2009 in Review: Fighter of the Year & other awards & videos!

Prospect of the year:
Saul Alvarez (7-0 with 6KOs this year)

Pro boxing is adults playground, so it’s always unique when a teenager makes some noise. But packing arenas at 19 when some established champs can’t - now that’s something special. A prospect is a fresh face fighting below the contender level, so no guarantee he’ll reach the top (just ask Victor Ortiz), but showing the goods early is usually a good sign for the future. And who else if not Saul Alvarez deserves the prospect award this year for wiping out competition below B level? Without Chavez Jr’s name and hype, "Canelo" had to produce some eye-catching performances to earn Mexico’s passionate support, and entering 2009, he was already pretty big after beating Miguel Vazquez (who upset Bredis Prescott) and Larry Mosley in a close fight. But he put his career & popularity on the next level in the past 12 months going 7-0 with 6KOs, all in title fights.

Canelo - who turned pro at 15 and was 23-0 entering this year - blew out WBC youth champ Antonio Finch to start 2009, picking up the NABF belt. Unbeaten Dominican prospect Euri Gonzalez (who since then beat Cosme Rivera) lasted 11, big puncher Migel Rosales (2-0 vs. prospects since then) lasted 10 and tough Brazilian Jeferson Luis Goncalo (never stopped before) lasted 9 rounds. In August, Canelo knocked out Russian Marat Khuzeev in 2, and in September, he put away Argentinean Carlos Leonardo Herrera in just 1, so his handlers brought him an experienced and durable foe to end the year in a full 12 rounder: in December Alvarez shut out American Lanardo Tyler

Saul, a rare redhead in Mexico, is not only exciting and ever more popular: he reminds me of the young Miguel Cotto, entering fights calm, taking his time, beating opposition down methodically, but also mixing it up and showing excellent power when necessary. No doubt, there’s a lot of work to do in speed, accuracy, defense and most of all, movement, but at 19, Canelo already has some quality experience and a good skill set to build on, no wonder Golden Boy - badly looking for it’s next big fighter - would love to get Canelo, which might be just a matter of time, just like Alvarez being properly tested vs. one of the legit contenders of the very crowded welterweight division. Gonna be an exciting 2010 with a lot of questions answered.

Other prospects: Kubrat Pulev, Dmitri Pirog, Umberto Savigne, Danny Jacobs, Matt Korobov, Erislandy Lara, David Lemieux, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Danny Garcia, Fernando Guerrero, Mike Jones, Sharif Bogere, Jorge Diaz)
Underrated prospect: Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam

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New Champ of the year:
Koki Kameda (UD12 Daisuke Naito for lineal Flyweight Championship)

ESB’s own Koki Kameda made it to the top! Whooo! Though Japan’s super popular boxer picked up a light flyweight belt back in 2006 (which he quickly relinquished as he moved up), it was really this year, when Kameda became a legit world champion, beating lineal flyweight titleholder Daisuke Naito in a highly anticipated superfight. At 23, it looks like Koki lived up to his potential and Japan has a great young talent entering the new decade.

There were two reasons why Kameda’s 2nd title try was delayed: he barely beat Landaeta for the LFW belt back in 2006 so he needed more time to develop. Also, he was part of modern Japanese boxing’s biggest scandal in 2007: Koki was in his little brother’s corner when Daiki was instructed by father Kameda to foul vs. champion Naito to survive. After the national scandal the father was banned and dropped as a trainer and Daiki was suspended for a year, so Koki had to look for a new coach and spend some time away from home. Finally after a few tune-ups, the much anticipated Kameda vs. Naito R2 was made, this time Koki facing the champion who upset Thai legend Pongsaklek Wonjongkam a few years back. And youngster delivered. Though Naito was slightly favored and the fight looked to be a slugfest, the challenger surprised many as he fought an exciting but rather tactical fight to outbox and outfox the aggressive, high pressure champion over 12 rounds. Youth, ring smarts and accurate punching resulted in a deserving UD for the 23 year-old, who picked up the lineal flyweight title in convincing fashion. Rumors of Kameda facing Wonjongkam or Edgar Sosa suggest that Koki won’t just sit on the title but look for big fights. Koki Kameda!

Other candidates:
- Amir Khan UD12 Kotelnik, KO1 Salita
- Alexander RTD9 Witter
- Gamboa TKO10 Rojas
- Martinez TKO4 Cook
- Perez UD12 Agbeko
Underrated new champ: Luis Concepcion TKO12 Salado



Check back later for daily updates and awards!

 

These forums need some fresh are, lol, here are some videos related to today's awards:

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[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQdqsyVfaCk[/ame]

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Koki Kameda!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSc8V7oAnRk[/ame]

 

You only have to feel the passion, understanding is not necessary!

