Tyson Fury scored the biggest upset of the year as he dethroned Wladimir Klitschko’s dominate ten-year reign as the best fighter in the heavyweight division, en route to a twelve round, unanimous decision by two scores of 115-112 and one score of 116-111, at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany, in front of 55,000 mostly pro-Klitschko fans. Fury improved to 25-0, 18 KOs and with the victory, gained the IBO, WBA, IBF, and WBO world title belts. Klitschko dropped to 64-4, 53 KOs and lost for the first time in 23 bouts – a streak that has spanned over eleven and a half years.
James Stillerman
Randall Bailey is Back!
Former three-time, two-division world champion Randall “The Knock Out King” Bailey (46-8, 39 KOs) will look to collect another world title with the help of his new promoter, South Korean-based AK Promotions. Bailey’s climb to the top of the welterweight division continued in the right direction on Sunday at the Sunhak Gymnasium in Incheon, South Korea, as he scored a devastating seventh-round knockout victory over Shusaku Fujinaka from a powerful left hook. At the time of the stoppage, he was ahead on all three scorecards, 86-84.
Popular New England Fighter: Danny O’Connor
One of the most popular New England pugilists, Danny O’Connor delighted hundreds of loud passionate hometown Boston fans in his last outing with a dominating fifth round technical knockout victory over Chris Gilbert in May. O’Connor knockdown Gilbert five times after which referee, Leo Gerstel stopped the bout with 1:04 left in the round. O’Connor, with the win, improved his record to 26-2, 10 KOs and received the vacant New England welterweight title.
“I’m happy with my performance against Gilbert and I’m especially proud of myself for the way I handled all the challenges that led up to this bout with [Paulie] Malignaggi being hurt [cut over his left eyelid during sparring] and then having to change my opponent on one week notice,” said O’Connor. “I’m still working on getting better each and every day and I’ve a great deal more to accomplish.”
Two Future World Champions: Anthony Joshua and Artur Beterbiev
Two highly-skilled undefeated knockout artists who have positioned themselves to become potential world champions in their respective divisions are heavyweight Anthony Joshua and light heavyweight Artur Beterbiev.
Joshua (13-0, 13 KOs), the orthodox knockout destroyer from Watford, Hertfordshire is seen as an emerging contender in the heavyweight division. He went 7-0 last year with all of his fights ending in a knockout, most of them in the first round. He defeated veteran countrymen Matt Shelton and Michael Sprott, as well as Denis Bakhtov for the WBC international heavyweight title. This year he took out three more opponents, Jason Gavern, Raphael Love, and world title challenger Kevin Johnson all before the third. His opponents have yet to reach the fourth round. At an impressive six feet six inches and approximately 240 pounds, the former 2012 United Kingdom Olympic Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist is an ideal size for his division and always displays his fantastic conditioning with great agile footwork, speed, and a commanding jab. He’s ranked second by the WBC, third by the WBO, thirteenth by the WBA, and fourteenth by the IBF.
Tarver and Cunningham Settle for a Draw
In a do or die fight for two older heavyweights looking for one last opportunity at a world title bout, Antonio “Magic Man” Tarver and “USS” Steve Cummingham gave everything they had in a hard fought, competitive twelve round split decision draw. Scores were 115-113 for Cunningham, 115-113 for Tarver, and 114-114. This main event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey was part of the Premier Boxing Champions and was broadcast on Spike TV.
Throwback Fighter: Marcus Upshaw
The confident, tenacious, and hard-working orthodox middleweight pugilist Marcus “Arillus” Upshaw (17-13-4, 1NC, 8 KOs) is a firm believer that he’ll be a world champion in the near future.
“My uncle, the late Gene Upshaw, a NFL Hall of Fame offensive tackle for the Oakland Raiders always told me that I can accomplish anything that I set my mind to, and that is what I aim to do by becoming the best boxer in my weight class,” said Upshaw.
Upshaw’s opportunity to become a world champion continues as he takes on hometown favorite Lanell “KO” Bellows (12-1-1, 7 KOs) this Sunday, June 21st at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Upshaw is moving up to the super middleweight division and fighting in his opponents’ backyard for this bout, which he has done throughout his career.
Antonio Tarver Aims for the Heavyweight World Title in 2015
Five-time world title holder and former Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight Champion, Antonio “Magic Man” Tarver (31-6, 1 NC, 22 KOs) has achieved a great deal of success in his career; however, there`s still one thing he wants to accomplishment before he retires and that`s to be a heavyweight world title holder.
“This is going be my year,” said Tarver. “I`m ready to defeat the consensus best heavyweight in the world, Wladimir Klitschko or the winner of the Bermane Stiverne vs. Deontay Wilder bout on January 17th, which is for the World Boxing Council’s title. I`m extremely confident that I`ll beat anyone of these three fighters and strengthen my legacy to be inducted into the boxing hall of fame.”
Comeback Fighter of the Year: Jermain Taylor
After Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor (33-4-1, 20 KOs) suffered consecutive devastating knockout losses to Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham in his one and only appearance during the Super Six World Boxing Classic Tournament in 2009 which he left due to bleeding in his brain, most boxing fans didn`t believe that he would ever fight again, let alone become a world champion for the second time.
Taylor; however, did just that when he upset Sam Soliman for the International Boxing Federation Middleweight Title in October to became my Comeback Fighter of the Year.
Terrance Crawford: Fighter of the Year
Undefeated World Boxing Organization`s (“WBO”) Lightweight Title Holder, Terrance “Hunter” Crawford (25-0, 17 KOs) went from a rather unknown up and coming contender to a potential superstar in 2014 as he obtained a world title from Ricky Burns and then successfully defended it twice against two great pugilists, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Raymundo Beltra, which makes him my 2014 Fighter of the Year.
Crawford traveled to Glasgow, Scotland in March and beat up two-division world champion, Ricky Burns, who was making his fourth title defense. Despite fighting the biggest bout of his career and being a long way from his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, Crawford showed no signs of being shy in the big moment. He proved to be no match for the tough and experienced Burns as he controlled the fight and effectively landed whatever he wanted, especially from the outside, en route to a twelve unanimous decision victory, despite fighting in Burns` backyard.
Jean Pascal takes on Roberto Bolonti this Saturday on Integrated Sports Media
Former light heavyweight champion and current North America Boxing Federation Champion, Jean Pascal (29-2-1, 17 KOs) takes on Argentina’s Roberto “The Beast” Bolonti (35-3, 24 KOs) in a ten round main event bout at the Belle Centre in Montreal, Canada on Saturday, December 6th.
The thirty-two year old Canadian orthodox pugilist has won three in a row since his loss to Bernard Hopkins. Pascal defeated Lucian Bute by way of a unanimous decision in his last outing in January of this year. If he defeats Bolonti, he`s tentatively scheduled to fight World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation (“IBF”) and World Boxing Organization (“WBO”) Champion, Sergey Kovalev on March 14, 2015 in either Montreal or Quebec City. Pascal`s ranked number one by the World Boxing Council (“WBC”) and WBO, number three by Ring Magazine and number four by the IBF.