Performance, Fighter and p4p Year End List

pauliemayweathe · Dec 8, 2008

blood_lust said: ↑

As 2008 winds down there have been some great performances by underdogs and favorites alike. Manny ended the year on a high note with his beat down of DLH. However, that wasn't even the most impressive performance of the year in my opinion. Here are my top performances, fighter of the year ratings and final p4p of 2008.

Performance of the Year

1. Hopkins UD12 Pavlik - What else can you say but a good old fashion ass-whooping'. Hopkins, at 43 years old, was able to dominate a prime and UNDEFEATED Pavlik, and landed the elusive bolo punch!!! I can't imagine any other fighter from any era being able to do what he did to Pavlik at 43 years old. On top of this Pavlik was top-10 p4p fighter and Hopkins was the underdog as well.

2. Margarito KO11 Cotto - Margarito absolutely took over Cotto after the 7th and destroyed a prime and UNDEFEATED Cotto who was ranked in the top-5 p4p at the time. Margarito was the underdog too.

3. Darchinyan KO9 Mijares - Darchinyan moved up in weight and absolutely dominated and stopped a prime and top-10 p4p champion in Mijares. A brilliant performance.

4. Caballero TKO4 Molitor - Caballero went to Molitor's backyard and destroyed (quite possibly ruined too) Molitor in a short and brutal one-sided fight. Molitor was in his prime, an undefeated champion and had star potential written all over him. The result was a shock to everyone.

5. Pacquiao TKO9 De La Hoya - Manny moved up 12 pounds in weight to beat a past prime DLH worse than anyone not named Hopkins. It was an annihilation of the Golden boy and Manny was the underdog to boot. The only real negatives were as Freddie Roach himself put it, DLH "had no legs, was hesitant, he was shot" and DLH wouldn't be ranked in the top-5 at WW. DLH couldn't pull the trigger, but that's not Manny's fault and he looked AWESOME in stopping DLH!

6. Haye TKO2 Maccarinelli - Haye absolutely destroyed the #1 CW in brutal and quick fashion. A spectacular KO over a top CW champ.

7. Vitali Klitschko RTD9 Peter - Vitali comes back after 4 years of retirement to completely dominate the most feared puncher at HW and a top 3 HW at the time.

8. Marquez TKO11 Casamayor - Marquez came through in a competitive fight against one of the rings greats in Casamayor and became the first to stop him. Though Casamayor was past his prime, he was still recognized as the linear champ, a real threat coming off a great victory over Katsidis and Marquez moved up in weight to beat the "man" at 135.

9. Dawson UD12 Tarver - Dawson dominated former LHV champ Tarver who was coming off a quality victory over Clinton Woods. Though not the same fighter that destroyed Roy Jones Jr., he still was a dangerous fighter.

10. Calzaghe UD12 RJJ - Except for a flash knockdown, he dominated RJJ from round 2 - 12. He Roy Jones Jr'd the real RJJ. At first glance, many would rate this higher on the list, but as most know, RJJ was wayyyyyyy past his prime, but still a great victory, though not as dominant a victory as either Tarver's or Glen Johnson's, both of which were over a younger RJJ.

Those are my top-10 and I'm sure I missed a couple of performances. I left out the performances by Vasquez and others as they were great fights and performances, the ones I mentioned were all one-sided or very close to one sided with dramatic endings. Additionally, I'm sure many will flame me for placing Pacman's victory over DLH at #5, I place much more value on dominating a prime fighter versus a dominating a long and tooth fighter, regardless of the perceived weight advantages/disadvantages.

Fighter of the year

As for my fighters of the year. The top-4 are interchangeable in my mind and you can make a case for any of them being #1:

1. Margarito - Two dominating KO performances over prime and hungry top-5 WW belt holders in Cintron and Cotto, with Cotto being in the top-5 p4p at the time.

2. Hopkins - A dominating performance over Pavlik who was in his prime and in the p4p to-10 at the time and a very controversial SD loss (I had him winning as did most of press row) against a younger and fresher Calzaghe, who is arguably the greatest SMW of all-time and was ranked in the top-3 p4p at the the time. Two fights against two top-10 p4p fighters all at the age of 43 years old!

