2016: Fighter of the Year & More

By Boxing News - 12/29/2016 - Comments

Image: 2016: Fighter of the Year & More

By Rameez Haider: As 2016 draws to a close, the boxing world has a sense of excitement for what 2017 will bring after what most regard as a slightly subdued year in boxing. However, there was a fair few performances etc. that lit up 2016. I want to share my opinion with the readers on the fighter of the year, fight of the year, promoter of the year, moment of the year and let down of the year.

What is interesting about the fighter of the year is that none of the big names have come into consideration anywhere simply since 2016 was a year where a lot of the big names either played it safe or were still gaining experience. When I say the big names, I am referring to the marquee names like Canelo, GGG, Joshua, Wilder, Garcia, Pacquiao etc. A couple of boxers who were in contention included Terrence Crawford and Roman Gonzalez.

In 3rd place, I have Vasyl Lomachenko. In 2016, he moved up to destroy Roman Martinez, before becoming a 2-weight champion in only his 8th pro fight by destroying Nicholas Walters inside of 7 rounds. There is no doubt this guy is a masterclass in the ring and it is scary to consider how much he could achieve in the ring. My reasoning for putting him 3rd was down to the fact he only had 2 fights, the 1st of which in my opinion he was expected to win and wasn’t a big test all be it, it was his 7th fight. I know a lot of people have ranked him 1st or 2nd but boxing fans already knew how special a fighter Lomachenko was when he turned pro so maybe I am being a bit harsh when I say that to me Roman Gonzalez was a fight he was expected to win.

In 2nd place, I have Andre Ward. Some people may view this as controversial and will bring up the did he or did he not beat Kovalev but I look at this in a different way. Firstly in 2016, he made the step up to Light Heavyweight and took on Sullivan Barrera who was 17 – 0 and was a good solid light heavyweight and Ward made it a fairly easy nights’ work. His fight with Kovalev was all but confirmed when he took a tune up fight against Alexander Brand who had a record of 25 -1. Again, Ward made this fight look easy. Ward then took on the biggest challenge at the weight in Kovalev, a challenge people like Adonis Stevenson have run from. That in itself is a big deal but to then get up off the floor in the 2nd round and win was a huge achievement. The fight in my opinion was close but I genuinely had Ward winning the fight by a round as I felt Kovalev just ran out of ideas and stamina in the 2nd half of the fight. You may not agree with the result, you may not like Ward’s boxing style, but you can’t dispute the fact that he has stepped up to Light heavyweight and won all 3 fights and become a multi weight world champion.

The fighter of 2016 in my opinion goes to Carl Frampton. In 2016 he too only had 2 fights but the magnitude of the fights and the competition were elite level. Though the fight with Quigg did not live up to expectations, it was a huge fight in the U.K. with a massive build up and even bigger pressure on the fighters. It was a unification fight and took place in Quigg’s back yard in England. In the fight, Frampton showed bits of his mass array of talent. He out boxed Quigg for the 1st 6 rounds, broke Quigg’s jaw, but then showed the grit and determination to grind out the last few rounds when Quigg was all over Frampton. Considering I am a Quigg fan and wanted Quigg to win, that should tell you how highly I rated Frampton’s performance. Frampton then moved up in weight to challenge another undefeated world champion in Leo Santa Cruz. Again, Frampton gave up home advantage, Santa Cruz represented a much tougher proposition than Quigg and this was Frampton’s first fight moving up in weight. Frampton showed the exact same qualities in this fight as he did in the Quigg fight and became a two-weight undefeated world champion. For me this level of opponents plus the fact he fought both in their own backyards makes it a given that the fighter of 2016 can be no other but Frampton.

I had the pleasure on December 10th to watch my fight of 2016 live when Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora went head to head. I can’t see how any fight could top this in 2016. It was one of the best heavyweight fights I have ever seen and I have seen my fair share. After such a big build up, I went into this fight expecting it to disappoint like so many big fights tend to do after a huge build up, but I can say this was not one of those fights. It was so refreshing to see 2 fighters take all their anger, hate, power and personality into the ring and leave everything in the ring. They went blow for blow for the full 12 rounds. Dereck Chisora came in to a chorus of boos, yet by round 5 the whole of the arena was singing his name. To add further spice to the fight there was even a controversial decision to go with it as I had Chisora winning the fight like most in the arena and this has set up the potential for a mouth-watering rematch in 2017. I take my hat off to both boxers for delivering such an epic battle in the ring.

