Fighter of the year (2007) Who will it be?

If Hatton beats Mayweather, then Ricky is Fghter of the Year.

If not, then Pavlik is Fighter of the Year.

 

hatton

 

Agreed.

 

If Mayweather beats Hatton, then Floyd is the fighter of the year.
If not, then Pavlik is fighter of the year.

 

So Mayweather being the first man to defeat Hatton following his 5th title in as many divisions over the great (albeit only slightly past prime) Oscar De La Hoya...is not a better achievement than beating Taylor and that BUM, Miranda?

 

this is where your post loses all credibility. fix that part and I'll read the rest of your post and respond.

 

Mayweather's win over De La Hoya wasn't all that special. Oscar is not a shot fighter and Floyd deserves credit for beating the larger man (Floyd really has no business @ 154), but it wasn't exactly the most impressive performance, and it was over a part-time fighter who had one clear win post May 2003, over Ricardo Mayorga.

Stopping fringe contender Zertuche, top contender Miranda, and the recognized middleweight champion in Taylor is more impressive than beating De La Hoya and Hatton (if Floyd wins in December).

 

So at 34..De La Hoya is horrendously past prime? Is that what you're saying?

 

Considering that De La Hoya's best years were in another decade, I'd say thats far closer to the truth.

 

So B-Hop was just a living Memory when he beat Trinidad then?

 

Prime doesn't have an age limit, Sly. He's been past his prime for years, even before his faux-retirement. He wasn't even in his prime for the Mosley rematch.

So yes, the Oscar at age 34 that has only fought twice since 2004, and now only fights once-per-year, and has people calling for his retirement after his last fight, would be way past his prime. That is what I'm saying.

 

I'll put it this way:

If you believe OScar is only slightly past his prime, and truly put any stock into his fight w/ Floyd being a legit world title fight...

... then you'd also have to regard Edison Miranda as a legit Top 5 Middleweight contender when he fought Pavlik.

So, either remove the "Slightly past prime" label from Oscar, or the BUM label from Miranda. Then you'll have a balanced post.

And because of the absurdity in your post, my vote now stays with Pavlik :tease:

 

::

You don't like Mayweather and so your opinion is slanted.

You know that beating an Oscar, who recently destroyed Mayorga, at 154lbs for a 5th title....in Addition to beating Hatton would be a greater accomplishment for 2007 than ANYONE ELSE.

You know it, I know. :tease:

 

I already said the winner of Floyd-Hatton will get the award, and understand why. I don't have to agree with it, but since there's no other runaway favorite this year, it's an uphill battle to challenge it.

But to further dispute your claim regarding all things Floyd -

http://www.fightbeat.com/article_detail.php?AT=220

While everyone else was yelling and screaming that Pac was undoubtedly 2006's Fighter of the Year, I flew a banner for ya boy.

I stand behind my reasoning for last year, and stand behind it for this year as well.

In all honesty, no I wasn't impressed with Floyd beating Oscar. I actually expected him to win far more convincingly (even if I disagreed with the scores). And while snatching Hatton's "0" is notable in his own right, Ricky's already shown how ineffective he was the moment he left 140. Sure he's training harder this time, taking the weight off properly - but it's not a weight-loss contest, it's a prize fight. And for that reason, Floyd's expected to win the fight with room to spare, or so the 3-1 odds suggest.

Pavlik's year was impressive because he twice won fights where he went in as the underdog (though slight underdog in both cases), including winning the linear middleweight crown and the way he did. Achievement + significance.

 

Sly just doesn't want to admit his embarrasing deafeats of picking against ANYTHING Kelly PavliKKK has accomplished this year!!::

 

I would say Pavlik

 

Hop's best wins came in THIS decade. Try again.

 

So suddenly you switch from "best years" to "best wins" as if no one would notice.

Ali's "best wins" came in the 70s (Foreman, Frazier, Spinks)...but his best years were in the 60s.

Hopkins, like Ali was a better fight before his best wins came along.

You can't have it both ways Tam Tam.

 

Come on Sly. There's no universal age when it comes to boxing. Oscar has clearly been part his peak for a while now.

 

Past his peak..sure, but only slightly...as I mentioned.

Losing to B-Hop is no shame, he would have lost to Hopkins at any stage of his career...too small. Struggling with Sturm at 160 is no shame either, Oscar is NOT a middleweight.

However in a more recent fight than any of those he wipes out Mayorga with ease.

So where's the evidence that he's close to being "shot" or at the very least "WELL past his peak"?

 

He just hasn't been very active... especially when comparing him to a Bernard Hopkins at the same age. Oscar's competitive peak was probably 10 years ago. :dunno:

 

I guess my point is not that Oscar is the ame fighter he was 10 years ago, but that he's still a formidable opponent, which I believe he is, and I believe that the Mayorga fight was evidence of this.

 

That's fair. I do agree... he's a lower top-10 kind of guy at 154. A good opponent... but beyond name, honestly, it's not a massive victory.

 

It is when you consider that Floyd was at 130lbs not too long ago and that was for a 5th title against a NAME opponent who is a great fighter and proved in his previous fight that he has alot left in him.

But we can agree to disagree on this point.

 

Word. :bears:

 

This is a respectable argument - but then you look at someone like Trinidad, who looked just as great against Mayorga, only to completely forget boxing 101 in his very next fight.

Honestly, I thought Oscar looked terrible against Floyd, and not in the same manner that most of Floyd's opponents look bad against him. There was nothing throwback about Oscar's performance. Even my Dad, a lifelong Oscar fan (probably to piss me off :: ) wanted to see him retire after the fight.

I think it would be a different story for Oscar if he were facing fellow 154 lb. contenders, we'd see how far along he is. Someone like Floyd will only outbox him, and at times make him look foolish. Fighters closer to Oscar's size and closer to their natural weight, I believe, would convince him to stick to promoting full time.

Also, I don't put as much stock into paper titles as most others do. Oscar beating Mayorga, who beat that shitty Italian fighter Vernon's facing next week - hardly an impressive string. So that's why I disregard the "world title in 5th weight class" angle. Especially when he turned the trick in a fight he was already significantly favored to win.

 

Jake is on point today.

 

I would put Cotto's three of

Urkal, Judah and Mosley against Pavlik's

Zertuche, Miranda and Taylor

anyday

while Zertuche is an exciting fighter he is more opponent than contender much like Urkal

the Judah win IMO was more convincing than Pavliks win over Miranda in that while Judah is one of the most fustrating fighters on Earth he is also more skilled and probably harder to beat than Miranda

also you could make a point that Cotto's last opponent, Mosley, was more of a challenge than Taylor was to Pavlik considering how most like to critique all the flaws he has