By David Martinez / Boxing Historian / dmboxing.com
I have assembled my personal choices in boxing for the past last year 2013 in the five major categories. Picks are solely my opinion, as I respect and welcome opinions of others.
FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: Floyd Mayweather Jr.
WBA welterweight champion and WBC junior middleweight champion
Showing no signs of aging in the ring, Floyd won both of his bouts in 2013 in dominating fashion over two highly touted opponents Robert Guerrero and Canelo Alvarez.
He remains the best “pound for pound” in the sport and I for see that not to change anytime in the near future.
Runner Up: Timothy Bradley
FIGHT OF THE YEAR: Timothy Bradley vs. Ruslan Provodnikov
WBO welterweight championship / March 16, 2013
This fight was simply a fight fans dream fight – a boxer vs. slugger brawl with every round being non-stop toe-toe action though out to the final bell in 12th round.
In round one Ruslan almost took out the champion Bradley and in round twelve came within a whisker of winning by knockout.
Two of the three judges had Bradley winning by one point on the their scorecards. Bradley wins it close – by unanimous decision.
Runner Up: Giovani Segura vs. Hernan Tyson Marquez (KO 12)
ROUND OF THE YEAR: Darren Barker vs. Daniel Geale (Round 6)
IBF middleweight championship / August 17, 2013
In round six, Geale throws a solid left to the liver and Barker is out, or as we all thought he was. Down for the count and seemly he would not get up, Barker withstood a barrage of punches and Geale’s efforts to finish him, but amazingly finished the round strong en route to a split decision victory to win the fight.
Runner Up: Timothy Bradley vs. Ruslan Provodnikov (Round 12), and James Kirkland vs. Glen Tapia (Round 1)
KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR: Adonis Stevenson vs. Chad Dawson (KO 1)
WBC light heavyweight championship / June 8, 2013
At the opening bell, Dawson comes out strong throwing his right jab from southpaw stance to perfection as Stevenson counters in his own southpaw stance. After a few even exchanges by both, Stevenson lands two solid lefts, with the third left landing perfectly on Dawson’s right temple. Down goes Dawson with his head dropping forward as his body slumps backwards until he is flat of his back, with the knockout coming in just 76 seconds of the first round.
Runner Up: Javier Fortuna vs. Miguel Zamudio(KO 1)
UPSET OF THE YEAR: Jhonney Gonzalez vs. Abner Mares (KO1)
WBC featherweight championship / August 24, 2013
Former two division previously unbeaten champion Mares goes into this fight as a 11 to 1 favorite. Gonzalez starts immediately with a barrage of punches and midway in the round throws a perfect left hook that send Mares down. With that knockdown Gonzalez senses the beginning of the end for Mares as he ends the fight with a left hook-right cross combination at 2:55 of the first round.
Runner Up: Simpiwe Vetyeka over Chris John (KO 6)
There are three boxers that I will predict will have banner year 2014, they are: Keith Thurman (welterweight), Gennady Golovkin (middleweight), and Micky Garcia (junior lightweight). Between the three they combine to post a remarkable (83-0 / 73 by KO) ring record … all they do is win.
My top dozen “pound for pound” ranking ending the year 2013
1) Floyd Mayweather Jr. (45-0 / 26 by KO)
2) Andre Ward (27-0 / 14 by KO)
3) Wladimar Klitschko (61-3 / 51 by KO)
4) Guillermo Rigondeaux (12-0 / 8 by KO)
5) Sergio Martinez (51-2-2 / 28 by KO)
6) Timothy Bradley (31-0 / 12 by KO)
7) Juan Manuel Marquez (55-7-1 / 40 by KO)
8) Carl Froch (31-2 / 23 by KO)
9) Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2 / 38 by KO)
10) Gennady Golovkin (28-0 / 25 by KO)
11) Danny Garcia (27-0 / 16 by KO)
12) Mickey Garcia (33-0 / 28 by KO)
Honorable Mention:
Vitali Klitschko, Leo Santa Cruz, Roman Gonzalez, Nonito Donaire