by David P. Greisman - We don’t know yet who the fighter of the year will be for 2013. We do know who it won’t be, however.
It won’t be any of the winners from the past five years. It won’t be 2012’s winners: Nonito Donaire, who was recognized by the Boxing Writers Association of America, and Juan Manuel Marquez, who was picked by “The Ring” ****zine. Donaire lost a decision to Guillermo Rigondeaux in April, while Marquez came up short on the scorecards against Timothy Bradley last week.
Andre Ward, who won in 2011, will only have one bout this year, his upcoming fight against Edwin Rodriguez. The same can be said for Sergio Martinez, 2010’s winner, who defeated Martin Murray by decision in April and then took off the remainder of the year to recover from injuries; as well as Manny Pacquiao, who won in 2008 and 2009 and whose sole appearance of this year will come against Brandon Rios next month.
It’s easy to decide who won’t be honored as having the best year. What isn’t easy — at least not yet — is finding a standout candidate. There isn’t one yet. There are a handful of nominees, however. From heaviest to lightest, they are light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson, welterweight titleholder/junior middleweight champion Floyd Mayweather, junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia, and flyweight contender Edgar Sosa.
Some cases for recognition are stronger than others. And some cases are contingent on fights still to come.
Stevenson’s fought three times in 2013 and will have his fourth bout this November. He began the year with a March win over Darnell Boone, a tough journeyman with a deceiving record. Theirs was a rematch of a 2010 fight in which Boone knocked Stevenson out, giving him his lone professional loss. This time, Stevenson beat Boone in six. [Click Here To Read More]
It won’t be any of the winners from the past five years. It won’t be 2012’s winners: Nonito Donaire, who was recognized by the Boxing Writers Association of America, and Juan Manuel Marquez, who was picked by “The Ring” ****zine. Donaire lost a decision to Guillermo Rigondeaux in April, while Marquez came up short on the scorecards against Timothy Bradley last week.
Andre Ward, who won in 2011, will only have one bout this year, his upcoming fight against Edwin Rodriguez. The same can be said for Sergio Martinez, 2010’s winner, who defeated Martin Murray by decision in April and then took off the remainder of the year to recover from injuries; as well as Manny Pacquiao, who won in 2008 and 2009 and whose sole appearance of this year will come against Brandon Rios next month.
It’s easy to decide who won’t be honored as having the best year. What isn’t easy — at least not yet — is finding a standout candidate. There isn’t one yet. There are a handful of nominees, however. From heaviest to lightest, they are light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson, welterweight titleholder/junior middleweight champion Floyd Mayweather, junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia, and flyweight contender Edgar Sosa.
Some cases for recognition are stronger than others. And some cases are contingent on fights still to come.
Stevenson’s fought three times in 2013 and will have his fourth bout this November. He began the year with a March win over Darnell Boone, a tough journeyman with a deceiving record. Theirs was a rematch of a 2010 fight in which Boone knocked Stevenson out, giving him his lone professional loss. This time, Stevenson beat Boone in six. [Click Here To Read More]
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