3. Darchinyan - Dominated and stopped two champs in Kirilov and Mijares who were both in their prime and top-3 in the division, with Mijares being a top-10 p4p ranked fighter at the time. Utter domination and KO'd both guys. You can't ask for more.

4. Pacquiao - A very close and controversial win over Marquez ( I had Marquez winning as did most of press row) who was top-5 p4p fighter at the time, a dominating KO against a top-5 belt holder at 135 in Diaz and a beat down of a long-in-tooth De La Hoya in a fight he moved up 12 pounds in. Great year for Manny.

5. Calzaghe - Very close and controversial win over Hopkins, who was top-5 p4p at the time and a dominating victory over a shot RJJ. Great year, but not as good as the four mentioned above.

Like I said before and of these guys can make a great case for themselves. Manny will most likely win fighter of the year honors, due to his victory over DLH a fresh memory in the minds of voters, just like the movie that comes out in December to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

All five of these fighters had victories over fellow p4p champs, but the difference being that Margarito, Hopkins and Darchinyan absolutely destroyed their p4p opponents who all happened to be in their prime, whereas Manny and Calzaghe both had controversial victories over their p4p opponents that many had the other fighter winning.

2008 Final p4p Ratings
*Note: I determine p4p rating based on skill set along with natural athletic talent such as speed, power and reflexes.

1. Hopkins
2. Pacquiao
3. Calzaghe
4. JMM
5. Margarito
6. Vasquez
7. Cotto
8. Hatton
9. Darchinyan
10. Abraham
11. Dawson
12. R. Marquez
13. Klitschko
14. Williams
15. Kessler
16. Pavlik
17. Caballero
18. Campbell
19. Calderon
20. Juanma Lopez

I'm sure many will disagree with Hopkins at #1, however it is my opinion that his skill set is beyond anyone elses from offense to defense to ring generalship to ring intelligence and this is only proven further by how effective he still is at 43 years old, when his speed, power and reflexes have definitely deteriorated and are no longer anywhere close to what they were even five years ago. To me, that is what defines p4p. I can't imagine any fighter from any other era (at least off the top of my head, though I'm sure someone will point one out) that would still be this effective at 43 years old against elite competition.

As for the inclusion of Abraham, he has been on a tear, destroying and stopping quality opposition at MW for the last two years. Same goes for Klitschko, he has an excellent skill set and is only getting better, with his real weakness being his chin as many think and his anxiety when he gets hard, still he has quality and dominant wins over a number of top-10 HWs in the last two years as well.

Thanks for reading. Thought?
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it is well laid out but if u watch boxing how is pac not #1 LAST WEEK IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE...NOW odh IS A BUM...margarito!!!!! he had a good fight..he is not the best fighter of the year...not close to pacman

san rafael · Dec 8, 2008

Calzaghe fans and Pacquiao fans UNITE! Hahaha...

enzo · Dec 8, 2008

I put both pac and joe ahead of hopkins...

Jeff M · Dec 8, 2008

A bit strange you would rate Paul Williams so low when he stopped 3 guys in 3 weight classes. So you thought Bernard beat Joe by winning the first few rounds then hugging him the rest of the night?

blood_lust · Dec 8, 2008

it is well laid out but if u watch boxing how is pac not #1 LAST WEEK IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE...NOW odh IS A BUM...margarito!!!!! he had a good fight..he is not the best fighter of the year...not close to pacman
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Quite simple...as I already stated: Two dominating KO performances over prime and hungry top-5 WW belt holders in Cintron and Cotto, with Cotto being in the top-5 p4p at the time.

Let's not pretend that De La Hoya was anywhere near the fighter he was when he fought Mayorga, let alone the fighter that fought Vargas, and forget about the De La Hoya that fought Trinidad.

DLH was shot, just Freddie Roach said, still it was a GREAT performance by Pacman, similar to Larry Holmes great performance over Ali, but like that fight, the victory lacks the full luster due to both fighters being well past their prime.

I give Manny much more credit for his controversial win (even though I had JMM winning a close fight) over Marquez than the victory over DLH, because Marquez was ranked in the top-10 p4p at the time and still in his prime. That's just my take, though many obviously differ.

That fight determines his greatness for in my eyes as I consider JMM the baddest dude of Barrera and Morales trifecta. That's why I think Pacman is a special fighter, not for beating.

