2008 Awards

Not in any real particular order.

Comments, Suggestions, Additions, Subtractions?

Fighter:
Manny Pacquiao
Antonio Margarito
Chad Dawson
Vic Darchinyan
Joe Calzaghe
Juan Manuel Marquez

Fight:
Vazquez-Marquez III
Margarito-Cotto
Adamek-Cunningham
Pacquiao-Marquez II
Casamayor-Katsidis
Angulo-Gutierrez
Campbell-Diaz
Kotelnik-Rees
Chavez Jr.-Vanda
Lacy-Mendoza
Holt-Torres II
Mtagwa-Villa

Round:
Holt-Torres II: Round 1
Adamek-Cunningham (take your pick)

Best Win:
Margarito-Cotto
Darchinyan-Mijares
Pacquiao-De La Hoya
Mijares-Munoz
Bradley-Witter
Haye-Maccarinelli
Vazquez-Marquez III
Campbell-Diaz
Williams-Quintana II
Mora-Forrest
Abraham-Miranda
Margarito-Cintron
Montiel-Castillo
Dawson-Tarver
Klitschko-Peter
Hopkins-Pavlik

Most Controversial Fight/Decision/Outcome:
Williams-Airich
Lopez-Medina
Pacquiao-Marquez II
Dawson-Johnson
Duddy-Smichet
Phillips-Spinks
Julio-Smith
Gorres-Darchinyan
Chavez Jr.-Vanda
Valuev-Ruiz II
Diaz-Katsidis (being a split decision)
Dzinziruk-Konecny
Bute-Andrade
Toney-Rahman
Toney-Oquendo
Valuev-Holyfield
Arvin-Thompson
Toney-Rahman II
Lorenzo-Soto I

Knockout:
Guerrero-Litzau
Haye-Maccarinelli
Williams-Quintana II
Lopez-Ponce De Leon
Kirkland-Albert
Abraham-Ayala
Holt-Torres II
Barrett-Fields
Darchinyan-Kirilov
Santos-Alcine
Prescott-Khan
Escobedo-Salcido
Mosley-Mayorga

Upset:
Pacquiao-De La Hoya
Marquez-Barthalemy
Mora-Forrest I
Quintana-Williams I
Bunema-Karmazin
Campbell-Diaz
Braithwaite-Hernandez
Marquez-Lorenzo
Vera-Lee
Concepcion-Banal
Prescott-Khan
Pitalua-Santa Cruz

Comeback:
Vitali Klitschko
Raul Marquez

Prospect turned contender:
Andre Dirrell
Alex Alexeev
Abner Mares
Alfredo Angulo
Victor Ortiz

Prospect:
Daniel Jacobs
Yuriorkis Gamboa
Hylon Williams
Beibut Shumenov
Odlanier Solis

Trainer:
Freddie Roach

Disappointment:
Jose Luis Castillo failing to make weight for fight against Timothy Bradley
Zab Judah injuring himself, forcing Mosley fight to be cancelled
Floyd Mayweather Jr. retiring during his prime before scheduled bout with Oscar De La Hoya
Wladimir Klitschko-Sultan Ibragimov's title unification bout
Postponement and cancellaton of Joan Guzman-Alex Arthur
Paulie Malignaggi's hair/haircut debacle during Lovemore Ndou fight
The P.R. war and non-fight between Mikkel Kessler and Edison Miranda
Joan Guzman failing to make weight for bout against Nate Campbell
The Referee's halding of the 12th round of Bute-Andrade
Sergio Medina's effort against Juan Manuel Lopez
December 13th: The Replacements (Rahman, Hopkins)

Breakthrough:
Manny Pacquiao - Becomes P4P #1 with wins over Marquez, Diaz and DLH (at 130, 135 and 147)
Joe Calzaghe - Comes to the U.S., defeats two established American greats in Hopkins, Jones
Antonio Margarito - Winner of two title fights this year against Cintron, Cotto, now widely considered the #1 welterweight in the world
Timothy Bradley - Enters the elite at 140 with world title win over Witter in UK
Chad Dawson - Establishes himself at light heavyweight with wins over Johnson and Dawson
Nate Campbell - Came up with the performance of his career to defeat of Juan Diaz, win lightweight titles
Juan Manuel Lopez - Wins first world title in emphatic knockout of Ponce De Leon
Vic Darcinyan - After loss to Donaire at flyweight, establishes himself as a p4p fighter and elite super flyweight with draw against Gorres, dominant KOs over Kirilov and Mijares

 

You did all that yourself? Good job. I'd add Casamayor/Marquez to FOY.

