By Gav Duthie: As 2015 draws to a close we assess what boxing gave us for the year. Lots of big fights came to fruition that has passed us by in previous years and the promotional landscape changed dramatically with the emergence of PBC. This article discusses 10 different points to summarize the year.
1. Fighter of the year
Arthur Abraham
When looking into this I even surprised myself with my choice. Abraham wouldn’t even be a top 25 P4P fighter but he has had a tremendous year. With Andre Ward moving to 175 lbs and Carl Froch retiring Abraham is the #1 Super middleweight until proven otherwise. Abraham started the year with a rematch against Paul Smith who had surprised everyone given him a lot of problems at the back end of 2014. The second bout wasn’t even close as Abraham dominated. The Armenian based German then closed the book on another rivalry against Robert Stieglitz. Abraham was up 2-1 from their trilogy but with 2 points wins and Stieglitz with one stoppage. Abraham ended it in style with a big right hand for a 4th round stoppage. He capped the year off with a 12 round split decision win over Brit Martin Murray. Abraham looked an average fighter in the Super 6 and after being stopped by Stieglitz he looked finished this is why his year is even more impressive.
Honorable mention – Gennady Golovkin (beat Martin Murray, Willie Monroe, David Lemieux)
2. Fight of the year
Lucas Matthysse v Ruslan Provodnikov
In all honesty I hoped this fight would be even better bit it was still a captivating watch. In the end Lucas Matthysse was too good a boxer for the contest to be fought toe-to-toe for the whole 12 rounds. Matthysse used his jab and movement well and plenty of power shots but the game Ruslan Provodnikov would not stay away. What kept the fight interesting was that Matthysse was the one who was hurt on more occasions despite landing the bigger shots. In the end both fighters earned a lot of respect for their performances.
Honorable mentions – Marco Huck v Krzystof Glowaki, Omar Figueroa v Ricky Burns
3. Prospect of the year –
Errol Spence Jnr
The heralded Errol Spence Jnr has went from prospect to top contender in 2015. Spence fought 4 times this year and got more impressive with each bout even when he stepped up in class. All four victories against Samuel Vargas, Phil Lo Greco, Chris Van Heerden and Alejandro Barrera were settled inside the distance. Impressively he destroyed Le Greco who’s only loss previous was against Shawn Porter on points. Van Heerden was also considered a good prospect and highly ranked but hardly laid a glove on Spence. Floyd Mayweather Jr has a lot of faith in him and he could fight for a title this year against Tim Bradley, Kell Brook or Keith Thurman.
Honorable mentions – Anthony Joshua, Joseph Parker, Oleksandr Usyk
4. Upset of the year
Krzystof Glowaki v Marco Huck
This was supposed to be a showcase event, a celebration of the one of the most decorated cruiserweights of all time. Huck needed one more defence to beat Johnny Nelson’s record of 13. There was talk of him fighting Nelson himself, then Roy Jones Jr was mentioned. Sense prevailed and he fought Krzystof Glowacki his mandatory. Even after knocking the Pole down in round 6 he wouldn’t go away and rallied to stop Huck in the penultimate round of the fight.
Honorable – Tony Harrison loss and Tyson Fury beating Wladimir Klitschko
5. Knockout of the year
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez v James Kirkland
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was another candidate for fighter of the year. Some factions of the media and fans had been questioning Alvarez after the last couple of years, he struggled with Austin Trout before losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2013 and was far from convincing in his 12 round split decision victory over Erislandy Lara in 2014. This year however his opponents have suited him better to showcase his talents. Canelo against James Kirkland was one of the best three round fights since Marvin Hagler v Thomas Hearns. The knockout was also reminiscent of Hearns against Roberto Duran. Canelo threw a jab feint to the body before detonating a big right hand to Kirkland as he was on the ropes. Later in the year Canelo went on to beat Miguel Cotto by unanimous decision.
Honorable mentions – Zolani Tete v Paul Butler
6. Comeback of the year
Carl Frampton v Alejandro Gonzalez Jnr
Built up as a routine defence for Carl “The Jackal” Frampton but the tall Mexican Alejandro Gonzalez Jnr had other plans. The whole of the UK has had one eye on a Frampton v Scott Quigg unification showdown but it could have all been destroyed in the first round by Gonzalez. Frampton was knocked down twice but stayed composed to outbox and outwork the challenger for the rest of the fight to win an unanimous decision.
Honorable mentions – Kell Brook from his leg injury, Jorge Linares v Kevin Mitchell
7. Performance of the year
Gennady “GGG” Golovkin v David Lemieux
Marketed as Gennady Golovkin’s first real test and a unification bout GGG walked through it without difficulty. Two huge punchers but the Canadian David Lemieux was never in the fight. His superiority over the other top fighters was never more evident than this night and he will be looking to fully unify against Canelo, Billy Joe Saunders and defeat WBA regular champ Daniel Jacobs next year.
Honorable mentions – Floyd Mayweather Jr v Manny Pacquiao (But too unexciting to win)
8. Disappointment of the year
Wladimir Klitschko v Tyson Fury
Who would have thought it possible to be more disappointed than the Floyd Mayweather Jr v Manny Pacquiao fight. Mayweather landed 151 punches against Pacquiao so how on earth did Tyson Fury win a world title landing only just over 80 punches against Wladimir Klitschko. Both fighters seemed scared to take the initiative and looked to counter all night. The rematch has to be better.
Dishonorable mentions – Mayweather v Pacquiao, Canelo v Cotto
9. Best Achievement
Anthony Crolla winning WBA Lightweight title
This time last year Anthony Crolla chased a burglar who was attempting steal from his neighbor. His good deed rewarded him with a broken ankle and a fractured skull as he was hit from behind with a concrete slab. His scheduled world title fight in January against Richar Abril was postponed and his career in jeopardy. Against all odds he came back and produced a dominant display in his world title shot against Darley’s Perez only to be given a controversial draw. To his credit Perez gave the rematch and Crolla took no chances winning the WBA title with a fifth round knockout.
10. Top 3 fights for 2016
The fights I would love to see next year
Sergey Kovalev v Adonis Stevenson
Gennady Golovkin v Saul “Canelo” Alvarez
Tyson Fury v Deontay Wilder
What are the readers awards for these categories?
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