was a fringe super-middleweight contender who had a reputation as a power puncher, but had also been knocked out in two rounds by a journeyman named Darnell Boone. At the end of the 12-month period, Stevenson holds the WBC and Ring magazine light-heavyweight titles. He began the year with a revenge six-round knockout of Boone. Then he shocked reigning champion Chad Dawson with a one-punch KO in the first round. Stevenson followed up with stoppages of one-time IBF champion Tavoris Cloud and Top 10 contender Tony Bellew. No one had a better year than that, not even fan favorite Danny Garcia, who outpointed Zab Judah and the dangerous Lucas Matthysse in his two fights of 2013.
Fight of the Year: Timothy Bradley W 12 Ruslan Provodnikov Both Bradley and Provodnikov had plenty to prove when they stepped into the ring in March. Bradley, who held the WBO welterweight title, wanted to counteract the disrespect that had rained down on him after his highly disputed decision over Manny Pacquiao the previous year. Provodnikov?s purpose was to prove that he was more than just a jumped-up junior-welterweight brought in to serve as a sacrificial lamb for Bradley. The two fighters went at it hammer-and-tongs for the full 12 rounds, with Bradley rising twice from knockdowns to outwork the Russian powerhouse in the end. Bradley went on to outpoint Juan Manuel Marquez, and Provodnikov stopped Mike Alvarado to win the WBO junior-welterweight crown. So this was a case of top-quality fighters engaging in a top-quality fight, which is as good as it gets.
Upset of the Year/Knockout of the Year: Tie between Jhonny Gonzalez KO 1 Abner Mares and Adonis Stevenson KO 1 Chad Dawson Any time an underdog starches an overwhelming favorite, that?s a huge upset. And when the underdog accomplishes that feat in a single round, that?s a signature statement. There is so little to choose between the feats of Gonzalez and Johnson that they both deserve this double honor. Neither of them was supposed to beat his opponent, but each man did so, and in spectacular fashion.
Progress of the Year: Gennady (GGG) Golovkin This one could arguably go to Stevenson, but there?s another fighter who is just as deserving. That would be Golovkin, who began 2013 as a promising WBA middleweight titlist and ends it as THE MAN in the 160-pound division ? Ring magazine champion Sergio Martinez notwithstanding. Like Stevenson, GGG had four knockouts in four bouts, stopping Gabriel Rosado, Nobuhiro Ishida, Matthew Macklin and Curtis Stevens. The WBA may well be Golovkin?s toughest foe, however. First it refused to grant Golovkin ?super? status, keeping him as its ?regular? champion. Then it designated not one but two ?interim? titlists. It?s official, folks ? the WBA has lost its mind.
Rip-off of the Year: Carl Froch KO 9 George Groves In most cases, boxing rip-offs involve terrible decisions rendered by judges. In the case of Froch-Groves, in which Froch was defending his IBF and WBA super-middleweight titles, it was Referee Howard Foster who was severely criticized for stopping a fight in which Froch had been floored in the first round and was behind on points going into the ninth. But it?s the referee?s responsibility to ensure the safety of the fighters in the ring, and second-guessing is about as accurate as hindsight. The true rip-off in this fight came in its aftermath, when Froch churlishly refused to give Groves a rematch. Froch has always had a prickly personality, but this time he?s showing no class at all. By disrespecting Groves the way he has, Froch is ripping off fight fans, Groves, and himself. Hopefully, Froch will have changed his mind about the rematch, if he hasn?t already. But I kind of doubt he will. In Groves, he has seen the face of his own boxing mortality, and chances are he isn?t necessarily eager to see it again.
Comeback of the Year: Manny Pacquiao In 2012, Pacquiao plummeted from his position at the top of the boxing heap, as he lost a questionable decision Timothy Bradley, then suffered a chilling knockout at the hands of arch-rival Juan Manuel Marquez. In 2013, the Pac Man became the forgotten man, as he stayed out of the ring for almost a year. Then, in November, Pacquiao showed that he isn?t done yet, showing much of his old fire as he clearly outpointed the credible Brandon Rios. The victory was a bright spot not only for him, but also for his fellow citizens of the Philippines, who were reeling from the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan. Pacquiao didn?t quite regain his No. 1 pound-for-pound status with his victory. But he is definitely back in the mix at the highest level of the sport.
Come-uppance of the Year: Marcos Maidana W 12 Adrien Broner Over the past few years, Broner has been acting as though he is the second coming of all the worst aspects of his idol, Floyd Mayweather Jr. But at least Mayweather has the skill and the will to back up his bombastic boasts and irritating arrogance. The fight with the stolid, hard-hitting Maidana proved to be the check that Broner wrote with his mouth but couldn?t cash with his fists. Floored twice and thoroughly whupped, Broner lost his WBA welterweight title, along with his undefeated record and a lot of prestige.
Matchmaker of the Year: OK, this one is purely tongue-in-cheek, with a hefty dollop of sarcasm on the side. But Marquez really stuck his chin out when, in the process of turning down an offer for a fifth fight with Manny Pacquiao, he suggested that Pacquiao take on Floyd Mayweather Jr. instead. It?s great to know that JMM thinks he can make a match that has eluded the efforts of the best promoters of the day. Then again, Marquez has stated that the only fight he really wants is a rematch with conqueror Timothy Bradley. Fair enough. And maybe Marquez himself had his tongue in his cheek when he proposed a Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown. Even so, a class act it wasn?t.
So, 2013 was a year to remember in boxing for all the right reasons. This coming year will have to go a long way to match it. Here?s hoping it does.
