Archive for the Middleweight Category

Year-End Awards: Middleweight, 2013

Posted in Middleweight, Yearly Awards and Wrap Up with tags , , , , , , , on April 5, 2014 by danboxing
Welcome to my 2nd Annual Yearly Awards and Wrap-Up.  First, a list of awards for the division.  Then, a look at the 20 fighters that did the best work in 2013 specifically, followed by a rundown of the year’s rankings history.  Dig in!

 

Middleweight Fighter of the Year: Gennady Golovkin
After finishing as the runner-up to the award last year, Golovkin is the fighter of the year this year, having busted through 4 quality opponents in punishing fashion on the year- with the best being a 5th-ranked Matthew Macklin, and the rest being light middleweight contender Gabe Rosado, #15 Curtis Stevens, and #19 Nobuhiro Ishida.  The runner-up is Felix Sturm, whose wins were of a higher quality apples-to-apples, but who only managed two, including #3 Darren Barker .  I say two because he was robbed against #12 Sam Soliman, who then compounded that injustice by testing positive for PEDs.  I count it as an insignificant event on Soliman’s resume and a win on Sturm’s.  Martin Murray could have potentially stolen the award from Golovkin in a single night’s work, as he almost certainly earned the win against the Champion Martinez, except that he needed a bit of help to defeat a journeyman at the end of the year.

 

Prospect of the Year: Caleb Truax
Truax’s win over middling prospect Fort alone would not have earned him this award, but when combined with his destruction of Super Middleweight Fringe Contender Don George just a couple pounds over the limit, he is an easy choice.  Truax still qualifies as a prospect, having lost only once, and in rather close fashion to Jermain Taylor, and having yet to crack the top 10.  The runner-up is Russian unbeaten Andrey Merysasev, who would narrowly edge out countryman Dmitry Chudinov.

 

Most Important Knockout of the Year: #4 Felix Sturm TKO2 #3 Darren Barker
It wasn’t the cleanest stoppage of the year, and certainly comes with a significant caveat that Barker was injured at the time of the stoppage.  That being said, it did appear that his him injury was re-aggravated in the fall from a very legitimate first knockdown.  In any event, Barker was the highest-ranked contender to get stopped this year, and Sturm was the beneficiary.  The runner up was #4 Gennady Golovkin’s destruction of #5 Matthew Macklin.

 

Most Sensational Knockout of the Year: Curtis Stevens KO1 Saul Roman
Lots of great options this year.  The highest-profile of the great knockouts was Golovkin’s one-punch demolition of Nobuhiro Ishida.  Ishida backed to the ropes and was caught with a lead right and fell, semi-conscious at best, through the ropes.  But that one was almost too easy, and aside from Golovkin’s superhuman power, the punch itself wasn’t visually stunning in any way.  Golden Boy and FS1 made their entry with Danny Jacobs’ combination along the ropes that left gatekeeper Giovanni Lorenzo crawling aimlessly on the canvas.  But the most exciting of all these was Curtis Stevens’ clean one-punch shot that turned the lights out on gatekeeper Saul Roman.  This was from a perfectly landed left hand, and it folded Roman’s legs under him as he fell backwards, out cold.  It was made, I think, all the more sensational by the fact that it landed in an exchange, rather than as the inevitable end result of a one-sided hunting expedition, as were the other nominees.  For video, click “KO1” and seek to the 1:40 mark.

 

Match-Up of the Year: Champ #4 Felix Sturm vs. #3 Darren Barker
With an average ranking of 3.5, this is a clear winner.  Runners-up were Champ Martinez vs. #9 Murray and #4 Golovkin vs. #5 Macklin, at 4.5 apeice.  Unfortunately, Barker’s body betrayed him early in the fight and rendered it somewhat anti-climactic.

 

Fight of the Year: #2 Gennady Golovkin RTD8 #15 Curtis Stevens
I use importance, competitiveness, action, and result as my criteria for this, and it’s probably the least exact of any award I give.  Martinez-Murray, Kirkland-Tapia, and Godoy-Heiland were all great choices.  This one was a natural winner, though.  Golovkin and Stevens are two of the most celebrated punchers in the division, so this one promised fireworks for as long as it lasted, and it didn’t disappoint.  Besides featuring a 2nd-round knockdown for Golovkin, the fight was surprisingly competitive.  I gave Stevens 3 rounds, though in fairness each of them could reasonably have gone the other way.  The one thing I’d say was disappointing was that Stevens called the fight off in his corner, but he’d already showed plenty of guts by then.  

 

Upset of the Year: Dashon Johnson KO7 Adam Trupish
Unless you’re from Canada or as into the worldwide scene as I am, you may not have known who Adam Trupish was in March.  Nevertheless, he was a very promising prospect, and he’d beaten multiple pretty credible journeymen at the level just below the top 50, usually in spectacular fashion.  His outing on March 15 with Dashon Johnson was to be a stay busy fight, and nothing more.  Johnson came in with a lackluster record of 13-10-3, and I must say that while many of his losses were against undefeated prospects in match-ups that he was brought in as a no-hope opponent, he’d also lost a shutout to 7-3-1 Angel Osuna, drew with a 12-15-1 fighter, and dropped 4 round decisions to guys with records of 0-0-1 and 2-6-2.  He had only been stopped once, so he could have reasonably been expected to serve as a bit of a measuring stick for Trupish’s stopping power, but that’s about it.  Instead, Johnson shockingly knocked out the favorite in round 7 which, by the way, was only the 5th stoppage of Johnson’s career.  Mind-boggling.  Unfortunately the fight seems not to have been committed to video, so I can’t give any more detail than that.