 

1. Anybody that DOESN'T Give Manny "F.O.Y." is Either HATING on Him OR Nuthugging the Fighter they'd Give it To OVER Manny...

2. Holt-Torres II was THE Best "Action Fight" of 2008, but the BREVITY of it will Hurt it's F.O.Y. Votes...Instead, this Fight will Get ROUND of the Year, while Vasquez-Marquez III MILKS its Built-In MEDIA Advantage for F.O.Y., ala Gatti-Ward III a Few Years Ago...

3. Pac Over DeLa is the Win that Garnered Manny "F.O.Y."...Quite Simply, The Most IMPROBABLE Win of 2008...Overcoming the Size DISadvantage & DOMINATING DeLa Can't B Diminished...It's Such an Upset, Straight Faced Fans ACCUSE DeLa of THROWING the Fight...

4. N the LITERAL Sense, the Ref COST Andrade the Title N the Bute Fight...Bute was DONE & Likely would've Been STRETCHED for a 10 Count, if Not for the Crooked Ref....N a Sport KNOWN for Bias, this was Probably THE Most CROOKED Job of Officiating REED has Ever Seen...

5. The Sheer SAVAGERY of Prescott-Khan is what Does it for REED...Every Landed Shot was HARD, FLUSH & had a NOTICEABLE Effect on Khan...Khan was Dropped HARD Twice, w/his Head Resting on the Bottom Rope like a Fucking PILLOW, after the 2nd Knockdown...The Fact that it was an UPSET Certainly Helps....

6. See # 1 & # 3...
7. Vitali Didn't Miss a Beat N his Comeback...Perhaps the Fact that it was Against Sam Peter Helped Vitali Look BETTER than he Really is These Days, but that's the ONLY Fight we Can Judge him On...PERFECT "Comeback" Fight...

8. By this Time Next Year, Alfredo Angulo will B a Top 5 Jr. Middle, Recognized by ALL Sanctioning Bodies & he'll have Carved Out a GENIUNE Niche for Himself, Amongst Mexican Fight Fans...@ Some Point in 2010, he'll Own a World Title & Start HEADLINING PPV's...

9. Hylon Williams DESERVES More "Shine", but Yuriorkis Gamboa OBVIOUSLY Did More this Year...But Gamboa Just Might Wind Up on the "Disappointments" List for 2009...If he Doesn't DRASTICALLY Check his ARROGANCE N Terms of the Arms by the Side Defense & Absolute LACK of Head Movement, Gamboa's Got an Upset KO LOSS N His Immediate Future...

10. Can't Think of Anyone MORE Deserving than Roach @ the Moment...REED's High on Ann Wolfe as a Trainer, Due to the NOVELTY of it...


11. To the Surprise of NOBODY, Floyd Mayweather WILL Return N 2009, which Basically Means he WASTED All of 2008...LAMEST, Most INopportune "Retirement" EVER:boohoo:....

12. w/the DeLa Win, Manny has Reached a NEW Level of Notoriety...He was Always a Popular Guy w/HARDCORE Boxing Fans, but Now Manny Pac will have Mainstream AMERICAN Boxing Fans, which is UNprecedented for a NON White, Black or Latino Fighter...




