Even though 2011 is history, the Fight Freaks wanted more awards, beyond last week's traditional winners. I handed out a batch yesterday, and even though my toe was injured, I'm a trouper and finished today's second batch. Hope these will tide you over until next January:
Upset of the year: There were so many to pick from, but one was more shocking to me than any other. Released from prison, working with new trainer Kenny Adams and having easily won his first two comeback fights by early knockout, junior middleweight James Kirkland was supposed to annihilate unheralded Nobuhiro Ishida on the Marcos Maidana-Erik Morales HBO PPV undercard in April. An Ishida victory wasn't even remotely contemplated by anyone other than maybe Ishida. Yet there Ishida was, bouncing Kirkland off the canvas three times for a first-round knockout. Absolutely stunning.
And don't forget about Orlando Salido's eighth-round knockout of Juan Manuel Lopez to take a featherweight belt; Marco Antonio Rubio taking a beating for most of his fight against rising middleweight star David Lemieux before rallying for a stunning seventh-round knockout; supposedly faded action star Jorge Arce moving up in weight and shockingly delivering a 12th-round knockout of Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. to win a junior featherweight title; and Antonio DeMarco, trailing badly against Jorge Linares, being told by his corner that he needed a knockout before the 11th round and getting it to win a lightweight belt in dramatic fashion.
Outside-the-ring fight of the year: The never-ending battle between Bob Arum's Top Rank and Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, which continues to deny fans numerous great matches. Although there was a brief thaw as they managed to make Yuriorkis Gamboa-Daniel Ponce De Leon in September, it was temporary. The bad blood continues, and there seems to be no end to it in sight.
Outside-the-ring upset of the year: James Toney, who has always struggled with his weight, was 257 pounds for a February fight with Damon Reed. Toney's next fight was in November, and he shocked everyone by paring all the way down to 199 to face cruiserweight contender Denis Lebedev.
Saddest display: Seeing the shot Roy Jones Jr., once the most untouchable force on earth, being knocked cold yet again, this time by Lebedev. It wasn't much better seeing the similarly shot Toney, a once-great three-division champ, reduced to stumbling around, missing punches and getting pointlessly brutalized by Lebedev in a shutout loss, after which Toney pathetically proclaimed, "I will see him again, trust me," as if he thought he would get a rematch.
Revenge of the year: Nothing was sweeter than Miguel Cotto, with his throng of Puerto Rican fans going wild at Madison Square Garden, battering Antonio Margarito's bad right eye en route to a 10th-round TKO to avenge his tainted 2008 loss against boxing's enemy No. 1.
Biggest business story: It turned out to be for only one fight, but when Top Rank's Arum and Todd duBoef took Manny Pacquiao from HBO to Showtime for his May pay-per-view fight with Shane Mosley, it marked a seismic shift in the boxing business and was one of the major reasons why HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg was forced to resign. It turned out to be one and done, as Pacquiao was back on HBO PPV for his next fight, with Juan Manuel Marquez. But the battle over Pacquiao was hot and heavy, and HBO wound up making all sorts of concessions to Top Rank to bring him back. And how's this for irony: Replacing Greenburg, effective Jan. 9, is Ken Hershman, who left a similar position at Showtime for the gig.
Winky Wright School of Boxing Business valedictorian: Congratulations to former lightweight titlist David Diaz. He turned down roughly $200,000 to fight Marquez in July and instead took an August fight with Hank Lundy for about $15,000 and got knocked out, essentially ending his career.
Anti-Winky Wright School of Boxing Business valedictorian: Congratulations to Lamont Peterson, who looked as though he had made a serious blunder when he turned down around $350,000 to fight Amir Khan in April because he didn't like the money or the terms of a rematch clause. Instead, he took a dangerous summer title eliminator for $10,000 against Victor Cayo and knocked him out to become Khan's mandatory challenger. That meant Peterson didn't have to give up options to Golden Boy, and he wound up getting Khan to come to his hometown of Washington, D.C., earning $650,000 and winning the fight. He remains in the enviable position of being a promotional free agent.
Old man of the year: Bernard Hopkins, who, at 46, broke George Foreman's record and became the oldest fighter to win a world title by outpointing Jean Pascal in their May light heavyweight championship fight. Hopkins showed his youthful spirit by doing a set of push-ups in the ring between rounds.
Most forgettable fight: Hopkins-Chad Dawson. Hopkins' encore to the historic Pascal fight went 0-for-4: 1) There was little public demand for it in the first place; 2) The live gate at Staples Center died (3,888 tickets sold, totaling a paltry $285,677); 3) The HBO PPV card suffered a similar death, drawing as little as 40,000 buys, according to Golden Boy; 4) The fight itself stunk. The bout lasted fewer than two miserable rounds and ended with Hopkins being thrown to the mat by Dawson and suffering a shoulder injury, forcing it to be called off and eventually ruled a no-decision two months later.