 

Comeback Fighter of the Year: Sergio Mora
There was a time, albeit briefly, that Martinez was “the other Sergio” at 154/160.  As of mid-September 2008, Mora was an undefeated fighter, and was coming off an alphabet belt-capturing effort against Vernon Forrest.  Since then, however, he had gone just 2-3-1 coming into the year, and his only wins were easy stoppages of easy marks.  You know the wheels have come off when your proponents would point to a hotly disputed draw against an old Shane Mosley as the best means to defend your record.  So it was against a backdrop of obscurity- gatekeeper status- that Mora was brought in to help Grzegorz Proksa rebound from a rather fruitless 2012.  Instead, Mora showed his old form- or maybe even better- by baffling and dominating the young contender.  This performance from June has had him in or around the top 10 ever since- somewhere I, for one, never thought he’d be again.

 

Robbery of the Year: Champ Sergio Martinez UD12 #9 Martin Murray
This was the undisputed Championship, and at least in some sense, it’s now disputed.  Sergio, when you consider the round-by-round scoring in conjunction with a ridiculously blown slip call on a clear knockdown, did not deserve to win.  If you give him all the close rounds, he might salvage a draw.  For my part, I had it 114-113 for Murray (114-112 with good refereeing), and already gave Sergio everything he might have won, with the exception of a close 9th.  If we were to do Murray that same favor as a draw would include for Sergio- that is, give him all close rounds- it would be 116-110 Murray.  I don’t want to go into a detailed rant on the judges- Danseco, Rochin, and Hidalgo- since I did that months ago.  Please click here for a detailed discussion.

 

Now, for anyone that cares, I will rank the division based solely on the fighters’ 2013 accomplishments.  I will use the same criteria that I use to rank them overall (with victories, draws, or should-be victories and draws over top 50 opposition making one eligible), but will completely ignore all fights prior to 2013. 

 

1) Gennady Golovkin
Significant Results: Jan 19- TKO7 JMW #10 Gabriel Rosado. Mar 30- KO3 #19 Nobuhiro Ishida. Jun 29- KO3 #5 Matthew Macklin. Nov 2- RTD8 #15 Curtis Stevens.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Feb 3: #3. Feb 4- Mar 3: #2. Mar 4- Apr 28: #3. Apr 29- Jun 30: #4. Jul 1- Dec 15: #2. Dec 16-31: #1.
2) Felix Sturm
Significant Results: Feb 1- Wrong UD12 Loss (should be win) vs. #12 Sam Soliman (opponent on PEDs). Dec 7- TKO2 #3 Darren Barker.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Feb 3: #2. Feb 4- Mar 3: #7. Mar 4- Apr 28: #2. Apr 29- Jun 30: #3. Jul 1- Dec 8: #4. Dec 9-15: #3. Dec 16-31: #2.
3) Martin Murray
Significant Results: Apr 27- Robbery UD12 Loss (draw at worst) vs. Champion Sergio Martinez. Dec 14- W (PTS8) (should be loss) vs. Journeyman Sergey Khomitsky.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Feb 3: #9. Feb 4- Mar 3: #10. Mar 4- Apr 28: #9. Apr 29- Dec 15: #1. Dec 16-31: #3.
4) Darren Barker
Significant Results: Mar 9- RTD4 Gatekeeper Simone Rotolo. Aug 17- W (SD12) vs. #3 Daniel Geale. Dec 7- L (TKO2) vs. #4 Felix Sturm.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Mar 3: #17. Mar 4-10: #16. Mar 11- May 5: #14. May 6- Aug 18: #15. Aug 19- Dec 8: #3. Dec 9-31: #4.
5) Sergio Mora
Significant Results: Jun 28- UD10 #9 Grzegorz Proksa.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Jun 30: Unranked. Jul 1- Oct 6: #10. Oct 7-20: #9. Oct 21- Dec 15: #8. Dec 16-31: #10.
6) Sergio Martinez
Significant Results: Apr 27- Robbery Win (draw at best) vs. #9 Martin Murray.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Dec 31: Champion.
7) Daniel Geale
Significant Results: Jan 30- UD12 #11 Anthony Mundine. Aug 17- L (SD12) vs. #15 Darren Barker.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Apr 28: #1. Apr 29- Jun 30: #2. Jul 1- Aug 18: #3. Aug 19- Dec 31: #5.
8) Peter Quillin
Significant Results: Apr 27- TKO7 Gatekeeper Fernando Guerrero. Oct 26- TKO10 Fringe Contender Gabriel Rosado.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Feb 3: #6. Feb 4- Mar 3: #5. Mar 4- Apr 28: #6. Apr 29- Dec 31: #7.
9) Caleb Truax
Significant Results: Jun 21- KO6 #15 SMW Don George (at 162). Sep 21- TKO4 Prospect Ceresso Fort.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Sep 22: Ranked only at SMW. Sep 23- Oct 6: #14. Oct 7-20: #13. Oct 21- Dec 15: #12. Dec 16-31: #14.
10) Sam Soliman
Significant Results: Feb 1- Wrong UD12 Win (should be loss, and on PEDs) vs. #2 Felix Sturm. Dec 11- TKO9 Gatekeeper Les Sherrington.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Feb 3: #12. Feb 4- Mar 3: #6. Mar 4- Dec 15: Unranked (PEDs). Dec 16-31: #9.
11) James Kirkland
Significant Results: Dec 7- TKO6 Undefeated Prospect Glen Tapia.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Dec 8: Unranked. Dec 9-15: #19. Dec 16-31: Unranked.
12) Andrey Meryasev
Significant Results: Nov 4- UD10 Gatekeeper Sergio Sanders.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Nov 10: Unranked. Nov 11- Dec 15: #16. Dec 16-31: #18.
13) Dmitry Chudinov
Significant Results: May 17- RTD3 Gatekeeper Grady Brewer.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- May 19: Unranked. May 20- Jun 30: #20. Jul 1- Aug 25: Unranked. Aug 26- Sep 8: #20. Sep 9-22: #19. Sep 23- Oct 6: #20. Oct 7-20: #19. Oct 21- Nov 10: #18. Nov 11- Dec 1: #19. Dec 2-15: #18. Dec 16-31: #20.
14) Marcos Nader
Significant Results: Apr 13- Wrong UD12 Win (should be loss) vs. Gatekeeper Roberto Santos.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Dec 31: Unranked.
15) Roberto Santos
Significant Results: Apr 13- Wrong UD12 Loss (should be win) vs. Undefeated Prospect Marcos Nader.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Dec 31: Unranked.
16) Daisuke Nakagawa

