As the
2010's come to an end it's time to hand out the hardware for an eventful ten
years of boxing. Below you will see the decade-best for fighter, fight,
knockout, round, upset, trainer, promoter and network. Here are the Saturday
Night Boxing Decade Awards:
Fighter
of the Decade: Floyd Mayweather
Floyd
Mayweather had the most consequential wins of the decade. He defeated his chief
rival, Manny Pacquiao, with relative ease in 2015. In addition, he notched
impressive victories over Canelo Alvarez and Miguel Cotto, who both continued
to have vibrant careers after their losses to Floyd. Mayweather also survived a
tough second round against Shane Mosely, who was coming off one of the best
wins of his career against Antonio Margarito, and went on to dominate the rest of
the bout. The fighter who troubled Mayweather the most in the decade wasn't a
future Hall of Famer, but the rugged Marcos Maidana. Floyd beat Maidana in a
shootout in May of 2014 and was victorious in a more-comfortable rematch later
in the year (although he did take a few huge shots in that fight).
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| Photo Courtesy of Floyd Mayweather |
Floyd was
of course the money man of boxing throughout the decade, but it was more than
that; he never had an off night physically (although I think that he got his tactics
wrong for the first Maidana fight). Floyd was the prize. Everyone was gunning for
him, but maybe only one fighter was truly competitive with him, a remarkable
accomplishment. Andre Ward was a close runner-up for this award.
Fight of
the Decade: Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez IV, 2012
Seven
years later and perhaps few will remember that many expressed fatigue with the
fourth matchup between these Hall of Fame rivals. Their third fight
in 2011 was the most technical of the series and resulted in yet another
controversial decision, with Pacquiao winning by a majority decision; many
thought that Marquez should have been the clear victor.
The
remarkable aspect of this series has been that each fight has played out much
differently, both strategically and what happened in the ring. In their third
fight, Manny wanted to limit Marquez's countering opportunities and he was far
more controlled in his offensive output. In the fourth part, a year later in
2012, Marquez, tired of getting unsympathetic scorecards, was aiming for the
knockout, and Pacquiao dispensed with any notion of caution. They were both out
to end things.
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| Photo Courtesy of You Tube |
In the
third round Marquez announced to the boxing world that whatever narrative had
existing in the previous fights should be thrown out the window. He scored a
knockdown, the first time in four fights that he was able to drop Pacquiao. But
Pacquiao came back with even more ferocity. He blitzed Marquez in the fifth
round, dropped him and had him badly hurt. Going into the sixth, Marquez looked
the worse for wear. His face was a mess and his energy seemed to flag. But as
the round progressed, he seized an opportunity and landed the singular shot of
his career – a counter right hand that turned out Pacquiao's lights.
Pacquiao-Marquez
IV had every possible winning element imaginable. The fight featured two
all-time greats who were both "on" that night. Furthermore, they were
both going for the knockout. All of their respect for one another (not that
their relationship was necessary cordial) was left in their respective dressing
rooms. This lead to world-class
boxing at its most thrilling. In my estimation, no other fight of the '10s
comes close to rivaling this match. Pacquiao-Marquez IV is one of the sport's showcase
fights of the past 50 years.
Knockout
of the Decade: Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez IV, 2012
"He's
not getting up, Jim. He's not getting up." Those words from HBO Boxing
commentator Roy Jones have already become part of boxing lore. I could have
just stopped after the quote and everyone would know which fight I was
referring to.
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| Photo Courtesy of You Tube |
The final
sequence was the product of Pacquiao repeating a mistake that he had made
throughout their series of fights, with Marquez finally being able to land the
home run shot. Pacquiao likes to double jab his way into range and occasionally
he will wind up too close to his intended target, which makes him susceptible
to short counter shots. Once Pacquiao started this double jab sequence,
Marquez must have licked his lips; he had been trying to land this specific
counter all fight. And as the great counterpunches do, Marquez held his ground
an immediately fired off his best short right hand. Pacquiao was so out of
position that Marquez's punch may not have even traveled six inches.