Same reason I give props to Calzaghe, not necessarily for his fights against Hopkins (which I htough he lost) or RJJ (who was shot), but for his victories over lacy and especially Kessler, two undefeated badasses (at the time in Lacy's case). Kessler is still a badass and will continue to become a bigger badass in years to come IMO.

When a fighter beats a young, prime, HUNGRY champion: I give that much more credit than a victory over an aging lion that has seen much better days.

dhenzrae · Dec 8, 2008

ballsy said: ↑

you are a piece of crap!!!

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:rofl:rofl:rofl

blood_lust · Dec 8, 2008

A bit strange you would rate Paul Williams so low when he stopped 3 guys in 3 weight classes. So you thought Bernard beat Joe by winning the first few rounds then hugging him the rest of the night?
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Top-15 p4p isn't low, just think the guys I have before him have done better. I give him very little credit for beating a club fighter in Kolle, decent credit for beating a 39 yr old Phillips (who shouldn't of gotten the decision against Spinks), and good credit for stopping Quintana (though this was hard to gauge as he just caught Quintana cold, but was thoroughly dominated in the first fight, which is why a trilogy is a must).

As for Hopkins, I had him winning the early rounds and landing the harder and cleaner punches throughout the fight. I prefer his clean shots to Calzaghe's slaps and had him winning a very close fight that many in press row (plus a judge) agreed with, though I have NO problems with Calzaghe getting the decision, just thought Hopkins won. It was a close and controversial fight.

blood_lust · Dec 8, 2008

you are a piece of crap!!!
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Nice entry to the thread. So am I the piece of crap being poured on your chest like a Cleveland Steamer or better yet, the nuggety chocolate bukkake on your face you love so much?

Your a scat man, right?

Marnoff · Dec 8, 2008

Good work putting your list together. There sure were a lot of big fights with underdog wins.

theunderdog · Dec 8, 2008

noobs, please stay away.

yorkshire_boy · Dec 9, 2008

enzo said: ↑

I put both pac and joe ahead of hopkins...
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I think Hopkins had a better year than both in all honesty.

If you look at their accomplishments closely and compare we have the following:

Pacquiao: Controversial win against Marquez, great win against a weak title holder at 135lbs, and an unexpected win against De La Hoya (who couldn't pull the trigger just as Roach said)

Calzaghe: Controversial win over Hopkins, convincing win over a past his best Jones whilst trying to do it in 'style'. I do give credit for this win though - Jones is still dangerous even if he's nothing like the prime version.

Hopkins: Controversial loss to Calzaghe, utter domination of Pavlik who most deemed as an impossible outcome.

I think here the determining factor is the manner of the win against Pavlik for Hopkins. No-one gave him a chance and he completely outboxed Pavlik from the first round to the very last - and Pavlik was trying his best but could do nothing. Oscar on the other hand just looked totally spent, drained and so on. I'm not discrediting Pacquiao, but my eyes tell me the Hopkins win was a far better achievement.

Hopkins would be my fighter of the year.

I'm also a big Calzaghe fan before anyone calls me a Hopkins nuthugger or anything!!

applez · Dec 9, 2008

How can Calzaghe be rated lower than Hopkins in both p4p and fighter of the year

JonOli · Dec 9, 2008

blood_lust said: ↑

destroyed Roy Jones Jr., he still was a dangerous fighter.

10. Calzaghe UD12 RJJ - Except for a flash knockdown, he dominated RJJ from round 2 - 12. He Roy Jones Jr'd the real RJJ.
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NO WAY!!!!

Take that off the list please.

JonOli · Dec 9, 2008

enzo said: ↑

I put joe ahead of hopkins...
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:tired

puga_ni_nana · Dec 9, 2008

fighter of the year is pac also with the performance of the year in his fight with oscar. pac's fight against marquez is much better than hopkins fight against calzaghe. hopkins just fizzled in there against calzaghe's workrate and want to quit at some time. not to mention pac has the SD victory while hopkins got a SD loss.

margarito could be a candidate for the fighter of the year but he didn't fight again after the tremendous victory over cotto. darchinyan has an awesome year also. but pac's demolition of oscar sealed it for him. 3 opponents in 3 different weight classes. 2 championship belts. i would be surprised if pacquiao would not get it.

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