Significant Results: Aug 3- TKO7 Gatekeeper Tomohiro Ebisu.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Dec 31: Unranked.
17) Jorge Heiland
Significant Results: Jun 28- L (MD10) vs. Gatekeeper Mateo Veron (at JMW). Nov 29- TKO12 #17 Billi Godoy.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Dec 1: Unranked. Dec 2-8: #19. Dec 9-15: #20. Dec 16-31: Unranked.
18) Bryan Vera

Significant Results: Jan 25- TKO10 Gatekeeper Sergei Dzinziruk. 
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1-20: #19. Jan 21-27: #20. Jan 28- Mar 3: #18. Mar 4- May 5: #17. May 6- Aug 18: #18. Aug 19-25: #17. Aug 26- Sep 8: #15. Sep 9-22: #14. Sep 23- Oct 6: #15. Oct 7-20: #14. Oct 21- Dec 15: #13. Dec 16-31: #15.
19) Danny Jacobs
Significant Results: Aug 19- TKO3 Gatekeeper Giovanni Lorenzo.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Aug 25: Unranked. Aug 26- Sep 8: #19. Sep 9-22: #18. Sep 23- Oct 6: #19. Oct 7-20: #18. Oct 21- Nov 10: #17. Nov 11- Dec 1: #18. Dec 2-15: #17. Dec 16-31: #19.
20) Marco Antonio Rubio
Significant Results: Mar 23- UD12 Gatekeeper Marcus Upshaw.
2013 Rankings History: Jan 1- Mar 3: #13. Mar 4-17: #12. Mar 18- Oct 6: #11. Oct 7-20: #10. Oct 21- Dec 15: #9. Dec 16-31: #11.

 

The following fighters could be found in the top 20 at various parts of the year, but either failed to do anything to inprove their rankings, or had results too mixed to make the top 20 on the year:

 

Matthew Macklin: Jan 1- Feb 3: #4. Feb 4- Mar 3: #3. Mar 4- Apr 28: #4. Apr 29- Aug 18: #5. Aug 19- Dec 31: #6.

 

Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.: Jan 1- Feb 3: #5. Feb 4- Apr 28: #4. Apr 29- Aug 18: #6. Aug 19- Dec 31: Unranked (Moved Up).

 

Dmitry Pirog: Jan 1- Feb 3: #7. Feb 4- Mar 3: #8. Mar 4- Apr 28: #7. Apr 29- Oct 6: #8. Oct 7- Dec 31: Unranked (Inactive).

 

Grzegorz Proksa: Jan 1- Feb 3: #8. Feb 4- Mar 3: #9. Mar 4- Apr 28: #8. Apr 29- Jun 30 :#9. Jul 1- Aug 18: #19. Aug 19-25: #18. Aug 26- Sep 8: #16. Sep 9-22: #15. Sep 23- Oct 6: #16. Oct 7-20: #15. Oct 21- Dec 15: #14. Dec 16-31: #16.

 

Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam: Jan 1- Feb 3: #10. Feb 4- Mar 3: #11. Mar 4- Jun 30: #10. Jul 1- Oct 6: #9. Oct 7-20: #8. Oct 21- Dec 15: Unranked (Inactive). Dec 16-31: #8.

 

Anthony Mundine: Jan 1- Feb 3: #11. Feb 4- Mar 3: #14. Mar 4-17: #13. Mar 18- Oct 6: #12. Oct 7-20: #11. Oct 21- Dec 15: #10. Dec 16-31: #12.

 

Osumanu Adama: Jan 1- Feb 3: #14. Feb 4- Mar 3: #12. Mar 4-17: #11. Mar 18- Sep 8: #13. Sep 9- Dec 31: Unranked (Moved Up).

 

Max Bursak: Jan 1- Mar 3: #15. Mar 4-10: #14. Mar 11- May 5: #15. May 6- Aug 18: #16. Aug 19-25: #15. Aug 26- Sep 8: #14. Sep 9- Oct 6: #13. Oct 7-20: #12. Oct 21- Dec 15: #11. Dec 16-31: #13.

 

Demetrius Andrade: Jan 1- Mar 3: #16. Mar 4-10: #15. Mar 11- May 5: #16. May 6- Aug 18: #17. Aug 19-25: #16. Aug 26- Dec 31: Unranked (Moved Down).

 

Nobuhiro Ishida: Jan 1-20: #18. Jan 21-27: #19. Jan 28- Mar 3: #20. Mar 4-31: #19. Apr 1-21: #20. Apr 22- Jun 30: #19. Jul 1-21: #20. Jul 22- Oct 20: Unranked. Oct 21- Nov 10: #20. Nov 11- Dec 31: Unranked.

 

Makoto Fuchigami: Jan 1-20: #20. Jan 21- Mar 3: Unranked. Mar 4-31: #20. Apr 1-21: #19. Apr 22- May 5: #18. May 6- Dec 31: Unranked.

 

Curtis Stevens– Jan 1- 20: Unranked. Jan 21-27: #18. Jan 28- Mar 3: #19. Mar 4- Apr 21: #18. Apr 22- Aug 4: Unranked. Aug 5-18: #20. Aug 19-25: #19. Aug 26- Sep 8: #17. Sep 9- 22: #16. Sep 23- Oct 6: #17. Oct 7-20: #16. Oct 21- Dec 15: #15. Dec 16-31: #17.

 

Jose Miguel Torres– Jan 1- Apr 21: Unranked. Apr 22- May 19: #20. May 20- Dec 31: Unranked.

 

Akio Shibata– Jan 1- May 5: Unranked. May 6- Aug 25: #14. Aug 26- Sep 8: Unranked. Sep 9-22: #20. Sep 23- Oct 6: Unranked. Oct 7-20: #20. Oct 21- Nov 10: #19. Nov 11- Dec 8: #20. Dec 9-31: Unranked.

