We didn't do this in January, but we should have. It's easier for us to get caught up arguing who is ducking who, but it's also nice to have a recap of what's been going on and celebrate what we enjoyed in the past year. These are my choices for the best of 2020 Fighter of the year: Teofimo Lopez Jr. - Beat the consensus p4p number 1 in Vasiliy Lomachenko and maintains an undefeated record. Looks to be the man to beat at 135. Runner up: Tyson Furey - Definitively beat Deontay Wilder, maintains an undefeated record at heavyweight, is the lineal champ and looks like the man to beat at heavyweight. KO of the year: Alexander Povetkin knocks out Dillian Whyte - Povetkin was past his prime and expected to lose, the fight was playing out as expected with Whyte controlling the fight and knocking down Povetkin twice. Povetkin comes in with a nice counter upper cut and it was murder she wrote. Runner up KO: Gervonta Davis knocks out Leo Santa Cruz - Santa Cruz was staying competitive and keeping Davis at the end of his punches. Davis corners Santa Cruz where LSC made the fatal mistake to throw three right hands in the row and comes in with a massive upper cut to short circuit LSC's brain waves. Fight of the year: Jose Zepeda vs. Ivan Baranchyk - Eight knockdowns over five rounds. Zepeda, known as a slick fighter was knocked down four times, but finished Baranchyk with a brutal combo in Round 5. Runner up fight: Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Carlos Cuadras II - A rematch better than the first fight, which saw both men on the canvas until Estrada finished the fight in round 11. I'm hoping to do another one of these in January 2022. This year is looking good already with Povetkin vs Whyte 2, Estrada vs Gonzales 2, and Berchelt vs Valdez. Here's hoping 2021 is better than 2020! Let me know your picks for the best of 2020!
Matches of the year. 1. Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Carlos Cuadras II 2. Julio Cesar Martinez vs. Jay Harris 3. Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs. Daniel Roman 4. Jose Zepeda vs. Ivan Baranchyk 5. Carlos Gongora vs. Ali Akhmedov 6. Ted Cheeseman vs. Sam Eggington 7. Kazuto Ioka vs. Kosei Tanaka 8. Jermall Charlo vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko 9. Samir Ziani vs. Alex Dilmaghani 10. Masayoshi Nakatani vs. Felix Verdejo 11. Ilunga Junior Makabu vs. Michal Cieslak 12. Chris Colbert vs. Jaime Arboleda 13. Mikey Garcia vs. Jessie Vargas 14. Errol Spence Jr. vs. Danny Garcia 15. Jose Carlos Ramirez vs. Viktor Postol 16. Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder II 17. Israil Madrimov vs. Eric Walker 18. Oleksandr Usyk vs. Dereck Chisora 19. Jaime Munguia vs. Gary O'Sullivan 20. Craig Richards vs. Shakan Pitters 21. Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev 22. Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Alex Saucedo 23. Joe Smith Jr. vs. Eleider Alvarez 24. Gervonta Davis vs. Leo Santa Cruz 25. Felix Cash vs. Jason Welborn 26. Joshua Franco vs. Andrew Moloney I 27. Zelfa Barrett vs. Eric Donovan 28. Mario Barrios vs. Ryan Karl 29. Adam Lopez vs Luis Coria 30. Ilunga Junior Makabu vs. Olanrewaju Durodola Here's a few honorable mentions. Dillian Whyte vs. Alexander Povetkin Teofimo Lopez vs. Vasyl Lomachenko John Riel Casimero vs. Duke Micah Giemel Magramo vs. Junto Nakatani Hughie Fury vs. Mariusz Wach Mark Heffron vs. Denzel Bentley I Highway Robberies of the year. 1. Rolando Romero vs. Jackson Marinez 2. Óscar Negrete vs. Alberto Ezequiel Melián 3. Lewis Ritson vs. Miguel Vazquez 4. Jack Culcay vs. Abass Baraou 5. Daniel Jacobs vs. Gabriel Rosado 6. Jose Carlos Ramirez vs. Viktor Postol 7. Luis Nery vs. Aaron Alameda 8. Emmanuel Rodríguez vs. Reymart Gaballo 9. Ohara Davies vs. Tyrone McKenna 10. Aliu Bamidele Lasisi vs. Norbelto Jimenez 11. Mark Heffron vs. Denzel Bentley I 12. Ilunga Makabu vs. Michał Cieślak 13. Quinton Randall vs. Jan Carlos Rivera 14. Daniel Roman vs Juan Carlos Payano 15. Joshua Franco vs. Andrew Moloney II (Robbed Of Clear TKO) Coulda Been A Draw or Close Win. 16. Mikey Garcia vs. Jessie Vargas 17. Ted Cheeseman vs. Sam Eggington 18. Emanuel Navarrete vs. Ruben Villa 19. Sebastian Formella vs. Roberto Arriaza 20. Gary Antonio Russell vs Juan Carlos Payano 21. Lyndon Arthur vs. Anthony Yarde 22. Maxi Hughes vs. Jono Carroll 23. Pedro Taduran vs Daniel Valladares 24. Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Teofimo Lopez 25. Sergey Lipinets vs. Custio Clayton 26. Jermall Charlo vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko 27. Giovani Santillan vs. Antonio DeMarco 28. Emmanuel Tagoe vs. Mason Menard 29. Sebastian Fundora vs. Daniel Lewis 30. Gary Russell Jr. vs. Tugstsogt Nyambayar
My favorite of the year was Estrada vs Cuadras. I think Nakatani vs Verdejo should get more love, I'm a sucker for any time someone wins despite a serious injury. I don't know if it was the worst robbery, but Jacobs vs Rosado was the most upsetting.
