By James Le Blanc: As this year is coming to a close, with great fights throughout the course of this year it is that time to crown the most impressive boxer; the one that separates himself from the rest as Fighter of the Year. According to some analyst there are many names to choose from; Floyd Mayweather, Danny Garcia, Gennady Golovkin, and Adonis Stevenson. Let me get straight to the point when I say, this year’s Fighter of the Year has to be the Canadian Adonis Stevenson.
Any time a Champion fights four times in a calendar year it is something special. These days we are lucky to get a Champion to fight twice a year. This was the recipe for success in 2012 for Nonito Donaire who fought four times, knocking out two of those opponents. This year Golovkin fought four times knocking out all four opponents and defending his belt every time but the competition is questionable. Floyd Mayweather did something special in his very first unification bout against Saul Alvarez at a weight limit he has only fought at a total of 3 times. This fight broke a few records as Mayweather dominated the over classed Alvarez. The upset of the year has to be Danny Garcia who showed us why boxer beats brawler 9 times out of 10 when he came in the huge underdog to Lucas Matthysse.
But let’s take a look at what Adonis did this year. He avenged his only defeat in March knocking out Darnell Boone. In June he took on the 175lb champ Chad Dawson and knocked him out in the 1st round. Say what you want about Dawson’s skills dwindling but he never let a 60 year old man beat him in the ring (Bernard Hopkins). In September Stevenson took on Tavoris Cloud, a former 175lb champ that had never been stopped. And just the other night, he took on Tony Bellew, a guy that towered over Adonis in height, and got him out of there in the sixth round.
I am writing this because a few nights ago, after the Stevenson fight, I tweeted ESPN’s Brian Campbell and asked him who he had as fighter of the year. He was quick to tweet back and say Floyd Mayweather. It’s a respectable opinion, Floyd is 36, he broke a few records this year and impressed in the ring. But he didn’t knock anyone out, he was never an underdog this year as Stevenson was against Dawson, and he didn’t fight four times.
My Fighter of the Year is Adonis Stevenson, what say you? Hit me up on twitter @James_theGrad.
Comments are closed.