 

Billi Godoy: Jan 1- Jul 21: Unranked. Jul 22- Aug 4: #20. Aug 5-18: Unranked. Aug 19-25: #20. Aug 26- Sep 8: #18. Sep 9-22: #17. Sep 23- Oct 6: #18. Oct 7-20: #17. Oct 21- Nov 10: #16. Nov 11- Dec 1: #17. Dec 2-31: Unranked.

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Year-End Awards: Junior Middleweight, 2012

Posted in Middleweight, Yearly Awards and Wrap Up with tags , , , , , , , on June 4, 2013 by danboxing
This is the first time I’ve done this, and I hope you like it.  It’s been a lot of effort.  First, a list of awards for the division.  Then, a look at the 20 fighters that did the best work in 2012 specifically, followed by a rundown of the year’s rankings history.  Dig in!

 

Junior Middleweight Fighter of the Year: Carlos Molina
He probably got less press overall than the otherwise anonymous lightweight prospect of the same name who got dragged up in weight to fight a ridiculoulsy doomed mismatch against Amir Khan late in the year.  He also only fought one significant fight on the year, but he made it count.  By all rights, he soundly defeated a #3 contender in James Kirkland (fresh off the Angulo win), which is the best single result of anybody in the division, and outpaces runner-up Austin Trout, who decisioned #6 Miguel Cotto and #13 Delvin Rodriguez.

 

Prospect of the Year: Sergey Rabchenko
My prospect of the year will always be the fighter that had the best year, that has fewer than 3 losses, and who has never been in the top 10.  The clear-cut pick is Sergey Rabchenko, who despite struggling in his November fight with fellow prospect Cedric Vitu, stopped and ultimately retired #11 Ryan Rhodes in June.  The runner-up would be Keith Thurman, who destroyed #16 Carlos Quintana despite really being a welterweight.

 

Most Important Knockout of the Year: #3 Cornelius Bundrage TKO7 #11 Cory Spinks
I choose this winner mechanically- basically the fight among the fighters with the highest ranking that ends in a stoppage.  That’s how we get this fight honored, despite the fact that it was a rematch confirming a prior result, and despite the fact that it really didn’t affect either fighter’s ranking.  The runner-up (and really the better choice under different criteria) is Sergey Rabchenko vs. Ryan Rhodes, with Thurman vs. Quintana being significant, as well.

 

Most Sensational Knockout of the Year: #10 Gabriel Rosado TKO9 #19 Sechew Powell
This category was tailor-made for Gabe Rosado this year.  Rosado had three respectable entries into sweepstakes, having gone 3-0 with 3 impressive stoppages on the campaign.  The most exciting came at the end of his good, competitive fight with Sechew Powell, and after he had begun to take over and wear his man out.  I’ll let it speak for itself, for the most part.  If you click on “TKO9” above, it will take you to a video of the full fight.  Seek to about 29:30 and you’ll see the set up and the stoppage.

 

Match-Up of the Year: #4 Miguel Cotto vs. #1 Welterweight Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
It’s a bit of a close call between Cotto-Mayweather and Molina-Kirkland, since Mayweather’s only ranking at the time was at 147.  But surely he has instant credibility at 154 to the extent that, in combination with the magnitude of the event the fight was, his fight with Cotto was indeed the most important match-up of 2012.  To put this magnitude into perspective, Mayweather-Cotto headlined a major HBO Pay-per-View, while Kirkland-Molina was a mere co-feature on a World Championship Boxing Broadcast.

 

Fight of the Year: #1 Welterweight Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. #4 Miguel Cotto
Inherent importance, action, and competitiveness.  Those are my criteria for this award, and this fight had it all.  So much competitiveness, in fact, that I managed to see it narrowly for Cotto (I know not many people did, and I’m not all that confident in that, either).  Cotto did what all of Mayweather’s larger opponents should do.  He committed himself to staying close and working, and it paid off to the tune of what even Floyd acknowledged was his toughest fight, and a much more crowd-pleasing outing than we usually see from the pound-for-pound king.

 

Upset of the Year: Carlos Quintana TKO6 Deandre Latimore
Several decent but not overwhelming options were on the table.  Sergey Rabchenko was less-proven than Ryan Rhodes, but Rabchenko was undefeated, while Rhodes appeared to be on the way down.  Jimmy Colas was a mere journeyman when he destroyed gatekeeper Frank Haroche Horta, but Horta was an inconsistent operator at the European level anyway, and was probably rated significantly above Colas only due to timing and recent opposition.  Willie Nelson shocked Yudel Jhonson in what has to be at least the runner-up, but Jhonson was still only 12-0, and was at least fighting the best opponent of his career.  Quintana, on the other hand, appeared to be a fading memory.  He seemed like a journeyman, and was brought in as a designated opponent on a PPV opener against house fighter and former top-5 contender Deandre Latimore.

 

Comeback Fighter of the Year: Willie Nelson
There wasn’t a really obvious comeback fighter at 154 this year.  The only two that really struck me as possibilities were Roberto Garcia and Willie Nelson.  That begs two questions: what are they coming back from, and what did they do this year to make that comeback happen?  For Garcia, he’s coming back from a 2010 loss to Antonio Margarito and a rebuilding year in 2011 in which he just fought 2 journeymen.  For Nelson, he’s coming back from a close 2011 loss in which he was nevertheless dropped 3 times against fellow prospect Vincent Arroyo at welterweight- the type of fight that would bust lesser prospects- and rebounded by handing highly-touted undefeated Cuban Yudel Jhonson his first loss in a masterful May performance.  To me, that gives a narrow edge to Nelson.  He is coming back from a taxing loss early in his career, while Garcia is merely coming back from a decision loss in a fight he was supposed to lose by knockout.

