2014 Fighter of the Year: Naoya "Monster" Inoue

Just now seeing a lot of the replies...I decided to mostly ignore this conversation until the end of the year. Which, technically is tomorrow but none of the outcomes tomorrow can really affect this anymore (as much of a shakeup as Rigondeaux being KTFO by Amagasa would be, it wouldn't make Amagasa the Fighter of the Year), whereas today's absolutely did.

Smoaky, you wound me to the quick, brother. I don't feel any of those secondary guys ought to be in consideration and hope that isn't how mentioning them came across. I wrote out that 2nd list in the OP to be fair to everybody and illustrate by elimination that anyone else you could think of that had a good year pales in comparison to my original six (though I later acknowledged that Ruenroeng was an oversight and definitely belonged on that original shortlist, at least on paper)

My aim was to, in the interest of fairness to everybody's opinion, put together a list of the most deserving ten candidates (the maximum allowable on a vBulletin poll) - even though IMO there is a massive gulf between the shortlisted half dozen and the rest of the field. Slots 7-10 (really 8-10 with the corrected inclusion of Ruenroeng on the shortlist) are literally just to pad it out and make it an even # of candidates, and give any loonies who really feel those extra candidates were most deserving the fair chance to cast their loony vote, as that's how democracy works.

So, in the last couple of months everybody was supposed to be debating not who the Fighter of the Year was, in their opinion (as there was, until today, no way to determine that with so much data outstanding) but who should be included on the poll along with the "Big Six/Seven".

I stand by those Seven at least meriting inclusion on the poll, for the following reasons:

1. Pacquiao defeated two unbeaten fighters, each coming off big wins in Marquez and Provodnikov respectively, each titlists when they fought. He is also p4p #2 or #3 on most lists...all of which factors in. He is also in the running for Comeback of the Year given his wasted 2013 (peppering a tailor-made Rios for an international title meant nothing as far as the 147lb picture and did nothing for Pacquiao's legacy) and the concussive loss in 2012.
2. Kovalev also beat two ranked unbeaten fighters, though neither held a world title belt and neither was the caliber of a Chris Algieri, let alone Tim Bradley. He did, however, top it all off becoming lineal champion in a unification with a surefire ATG in a shocking rout, managing to not only drop and hurt but outbox the old master.
3. Gonzalez racked up four victories, all by stoppage, two in title matches, the greatest of those being Yaegashi (though Guevara just hurled a rock in his window this morning, as that goes, stopping him in the same calendar year even faster - though, granted, in a far more competitive fight and with Yaegashi having been softened up already) and looking every bit the part of the 'perfect boxer' as purists have long seen in him, while becoming a three-division world champion.
4. Mayweather, say what you will of taking on Maidana twice, did run away with the rivalry over a consensus top 5 h2h welterweight (I don't think you can take seriously anybody who claims Maidana is much further out than h2h top 5...maybe back end of 10, stretching it for the May-naysayers), and unified the eldest two belts at welterweight, while remaining the sport's only reigning champion straddling two divisions, as well as most observers' p4p #1.
5. Inoue, obviously, just closed out a monster year, starting with a manhandling and knockout of a divisional #1 and solid A- talent in Hernandez, then closing out with a manhandling and knockout of another divisional #1, this one A+. (Basapean in between doesn't matter all that much, but it was another W on the board, and Inoue kept his perfect streak in 2014 at 3-0 with never dropping a round, scoring multiple knockdowns and getting the stoppage)
6. Crawford decimated the upper echelon at lightweight, cleaning it out almost entirely in just nine months. Going to Scotland to lift Burns' title and defending it by popping Gamboa's cherry - that in and of itself makes for a great year. A one-sided display over proven (but hard-luck) competitor Beltran just sweetens the pot. There's nobody relevant left at lightweight, with Shafikov losing to Vázquez and then Vázquez being robbed against Bey. I suppose there is the prospect of unification with Abril, Bey, and Linares - but as nice as those would be in triplicate it would still make for a lesser single year's worth of work than Burns/Gamboa/Beltran.
7. Ruenroeng, if you accept him getting the nod over Ioka, which technically we must (same as we have to swallow Bey getting it over Vázquez) has as strong a CV in 2014 as everybody above, throwing in Fuentes, who, remember, is also Gonzalez's 2nd best scalp this year, and then Arroyo who is as good. (and worth more than Kantun & Purisma combined, it must be said). I've spent the last couple of months, actually, since realizing my error in omitting Ruenroeng in the OP, believing that his case on paper is a good deal stronger than Gonzalez's, even though I much prefer the latter and feel Ruenroeng got lucky over Ioka. Assigning them points values - Ioka and Yaegashi are both 10's, Fuentes is a cool seven apiece (scratch that, 6.5 for Ruenroeng since Gonzalez fought him first), Arroyo eight and Kantun and Purisma three each. That gives Ruenroeng 24.5 and Gonzalez 23.

Regardless of whom you feel is the most proper choice, you can look at each of these and say "yes, there is a strong case to be reasonably made here (whether or not I agree with it)".


I don't think any of the also-ran group - Stevenson, Walters, Frampton, Povetkin, Alvarez, Jennings, Matthysse, Klitschko, Golovkin, Saunders, Huck, Lemieux, Thurman, Vargas, DeGale or Lomachenko ...or Khan, as some have suggested though he wasn't included within the OP - have a reasonable case, for various reasons. They all had fine years but are the "best of the rest" and clearly behind the Big Seven. You can't put any of their years up with any of the B7 and not see how they aren't comparable...whereas there is room to argue within the B7, no matter passionate one may feel about this or that member being however more deserving than another.


I think, ultimately, screw it - unless anybody objects I'm just going to make the poll with seven options and leave the last three spaces unused. I was leaving the door open for someone to make a convincing argument that another few guys even belonged on the poll, but they don't really (and nobody has done so).


Now the poll can go up, and the conversation begin. (I can't believe people wanted the poll added back around Thanksgiving, with so many key deciding fights left :-()

 

Yes, someone needs to shout at him to sort his **** out and get in the ring.

 

Actually, I'll put the poll up tomorrow just so there is no question of it being "too early" (despite the fact that literally nothing tomorrow can impact this discussion)

 

My personal ranking of the Big Seven from top down:

1. Naoya Inoue (with a bullet)
2. Terence Crawford
3. Amnat Ruenroeng (on paper only, as I had Ioka beating him comfortably)
4. Sergey Kovalev
5. Roman Gonzalez
6. Manny Pacquiao
7. Floyd Mayweather Jr.