Adrenaline Overload? Its the exact opposite for me. It's not a game of tennis. I shudder at the thought of being on the receiving end of what I am witnessing.
I thought Michael Gomez-Alex Arthur deserved strong consideration too. Maybe a tad one-sided, but Arthur had his moments, even hurting Gomez to the body after getting badly hurt himself.
The only two I definitively remember are Toney-Jirov and Freitas-Barrios. I can't remember the other three, but were among the following: Lennox Lewis-Vitali Klitschko (fairly certain it made the list) Michael Brodie-In Jin Chi I Michael Gomez-Alex Arthur Joel Casamayor-Diego Corrales I Rafael Marquez-Tim Austin The one thing I remember is that The Ring announced it uncharacteristically early, well before the magazine published, and that by the time the BWAA ballot came out, there was no chance of the two boasting the same winner.
:: But yeah, the more I think about it, Brodie-Chi I was on the ballot for 2003 FOTY. Damn, I truly am shot. What's sad is that I remember reading The Ring announcement while talking on the phone to someone at the time, and specifically saying that I could name off of the top of my head five '03 fights that were better. Now, I can't even remember the five fights that made the ballot, never mind the ones I had in mind.
Yes, who cares about world class boxing and the greatest rivalries within it? I'm sure you'd only care if some garbage UK fighter holding a worthless Commonwealth title was fighting for the EBU title against his ruddy-cheeked and equally untalented cross-continental rival. Putting it in terms you might be able to understand, following boxing and ignoring the Mexico vs PR rivalry is somewhat akin following Premier League soccer & ignoring the Man U vs Liverpool rivalry.