 

Robbery of the Year: Zaurbek Baysangurov UD12 #15 Lukas Konecny
Konecny pushed the pace, bullied Baysangurov around the ring for virtually the entire fight, and had a huge advantage in clean effective punching, as Baysangurov flailed away with ridiculous-looking arm punches even at his best.  Granted, this wasn’t a huge fight for the English-speaking media, but it’s still odd to me that I haven’t really come across any outrage over what, to me, was one of the worst robberies since Campillo-Shumenov II.  Konecny won no less than 9 of the 12 rounds, and yet the awful judges had it 119-109 (Mickey Vann), 118-110 (Lahcen Oumghar), and 117-111 (Matteo Montella), proving that they either don’t understand boxing, or else were co-employed by someone other than the Ukrainian commission.

 

Now, for anyone that cares, I will rank the division based solely on the fighters’ 2012 accomplishments.  I will use the same criteria that I use to rank them overall (with victories, draws, or should-be victories and draws over top 50 opposition making one eligible), but will completely ignore all fights prior to 2012.

 

1) Carlos Molina
Significant Results: Mar 24- L (DQ10) (should be TD10 W) vs. #3 James Kirkland.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- Mar 25: #6.  Mar 26- May 6: #1.  May 7- Dec 31: #2.
2) Austin Trout
Significant Results: Jun 2- UD12 #13 Delvin Rodriguez.  Dec 1- UD12 #6 Miguel Cotto.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-22: #9.  Jan 23-29: #10.  Jan 30- Feb 19: #11.  Feb 20- May 6: #12.  May 7-27: #13.  May 28- Jun 3: #12.  Jun 4- Dec 2: #8.  Dec 3-31: #4.
3) Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Significant Results: May 5- UD12 (should be L) vs. #4 Miguel Cotto.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- May 6: Ranked only at WW.  May 7- Nov 11: #4.  Nov 12- Dec 2: #5.  Dec 3-31: #6.
4) Miguel Cotto
Significant Results: May 5- L (UD12) (should be W) vs. #1 welterweight Floyd Mayweather, Jr..  Dec 1- L (UD12) vs. #8 Austin Trout.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- May 6: #4.  May 7- Nov 11: #5.  Nov 12- Dec 2: #6.  Dec 3-31: #7.
5) Saul Alvarez
Significant Results: May 5- UD12 fringe contender Shane Mosley.  Sep 15- TKO5 welterweight contender Josesito Lopez.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- Mar 25: #1.  Mar 26- May 6: #2.  May 7- Dec 31: #1.
6) Sergey Rabchenko
Significant Results: Jun 16- TKO7 #11 Ryan Rhodes.  Nov 24- W(SD12) vs. prospect Cedric Vitu.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- Jun 17: Unranked.  Jun 18- Dec 31: #12.
7) Cornelius Bundrage
Significant Results: Jun 30- TKO7 #11 Cory Spinks. 
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- Mar 25: #2.  Mar 26- Dec 31: #3.
8) Cory Spinks
Significant Results: Jan 28- UD12 #11 Sechew Powell.  Jun 30- L (TKO7) vs. #3 Cornelius Bundrage.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-29: Unranked.  Jan 30- Feb 19: #10.  Feb 20- May 6: #11.  May 7-27: #12.  May 28- Jun 3: #11.  Jun 4-17: #12.  Jun 18- Dec 31: #11.
9) Erislandy Lara
Significant Results: Jun 30- UD10 gatekeeper Freddy Hernandez.  Nov 10- Robbery Draw (TD9) (should be W) vs. #15 Vanes Martirosyan.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- May 6: #5.  May 7- Nov 11: #6.  Nov 12- Dec 2: #4.  Dec 3-31: #5.
10) Gabriel Rosado
Significant Results: Jan 21- TKO5 fringe contender Jesus Soto Karass.  Jun 1- TKO9 #19 Sechew Powell.  Sep 21- TKO10 gatekeeper Charles Whittaker.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-22: #11.  Jan 23- Feb 19: #9.  Feb 20- May 6: #10.  May 7-27: #11.  May 28- Dec 31: #10.
11) Keith Thurman
Significant Results: Nov 24- TKO4 #16 Carlos Quintana.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- Nov 25: Unranked.  Nov 26- Dec 31: #15.
12) Lukas Konecny
Significant Results: Oct 6- Robbery L (UD12) (should be W) vs. gatekeeper Zaurbek Baysangurov.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- Mar 18: #17.  Mar 19- May 6: #16.  May 7-27: #18.  May 28- Jun 3: #17.  Jun 4-10: #16.  Jun 11- Oct 7: #15.  Oct 8- Dec 31: #14.
13) Roberto Garcia
Significant Results: Mar 23- UD10 fringe contender Antwone Smith.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- Jun 10: Unranked.  Jun 11-17: #19.  Jun 18- Sep 9: #20.  Sep 10- Dec 16: #19.  Dec 17-31: #18.
14) Guido Pitto
Significant Results: Robbery L (MD10) (should be W) vs. gatekeeper Mateo Veron.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- Dec 31: Unranked.
15) Willie Nelson

Significant Results: May 11- UD10 undefeated prospect Yudel Jhonson.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- Dec 31: Unranked.
16) Akio Shibata
Significant Results: Jun 2- UD10 gatekeeper Daisuke Nakagawa.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- Dec 31: Unranked.
17) Javier Maciel
Significant Results: Jul 20- UD10 gatekeeper Mateo Veron. 
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- Dec 31: Unranked.
18) Kris Carslaw
Significant Results: Jun 2- L (UD12) (should be win) vs. #14 Brian Rose.  Nov 3- L (UD3) vs. undefeated prospect Larry Ekundayo.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- Dec 31: Unranked.
19) Matthew Hall
Significant Results: Apr 28- Robbery L(SD12) (should be W) vs. gatekeeper Sam Webb.  Jul 14- L (UD12) vs. undefeated prospect Gary O’Sullivan (at MW).
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- Dec 31: Unranked.
20) Zaurbek Baysangurov
Significant Results: May 12- UD12 (should be L) undefeated prospect Michel Soro.  Oct 6- Robbery UD12 (should be L) vs. #15 Lukas Konecny.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- Dec 31: Unranked.