REED:mj:

 

Fighter:
Manny Pacquiao

Fight:
Margarito-Cotto

Best Win:
Margarito-Cotto

Most Controversial Fight/Decision/Outcome:
Lorenzo-Soto I

Knockout:
Mosley-Mayorga

Upset:
Mora-Forrest I

Comeback:
Vitali Klitschko

Prospect turned contender:
Victor Ortiz

Prospect:
Daniel Jacobs

Trainer:
Freddie Roach

Disappointment:
Joan Guzman failing to make weight for bout against Nate Campbell

Breakthrough:
Chad Dawson - Establishes himself at light heavyweight with wins over Johnson and Dawson

 

I picked Prescott-Khan as Knockout AND Upset of the Year. Other than that, agREED on TWIN's list

 

also, not that it was the best fight of the year, but Rogers Mtwaga-Tomas Villa at least deserves honorable mention. The only two fights I thought were better (in a vacuum) this year were Vazquez-Marquez III and Adamek-Cunningham

 

It was a great upset, but wasn't really that surprising.

I knew that any fight now, Khan would get KTFO, I was sort of expecting it each time he fought.

Pacman - Oscar was a much bigger upset. I was genuinely surprised and stunned at the 1 sided arse kicking Pacman was dishing out each round.

 

Man Khan got splashed badly. ::

 

for fight of the year, two fights from the UK worth being on the shortlist....Froch-Pascal and Kevin Mitchell vs Carl Johansson

 

That will be televised stateside tomorrow night, I believe, on FSN.

 

The best fight I saw all year: absolute savagery from start to finish...

Anyhoo:

Manny

Mitchell-Johansson

Manny

Bute-Andrade: as REED said, this was either the grossest incompetance I have ever seen or, more likely, the most blatent cheating by a referee I can possibly remember.

Prescott-Khan: though watching Enzo do the Zab chicken dance against Haye was almost as amusing...

Manny-Oscar though an honourable mention to Bradley, who might well have won it in any other year.

Klitsckho

Angulo

Gamboa

Roach

Wlad-Ibragimov unification fight; unadulterated garbage of the highest order and did more to harm the sport in the eyes of 'casual' fans than almost anything else imaginable.

Margarito; consensus top of the heap in a loaded division after losing to Williams seemed to dent his chances of ever being able to do so.

MTF opcorn:

 

Prospect turned contender.....Andre Berto worth a shout?.....i already done my list but i keep coming up with new ones

 

Well, I didn't list Berto because he's a "titlist"...though it's of the kleenex variety.

If you're going by independent rankings, he deserves mention.

 

Fighter:
Manny Pacquiao, Margarito a very close runner up


Fight:
Vazquez-Marquez III Easily FOTY

Best Win:

Vazquez-Marquez III, porque Vazquez's 12th round performance won him the fight, not to mention his eye was and still is very badly damaged


Most Controversial Fight/Decision/Outcome:
Lorenzo-Soto I

Knockout:
Holt-Torres II it was a crazy comeback


Upset:
Mora-Forrest I
Quintana-Williams I
Campbell-Diaz I never saw any of these coming


Comeback:
Vitali Klitschko
Raul Marquez

Prospect turned contender:
Alfredo Angulo
Victor Ortiz these guys are serious contenders

Prospect:
Yuriorkis Gamboa Crazy skills


Trainer:
Freddie Roach

Disappointment:
Joan Guzman failing to make weight for bout against Nate Campbell I was so looking forward to this fight

Breakthrough:
Juan Manuel Lopez - Wins first world title in emphatic knockout of Ponce De Leon He became a big name this year

 

You should put "Fighter of the year: Manny", "fight of the year: whatever", it's just easier to read.

 

No round of the year?

 

If people come up with suggestion, I'll add them in.

That's always a hard one for me to keep track of.

I know round 1 of Holt-Torres II is certainly on the list.

There could probably be a couple rounds from Adamek-Cunningham.

The last round of Vazquez-Marquez III. The last round of Mtagwa-Villa.

One of the rounds from Angulo-Gutierrez.

One of the rounds from Arreola-Walker...can't remember the number, but it's the one he woke up in.

 

Holt-Torres II...By a MILE....