Great entrance by young talent Sharif Bogere:
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N'Dam N'Jikam impresses vs. very tough Martirosyan:
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Roman Martinez knocks out 130lbs champ Nicky Cook:
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Dominance of the year:
Wladimir Klitschko RTD9 Ruslan Chagaev for World HW Championship

Some fights end in mere seconds, however fans often wish an actual elite display of skills never to end, because it’s so beautiful. True domination is when you shut out an elite opponent absolutely schooling him without getting hit, and at some point you close the show, and that’s what IBF/WBO/IBO HW champ Wladimir Klitschko did to unbeaten WBA champ Ruslan Chagaev in the most important HW unification since Lewis-Holyfield I a decade ago. The fight (selling the year’s best 60.000 tickets in Germany) was on when David Haye "backed out" of the Wlad fight and Ruslan, who won the WBA title by clearly beating Valuev, got screwed the night before the rematch. At the point when both fighters were ready to throw out the long weeks of preparation, Klitschko and Chagaev decided to fight each other for the World Heavyweight Championship. Forget that US media completely ignored the fight and that the WBA shamefully didn’t sanction the unification: Ruslan being the best HW not named Klitschko at the time (with Vitali-Wladimir being unlikely), The Ring did the right thing and put the prestigious belt on the line. Ruslan, a 2-time amateur and unbeaten professionsal world champion looked to be highly competitive, but Wladimir, often called boring, painted a brutal masterpiece.

Chagaev came out with a logical plan: avoid the jab and get inside bobbing and weaving to land the hooks that stunned Valuev, but found no success vs Wlad and got fed by all kinds of laser-like jabs in the process. And when he applied more pressure, he got tattoed by heavy right hands too, a shot Wladimir finally let go regularly. And what difference did it make: in a one-sided but high intensity fight, Ruslan was put down for the first down in his career. The solid champ beat the count but was already bruised and bloodied, so his corner pulled him out after the 9th round: little Klitschko became the World HW Champion in dominating style. Chagaev, the best HW champ not named Klitschko since Lewis, simply looked like a B-level fighter compared to Wlad, who finally put his name on a lot of P4P lists, including ours at ESB, and what a way to enter the top10! Can you expect anything less when he faces mandatory "Fast" Eddie Chambers or Olympic Gold Medalist Alexander Povetkin?

Other candidates:
- Shane Mosley TKO9 Antonio Margarito
- Manny Pacquiao TKO12 Miguel Cotto
- Andre Ward TD11 Mikkel Kessler
- Vitali Klitschko TKO9 Juan Carlos Gomez
- Paul Williams UD12 Winky Wright
Underrated dominance: Brian Viloria KO11 Ulyses Solis

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Blowout of the year:
Hasegawa Hozumi TKO1 Vusi Malinga

There’s no more convincing way to display skills than putting away your opponent early - going against popular pick, my vote for 2009’s blowout is Hasegawa Hozumi’s shock one-round stoppage of mandatoryVusi Malinga. The South African challenger came from a dominating stoppage win over Veeraphol Sahaprom in the Thai legend’s hometown, and looked for the upset in the World Bantamweight title fight in Japan as well. But Malinga, a solid, skilled and powerful operator, never stopped before, had to find out the cold truth: Hasegawa dramatically improved his balance and accuracy lately, developing explosive power in the process: Vusi’s challenge lasted just 156 seconds.

The way Hozumi goes for the openings is pure genius: about a minute into the fight a southpaw left uppercut was missed by Malinga, and like a bullet came the counter straight right on the button, and Vusi was down, no hesitation, a spare for the first try. The shocked South African stood up but only to eat a dozen more shots and fall down twice more: Malinga’s challenge ended painfully quickly. After blowing away good and okay competition in an average of 2 rounds per fight in his last 5, Hasegawa is finally appearing on some P4P lists - he's 10th at ESB -, maybe moving up to SBW or even FW will help him getting the proper credit from others. He’s so darn good, so you should watch him (YT) while you can.

Other candidates:
- Manny Pacquiao KO2 Ricky Hatton
- Danny Green TKO1 Roy Jones Jr
- Lucian Bute KO4 Librado Andrade
- Amir Khan KO1 Dmitry Salita
Underrated blowout: Juan Carlos Salgado TKO1 Jorge Linares



Check back later for daily updates and awards!

 

Well, for me it came down to Hasegawa or Pacquiao. Pac by stoppage was the general pick after the DLH TKO, whereas Hozumi looked for a tough 12-rounder, and it was over right after it started. Since no way Pac gets away without an award this one goes to Hasegawa.

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