 

The following fighters could be found in the top 20 at various parts of the year, but either retired, were catastrophically injured, or did nothing at this weight to help their ranking:

 

James Kirkland: Jan 1- Mar 25: #3.  Mar 26- May 6: #6.  May 7- Dec 2: #7.  Dec 3-31: #8.
Alfredo Angulo: Jan 1- Feb 19: #7.  Feb 20- May 6: #8.  May 7-27: #9.  May 28- Jun 3: #8.  Jun 4- Dec 31: #9.
Ryan Rhodes: Jan 1- Feb 19: #8.  Feb 20- May 6: #9.  May 7-27: #10.  May 28- Jun 3: #9.  Jun 4-17: #11.  Jun 18- Sep 9: #17.  Sep 10- Dec 31: Unranked (Retired).
Sechew Powell: Jan 1-22: #10.  Jan 23-29: #11.  Jan 30- Mar 18: #18.  Mar 19- May 6: #17.  May 7- 27: #20.  May 28- Jun 10: #19.  Jun 11-17: #17.  Jun 18- Sep 9: #18.  Sep 10- Dec 31: #17.
Delvin Rodriguez: Jan 1- Feb 19: #12.  Feb 20- May 6: #13.  May 7-27: #14.  May 28- Dec 31: #13.
Paul Williams: Jan 1- Feb 19: #13.  Feb 20- May 6: #7.  May 7-27: #8.  May 28- Dec 31: Unranked (Paralyzed).
Brian Rose: Jan 1- May 6: #14.  May 7-27: #15.  May 28- Jun 3: #14.  Jun 4-10: #20.  Jun 11-17: #18.  Jun 18- Sep 9: #19.  Sep 10- Dec 16: #18.  Dec 17-31: #20.
Vanes Martirosyan: Jan 1- May 6: #15.  May 7-27: #17.  May 28- Jun 3: #16.  Jun 4-10: #15.  Jun 11- Oct 7: #14.  Oct 8- Nov 25: #15.  Nov 26- Dec 31: #16.
Yuri Foreman: Jan 1- Mar 18: #16.  Mar 19- Dec 31: Unranked (Inactive).
Deandre Latimore: Jan 1-29: #18.  Jan 30- Feb 26: #19.  Feb 27- Dec 31: Unranked (Moved up).
Antonio Margarito: Jan 1-29: #19.  Jan 30- Feb 26: #20.  Feb 27- Mar 18: #19.  Mar 19- May 6: #18.  May 7-27: Unranked.  May 28- Jun 3: #20.  Jun 4-10: #18.  Jun 11- Dec 31: Unranked (Retired).
Prince Arron: Jan 1-29: #20.  Jan 30- Feb 26: Unranked.  Feb 27- Mar 18: #20.  Mar 19- May 6: #19.  May 7- Dec 31: Unranked.
Anthony Mundine: Jan 1- Mar 18: Unranked.  Mar 19- May 6: #20.  May 7- Jun 10: Unranked.  Jun 11-17: #20.  Jun 18- Sep 9: Unranked.  Sep 10- Dec 16: #20.  Dec 17-31: #19.
Shane Mosley: Jan 1- May 6: Unranked.  May 7-27: #16.  May 28- Jun 3: #15.  Jun 4-10: #14.  Jun 11- Dec 31: Unranked (Retired).
Carlos Quintana: Jan 1- May 6: Unranked.  May 7-27: #19.  May 28- Jun 3: #18.  Jun 4-10: #17.  Jun 11- Nov 25: #16.  Nov 26- Dec 31: Unranked (Retired).

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Year-End Awards: Middleweight, 2012

Posted in Middleweight, Yearly Awards and Wrap Up with tags , , , , , , , on January 24, 2013 by danboxing
This is the first time I’ve done this, and I hope you like it.  It’s been a lot of effort.  First, a list of awards for the division.  Then, a look at the 20 fighters that did the best work in 2012 specifically, followed by a rundown of the year’s rankings history.  Dig in!

 

Middleweight Fighter of the Year: Sergio Martinez
You always know you’re doing pretty well as a reigning Champ when you also win Fighter of the Year.  Martinez’s best win of the year- over #3 Matthew Macklin back in March- matches the best win of runner up Gennady Golovkin, who beat #3 Grzegorz Proksa.  But Sergio’s other win over #4 Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. is much much better than Golovkin’s answer- a stoppage of then-unranked Makoto Fuchigami.

 

Prospect of the Year: Sanosuke Sasaki
In what tured out to be a very easy category to win, one-loss fringe prospect Sasaki’s upset KO victory over gatekeeper Tadashi Yuba from October turned out to be all that was required.  The only other real options were Billy Joe Saunders- likely the better fighter but with a slightly less-impressive win- and I guess Marcos Nader if you give him credit for the dubious draw with Roberto Santos.

 

Most Important Knockout of the Year: Champ Sergio Martinez RTD11 #3 Matthew Macklin
Easy call here- this award is automatic for the fight with the highest-rated fighters that ends in a stoppage.  Champ vs. #3 was the best match-up in the year, and Sergio closed the show.

 

Most Sensational Knockout of the Year: Sanosuke Sasaki KO4 Tadashi Yuba
Forget the huge upset involved.  Sasaki’s looping right hand was the only middleweight punch this year that put a top 50 fighter down for the full 10-count.  See the video by clicking on “KO4” above.  The only candidate even close in my view was Gennady Golovkin’s TKO of Grzegorz Proksa, but even in that case Proksa beat the count after a big punch, but was stopped by the referee as unable to continue.

 

Match-Up of the Year: Champ Sergio Martinez vs. #3 Matthew Macklin
If you count the Champion at #0, then this fight featured an average ranking of 1.5.  Only Martinez vs. #4 Chavez and #1 Geale vs. #4 Sturm were even close.

