13.12.06 – By James Slater: The year is almost over, and a good one it has been for boxing – overall at least. Sure, the heavyweight division is still not too pleasing to many and 2006 saw a fair share of fights that could have been made failing to materialise ( the third Corrales- Castillo fight, Mayweather-Margarito, Hatton Vs. anyone other than Luis Collazo, etc, etc) but the year brought us some great fights all the same.
Big stars such as Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto and Winky Wright all had good years and entertained us with quality bouts. There was also the odd upset here and there, not least Carlos Baldomir’s fine win over Zab Judah in January and Joe Calzaghe’s trouncing of would-be star Jeff Lacy in March. So all in all 2006 wasn’t a bad year for fights fans. The question is, which fighter had the very best year of all? Who should be named fighter of the year for 2006?
Immediately Manny Pacquiao’s name leaps to mind. He had a quite excellent year. At the start of it he avenged his previous loss to Erik Morales via tenth round stoppage and, showing both tenacity and determination, not to mention vast improvement technique-wise, Pac-Man then won the rubber-match in a brutal three rounds in November. Factor in his decent win over the lanky Oscar Larios and Manny has to be the frontrunner for fighter of the year.
What of his archrival, in the pound-4-pound ratings at least, in Floyd Mayweather though? “Pretty Boy” may have boxed only twice during 2006, but both performances were noteworthy. Out-pointing both Zab Judah and then Carlos Baldomir, Floyd added to his legacy and overall greatness. The win over Baldomir particularly, seeing how it came over a much naturally bigger and stronger man, earns Floyd at least a chance at being voted fighter of the year.
Both Jermain Taylor and Winky Wright deserve to be mentioned also. Not least for their superb draw of a fight against one another this past June. Both men also scored respectable wins – Wright out pointing Ike Quartey and Taylor doing likewise against Kassim Ouma. Out of the pair of them I would probably favour Winky, but “Bad Intentions” had a decent year too and of course, he remains an unbeaten fighter. Speaking of unbeaten fighters, the sensational Miguel Cotto had another exciting year. Fighting three times this year, Cotto took care of Gianluca Branco in March, the brave Paul Malignaggi in June and finally Carlos Quintana earlier this month. The win over Quintana earned Miguel a version of the welterweightb championship, too. As a result of these performances, the Puerto Rican banger must be considered.
Joe Calzaghe deserves a mention, if only for his excellent win over the highly favoured Jeff Lacy in their fight in March. Joe rose to the occasion and scored his biggest career win to date. Though he may have lost some of the momentum the win over “Left Hook” garnered him – what with his less than impressive showing against the unheralded Sakio Bika last time out – “The Pride Of Wales” still has to be given consideration as the year’s best fighter.
At heavyweight, Wladimir Klitschko went a long way towards making a lot of people think he just might be the best big man on the planet today. Crushing wins over both the tricky Chris Byrd and the previously unbeaten Calvin Brock were nothing to be sneezed at and with Emanuel Steward in his corner more than a touch of respect has to be given to the Ukrainian’s chances of one day soon becoming the undisputed ruler at heavyweight. As for his 2006, “Dr. Steel Hammer” did enough to be a runner up among the fighter of the year candidates.
And finally, Both Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins, though only boxing once each, should be given a few words. Firstly Oscar, after a long layoff, deposed of the dangerous punching Ricardo Mayorga with some style in May, and then Bernard did away with the betting favourite in Antonio Tarver in June. As good as these solitary wins were then, both “The Golden Boy” and “The Executioner” definitely deserve an amount of praise. Whether or not either of them did enough to be considered the fighter of the year, however, is unlikely.The same could go for both Shane Mosley and Chris John. John, who scored a big upset win over the superb Juan Manuel Marquez in March and also out pointed Renan Acosta in September, should be given credit. As should Mosley, who saw off Fernando Vargas twice, by a scintillating KO the second time around. But to be given the nod for fighter of the year would be going too far. Like Oscar and B-Hop, they did some fine work, just not quite enough to be awarded with the accolade of fighter of the year. Who then, should be given this distinction?
To my mind it can only be one of two fighters. Their names? Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. To my way of thinking, if one of these guys wins the award justice will have been done. Whichever boxer it is.