Behind The Gloves 2013 Picks!
Fighter of the Year – Danny “Swift” Garcia
Heading into 2013 this year, Danny “Swift” Garcia, despite 3 straight wins and becoming a world champion in 2012, was still being considered unproven by many. Fans and many observers have said that Garcia would be just another “flash in the pan” and that he was merely in this position by being lucky, but as we entered 2013, the young man out of Philadelphia would prove that he is here to stay. First coming off an impressive victory against Zab Judah in April, where his chin was tested as well as his ability to adapt, fans still weren’t convinced of the 25-year-old. A challenger was looming in the 140lb division by the name of Lucas Matthysse, who had been knocking out his opponents easily and was said to be the true test and legitimate threat to Danny Garcia. Many media members had Matthysse defeating Garcia by KO in under 10 rounds. The fight became official and was placed as the co-feature to the biggest boxing event of the year “The One” which was headlined by the highly anticipated Floyd Mayweather vs. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez main event. Garcia/Matthysse is the most expensive co-feature to date. Garcia would show in that fight that his boxing and footwork was enough to stump the hard-hitting Argentine, who had virtually no answers in 12 rounds and was even dropped to the canvas. Many came out via social media, including many of the doubters and expressed their respect for the Junior Welterweight king. 2013 was huge for “Swift” but he is clearly just getting started. We may see him on more “Fighter of the Year” lists by the end of 2014.
Honorable Mention: Gennady Golovkin, Floyd Mayweather, Tim Bradley, Sergey Kovalev, Adonis Stevenson
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year – Ruslan Provodnikov
Trained by Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, Ruslan Provodnikov is now considered one of the most must-see fighters on the planet. He came into his bout with Timothy Bradley this past March as a virtually unknown fighter, he had been placed in this position to make his opponent look like a million bucks, but the “Siberian Rocky” had other plans. In the first couple of rounds of that fight, he caught the eye of everyone watching with his assault of Bradley as he landed hard shots at will. As the fight progressed it was clear that this was a Fight of the Year candidate, and in the end Tim Bradley came away with the unanimous decision victory. While Bradley gained respect from many, Provodnikov gained fans with his efforts. The fan support and appreciation for his style made the boxing community want WBO Light Welterweight Champion Mike Alvarado, who had his own FOTY candidate fight 2 weeks later, to face the relentless Ruslan Provodnikov. Fans got their wish on October 19 in Alvarado’s home state of Colorado, and after breaking Mike Alvarado down in rounds 8 and 9 he became the NEW WBO Light Welterweight Champ. It was a highlight year for the Siberian as he made the world take notice and that’s why he is BTG’s Breakthrough Fighter of the Year.
Honorable Mention: Gennady Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev, Shawn Porter, Adonis Stevenson
Prospect of the Year – Jose Carlos Ramirez
The 21-year-old out of Avenal, California is BTG’s Prospect of the Year with a 7-0 record consisting of 5 KOs. Ramirez signed with Top Rank in 2012 following his run in the 2012 London Olympics and in 2013 alone has competed and won six fights. On November 9thin the Solo Boxeo national telecast, Ramirez defeated journeyman Erick Hernandez by KO in the very first round in front of a sold out crowd of 3,500+ at West Hills College in Lemoore, CA in which he was the headliner. The Olympian has star potential and is being groomed to be as such, as he already has sponsorships under his belt. His first bout in 2014 is scheduled for February 1st, which should be the first of many in 2014. My money says to keep an eye out for this kid.
Honorable Mention: Felix Verdejo, Joseph Diaz, Francisco Vargas
Woman Fighter of the Year – Ibeth Zamora Silva (19-5) 8 KOs
Silva is a 24-year-old light flyweight fighter out of Mexico who had a subpar 2012 and made up for it in 2013 in a big way. After defeating Fredee Gonzalez to kick off 2013, she was given a shot at the vacant WBC light flyweight title in Tokyo, Japan against Naoko Shibata. Silva defeated Shibata to become WBC light flyweight champion by split-decision in Shibata’s home country. Since then Silva defended her title two more times, one against Marciela Quintero and more recently defeating the “Lady of Boxing” Ava Knight this past October.
Honorable Mention: Ava Knight, Ana Julaton, Kaliesha West
Promoter of the Year – Eddie Hearn (Matchroom Boxing)
No other promoter has made the moves in signing talent, practically getting main preference from a network (Sky) and providing big fights on both sides of the pond than Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. In 2013, Hearn has signed George Groves, Ricky Burns, and Lee Selby. It was under his banner that the FOTY candidate of Froch vs. Kessler II happened as well as making Groves vs. Froch happen (despite its ending) and almost had Tyson Fury vs. David Haye. Eddie Hearn is the most ambitious promoter at the moment and while others may argue that other promoters have a more talented stable, Matchroom’s TV production as well as showcasing up and coming fighters is among the best. The rise of Scott Quigg, Anthony Crolla, and of course George Groves comes to mind. Matchroom fighters even competed for world titles on the American circuit in Atlantic City this year when Gavin Reese gave a courageous effort against Adrien Broner and Darren Barker became a world champion by defeating Daniel Geale. While British boxing is in the middle of its own “cold war”, Hearn has been dominant in 2013.
Honorable Mention: Golden Boy Promotions, Top Rank, GYM, K2, Main Events
Card of the Year – “The One”
The basis of this pick is solely on the massive mainstream attention it received which, as everybody reading this knows, boxing does need once in a while to prove it didn’t “die” or something. It proved to be a major success as it did 2.2 million buys and generated revenue of $150 million, both breaking records. The build-up, the All Access shows, the immense support being received by Alvarez heading into the fight on Mexican Independence weekend were all ingredients in making this feat possible. Then there was the card itself that featured 3 world title fights, including one of the most highly anticipated bouts of the year not involving the usual big names of the sport. Danny Garcia vs. Lucas Matthysse was the proverbial “icing on the cake” for the actual boxing fans contemplating to buy the event, which carried a $75 price tag for the HD version. It’s an event that would surely go un-matched until a certain big money fight *cough cough* would take place.
Honorable Mention: Knockout Kings II 7/27, Danger Zone 12/14, HBO Tripleheader 1/19
Upset of the Year – Maidana Defeating Broner
Heading into this fight everyone had you believe that this was going to be Devon Alexander vs. Marcos Maidana from back in early 2012 all over again, fans and many observers have said it going to be yet another young fighter out boxing the brawler using his speed and footwork, but that would definitely not be the case. The final Showtime Championship Boxing card of the year was supposed to showcase the supposed heir-apparent to Floyd Mayweather’s throne, Adrien Broner. The fight was asked for by Broner to show that he has what it takes to fill the shoes of his “big brother”. What we got on December 14 was a very game Marcos Maidana go on a tear through the 24-year-old, backing up and landing hard punches that sent Broner to the canvas twice during the contest. The crowd at the Alamodome was in full support of the Argentine as many paid the price of admission to see the brash young champion fall via the hands of “Chino”.
Honorable Mention: Gonzalez KO1 Mares, Thompson KO2 Price
Comeback of the Year – Manny Pacquiao
The last memory fans had of Manny Pacquiao in 2012 was him being face down on the canvas in Las Vegas with Juan Manuel Marquez on the ropes celebrating the most satisfying victory of his career, and earlier that year he lost a controversial decision to Timothy Bradley. It was everywhere, people claiming that Manny was done and should consider retirement, or at the very least have his next fight be a tune-up to gain some of that confidence back. As 2013 rolled in, there wasn’t a tentative date for the Filipino star to make his return. The last thing he needed was to face a fighter who has the ability to knock people into next week they said… and then he decided to fight Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios. Rios has a track of record of beating people down until they can’t continue any longer having come off a loss to Mike Alvarado in March he still managed to get the second-biggest PPV attraction to face him in November. The questions were still there as the fight approached, but when the official bell rang in Macau, China, Manny showed that he was still the same guy and possibly even better. His speed, footwork, and punch accuracy were all put on display on that night en route to a landslide victory via unanimous decision for the first time since 2011.
Honorable Mention: Miguel Cotto, Tony Thompson
KO of the Year – Lucas Matthysse KO3 Lamont Peterson
There were many to be considered, but this was based on the implications it had going in and the opponent he did it against. The odds had Lamont Peterson as the favorite over the hard-hitting “Machine” and for good reason. Peterson is a well-rounded fighter with a solid jab and attack; he also had the reach advantage going into this bout. For Matthysse, this was a step up in competition as he had faced over-matched opponents before his clash with Peterson in Atlantic City for some time. The result was a hard left hook to the jaw that floored Peterson who had landed his own simultaneously to no avail. Referee Steve Smoger counted Peterson and let him continue but Matthysse was in “Machine” mode and dropped Peterson once more as Smoger waved the fight off in round 3. The KO is what solidified his position as the #1 contender for Danny Garcia’s WBC Welterweight title, which he would then lose in a valiant effort.
Honorable Mention: Stevenson KO1 Dawson, Molina KO10 Bey, Golovkin KO3 Ishida, Matthysse KO1 Dallas Jr.
Fight of the Year – Timothy Bradley vs. Ruslan Provodnikov
It was a fight that had everything but pre-fight hype, but maybe that was for the better as the unexpected nature of it is what made this special. The general perception of this fight was “Unknown Fighter vs. Boring Fighter” for a majority of fans. Back in March people were anticipating Rios/Alvarado II and weren’t thinking of watching another Bradley fight after the controversial decision against Pacquiao. When the fight began the pressure of Provodnikov showed and then he landed thudding shots that looked like it was going to be a short night. Round 2 was similar but Bradley was up for the challenge taking hard shots and still fighting back, the last 20 seconds of round 6 was a sight to behold as both fighters decided that their best defense was their offense, and of course round 12 which we’ll touch on in the next category. The will and determination from both fighters at the end of the fight is what makes this the fight of the year and will be a part of their legacies.
Honorable Mention: Rios/Alvarado II, Provodnikov/Alvarado, Figueroa/Arikawa, Broner/Maidana
Round of the Year – Timothy Bradley vs. Ruslan Provodnikov, Round 12.
There were several rounds that could have been picked out of this fight alone, but round 12 signaled Provodnikov’s final attempt at getting the knockout. With 35 seconds left in the fight, the Siberian Rocky landed a lethal right hook that staggered Bradley and forced him to take a knee following a few more hard blows, thus saving Bradley by the bell. With Bradley winning most of the middle rounds heading into the 12th, Provodnikov sensed he had to go for the kill. Bradley, despite being hammered in this round, was valiant and landed his own quick hard shots as well. It created high-drama in a round that had a fight already filled with it, more specifically rounds 2 and 6. How Provodnikov’s relentless attack fared against Bradley’s will and determination is what makes this BTG’s round of the year.
Honorable Mention: Tapia/Kirkland Rd3, Maidana/Lopez Rd3, Rios/Alvarado II Rd2
Top 3 Robberies in 2013:
1. Ray Beltran vs. Ricky Burns – Split Draw
Ricky Burns keeps his belt after a ridiculous split-decision draw even after being floored in the 8th by a very game Ray Beltran. Clearly fighting in your home country goes a really long way.
BTGs Scorecard had it 115-112 for Beltran.
2. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. UD over Bryan Vera
Vera was clearly the busier fighter throwing more than 2x the amount of punches Chavez threw and the world knew it. One judge had it 98-92 Chavez… add all that to the fact that Chavez barely made weight 3 times and we have one of the biggest black eyes in boxing in 2013.
3. Carl Froch “TKO” George Groves
Groves had been simply dominating Froch for a good majority of the fight, but the referee stepped in at round 9, much to the shock of everyone watching, during a brief and desperate Froch rally to put a sudden stop to what could have ended up as a classic. It was clear after the scorecards were read that Groves was not going to be given a fair shake in this one, even after putting Froch on the canvas in round 1.
(The results were determined on majority decision within the BTG Staff)
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