Promoter of the year to me was straight forward, Eddie Hearn. This is mainly down to the great work him and matchroom have done with boxing in the U.K. but also down to how poor other promoters have been especially in the U.S. When you now hear boxers saying the U.K. is where the action is, this immediately gives you an indication of the work Eddie Hearn has done. Using his platform with Sky, he has taken pay per view to another level and bought huge money to the sport. More importantly he has bought the sport into the public domain with a lot more casual boxing fans and now I would say in the U.K. boxing is now the 2nd most popular sport only behind the football. He has a stable of World Champions and continues to put his fighters in positions to challenge for world titles. To already announce fights like Joshua vs Klitschko, Haye vs Bellew & most likely Brook vs Khan, the big fight nights just keep on coming. But as I said, what has been a huge disappointment is the promotion from the likes of Golden Boy, Top Rank and Al Haymon. In the U.K. fights from the U.S. come on between 3am and 6am. Over the years, it’s been worth staying up to watch some of the huge fights like the Mayweather fights and Pacquiao, Cotto etc. but when I look back to 2016, I don’t remember a fight that I stayed up for. What was the mega fights in 2016 from the U.S? I can’t recall any except for Ward vs Kovalev and that didn’t even come from the big 3 promoters. It’s a huge shame because no matter how good boxing in the U.K. is, nothing beats the big fights in Las Vegas and it’s a shame for the fans that the promoters are killing the sport in the U.S. Fans are what make the promoters rich, so why not respect their wishes and make the big fights against fighters with cross promotion? If you can make Mayweather vs Pacquiao happen then any fight can happen. In the U.K., there is a similar situation stirring between Matchroom and Boxnation and though it does worry me, I don’t think the issue will ever be as big as it is in the U.S. Easiest example is Pacquiao and Top Rank. I think if you asked fans to pick his next fight, 80/90 percent would pick a fighter like Garcia, Thurman, Khan, Brook etc. instead Top Rank just keep matching him up against Top Rank fighters. I would not be surprised to be sat here this time next year talking about Pacquiao vs Bradley part 5. For this reason, combined with the excellent work Eddie Hearn does, he is for me the promoter of the year and in fact whether you like him or not I think he is the best promoter period.

For my moment of the year I have actually picked 2. One was Tony Bellew winning his world title at Goodison Park. The reason I picked this was due to the fact it is rare to see someone fulfill a lifelong dream. Many fighters say it is their dream to win a world title etc. but it sometimes seems hollow. To see Bellew win it in front of his own fans, at his football club’s stadium, after being knocked down is a thing of dreams and his reaction after the fight was just amazing to see someone really fulfill a childhood dream, especially in a world which is full of bad times and bad headlines.

My second moment was a bitter sweet moment because I have huge respect for Bernard Hopkins but to see him get knocked out of the ring like he did was a huge moment of 2016. Huge credit to Smith Jr for not getting phased by the occasion and all the hype surrounding Hopkins last fight etc. but the way in which he took out Hopkins was vicious. I think what made it a bigger moment was Hopkins reluctance to admit he got knocked out of the ring. Had he been able to say fair play, finally age caught up with me and this young lion has shown me that, I think people would be a lot more respectful, but by claiming he was pushed out of the ring and the injury etc. I think has tarnished his reputation. That still takes nothing away from Smith Jr who definitely produced one of the moments of 2016.

Finally, the let downs of 2016 and I think these are 3 that everyone will agree with:

Canelo ‘Alvarez’ for vacating the title rather than fight GGG. I don’t really care if it was ducking GGG or if the money was not right it is irrelevant. He should not have vacated the belt especially after giving it the big talk after each of his last 2 fights. It has had a big impact on people’s opinion of him which is a shame as I think he is a solid fighter and I genuinely believe If anyone is going to beat GGG it will be Canelo.

David Haye for coming back into boxing against 2 awful opponents. I understand after 3 years out you need to get back into the rhythm etc. but surely you could do better than someone who got knocked out with a jab? But a bigger reason for Haye being on this list is down to the fact he could have fought Briggs, for whatever reason he pulled out of that when it could have been for the WBA belt, and then gives up his mandatory position for a fight with Parker. To me it seems like Haye is trying to take the easiest route to the big money fight which is Anthony Joshua. Haye looks like he wants that fight to cash out which again is a shame as I believe he could be a force at heavyweight even now.

Tyson Fury I give a brief mention to for not fighting in 2016 and giving up the belts. However, I am not going to go into the types of debates people do because I respect issues surrounding mental health and what it can clearly lead to. Now, I just hope he can get himself right and in the mix because the division needs the character that is Tyson Fury. More importantly he is a different type of heavyweight to the rest and his awkward style would be a test for any of the top fighters in the division.

So, there it is. My personal choice for 2016, whether you agree or disagree I want to wish all the readers a happy new year.

To read more of my articles, follow me on twitter @RameezHaider13.