 

Fight of the Year: #20 Peter Quillin UD12 #6 Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam
This category had a lot of worthy candidates this year.  Martinez-Macklin, Geale-Sturm, Geale-Adama, and Vera-Mora were all competitive bouts with plenty of action.  But how can you go against a fight that featured 6 knockdowns and still should have been a 1-point fight.  The story of the fight: N’Dam wins every round in which he stays on his feet, but still gets edged out because Quillin’s left hook couldn’t help but drop him.  The only negative thing I can say about the event is that if N’Dam had managed to keep his feet one or two more times and thereby earn a draw or a win, the judges were not going to let him have it.

 

Upset of the Year: Sergio Sanders W (SD8) vs. #18 Billi Godoy
There were 3 clear choices this year.  Journeyman Roberto Santos clearly beat German undefeated prospect Dominik Britsch back in February, was robbed by the judges, and then reinforced his superiority by stoppage in September.  Untested one-loss fringe prospect Sanosuke Sasaki stunned veteran gatekeeper Tadashi Yuba by knockout in October.  But taking the cake was journeyman Sergio Sanders’ ever-so-narrow points win over 18th-ranked undefeated prospect Billi Godoy.  You could make a case for any of the 3 fights.  Santos appeared to be a permanent journeyman with 6 losses, including one right before that, to a nobody, in a 6-rounder.  But he had also beaten a reasonably decent journeyman in 2011, and Britsch was coming off a poor performance against Billy Lyell that had cost him a spot in the top 20 already.  Sasaki was the least-proven of any of the fighters and had lost a shutout 4-rounder to a nobody early in his career, but Yuba was the least impressive of the three upset victims, and any time a fighter has only one loss, he has the capacity to surprise you.  Sanders’ win was actually the least clear-cut of the three (I had it a draw), but Godoy was the most prestigious of the three victims despite struggling against mediocre competition even leading up to the fight.  Sanders had won only 3 of his previous 13 fights, and only a handful of those were against truly solid competition.

 

Comeback Fighter of the Year: Felix Sturm
5 different guys struck me initially as possibilities.  Felix Sturm, Sam Soliman, Roberto Santos, Brian Vera, and Sergio Sanders.  I first eliminated Soliman because despite his surprising late-career rise, he’s not really coming back from anything identifiable.  He came into the year on a 5-fight winning streak since his last loss 4.5 years ago to Anthony Mundine.  His only problem has been that he’s gone long stretches without fighting anybody worthwhile.  I then eliminated Sanders and Santos, since the term comeback implies that you were already somewhere to begin with at some point.  Those two were career-long journeymen who are flashing potential for the first time, really.  That leaves Sturm and Vera.  Vera was coming back from a revenge loss to Andy Lee late last year.  But what did he really do to accomplish that comeback?  He beat a no-hoper in April and then narrowly outpointed a decent fighter he’d already beaten once before.  I still don’t see him as having rebounded to the status he enjoyed before the Lee loss.  So that leaves Sturm.  What is Sturm coming back from?  On paper, he’s only coming back from a low top-5 ranking.  But he was buoyed at that level by his past glory.  His 2011 had been all but a disaster, as he squeaked by with an undeserved win over underdog Macklin and managed only a draw with unproven prospect Martin Murray.  Despite his still-decent ranking, he honestly didn’t seem like an obvious top 10 fighter in reality.  To be frank, he looked nearly washed-up.  But 2012 was a true comeback from all that.  First, he handled fringe contender Sebastian Zbik WAY more easily than had Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., and then fought to a true stalemate with #1 contender Daniel Geale.  He lost the decision in that fight- the first time I can remember him potentially getting less than he deserved in Germany- but proved that he’s still viable at the top level.

 

Robbery of the Year: Roberto Santos Draw (SD12) vs. Dominik Britsch
Santos won this fight anywhere between 117-111 and 115-113, but only managed to walk away with a split draw.  One shameful judge- Zvonko Rukavina- somehow saw it 117-112 for Britsch, while Dave Parris cemented the robbery with a 114-114 scorecard.  Santos also suffered a draw against Marcos Nader in a less clear fight that I also thought he won later on.  But luckily, he was able to clear the air by stopping Britsch in a rematch.

 

Now, for anyone that cares, I will rank the division based solely on the fighters’ 2012 accomplishments.  I will use the same criteria that I use to rank them overall (with victories, draws, or should-be victories and draws over top 50 opposition making one eligible), but will completely ignore all fights prior to 2012.  Only 17 fighters qualified for rankings this year.

 

