Your Fights of the Year

[JAB5239]

Let’s talk about 1980. Fight of the year in 1980 was Mathew Saad Muhammad vs Yaqui Lopez 2. But that was also the same year the first two Leonard vs Duran fights took place.
I haven’t seen Muhammad vs Lopez, but I’ve heard it’s a classic that should be witnessed. Still, would you guys say it topped Leonard vs Duran 1, which is frequently considered an all time great battle?
My theory is that the bizarre and controversial ending of the second fight overshadowed the first fight so much that it left people with a sour taste in their mouths. So they decided to pick a different fight altogether. Again, I still say this as someone who hasn’t seen Muhammad vs Lopez.

Wicked fight. Maybe not as aesthetically pleasing as Duran Leonard, but arguably a better and more exciting fight. I don't think anyone would have been upset had this fight been chosen.

[QueensburyRules]

Let’s talk about the years 1977 and 1978. The 1977 fight of the year went to Jimmy Young vs George Foreman. Now, I don’t know much about this fight other than the unusual it lead to George Foreman becoming convinced that he must retire. However, I’ve never heard it talked about as an amazing fight. One fight from that year I HAVE heard described as a must-watch is Mathew Saad Muhammad vs Marvin Johnson 1. But I’ve yet to see that one either. Still, I think it would have been nice to see Ring’s FOY awarded to a fight that was not in the Heavyweight division.

Then there’s 1978, which saw FOY being handed out to Leon Spinks vs Muhammad Ali 1. Now, I understand that this was considered a MASSIVE upset at the time. But can anyone tell me, is it still an amazing fight to watch all these later when we all know the outcome? I don’t know, but there’s one fight from that year that I actually have seen and I do think makes a worthy FOY candidate. That would be Larry Holmes vs Ken Norton.

Tell me, what do you think of these? Did Ring ****zine the right choices or did the fights I suggested deserve it more? Or are there even more deserving fights from those years which I wasn’t aware of?

- - Lousy fight because of DKing and Jimmy.

King told George he had to KO Jimmy who was coming off his Ali robbery the year before, so Jimmy ran for survival as George pummeled him any time he caught up. Unfortunately George walked into the first decent shot Jimmy had in him and sat down on the ropes, a KD. Cards ridiculous- referee: 118-111 | 115-114 | 116-112.

Basically King had been trying to knock George down a few notches to gain better control over him. Thankfully it didn't work.

Prob 500 fights that year better than Young/Foreman...only in boxing...

[Flickergrab98]

Aaand it’s just been announced that our expectations were confirmed. Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 3 has been announced as Ring ****zine’s fight of the year.

Anyone have thoughts to share on this? Are there any fights you saw from this year you felt was more deserving and why?

Also, do you think this is a sign of good things to come in the heavyweight division? Afterall, back in 2017 AJ vs Klitschko made FOY; the last time a heavyweight fight earned that distinction before was back in 1996. Now, a few years later and we got this third fight between Fury and Wilder that few people were excited for and everyone was writing off, only to have our expectations blown out of the water and to earn FOY instead.
I feel like you have to be at least a little bit optimistic about the state of heavyweights after this.

[Willie Pep 229]

Aaand it’s just been announced that our expectations were confirmed. Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 3 has been announced as Ring ****zine’s fight of the year.

Anyone have thoughts to share on this? Are there any fights you saw from this year you felt was more deserving and why?

Also, do you think this is a sign of good things to come in the heavyweight division? Afterall, back in 2017 AJ vs Klitschko made FOY; the last time a heavyweight fight earned that distinction before was back in 1996. Now, a few years later and we got this third fight between Fury and Wilder that few people were excited for and everyone was writing off, only to have our expectations blown out of the water and to earn FOY instead.
I feel like you have to be at least a little bit optimistic about the state of heavyweights after this.

Lopez v Kambosos or AJ v Uysk both were better fights. Although I was disappointed in Uysk's aggression, he played it safe looking for the decision.

So I go with Lopez-Kambosos.

Fury-Wilder III - Two oafts throwing one punch at a time. Multiple KDs because neither knows how to roll with a punch or to create angles with their footwork.

No I don't think it's great the HWs are back unless you can find polished fighters like Holyfield, Tyson, or Bowe.

AJ seems at first blush to be an accomplished boxer but there seems to be something missing.

I am tried of one punch and grab HWs. Those Russians ruined the game; maybe these fighters have gotten too big.

[Flickergrab98]

Here’s a question: Does anyone here think one sided fights should never receive fight of the year? For example, Foreman vs Frazier was such a one-sided destructive beatdown. Frazier never got the upper hand and was taken care of in the space of two rounds. Yet, that was chosen as fight of the year.
At least in the case of Dempsey vs Firpo, even though the latter had been knocked down several times since the opening bell he still had that moment where he knocked Dempsey through the ropes. He actually momentarily turned the tide in a way. Though he still got knocked out the next round.
The same can’t be said for Foreman vs Frazier, yet that heart-breaking smack down left such an impression that they felt they needed to choose that for fight of the year.
When exactly is it okay to pick one-sided beatdowns for FOY? What makes such a fight surpass all others in spite of how one side being outclassed?