REED:hammert:

 

:: @ anyone but Manny being #1.

 

I think I should add another category for Best Moment:

Monte Barrett's ring entrance against David Haye.

 

Elite eight bouts

By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports Dec 22, 10:59 EST

• Print

More From Kevin Iole

• Roach earns nod for Trainer of the Year Dec 24, 2008
• Mailbag: Who is boxing's next big star? Dec 23, 2008

If it’s judged by the quality of its matches, boxing had a great year in 2008. There are easily a dozen fights that deserve serious consideration for recognition as Yahoo! Sports’ Fight of the Year.
Choosing the top match out of all the great fights that were held in 2008 is no easy matter.
To make my choice, I considered quality of the fighters involved, quantity of sustained action, drama and significance. When it comes to evenly matched candidates, the one in which the fighters are of a higher quality will get the nod, since it’s more difficult to perform against a better caliber opponent.
With that, here is the Elite Eight, my choices as the eight best bouts in 2008:

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8. Rogers Mtagwa vs. Tomas Villa
Date: Nov. 7

Site: Casino del Sol, Tucson, Ariz.

Significance: The bout was the main event of the card on the night that the announcement was made that Telefutura was canceling the “Solo Boxeo†series.

Outcome: Mtagwa won by technical knockout at 1:20 of the 10th round.

The fight: It was a brawl from beginning to end as the featherweights went at it hard. Villa, who was on a 12-fight winning streak, seemed to take control of the fight when he knocked Mtagwa down near the end of the ninth round. Mtagwa barely had enough steam to return to his corner. When the fight resumed in the 10th, Villa raced at him, but Mtagwa fired back and decked him. It was the first of three dramatic knockdowns in the final round that forced referee Rocky Burke to stop the fight and give the win to Mtagwa.

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7. Kendall Holt vs. Ricardo Torres II
Date: July 5

Site: Planet Hollywood Resort, Las Vegas

Significance: Rematch of controversial Sept. 1, 2007, bout in Colombia, which Torres won by TKO to capture the WBO light welterweight title.

Outcome: Holt won by knockout at 1:01 of the first round.

The fight: Torres knocked Holt down twice in the first 40 seconds of the bout, as both men were trading wild shots. But as the heavy-hitting Torres was moving in for the finish, Holt tagged him with an overhand right that stunningly ended the fight. It’s the shortest bout on the list, but it was thrilling from the first bell to the last.

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6. Joel Casamayor vs. Michael Katsidis
Date: March 22

Site: Morongo Casino/Resort, Cabazon, Calif.

Significance: Bout was for the Ring Magazine lightweight belt and the interim WBO lightweight belt. It also was a fight designed to showcase the up-and-coming Katsidis.

Outcome: Casamayor won by 10th round technical knockout.

The fight: If Katsidis thought the wily veteran Casamayor was willingly accepting of his role as a steppingstone, he was disabused of that notion early. Casamayor decked him twice in the first and nearly finished the fight. Gradually, Katsidis fought his way back into the bout over the next several rounds and floored Casamayor in the sixth. But Casamayor wouldn’t go and roared back to stop Katsidis in the 10th, handing him his first loss in 24 fights.

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5. Tomasz Adamek vs. Steve Cunningham
Date: Dec. 11

Site: Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.

Significance: The bout matched the world’s top two cruiserweights fighting for the Ring Magazine and IBF belts.

Outcome: Adamek won a split decision. Judges had it 115-112 and 116-110 for Adamek and 114-112 for Cunningham.

The fight: There was quality action from the beginning until the end, but Adamek pulled it out on the basis of his harder blows. He knocked Cunningham down three times and clearly landed the more significant shots. Cunningham was busier and was hopeful his activity level would pull it out, but he’d created too big of a hole for himself.

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4. Jorge Arce vs. Rafael Concepcion
Date: Sept. 15

Site: Arena Mexico, Mexico City

Significance: The fight was for the interim WBA super flyweight title, a bout the veteran Arce desperately needed to win to stay in the hunt for a big fight against Vic Darchinyan down the line.