1) Sergio Martinez
Significant Results: Mar 17- RTD11 #3 Matthew Macklin.  Sep 15- UD12 #4 Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr..
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-Dec 31: Champ.
2) Gennady Golovkin
Significant Results: May 12- TKO3 fringe contender Makoto Fuchigami.  Sep 1- TKO5 #3 Grzegorz Proksa.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-Feb 19: #16.  Feb 20-Mar 4: #17.  Mar 5-May 13: #16.  May 14-27: #14.  May 28-Sep 2: #13.  Sep 3-Dec 31: #3.
3) Daniel Geale
Significant Results: Mar 7- UD12 #11 Osumanu Adama.  Sep 1- W (SD12) (should be draw) vs. #4 Felix Sturm.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-Dec 31: #1.
4) Felix Sturm
Significant Results: Apr 13- RTD9 Gatekeeper Sebastian Zbik.  Sep 1- L (SD12) (should be draw) vs. #1 Daniel Geale.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-Feb 5: #4.  Feb 6-Apr 15: #5.  Apr 16-Jun 17: #3.  Jun 18-Sep 2: #4.  Sep 3-Dec 31: #2.
5) Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.
Significant Results: Feb 4- UD12 #10 Marco Antonio Rubio.  Jun 16- TKO7 SMW #10 Andy Lee.  Sep 15- L (UD12) vs. Champ Sergio Martinez.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-Feb 5: #7.  Feb 6-Mar 18: #4.  Mar 19-Apr 15: #3.  Apr 16-Jun 17: #4.  Jun 18-Sep 2: #2.  Sep 3-16: #4.  Sep 17-Dec 31: #5.
6) Peter Quillin
Significant Results: Jun 2- UD10 inactive former JMW Champ Winky Wright.  Oct 20- UD12 #6 Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-May 27: Unranked.  May 28-Oct 21: #20.  Oct 22-Dec 31: #6.
7) Sam Soliman
Significant Results: Feb 19- UD12 #15 Garth Wood.  Aug 24- UD12 gatekeeper Giovanni Lorenzo.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-Feb 19: Unranked.  Feb 20-Mar 4: #11.  Mar 5-Sep 2: #10.  Sep 3-Oct 21: #11.  Oct 22-Dec 31: #12.
8) Roberto Santos
Significant Results: Feb 25- Robbery Draw (SD12) vs. fringe contender Dominik Britsch.  Sep 15- TKO8 prospect Dominik Britsch.  Nov 2- Draw (MD12) (should be win) vs. undefeated prospect Marcos Nader.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-Dec 31: Unranked.
9) Matthew Macklin
Significant Results: Mar 17- L (RTD11) vs. Champ Sergio Martinez.  Sep 15- TKO1 fringe contender Joachim Alcine (.5 over limit).
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1- Mar 18: #3.  Mar 19-Apr 15: #4.  Apr 16-Sep 16: #5.  Sep17-Dec 31: #4.
10) Dmitry Pirog
Significant Results: May 1- UD12 #20 Nobuhiro Ishida.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-May 6: #8.  May 7-Dec 31: #7.
11) Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam
Significant Results: May 4- UD12 #15 Max Bursak.  Oct 20- L (UD12) vs. #20 Peter Quillin.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-Feb 5: #5.  Feb 6-Oct 21: #6.  Oct 22-Dec 31: #10.
12) Paul Williams
Significant Results: Feb 18- UD12 #17 Nobuhiro Ishida.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-Feb 19: Unranked.  Feb 20-Mar 4: #14.  Mar 5-May 27: #13.  May 28-Dec 31: Unranked (paralyzed).
13) Bryan Vera
Significant Results: Aug 11- W (MD12) vs. gatekeeper Sergio Mora.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-Oct 21: Unranked.  Oct 22-Dec 23: #20.  Dec 24-31: #19.
14) Sanosuke Sasaki
Significant Results: Oct 8- KO4 gatekeeper Tadashi Yuba.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-Dec 31: Unranked.
15) Billy Joe Saunders
Significant Results: Sep 14- TKO2 undefeated prospect Jarrod Fletcher.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-Dec 31: Unranked.
16) Sergio Sanders

Significant Results: Jan 5- L (TKO8) vs. journeyman Mateo Veron.  Oct 20- W (SD8) vs. #18 Billi Godoy.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-Dec 31: Unranked.
17) Marcos Nader
Significant Results: Nov 2- Draw (MD12) (should be loss) vs. gatekeeper Roberto Santos.
2012 Rankings History: Jan 1-Dec 31: Unranked.

 

The following fighters could be found in the top 20 at various parts of the year, but did nothing at this weight to help their ranking:

 

Grzegorz Proksa: Jan 1-Jun 17: #2.  Jun 18-Sep 2: #3.  Sep 3-Dec 31: #8.
Martin Murray: Jan 1-Feb 5: #6.  Feb 6-May 6: #7.  May 7-Sep 2: #8.  Sep 3-Dec 31: #9.
Sebastian Sylvester: Jan 1-Mar 4: #9.  Mar 5-Dec 31: Unranked (retired).
Marco Antonio Rubio: Jan 1-Feb 5: #10.  Feb 6-19: #12.  Feb 20-Mar 4: #13.  Mar 5-11: #12.  Mar 12-Sep 2: #11.  Sep 3-Oct 21: #12.  Oct 22-Dec 31: #13.
Anthony Mundine: Jan 1-Feb 5: #11.  Feb 6-Mar 4: #10.  Mar 5-Sep 2: #9.  Sep 3-Oct 21: #10.  Oct 22-Dec 31: #11.
Osumanu Adama: Jan 1-Feb 5: #12.  Feb 6-19: #11.  Feb 20-Mar 4: #12.  Mar 5-11: #11.  Mar 12-Sep 2: #12.  Sep 3-Oct 21: #13.  Oct 22-Dec 31: #14.
Avtandil Khurtsidze: Jan 1-Feb 19: #13.  Feb 20-Mar 4: #15.  Mar 5-May 13: #14.  May 14-27: #15.  May 28-Oct 21: #14.  Oct 22-Dec 23: #15.  Dec 24-31: Unranked (inactive).
Max Bursak: Jan 1-Feb 19: #14.  Feb 20-Mar 4: #16.  Mar 5-May 13: #15.  May 14-27: #16.  May 28-Oct 21: #15.  Oct 22-Dec 23: #16.  Dec 24-31: #15.
Garth Wood: Jan 1-Feb 19: #15.  Feb 20-Dec 31: Unranked.
Nobuhiro Ishida: Jan 1-Feb 19: #17.  Feb 20-Mar 4: Unranked.  Mar 5-May 27: #20.  May 28-Dec 23: #19.  Dec 24-31: #18.
Demetrius Andrade: Jan 1-Mar 4: #18.  Mar 5-May 27: #17.  May 28-Oct 21: #16.  Oct 22-Dec 23: #17.  Dec 24-31: #16.
Darren Barker: Jan 1-Mar 4: #19.  Mar 5-May 27: #18.  May 28-Oct 21: #17.  Oct 22-Dec 23: #18.  Dec 24-31: #17.
Billi Godoy: Jan 1-Mar 4: #20.  Mar 5-May 27: #19.  May 28-Oct 21: #18.  Oct 22-Dec 31: Unranked.
Makoto Fuchigami: Jan 1-Dec 23: Unranked.  Dec 24-31: #20.

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