In the
aftermath of the knockout, Pacquiao needed several minutes to get back to his
feet. Not only was it a picture-perfect knockout punch by Marquez, but it
forever changed two Hall of Fame careers. (By
the way, Pacquiao never fully addressed this flaw. He was still making the same
mistake against Keith Thurman this year, but seeing it and reacting to it with
a perfect shot are two different propositions.)
Round of
the Decade: Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury Round 12, 2018
With
apologies to the 12th rounds in Tim Bradley-Ruslan Provodnikov and Sergio
Martinez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Wilder-Fury was the round I will remember most
from this decade. Among the clear-headed individuals watching Wilder-Fury
unfold, Fury had boxed his way to large lead in the fight. And even a
ninth-round knockdown by Wilder wasn't enough to change the trajectory of the
bout.
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| Photo Courtesy of Esther Lin/Showtime |
But in
the 12th, Wilder finally detonated his thunder. Landing his best right hand and
following up with a left hook, Wilder dropped Fury like a ton of bricks and
almost all watching assumed that the fight was over. However, as referee Jack
Reiss's count got to five, Fury started moving around on the canvas, and
somehow he made it to his feet. It was an astonishing display of intestinal
fortitude. Reiss assessed Fury and allowed the fight to continue. And in a
crazy turn of events, it was Fury who got the better of the action. Fury had
taken perhaps the biggest punch in contemporary boxing, and yet wouldn't be
denied. Ultimately, the fight was ruled as a draw (most thought
that Fury was the deserved winner), but even the fishy final result does
nothing to take the sting out of what was truly an unforgettable moment in the
sport.
Upset of
the Decade: Andy Ruiz TKO 7 Anthony Joshua, 2019
Andy Ruiz
wasn't even supposed to be the opponent to face Joshua, the reigning
heavyweight champ from the U.K., who was making his American debut at Madison
Square Garden. Jarrell Miller was the original foe, but he fell out after
testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. As for Ruiz, he had a solid showing in his previous title shot in 2016 against Joseph
Parker, a close loss. But Ruiz's career, on account of indifference, inactivity and a
lack of professionalism had lost all of its momentum. His weight continued to be a
problem. He switched trainers. Top Rank even granted him a release from their
contract. Before facing Joshua, he had only fought 3 times in 30 months.
All went
according to plan early in the fight for Joshua as he landed a blistering left
hook in the third round that dropped Ruiz for the first time in his
professional career. However, he got greedy in the aftermath and started to
trade with Ruiz on the inside, a range where Andy could assert himself. Ruiz
soon landed his own left hook that knocked down Joshua. And of the two
fighters, it was Joshua who was the one that was more damaged. Ruiz soon scored
a second knockdown later in the round.
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| Photo Courtesy of Ed Mullholland |
Ruiz spent the next few rounds wisely investing to the body, attempting to take
more starch out of Joshua. And in the seventh, Ruiz again won a battle of left
hooks and sent Joshua to the canvas for the third time in the fight. Ruiz was
now ready to go for the stoppage and he trapped Joshua against the corner,
pounding away at him with his best power shots. Joshua went down again. To his
credit, he beat the count, but he was in no condition to continue.
In the
aftermath, boxing fans will remember Ruiz jumping up and down in the center of
the ring, one of the most unlikely heavyweight champions that the sport has
seen. Eventually, he would go on to lose December's rematch, but with his
stunning upset he forever etched his name into boxing history.
Trainer
of the Decade: Robert Garcia
The
aspect of Robert Garcia I like the best is his ability to work with and improve
fighters of all different stripes. Consider the sublime counterpunching of Mikey
Garcia, the patient stalking of Nonito Donaire, the pressure fighting of Marcos
Maidana and Brandon Rios, and the inside fighting skills of Jose Ramirez.
Garcia has played a huge role in all of these fighters' successes. In
short, there's no such thing as a "Robert Garcia Fighter," and I
think that's a wonderful thing. He has taken fighters from scratch to the
top and also helped to rejuvenate veterans who started with other trainers. In
this decade I don't think there's another trainer with a comparable record of
success with such diverse talent.