[Nash out]

Lopez v Kambosos or AJ v Uysk both were better fights. Although I was disappointed in Uysk's aggression, he played it safe looking for the decision.

So I go with Lopez-Kambosos.

Fury-Wilder III - Two oafts throwing one punch at a time. Multiple KDs because neither knows how to roll with a punch or to create angles with their footwork.

No I don't think it's great the HWs are back unless you can find polished fighters like Holyfield, Tyson, or Bowe.

AJ seems at first blush to be an accomplished boxer but there seems to be something missing.

I am tried of one punch and grab HWs. Those Russians ruined the game; maybe these fighters have gotten too big.

Your lack of HW knowledge and lack of boxing knowledge in general, which you try to hide behind being a pseudo expert/historian, is laughable. Find a new sport Willie Pep. Nash out.

[QueensburyRules]

Here’s a question: Does anyone here think one sided fights should never receive fight of the year? For example, Foreman vs Frazier was such a one-sided destructive beatdown. Frazier never got the upper hand and was taken care of in the space of two rounds. Yet, that was chosen as fight of the year.
At least in the case of Dempsey vs Firpo, even though the latter had been knocked down several times since the opening bell he still had that moment where he knocked Dempsey through the ropes. He actually momentarily turned the tide in a way. Though he still got knocked out the next round.
The same can’t be said for Foreman vs Frazier, yet that heart-breaking smack down left such an impression that they felt they needed to choose that for fight of the year.
When exactly is it okay to pick one-sided beatdowns for FOY? What makes such a fight surpass all others in spite of how one side being outclassed?

- - The critieria is an open one like a beauty contest, ie in the eye of the beholder.

Ms America/Universe winner is almost always further down on my rankings had I been a judge who seem to go for excessive stylization and poses rather than natural women.

[Flickergrab98]

I recently saw 1991’s FOY, Quiroga vs. Anifowoshe. Even though it was pretty action-packed scrap, the decision sort of spoils it for me. I personally think Anifowoshe deserved the win. Though that’s not the biggest concern regarding this. What I’m really wondering is whether or not it deserved to be FOY when James Toney and Mike McCallum’s first clash with each other that same year. While this may have ended in a draw, I feel like that decision was more justifiable than what we got with Quiroga vs Anifowoshe. Toney vs. McCallum is more talked about by boxing fans today, and I imagine this fight is one of the first that people bring up when highlighting either fighter’s careers. So, it’s reasonable to say that this one has done a better job of standing the test of time. Much like Inoue vs Donaire, a lot of technical mastery was on display from both Toney and Mike but they still produced than enough fireworks to keep you hooked.

Flashing forward to 1997, I don’t get why Ring chose Gatti vs. Ruelas. I think someone earlier in the thread mentioned Hamed vs Kelley as an alternative pick. While I think I would put that one over Gatti-Ruelas, for me the best fight from that year was Tua vs Ibeabuchi. It’s really surprising that a fight so relentlessly-paced and action-packed that it set a new record for most punches thrown in a heavyweight fight didn’t get fight of the year.

Lastly, I wanna talk about 2017’s FOY, Joshua vs Klitschko, and the fight that I feel deserved that award instead, Gonzalez vs. Rungvisai. I recall Joshua-Klitschko having its moments, but it was a bit too slow-paced for my tastes. Which makes sense considering that neither of the boxers involved in that fight are known for pushing the action, they’re very patient and prefer to counter. Meanwhile, Chocolatito and Rungvisai gave what’s now my favorite flyweight fight. It was a downright brutal matchup, but both men were too stubborn to relent, as if neither wanted to give any indication that they feared each other in the slightest. This especially goes for Gonzalez, he earned a lot of respect that night even though he didn’t come out as the winner.

[Flickergrab98]

Question: Does anyone here feel Robinson vs LaMotta 6 deserved FOY more than the actual winner, Walcott vs. Charles 3?

I’ve seen the former, but I haven’t seen the latter besides that clip of Charles getting sucker punched into a KO. That’s a great KO obviously, but does the rest of the fight top what went down on boxing’s infamous “Valentine’s Day Massacre”? This is the last bout of boxing’s second most iconic rivalry and the only one we’ll ever get to watch (sadly); and boy, it delivers. This is my second favorite fight from that decade that I’ve seen so far.

[Flickergrab98]

So, 2022 got Leigh Wood vs. Michael Conlan for FOTY. Decent fight with a great ending but I can’t help but feel that it signifies how slow of a year 2022 was for boxing as a whole