RSR’s 2010 Boxing Awards: Sergio Martinez Beats Out Manny Pacquiao for Fighter of the Year
Compiled by Brian Wilbur
Before we welcome in the new year of 2011, let us look back to the sometimes exciting but sometimes trying year for boxing that 2010 delivered. We had sensational knockouts, a few all-out wars, and some colossal characters who captured the imagination of the entire sporting world. Though despite some great moments, the year overall was rather poor compared to years past. The failure of one particular mega fight cast a dark cloud over the sport and ended our year anticlimactically. But to chronicle the fights that actually did happen, I sent out ballots for the below categories and they were voted on by the esteemed writing team from RingsideReport.com for your reading enjoyment. Below are the awards for the best, and the worst, that 2010 had to offer.
Upset of the Year: Jason Litzau SD10 over Celestino Caballero
Caballero was undefeated over the last six years, having dominated the competition at 122 pounds during that time. Celestino unified the WBA and IBF Super Bantamweight belts and even earned a spot in Ring Magazine’s top 10 pound for pound ranking. Litzau, his opponent on November 27th for the undercard of Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Michael Katsidis, was considered an exciting fighter but nothing more than a celebrated club pug. The bookies had Caballero as an overwhelming favorite to win. Litzau surprised everyone by being simply better all around, earning a well-deserved decision.
“The quintessential upset as the solid but not spectacular fighter shows up and works from the opening bell to beat the more gifted fighter. Perhaps this is why they actually have the fights.” – Jeff Stoyanoff
“A 13 -1 underdog gets a decision over Caballero, stopping a super match up between Caballero and Yuriorkis Gamboa. This fight was just a stay busy fight and ended up being a career roadblock.” – Marc Anthony
“Jason Litzau overcame 13-1 odds to outwork and overcome the highly touted Celestino Caballero in a gutsy and spirited performance. It was a great win for him and for boxing, proving that you can never count anyone out.” – Geno McGahee
Round of the Year – Jesus Soto-Karass vs. Mike Jones Round 2
Heavily favored prospect Jones went wild in round two trying to knock out Soto-Karass. Jones threw about two minutes worth of power punches with full force and Soto-Karass thrillingly hung in there and took everything that Mike had to offer. Soto-Karass did more damage than all of Jones’ punches combined simply by staying on his feet. Jones was obviously gassed for the rest of the bout and received a gift decision.
“In the second round it was a Wild West shoot out. With Jones throwing over fifty punch flurry and Soto taking the punches like they were hugs… Firing back and forth with no one giving an inch.” – Marc Anthony
Honorable Mention: Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana Round 10, Said Ouali vs. Hector Saldvia Round 1.
“I know there were better rounds in terms of give and take action, but what round had you more on the edge of your seat than Khan vs. Maidana round 10? The whole dynamic of the fight dealt with the question of could the future superstar of boxing, Amir Khan, handle a heavy shot from a true puncher. And, finally, he got tagged. Watching him try to survive and even fire back with a killer like Maidana hunting him down provided the most dramatic moments of 2010.” – Jeff Stoyanoff
Disappointment of the Year: The absence of a Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight
Very rarely in the history of boxing have two elite all time great boxers been active and in their primes at the same time and in the same weight class. You can count those times on one hand, and right now is one of those times. Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather has the potential for being one of the biggest and best boxing events ever. No other fight comes close, and no other fight makes any sense for either man. Yet the negotiations have failed twice and after all of the hype and hoopla, boxing fans around the world are left with a massive letdown.
“Though I am not as freaked out about this as many fans, this is an all time softball. Of course the biggest letdown of the year is the fact that Pacquiao and Mayweather couldn’t come to terms on a fight.” – Jeff Stoyanoff
“Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is the fight that everyone wants but it’s not happening… at least not in 2010.” – Geno McGahee
Fight That Should Not Have Been on PPV: Shane Mosley vs. Sergio Mora
Shane Mosley, with the exception of his surprising win over Antonio Margarito, has not looked like the “Sugar Shane” who was a pound for pound staple in the 1990’s. Shane was old, clearly declining and was fresh off a loss to Floyd Mayweather. Mora had done nothing significant since dropping a wide unanimous decision to the late Vernon Forrest in 2008. Neither man had ever been established as a clear PPV attraction either. Yet, perplexingly, the Mora vs. Mosley fight was featured on PPV. Only the most hardcore fans bought this loser fight and probably regretted the purchase.
“Mosley is a guy who can be on PPV I suppose, but he certainly can’t carry a show on his own. And, trying to sell Sergio Mora as a PPV fighter makes Hopkins vs. Jones seem reasonable. On top of all that, it was a bad stylistic match up and a terrible fight….Wow.” – Jeff Stoyanoff
“The fight consisted of Mosley chasing Mora throughout and not being able to catch him. Mosley looked slow and Mora looked unwilling to engage.” – Marc Anthony
Dishonorable Mention: Bernard Hopkins vs. Roy Jones Jr.
“What a disgrace. Hopkins vs. Jones was an example of two men trying to steal money from the audience and most of the fans were hip to it and it failed miserably. No way should this have been a pay per view, especially after Roy was flattened by Danny Green in 1 round.” – Geno McGahee
Missing in Action Award: Floyd Mayweather, JR.
Mayweather had one fight this year, a lackluster unanimous decision against Shane Mosley and then gave us absolutely nothing. One day Floyd wanted to fight, but then the next day would say that he wanted to take an indefinite vacation. One day he would call out Pacquiao, but the next day say that he isn’t even thinking about boxing. For all of his talk, fans expected a lot more out of Floyd and he was invisible (at least in the boxing ring) for most of the year. As the days go by it appears like Mayweather is feigning retirement as a way to duck Pacquiao.