Outcome: Arce won by technical knockout at the end of the ninth when Concepcion could not answer the bell for the 10th.

The fight: It was a toe-to-toe slugfest, with each man landing telling blows in just about every round. Arce kept up a sustained body attack, though, and that proved to be the difference as it sapped the strength from Concepcion. Arce poured it on in the ninth, but not only would Concepcion not go down, he kept fighting back. But Arce was too strong and Concepcion was unable to continue after the ninth.

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3. Antonio Margarito vs. Miguel Cotto
Date: July 26

Site: MGM Grand Garden, Las Vegas

Significance: Bout was for the WBA welterweight title and was a highly anticipated match between two of the game’s best offensive fighters.

Outcome: Margarito won by technical knockout in the 11th round when Cotto’s corner saved him as the Mexican was delivering a savage beating.

The fight: Cotto won the early rounds with his boxing, but it was telling that he was moving and circling as much as he was. Margarito stalked relentlessly and frequently forced Cotto to the ropes. Once there, they traded furiously, but Margarito was stronger and gave better than he got. He also showed an incredible chin. He began to bloody Cotto by the seventh and just pummeled him over the final two rounds.

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2. Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez II
Date: March 15

Site: Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas

Significance: The bout was for the WBC super featherweight title, but it was also a match of two of the four best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. It was a rematch of their brutal 2004 draw.

Outcome: Pacquiao won a split decision in a very close fight. Judges scored it 115-112 and 114-113 for Pacquiao and 115-112 for Marquez.

The fight: The action was manic from start to finish. Marquez seemed to hurt Pacquiao in the second round, but Pacquiao floored Marquez in the third. There were few slow spots, as they simply fired hard shots at each other all night. Marquez had a slight edge in punches landed (172 to 157) and had a fairly significant advantage in connect percentage (34 to 25), but Pacquiao’s blows seemed to do more damage and that was the difference in a very close match.

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1. Israel Vazquez vs. Rafael Marquez III
Date: March 1

Site: Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.

Significance: The bout was the third in a series, with the 2007 bout earning the nod as the Yahoo! Sports Fight of the Year. They were competing for Marquez’s WBC super bantamweight title and the Ring Magazine championship.

Outcome: Vazquez won by split decision. Judges had it 114-111 and 113-112 for Vazquez and 114-111 for Marquez.

The fight: The pace was fast and the blows were hard and accurate. Vazquez was decked in the fourth and Marquez went down in the final seconds of the 12th. Vazquez seemed to be the stronger man and appeared to hurt Marquez more than Marquez hurt him. The crowd was heavily into it and roared at deafening levels throughout.

Why it’s the 2008 Yahoo! Sports Fight of the Year: Any one of the eight bouts could have won. But these are two of the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in the world who went at each other with a ferocity rarely seen. There were many ebbs and flows in the fight and when it was over, no one was certain who’d won. The only thing certain was that everyone wanted to see a fourth fight between the two.

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/box/news?slug=ki-topfights122208&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

 

Norm Fauenheim's recap:

 

khan-prescott ko the most exquisitely orgasmic moment of the year. that feeling of righteous savagery, ooohhh....

 

Sylvester´s 12th round KO of Castillejo deserves a mention. That was a picture perfect good night KO.

Very good list by Iole on the FOTY.

 

did you see the Concepcion fight? This is the first time I have seen it in a "best fights of the year" discussion.

 

Yes. Business as usual for Arce and Smoger. It was a war throughout, Arce was hurt in the 4th round, but eventually he started to batter Concepcion, which didn´t seem to bother Smoger at all. Finally the doctor had to stop the fight and Smoger tore up his betting slip with the over 9.5 rounds bet in the ring. :shit:

 

It was great, I leaped for joy. However, the fact that I half expected it sort of took the edge off a bit for me.

 

it was like mike tyson fighting against a little girl. every punch looked like it would kill him. like a bulldozer against a wedding cake.

 

::