Much disputed, debated and demeaned too, boxing’s pound-for-pound list remains the definitive way to single out the best boxers in the world.
Making the selection for 2016 requires serious deliberation, as changes must be made. 2016 is only the second year in approximately 11 years of boxing that Floyd Mayweather is not at the top of boxing’s pound-for-pound list.
It’s that time again, and the various publications and boxing websites are listing their respective picks for Fighter of The Year. Far from an easy choice to make this year, there are a few great fighters who enjoyed a stellar 12 months and are arguably deserving of the honour.
Let’s break it down:
It’s one of the most intriguing rematches in boxing and it could happen in March. Vasyl Lomachenko, for many The Fighter of The Year, has been beaten by just two fighters in his entire career, amateur and pro – and the pro defeat, to tough Mexican Orlando Salido, remains the sole unavenged blemish on the super-featherweight champ’s C.V.
But, according to “Hi-Tech” himself, the rematch is very likely for March, in either Las Vegas or Los Angeles.
By Mauricio Sulaiman – 2016 comes to an end – welcome 2017!
As we all try to slow down to enjoy a few quiet moments in the company of our loved ones, thinking about what happened this year and planning on what we wish to do for 2017, it is a great opportunity to simply meditate and reflect on our own actions and what can we personally do to make the difference in our lives and the lives of others. It is so common that we get lost in the day-to-day pressures, deadlines, worries, excessive work, travel, and eternal use of the cell phone. We often forget to look at today, to realize what we have, who is next to us, how fortunate we are to have health, to be alive, to have our loved ones close. We forget to appreciate and cherish what is there.
K2 Promotions, guided by Managing Director Tom Loeffler, continued their 12-year legacy of promoting boxing’s biggest international events in 2016 featuring a number of the sports’ most popular and exciting fighters.
Below are the K2 Promotions nominees for the 2016 Year-End Boxing Awards.
Boxing fans will remember 2016 for a year of exciting fights, if not all of the ones we wanted to see.
The two boxers that came out of 2015 with the biggest wins – Floyd Mayweather and Tyson Fury – did not fight in 2016 at all. Gennady Golovkin continued his devastating reign as middleweight king without fighting any of the division’s top names (at no fault of his own), whilst great champions like Manny Pacquaio and Roman Gonzalez continued to rule, if not in the same manner they once did. Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev did clash in a true battle of modern greats, but who is the better of the two is even less settled than it was before they fought. All in all, although a lot happened in boxing in 2016, not a lot changed.
Fight fans are hoping 2017 will provide them with a good, exciting year of heavyweight action. This year, largely dominated by reigning IBF champ Anthony Joshua (who was, with three title fights fought, the most active heavyweight champion) was no great year, but there are signs that 2017 could be a fine one for the big men of the sport.
The year will be kick-started by the ring return of Deontay Wilder, who will in February fight for the first time since injuring his hand and his biceps whilst throwing bombs at the rock of a head owned by Chris Arreola. Anxious to get back in there having endured just over seven months of enforced inactivity, Wilder, 37-0(36) will face a perceived soft touch in Poland’s Andrzej Wawrzyk on February 25 in Birmingham, Alabama.
Light-heavyweight destroyer Artur Beterbiev gave boxing junkies one more slice of KO action last night in Quebec, and even if the action lasted less than three minutes, fight fans who wanted to see a little more fight action before Christmas were happy with the Russian power puncher’s latest handiwork.
Destroying Isidro Prieto in just 2:44 of the opening round, Beterbiev improved to 11-0(11); he has still to be taken beyond the seventh round. Prieto is both experienced and (usually) durable, having never been stopped, yet this meant absolutely nothing against the lethal-punching heir to the 175-pound throne. Indeed, people are now asking if any light-heavyweight – be it Andre Ward, Adonis Stevenson or Sergey Kovalev – can beat Beterbiev? Can any 175-pounder take the man’s power!
There seems to be just one thing Conor McGregor wants for 2017, and that’s a super-fight (at least that’s what it would be billed as) with Floyd Mayweather Junior. For weeks now (or is it months?) McGregor and Mayweather have been going back and forth, exchanging insults.
And, despite the fact that there seems to be a slim at best chance that this fight actually takes place, they hype sure is big. The latest episode in the seemingly never to be concluded saga is the not all all Christmasy message the MMA star had for Mayweather on Instagram.
Unbeaten WBA NABA light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (11-0, 11 KOs) racked up his 11th consecutive knockout victory in beating Isidro Ranoni Prieto (26-2-3, 22 KOs) by 1st round technical knockout on Friday night Lac Leamy Casino in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada.