IN recent years, selecting box ing’s Fighter of the Year has been more anti- climatic than highly anticipated. Normally one fighter stands out (i.e.: Ricky Hatton in 2005, Manny Pacquiao in 2006). Not this year. The media outlets and organizations that monitor boxing have several deserving candidates to select from, including a trio that has helped make 2007 a bounce-back year for the sweet science.
FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.
All he did was win two mega-hyped fights that did record pay-per-view numbers. Through HBO’s 24/7 and Dancing With the Stars, he brought boxing to primetime. He beat De La Hoya in a split decision, and his 10th-round knockout of Hatton earlier this month was a dramatic ending to the year’s best promotion.
MIGUEL COTTO
Puerto Rico’s newest superstar packed the Garden for two of his three wins in 2007, knocking out Zab Judah in a bloody battle last June and out-pointing Shane Mosley in a hard-hitting chess match last November. Both bouts are nominated as Fight of the Year.
KELLY PAVLIK
The Ghost rose out of Youngstown, Ohio, and scored three wins-all by knockout-in 2007. Behind a powerful right hand he went from contender to world middleweight champion, dropping Jermain Taylor in the seventh-round in Atlantic City last September.
Joe Calzaghe, Juan Diaz, Cristian Mijares and Ivan Calderon also had notable years. But Mayweather, Cotto and Pavlik helped give boxing a pulse again.
It is still not the sport of our fathers. There are too many bad undercards, not enough good fights for free, and there’s still no captivating heavyweight champ. But there were enough intriguing matches to pull boxing off its deathbed. With more than 50,000 witnessing Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler in Wales and the MGM Grand selling out in a half hour for Mayweather-Hatton, interest in the sport was up.
“I think 2007 will be remembered as one of the great years in the sport of boxing,” said Mark Taffet, HBO’s pay-per-view boss.
Though there were a number of compelling fighters and matchups throughout the year-Israel Vasquez vs. Rafael Marquez I & II, Calzaghe-Kessler and even the Contender final between Sakio Bika and Jaidon Codrington-it was Mayweather, Cotto and Pavlik, who galvanized the sport. Each is deserving of Fighter of the Year.
Mayweather set a pay-per-view record with nearly 3.3 million buys in back-to-back fights with Oscar De La Hoya and Hatton. The Mayweather Experience brought new eyes to boxing through 24/7 and Dancing With the Stars. “He’s created a whole new fresh fan base for the sport,” said Ross Greenburg, President of HBO Sports. “We’re getting the casual sports fan back.”
Cotto won three times in 2007, including two memorable brawls in the Garden. He overpowered Judah in 11 rounds last June and out-pointed a future Hall of Famer in Mosley last November. Both fights are nominees for Fight of the Year. “From a purist’s point of view Cotto had the best year because of the credentials of the opposition he faced,” said Top Rank president Todd duBoef.
Pavlik, meanwhile, is on his way to becoming a folk hero. He began the year winning the NABF title and then blasted out Edison Miranda before surviving a second round knockdown to dethrone Taylor. Now the Midwest is interested in boxing again.
The choice here is Pavlik. Mayweather did great things for the sport and his performance against Hatton was magnificent. Cotto, meanwhile, erased any doubt about his skill and courage. But Pavlik won three important fights all by knockout and the award is based on a fighter’s performance throughout the year inside the ring. No one was more devastating each time he put on gloves than Pavlik.
Let’s hope we have an equally tough decision at the end of 2008.