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Photo Courtesy of
Robert Garcia Boxing Academy |
In
addition to his skills as a trainer, he also has been the architect of some
huge wins in the sport. Marcos Maidana’s win over Adrien Broner was a result
that few saw coming. Of course Maidana could be relentless, but notice the
feinting that Maidana did with his left hook to the body. It led to Broner
lowering his hands and allowed for Maidana to land his best hook to the head.
It was world-level stuff from a boxer who had previously lacked refinement. In
2019 Garcia had another impressive win (and he had many this decade) with Jose
Ramirez's unification victory over Maurice Hooker. Although the fight featured
its fair share of bombs, it was Ramirez's shorter shots on the inside and
clever boxing that led to his victory. It was a far cry from some of Ramirez's
cruder attempts at pressure fighting earlier in his career.
With
Ramirez and top prospect Vergil Ortiz, Garcia is well positioned heading into
the next decade. His Robert Garcia Boxing Academy, first in Oxnard and now in
Riverside, Calif., is world-renown for its sparring. Garcia will have his pick
of the litter in terms of top talents moving forward.
Promoter
of the Decade: Matchroom Sport
It isn't
just that Matchroom Sport has become the leading boxing promoter in the U.K.,
but under Managing Director Eddie Hearn, the company has transformed itself
into one of the global players in the sport. Over the last
decade Matchroom secured an exclusive deal with Sky TV for boxing content,
creating a rock-solid foundation to help promote its stable of fighters. And
Hearn was just getting started. The streaming startup DAZN invested over $1
Billion into boxing with Hearn as its lead promoter, providing Matchroom with a
platform to sign American and international talent.
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Matchroom Sport Managing Director Eddie Hearn
Photo Courtesy of Mark Robinson |
Even more
than the business, Hearn has staged many of the biggest events of the decade:
Froch-Groves 2 and Joshua-Klitschko at Wembley (80,000 strong for each) and
Ruiz-Joshua 2 in Saudi Arabia. He also had stadium fights for Kell Brook and
Tony Bellew. He dreams big and understands that spectacle and ritual are
important parts of a boxing event. Witness the pyrotechnics for many of his
events and of course the sing-alongs to "Sweet Caroline." Boxing fans
seem to have a blast at his shows. (I was in Sheffield for Brook-Spence, and it
was a fantastic experience.) Matchroom will have many challenges in the new
decade as they work to build DAZN in several markets, but for the 2010's, no
promoter had a better decade.
Network
of the Decade: Showtime
It should
be remembered that Showtime entered the 2010's as HBO Boxing's kid brother. HBO
had almost all of the biggest names in North American boxing and had a pay per
view infrastructure that may have been the best in any sport. But Showtime kept
plugging away.
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Stephen Espinoza, President of Showtime Sports
Photo Courtesy of Boxing Scene |
Starting
with the hiring of Stephen Espinoza in 2011, the network continued to punch
well above its weight class. Espinoza cemented strong alliances with talent
procurer Al Haymon and CBS head Les Moonves. Espinoza was able to convince
Floyd Mayweather to leave his long-time home at HBO and come to Showtime.
Throughout the decade, he also was successful at attracting Manny Pacquiao and
Canelo Alvarez to fight on Showtime as well. Haymon would eventually take his
entire stable away from HBO (helping to hasten the demise of that network's
boxing program) and Showtime helped grow the careers of stars such as Keith
Thurman, Shawn Porter, Adrien Broner, Errol Spence, Danny Garcia, Leo Santa
Cruz, Deontay Wilder, and many others.
From the
scrappy underdog to participating in two of the most lucrative fights in the
history of boxing (Mayweather-Pacquiao and Mayweather-McGregor, Showtime has
had quite the ride. As the 2010's conclude, the broadcast pieces on the boxing
chessboard have once again changed; Showtime and Espinoza will need to fight
hard to keep their plush seat at the table, but as far as success goes,
Showtime was the standard-bearer for the decade.