Most forgettable fight II: Timothy Bradley Jr.-Devon Alexander. HBO poured millions into this junior welterweight unification fight, which was supposed to make a star out of the winner. It didn't, and it turned out to be the network's "Ishtar." The fight stunk and didn't generate much viewer interest, which happens. But what exacerbated the situation were two things: HBO had insanely guaranteed the winners seven-figure return bouts, and promoters Gary Shaw and Don King took the fight to the antiquated Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., in the dead of winter after the owner threw a big site fee at them. The fight didn't belong there, and few showed up to a building that rival promoter Arum called a "decrepit barn."
Not-fair-and-not-firm, worst refereeing of the year: Nevada referee Russell Mora, who probably cost Joseph Agbeko his bantamweight title in his first fight with Abner Mares. First, he awarded Mares a questionable first-round knockdown that looked like a slip. Then he allowed Mares to repeatedly hit Agbeko below the belt. Mora warned him a few times, never took any points and then stopped warning him altogether. When Agbeko fell to the canvas from a blatant shot to the groin in the 11th round, Mora called it a knockdown instead of docking points from Mares. Perhaps the most abysmal refereeing performance I have ever seen.
Toughest year: Fighters from the United Kingdom, who got whipped like it was 1783. Although they had their share of triumphs, it didn't go well for most Brits at the top level. Losing their world titles: David Haye, Khan and Carl Froch. Others who lost in world title bouts: Irishman Matthew Macklin (albeit in a robbery against Felix Sturm), Matthew Hatton, Ryan Rhodes, Darren Barker, Brian Magee and John Murray.
Announcer hysterics of the year: The fight had been a barnburner, but during the sensational sixth round of Victor Ortiz's epic clash with Andre Berto, HBO's Emanuel Steward simply couldn't contain himself. After Berto dropped Ortiz and then Ortiz dropped Berto moments later, out of nowhere, Steward lost it, screaming out, "Ohhhhh, maaaaah gawwwwwd!" Can't say I blamed him.
Quote of the year runner-up: "You don't never give me a fair shake, you know that? So I'm gonna let you talk to Victor Ortiz, alright? I'm through. They [should] put somebody else up here to give me an interview. You never give me a fair shake. HBO needs to fire you because you don't know s--- about boxing. You ain't s---." --Floyd Mayweather Jr., losing his cool for no apparent reason during his postfight interview with legendary HBO commentator Larry Merchant following his knockout of Ortiz
Quote of the year: "I wish I was 50 years younger, and I'd kick your ass." --The instant-classic response from the 80-year-old Merchant
Upset of the year: There were so many to pick from, but one was more shocking to me than any other. Released from prison, working with new trainer Kenny Adams and having easily won his first two comeback fights by early knockout, junior middleweight James Kirkland was supposed to annihilate unheralded Nobuhiro Ishida on the Marcos Maidana-Erik Morales HBO PPV undercard in April. An Ishida victory wasn't even remotely contemplated by anyone other than maybe Ishida. Yet there Ishida was, bouncing Kirkland off the canvas three times for a first-round knockout. Absolutely stunning.
And don't forget about Orlando Salido's eighth-round knockout of Juan Manuel Lopez to take a featherweight belt; Marco Antonio Rubio taking a beating for most of his fight against rising middleweight star David Lemieux before rallying for a stunning seventh-round knockout; supposedly faded action star Jorge Arce moving up in weight and shockingly delivering a 12th-round knockout of Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. to win a junior featherweight title; and Antonio DeMarco, trailing badly against Jorge Linares, being told by his corner that he needed a knockout before the 11th round and getting it to win a lightweight belt in dramatic fashion.
Outside-the-ring fight of the year: The never-ending battle between Bob Arum's Top Rank and Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, which continues to deny fans numerous great matches. Although there was a brief thaw as they managed to make Yuriorkis Gamboa-Daniel Ponce De Leon in September, it was temporary. The bad blood continues, and there seems to be no end to it in sight.
Outside-the-ring upset of the year: James Toney, who has always struggled with his weight, was 257 pounds for a February fight with Damon Reed. Toney's next fight was in November, and he shocked everyone by paring all the way down to 199 to face cruiserweight contender Denis Lebedev.
Saddest display: Seeing the shot Roy Jones Jr., once the most untouchable force on earth, being knocked cold yet again, this time by Lebedev. It wasn't much better seeing the similarly shot Toney, a once-great three-division champ, reduced to stumbling around, missing punches and getting pointlessly brutalized by Lebedev in a shutout loss, after which Toney pathetically proclaimed, "I will see him again, trust me," as if he thought he would get a rematch.
Revenge of the year: Nothing was sweeter than Miguel Cotto, with his throng of Puerto Rican fans going wild at Madison Square Garden, battering Antonio Margarito's bad right eye en route to a 10th-round TKO to avenge his tainted 2008 loss against boxing's enemy No. 1.
