Team Diamond Boxing
Fighter of the year: Manny Pacquiao. The reasoning is simple and direct: he jumped weight divisions, dominated all those supposedly stronger opponents, created the biggest PPVs and hype, sent the nation of Philippines in a upward spiral of hope, and did it all with boxing fans in mind.
Comeback fighter of the year: Sugar Shane Mosley. Most of the time, those big name fighters start to get slow, weak, and lose their edge. Over time, their performance diminishes, and no matter how hard they try, rarely do they come back and win in a very definitive, dominating and exciting way. Sugar Shane did just that. He beat Antonio Margarito in a way unquestionable to anyone in the media. It was pure skill, speed and power coming from Shane throughout the whole fight.
Knockout of the year: Sure Abraham did as great job landing a KO punch in the fight against Taylor, but it was not nearly as impressive as Pacquiao’s knockout of Ricky Hatton. That left hook, sent Hatton to the floor in a manner that was marked with destruction of the human nervous system. Hatton went down straight, hands by his side, and lay there for some time until his brain signaled him to move. It was an accurate, properly timed, power left hook.
Worst decision of the year: After watching this fight it left me disgusted, everything that could go against ‘The Magic Man’ did go against him which has now been put right thankfully, Malignaggi the true warrior even had Diaz’s parents crying at ringside in belief that their son had lost, so how could such scores as 113-115,112-116 and outrageously 110-118 be awarded in favour of the hometown fighter. Their had to be a rematch in which Malignaggi showed how he wasn’t going to be a stepping stone for Golden Boy fighters but how 2010 could be the year Malignaggi gets another world title opportunity.
Rookie of the year: Houston based light-middleweight sensation Omar Henry 7(6)-0-0 is already being touted as the next Miguel Cotto, after a sensational first full year (Henry did have one fight in 2008) in the paid ranks, I like many can see why as even Team Pacquiao has asked him to spar ahead of the Cotto bout. So its to no surprise that Top Rank Boxing have snapped up this potential who looks to be going to the top; as he has fantastic amateur credentials in which he’s rapidly building on, he has great speed and strength; he can get people out with one-punch but is also a skilful boxer that’s aesthetically pleasing; look out for him as there’s a reason he’s becoming so popular; an overall tremendous boxing talent and role model for all aspiring boxers to be.
Fight of the year: Williams-Martinez — Martinez, a 3:1 underdog going in against ‘The Punisher’, more than held his own in a twelve round battle that reminded many of Benn-McClellan in terms of its ferocity. Little known to the average boxing fan prior to this war, Martinez now has many options in front of him, coming off his impressive showing against Williams. Dzinziruk, Spinks and even the soon-to-be reinstated Antonio Margarito have all been mentioned as prospective opponents for Martinez. Both fighters solidified their credentials as warriors willing to “walk the walk”. And we’d all love to see a rematch!
Trainer of the year: Freddie Roach - Despite his ways and bold proclamations, believe it or not, Roach’s best work was not done in the corner of Manny Pacquiao. Amir Khan, once left for dead on the lightweight division’s scrap heap after his KO loss to Breidis Prescott last year, has remade himself into one of the best junior-welterweights in the world, with lots of help from Roach. And who could have seen this coming? The sky could be the limit for this British title-holder.
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