“Milk cartoon style of missing action should be Mayweather with yet another failed negotiation to fight Pacquiao. He held us fans prisoners to the long awaited and never made super fight.” – Marc Anthony
Dishonorable Mention: Nikolay Valuev, Kelly Pavlik, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Ricky Hatton’s common sense.
KO of the Year: Sergio Martinez KO2 over Paul Williams
Most people expected the rematch between Martinez and Williams to be an action packed slugfest just like the first match. Bookies considered this one to be a pick ‘em fight, and one that would likely last the distance. Martinez shocked viewers with a brilliant one-punch knockout that had Williams sleeping before he hit the mat. The punch was a stunning left and honed in on “The Punisher’s” chin like a guided missile. Sergio gave us a truly memorable KO as he made the first defense of his WBC Middleweight belt.
“One punch to a strong chinned Williams from Martinez, not known for one punch KO power, was very dramatic.” – Marc Anthony
“It was not only devastating but surprising. A great KO.” – Geno McGahee
Honorable Mention: Alexander Frenkel KO7 over Enzo Maccarinelli
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.’s Padded Record Award: Andre Berto
Berto’s proposed match against Shane Mosley would have been a good way for him to establish himself as a name opponent. Berto vs. Mosley would have been a crossroads match up that could have been interesting and challenging for the promising young power puncher. Instead, Berto pulled out of the Mosley fight and took two easy fights against second-rate opponents. If Berto is serious about wanting to challenge Manny Pacquiao then he needs to quit fighting soft touches and earn his shot by fighting tough opponents.
Dishonorable Mention: Saul “Canelo” Alvarez
“Alvarez looks impressive to be sure, but the bottom line is, we still know next to nothing about how he will fare against the very best the sport has to offer at this point.” – Jeff Stoyanoff
Heavyweight Fight of the Year: Tomasz Adamek vs. Chris Arreola
Adamek vs. Arreola was a really intriguing heavyweight battle, especially for boxing purists. Adamek was a former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champ. He had established himself as one of the elite in those divisions during his stay. Though Adamek clearly had skills and knew how to fight, naturally smaller guys have historically struggled against full-sized heavyweights. Arreola was definitely a full-sized heavyweight and was one of the hardest punchers in the division. Adamek boxed brilliantly by jabbing and moving, frustrating and out-boxing Arreola for 12 rounds, which was surprising since Adamek had been known as a brawler at his previous weight classes. Tomasz bested Arreola as his coming out party as a realistic heavyweight contender.
Honorable Mention: David Haye vs. John Ruiz
“It wasn’t a great contest, but Haye’s ability to dominate a guy that has made so many other fighters look bad was a strong statement that energized the division. Unfortunately, Haye and the Klitschko’s seem to have taken the path of lesser resistance by taking turns knocking out other guys rather than opting to face each other.” – Jeff Stoyanoff
Mismatch of the Year: Vitali Klitschko vs. Shannon Briggs
In my official RSR prediction for this fight I said, “I can’t believe that Shannon Briggs is still fighting, let alone getting title shots.” I stay up late at night wondering how Briggs, who had not been relevant for years, was able to secure that match against the older Klitschko brother. Whoever came up with the idea for washed up Shannon Briggs to fight Vitali the dominant champion needs to stop having ideas.
“This was pretty much a travesty that served no point whatsoever other than to make the heavyweight division and boxing in general look bad.” – Jeff Stoyanoff
Dishonorable Mention: David Haye vs. Audley Harrison, Lucian Bute vs. Jesse Brinkley, Andre Berto vs. Freddy Hernandez, Joan Guzman vs. Jason Davis, and Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey.
Fighter of the Year: Sergio Martinez
Martinez came onto the radar in 2009 with a draw against Kermit Cintron and a majority decision loss to Paul Williams. Many observers felt like the largely unknown Argentine deserved to win both decisions against his favored and more popular opponents. His success opened doors for him in 2010. In April, Martinez secured a Middleweight Championship bid against Kelly Pavlik. Martinez, despite being new to the division, boxed marvelously and successfully trounced and befuddled Pavlik over twelve rounds. He followed up his title-clinching win with the much-anticipated rematch against Paul Williams. This time Martinez did not leave the fight into the hands of the judges, scoring RSR’s 2010 KO of the year. In a year filled mostly with disappointment, Martinez provided us with two of the few fights to truly look forward to, and provided hardcore boxing fans with awe-inspiring boxing form.
“Plenty of guys to could receive this honor of course, but wins over Pavlik and Williams both in memorable fashion. Martinez was so good that losing to him didn’t even hurt the marketability of the fallen opponent. That’s a dominating star in a sport.” – Jeff Stoyanoff
“It was his night to shine and shine he did. People wanting to see him fight Pacman or Money Weather shows that this year was the year for Martinez the Maravilla.” – Marc Anthony
Honorable Mention: Manny Pacquiao
Fight of the Year: Marcos Maidana vs. Amir Khan
We saw exactly what Amir Khan is made of in this fight and he kept fans on the edges of their seats in the process. Early on, Amir brilliantly showed off his lightning quick hand speed and ring generalship that make him a special fighter. Khan’s reflexes and speed are truly magnificent. Yet despite the best of Khan being on full display, he was tested by Maidana to the edges of his ability. Marcos kept coming with his killer instinct and hard power punches, landing sometimes and doing great damage. Khan may not be a pound for pound candidate yet, but we saw that he had a heart of a champion being able to come out on top of a war and being able to survive that hellacious shot that Maidana tagged him with in round 10. The skill level of this bout was matched only by its intensity.
Honorable Mention: Juan Manuel Lopez vs. Rafael Marquez, Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Michael Katsidis, and John Simpson vs. Martin Lindsay.
Have a Happy New Year everyone!