Biggest business story: It turned out to be for only one fight, but when Top Rank's Arum and Todd duBoef took Manny Pacquiao from HBO to Showtime for his May pay-per-view fight with Shane Mosley, it marked a seismic shift in the boxing business and was one of the major reasons why HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg was forced to resign. It turned out to be one and done, as Pacquiao was back on HBO PPV for his next fight, with Juan Manuel Marquez. But the battle over Pacquiao was hot and heavy, and HBO wound up making all sorts of concessions to Top Rank to bring him back. And how's this for irony: Replacing Greenburg, effective Jan. 9, is Ken Hershman, who left a similar position at Showtime for the gig.
Winky Wright School of Boxing Business valedictorian: Congratulations to former lightweight titlist David Diaz. He turned down roughly $200,000 to fight Marquez in July and instead took an August fight with Hank Lundy for about $15,000 and got knocked out, essentially ending his career.
Anti-Winky Wright School of Boxing Business valedictorian: Congratulations to Lamont Peterson, who looked as though he had made a serious blunder when he turned down around $350,000 to fight Amir Khan in April because he didn't like the money or the terms of a rematch clause. Instead, he took a dangerous summer title eliminator for $10,000 against Victor Cayo and knocked him out to become Khan's mandatory challenger. That meant Peterson didn't have to give up options to Golden Boy, and he wound up getting Khan to come to his hometown of Washington, D.C., earning $650,000 and winning the fight. He remains in the enviable position of being a promotional free agent.
Old man of the year: Bernard Hopkins, who, at 46, broke George Foreman's record and became the oldest fighter to win a world title by outpointing Jean Pascal in their May light heavyweight championship fight. Hopkins showed his youthful spirit by doing a set of push-ups in the ring between rounds.
Most forgettable fight: Hopkins-Chad Dawson. Hopkins' encore to the historic Pascal fight went 0-for-4: 1) There was little public demand for it in the first place; 2) The live gate at Staples Center died (3,888 tickets sold, totaling a paltry $285,677); 3) The HBO PPV card suffered a similar death, drawing as little as 40,000 buys, according to Golden Boy; 4) The fight itself stunk. The bout lasted fewer than two miserable rounds and ended with Hopkins being thrown to the mat by Dawson and suffering a shoulder injury, forcing it to be called off and eventually ruled a no-decision two months later.
Most forgettable fight II: Timothy Bradley Jr.-Devon Alexander. HBO poured millions into this junior welterweight unification fight, which was supposed to make a star out of the winner. It didn't, and it turned out to be the network's "Ishtar." The fight stunk and didn't generate much viewer interest, which happens. But what exacerbated the situation were two things: HBO had insanely guaranteed the winners seven-figure return bouts, and promoters Gary Shaw and Don King took the fight to the antiquated Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., in the dead of winter after the owner threw a big site fee at them. The fight didn't belong there, and few showed up to a building that rival promoter Arum called a "decrepit barn."
Not-fair-and-not-firm, worst refereeing of the year: Nevada referee Russell Mora, who probably cost Joseph Agbeko his bantamweight title in his first fight with Abner Mares. First, he awarded Mares a questionable first-round knockdown that looked like a slip. Then he allowed Mares to repeatedly hit Agbeko below the belt. Mora warned him a few times, never took any points and then stopped warning him altogether. When Agbeko fell to the canvas from a blatant shot to the groin in the 11th round, Mora called it a knockdown instead of docking points from Mares. Perhaps the most abysmal refereeing performance I have ever seen.
Toughest year: Fighters from the United Kingdom, who got whipped like it was 1783. Although they had their share of triumphs, it didn't go well for most Brits at the top level. Losing their world titles: David Haye, Khan and Carl Froch. Others who lost in world title bouts: Irishman Matthew Macklin (albeit in a robbery against Felix Sturm), Matthew Hatton, Ryan Rhodes, Darren Barker, Brian Magee and John Murray.
Announcer hysterics of the year: The fight had been a barnburner, but during the sensational sixth round of Victor Ortiz's epic clash with Andre Berto, HBO's Emanuel Steward simply couldn't contain himself. After Berto dropped Ortiz and then Ortiz dropped Berto moments later, out of nowhere, Steward lost it, screaming out, "Ohhhhh, maaaaah gawwwwwd!" Can't say I blamed him.
Quote of the year runner-up: "You don't never give me a fair shake, you know that? So I'm gonna let you talk to Victor Ortiz, alright? I'm through. They [should] put somebody else up here to give me an interview. You never give me a fair shake. HBO needs to fire you because you don't know s--- about boxing. You ain't s---." --Floyd Mayweather Jr., losing his cool for no apparent reason during his postfight interview with legendary HBO commentator Larry Merchant following his knockout of Ortiz
Quote of the year: "I wish I was 50 years younger, and I'd kick your ass." --The instant-classic response from the 80-year-old Merchant
Dan Rafael
Boxing- ESPN.com boxing writer since 2005
- Writes pound-for-pound rankings
- Five years at USA Today
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Dan Rafael
Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer. Rafael began writing for ESPN.com in March 2005 after working for five years as the boxing writer for USA Today. He can be reached on Twitter at danrafaelespn.
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