By Sean Jones: Ring Magazine has surprisingly picked Canelo Alvarez as their Fighter of the Year award for 2019 for his wins over Sergey Kovalev and Daniel Jacobs. It’s a controversial pick on the part of Ring Magazine to select Canelo as the winner of the Fighter of the Year, because both of his victories involved fights that rehydration clauses.
Jacobs and Kovalev were guys that fought like they were drained, and had the same look Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. had when he fought Canelo.
Alvarez’s wins over Jacobs and Kovalev weren’t spectacular
Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KOs) should receive some credit for his win over Jacobs, but not his victory over 36-year-old WBO light heavyweight champion Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KOs) on November 2. Kovalev fought like he was in 1st gear the entire fight, and many boxing fans screamed “FIX” after the fight.
They compared how Kovalev fought in his previous fight against Anthony Yarde just three months earlier in August 2019 to the list, weak-punching fighter that battled Canelo. Some think that Kovalev placated Canelo out of gratefulness for him selecting him for the huge cashout payday in the golden twilight of his 10-year professional career.
If Canelo has tested himself in a real way by taking on IBF/WBC 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev or WBA champ Dmitry Bivol, he would deserve Fighter of the Year if he’d beaten those guys. Unfortunately, Canelo opted to take the weakest link among the 175-lb champions in Kovalev, and that makes it tough to give him any credit for his win.
A better pick for the 2019 fighter of the year – Josh Taylor
Josh Taylor (16-0, 12 KOs) had arguably bigger wins than Canelo in 2019 in beating IBF light welterweight champion Ivan Baranchyk and WBA champion Regis Prograis in winning the World Boxing Super Series tournament. Those fights didn’t involve strength draining rehydration clauses, and it wasn’t a situation where they older fighters. Prograis and Baranchyk are both in their 20s, and the prime of their careers. You can’t say that about the 32-year-old Jacobs and Kovalev. Those are older guys that have seen better days.
Other Ring Magazine winners:
- Trainer – Eddy Reynoso
- Knockout – Deontay Wilder TKO 7 Luis Ortiz
- Round of the year – Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz [round 3]
- Fight – Naoya Inoue vs. Nonito Donaire
- Upset – Joshua vs. Ruiz Jr.
- Prospect – Vergil Ortiz Jr.
- Event – Ruiz Jr. vs. Joshua 2
WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder’s knockout win over Luis Ortiz in their rematch on November 23 was hardly the best KO of the year. Wilder’s 1st round knockout win over Dominic Breazeale last May was by far the more impressive knockout of the two.