Year 2007 has certainly been a blessing as it provided to be one of the most celebrated and significant years in recent memory for the sport of boxing.
Finally, the positives outweighed the negatives. Complimentary to some of the other sports out there, its current state looks to be on rather the cleaner side of the pond, thanks to other notables such as Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, and the Patriots that have stole the negative headlines with their share of controversy.
Meanwhile, it’s been one hell of year for boxing, shed by the likes of mega fights followed by another and the emergence of a now mainstream superstar in Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Villain or not, ‘Money Mayweather has risen to save the face of boxing. It was arguably the most lucrative year in boxing history led by Mayweather-De La Hoya and Mayweather-Hatton, both of which allowed the sport to be in the midst of everyday conversations shared by co-workers, students, and frequent bar attendees.
And of course, there’s much more on top of it, thanks to Cotto-Mosley, Pavlik-Taylor, and Calzaghe-Kessler, to name a few.
To sum it up, 2007 wasn’t just a busy year for the aficionados and pugilists of the sport, but also for those casual fans, who have now turned their attention to the sport along with their interests in football, basketball, and baseball.
Let’s not ruin the moment now with a never ending comparison to the UFC, which by the way, has also had an excellent year minus the failure to sign Fedor Emelianeko and its subsequent contractual disputes with company star Randy Couture.
So let’s take the time reflect on the high and low ends of the spectrum that presented for us in the year 2007.
FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
With an enshrinement of a new middleweight king, a national hero’s transition into a global force, cementing a place for the division’s all-time best, and a long time champion’s reach to the economic peak, it was really hard to decide who would escape with the honorable boxer of the year bragging rights. Thus, great achievements were made, but in the end, like everything else, there’s always that additional -er next to thy expression ‘great’.
With that, I have no choice but to award Floyd Mayweather the merit of this year’s fighter of the year. With two gigantic mega bouts, both of which not only generated millions and millions of dollars, but captivated the world to tune in, Mayweather was able to prove to be a marketable hit and on top, a winner in both significant outings.
Against Oscar De La Hoya, Mayweather join the elite levels of the group as the third fighter in history of boxing to win title in six different weight classes.
To end the year with an exclamation point, Mayweather sealed the deal when the virtuoso denied the valiant challenge of Ricky Hatton and thousands of his U.K. contingents, stopping his unbeaten foe in 10 to resolidify his place as the best fighter today pound for pound.
Honorable mentions: Joe Calzaghe, Kelly Pavlik, Miguel Cotto
FIGHT OF THE YEAR
This scribe strongly considers the significance of the bout when judging the fight of the year and like you’d see in the movies, characters often determine the light of critical reception upon the result of its plot and drama that took place.
That is exactly what I saw from both the middleweight championship showdown between Kelly Pavlik and Jermain Taylor and the super bantamweight rematch between Israel Vasquez and Rafael Marquez.
The difference being, while Vasquez and Marquez produced six rounds of fireworks, Pavlik and Taylor both delivered DRAMA at its best -a thrilling start, and a near early knockout, which then transpired into a calm intermission before the heavy climax resulted in a shocking finish.
If there was a fight that made you jump out of your seat, this was certainly it. Its significance, being a middleweight championship bout between two unbeaten contestants and their divergent fan base, only adds to what turned out to be one of the most dramatic middleweight championship fights in recent memories.
Honorable mentions: Israel Vasquez TKO6 Rafael Marquez, Joe Calzaghe W12 Mikkel Kessler, David Diaz W12 Erik Morales
COMEBACK OF THE YEAR
It’s been years since Dr. Zhivago, but Julie Christie is back for possibly another Oscar nomination. An opposite fate lies for Evander Holyfield, who continuously struggles to swim out of the Nile river.
On south border of the lighter weights, ageless Gerry Penalosa made us all smile finally winning another world title after a failed but game attempt at 122 pounds a few months before. His rejuvenation embarks a new presence in the sea, putting the bantamweight sharks on notice.
His performance against Ponce De Leon (which many thought he should’ve been awarded with the decision) and his awesome liver shot that lifted him the WBO title against Jhonny Gonzalez, merits this award for the best comeback of the year.
Honorable mentions – Vernon Forrest, Javier Castillejo, Cassious Baloyi, Alex Munoz
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Need a new face for boxing? Well, let the bodies hit the floor! Talk about a middleweight version of the late Diego Corrales. Bursting on the global landscape with a dominating stoppage win over fellow slugger Edison Miranda, Kelly Pavlik also saved the 160 pounds division by putting an end to a series of bad decisions by putting Jermain Taylor to sleep.
Honorable mentions – Paul Williams (W12 Antonio Margarito), Cristian Mijares (W12 Jorge Arce)
THE LETDOWNS
Antonio Tarver, Kassim Ouma, Sergio Mora, Jorge Arce, Peter Manfredo, the entire heavyweight division – The finger pointing can go in many directions, so how about listing a few names that have either been a bust or just flat out disappointments to the eye?
Stay tuned for Part II