2013 - The Year of the Warrior. Each year boxing fans look for fights that wouldn't look out of place in a Rocky film. Often finding themselves scouring Youtube and suchlike for obscure fights that their fellow peers haven't even heard of. These same fans need not worry as the major TV networks in the Boxing industry have delivered quite simply some of the finest battles of this century thus far. Timothy Bradley went into his bout with Ruslan Provodnikov at the Home Deport Centre in California a man with little to win and a lot to lose. A fight with a unheralded Siberian dubbed ''The Siberian Rocky'' who had spent his career fighting on ESPN wasn't the most appretising for Bradley who's previous fight was with Filipino star Manny Pacquiao. The 45 minutes Bradley spent in the ring that night he claims he hardly remembers but the fans who witnessed the fight that night will never forget the immense courage of a man who received death threats and questioned his life in the months leading up to the fight. Not only did he win back the respect of the boxing community but he also helped create a new found star in Provodnikov who left fans demanding to see him again. They would later in the year against Mike Alvarado who in 2012 lost in a memorable war with Brandon Rios but a week after Bradley vs Provodnikov's savage war Alvarado would have the opportunity to exact revenge over ''Bam Bam'' and he did in 12 high paced rounds in Las Vegas where both men shared in yet unadulterated violence. Alvarado would face Provodnikov in October in his first defence of his WBO light welterweight crown. This time Provodikov would find the finishing touches that he couldn't against Bradley to become world champion in another highly entertaining contest. HBO and Top Rank produced three stunning fights but their rivals Showtime and Golden Boy promotions would hit back with there own stunning fights. Omar Figueroa vs Nihito Arakawa was just meant to be a undercard fight on a stacked bill. It ended up leaving the San Antonio fans on their feet applauding a absorbing battle. Later that night Andre Berto looked to resurrect his career against Jesus Soto Karass the tough no nonsense Mexican. Once again the crowd were treated to a toe to toe battle with Soto Karass finally finding the punch to break Berto's hearty resistance. In Europe Mikkel Kessler would face off with old foe Carl Froch in a fight dubbed ''Warriors Call''. It would live up to it's billing with them fighting to a stand still in front of 20,000 fans at the O2 in London once again HBO had found another fight of the year contender. Later in the year Froch would fight George Groves in Manchester. Groves dropping Froch early and dominating the contest up and till the later stages where Froch found his feet and forcing the stoppage in round nine albeit a tad premature once again showing his tremendous courage and conditioning. In Russia Denis Lebedev faced the enigma that is Guillermo Jones who would stun the home crowd by stopping Lebedev in round eleven of a brutal battle. Lebedev fought with a horrendously swollen eye and many felt the stoppage should of come sooner. Sadly we lose Francisco Leal aka Frankie who sadly died days after facing former Carl Frampton opponent Raul Hirales. Also Magomed Abdusalamov was left in a coma for weeks after his heavyweight brawl with Mike Perez in another stark reminder of the courage, bravery and reality of what these man go through in the squared circle. Showtime would provide the crowning moment for many fans when the Argentinian warrior Marcos Rene Maidana would become to many 'The Problem Solver' when he humbled Adrien Broner and exposed the American in a highly entertaining battle in which Broner showed a lot of heart but would have his skillset exposed. Other notable mentions would be fights such as Kirkland vs Tapia and Garcia vs Matthysse as well as Sergura vs Marquez. In a year where we marvel as the skills of the elite fighters, 2013 showcased and made stars of the warriors of the sport. - Personal Note: Best year of boxing for me for many a year.
Its been great, So many great fights of which you mentioned. Maidana finally winning a legit World title and brutalizing and humbling Boner in the process was my highlight for sure. Also enjoyed the Arrival of Kovalev and Stevenson in the LHW division. You can't beat watching KO driven fighters. 2014 should also be great you would think.
Yes Garcia V Matthysse was the best support fight in many a year on a main card that I have seen a great fight. Some great calls Figueroa a great mention as will many on here who have never seen or heard of him a firework fighter(no longevity IMO) with that style suicidal almost but so exciting. Boxing has it's good & bad years but this year has showed it won't go down without a fight.Boxing is about taking the good with the bad this year has been kind to us on that score.Really good summary.
Been some greats fights this year, but also been some really poor ref/judges decisions as well this year.
I believe 2013 been a great year for Boxing with some controversial situations by ref/judges which has left sour tastes in our mouths. Fights to remember for me in 2013 is; Bradley v Provodiknov Alvarado v Rios II Carl Froch v George Groves Adrian Broner v Marcos Maidana Daniel Geale v Darren Barker Danny Garcia v Lucas Matthysse and many more you could name. I believe 2014 is gonna be a great year for boxing I really do. Some great fights can and will be made. As a british fighter I can see some great fighters in the making coming up and believe we could have some world champions next year. Excited
Probably because they are both recent but the two moments of the year for me were... Seeing George Groves knock down Carl Froch in the first round, I know anything can happen in boxing but for those few seconds I was so shocked my mouth was actually hanging open, I was truly speechless. Also seeing Broner dancing his way into the ring rapping, having his hair brushed, dry humping Maidana at the end of the first round and then getting put on his backside. the look on Broners face was priceless..... Maidana returning the dry humping in the 11th was rather special too. As said above, so many really good fights, 2013 has been a really good year for boxing.