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 Upsets and Set Ups, Break Ups and Beat Downs: My Personal Picks of 2003Dec 17, 2003 By Brent Hedtke
Assuming Mike Tyson doesn’t get into another back alley brawl, last weekend’s “Night of the Undisputed” was the last high profile fight card of 2003 and officially closes out another year of boxing. Every December we can all look back over the last twelve months with our mouths agape, wondering how so much fistic action could be packed into one calendar year. 2003 was no exception. We had huge upsets, comebacks from fighters we never thought we’d see again and downfalls of beloved fighters we may never see again. We had dramatic endings and disputed decisions. We had new faces to watch and old ones to keep on admiring. We had many not-so-pretty moments, but a plethora of magical ones that won’t soon be forgotten. Here are my personal picks for the best of 2003. FIGHTER OF THE YEAR JAMES “LIGHTS OUT” TONEY Like almost everyone who had a pick for this year’s Fighter of the Year, last Saturday threw a huge wrench into the whole thing and forced me to do a major editing job on what looked like a sure thing. I’m not going to lie, I had Ricardo Mayorga as my pick up until last Saturday. Based on the fact that he beat Vernon Forrest, 2002’s Fighter of the Year, not once, but twice, Mayorga seemed like a shoe in. After he lost to Cory Spinks on Saturday though, I started thinking. Mosley beat De la Hoya, Forrest beat Mosley, Mayorga beat Forrest and Spinks beat Mayorga. Therefore, Spinks would beat De la Hoya, right? Not Exactly. Mayorga’s loss made clear the old adage of “style’s make fights” and that every great fighter has that one opponent who just seems to have their number and I believe that Mayorga was that guy for Forrest. Now, that should in no way diminish the great achievement that beating Vernon Forrest was for Mayorga, it just helps put things in perspective. The Fighter of the Year award is based on achievement in the ring and I feel that no one achieved more in 2003 that James Toney. After a departure from the spotlight for nearly a decade, Toney made a slow comeback towards a title shot that climaxed with his seventh round knockout of Jason Robinson in late 2002. That win earned him a shot at Vassiliy Jirov and the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Cruiserweight Title. Toney seemed like a long shot against the tough as nails Jirov, but he put on a counter punching clinic and even dropped Jirov in the final round. When the decision was announced and Toney was declared the winner, it capped off one of the biggest comebacks of this era and people were already mentioning James as a possible candidate for Fighter of the Year. After Jirov, Toney set his sights on the heavyweight division and more specifically on Evander Holyfield. The Real Deal was coming off a loss to Chris Byrd that he blamed on an injured right shoulder. Claiming he was finally 100%, Toney was once again the underdog. Many felt he lacked the power to take on the big boys and that he’d also never been hit by a real heavyweight, let alone an all time great like Holyfield. After losing the first round to Holyfield, Toney put on another spectacular performance and dismantled the aging, but still dangerous former champion. In the ninth round Toney dropped Holyfield with a hook to the ribs and Holyfield’s corner was forced to step in. This was the only second time in a 20 year career that Holyfield had been stopped. Say what you want about Holyfield, but he could still beat most of the top heavyweights out there and a TKO over him is an amazing accomplishment considering his lion-sized heart. Based on his victories over Jirov and Holyfield (which far outweighs a victory over John Ruiz, wink wink) James Toney is my 2003 Fighter of the Year. FIGHT OF THE YEAR DIEGO CORRALES vs. JOEL CASAMAYOR It seems almost silly that in a year when Arturo Gatti and Mickey Ward decided to go at it one last time, they would not be everyone’s pick for Fight of the Year. The last installment of their epic trilogy was as brutiful (I think I just made up my new favorite word) as boxing gets and by far their most emotional fight. It was one of those rare occasions in boxing where the outcome was not important and everyone just tuned in to see the spectacle of two warriors at the peak of their skills fighting like their lives were on the line. So how could you not pick this as Fight of the Year you ask? Because this year Diego Corrales and Joel Casamayor provided us with enough action to be legally declared a Bruce Willis movie. On the undercard of the “War on October 4” these two 130 pound animals tried to tear each other head off for six rounds and nearly succeeded. Corrales had gotten up off the canvas to drop Casamayor and spark what looked to be an amazing comeback. After taking turns flooring each other, the fight was stopped (prematurely) due to an excess amount of blood in Corrales’ mouth, but not before there was enough fireworks to spark an immediate out cry for a rematch. Mark your calendars and clear your schedules for March 6th when these two warriors are set to do it again. Be sure to bring a bucket of ice in case the action is as hot as last time. ROUND OF THE YEAR ROUND 12 of JAMES TONEY vs. VASSILIY JIROV Partly due to the comments of HBO’s broadcast team and the scorecard of Harold Lederman, it appeared that James Toney needed to win the 12th round of his epic battle with Vasiliy Jirov. So instead of winning the round, Toney went out and threw every punch in his book and pulled out every trick in is arsenal to knock Jirov down towards the final seconds of the round. I personally had Toney ahead by two points going into the final frame, but I also personally had myself ahead of everyone in the room by about five beers, so I thought there was a chance HBO could’ve been right. The suspense of a fight that looms on one single round is more nerve racking than any other moment in sports. When every punch counts and every slip matters, great fighters are at their best. Toney and Jirov are no exception. They both went at it with controlled fury and effective aggression that almost climaxed into reckless abandon when Toney floored Jirov and solidified his win and his new IBF Cruiserweight Title. If you like action and suspense mixed in to your boxing, this round had it all. UPSET OF THE YEAR MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA vs. MANNY PACQUIAO I know I may catch hell for this one considering the 2002 Fighter of the Year was not only beaten, but knocked out in the first big Fight of the Year, but let me explain. Most people had Vernon Forrest ahead of Barrera on their P4P list due to his back to back wins over Shane Mosley. But, Barrera is an all time great and he’s proven himself time and again in the ring as not only a warrior, but as an all around great fighter. This is not to say that Vernon Forrest will not achieve this standing, he more than likely will, but at the time of his loss to Mayorga he was not held in as high of regard overall as Barrera, in my eyes anyway. That being said, a win over Barrera seemed almost impossible unless your name was Erik Morales. Certainly no 122 pounder from the Phillipines could be a threat to the standing of the “Baby Faced Assassin” could he? When November 15th rolled around I, like many, tuned in mainly to see Barrera in a competitive, yet fairly safe fight. But when I saw Pacquiao make his way to the ring and he was smiling and winking at the San Antonio fans that were booing him relentlessly, I realized that I knew that look from somewhere. That look of focus and confidence like he knew something we didn’t. Then it hit me where I’d seen it. It was a little over two years ago and it was on the face of Bernard Hopkins when the bell was about to ring for his historic fight with Felix Trinidad. Like Hopkins, Pacquiao dominated and came close to embarrassing a living legend. When Barrera’s corner finally stepped in to stop the fight in the 11th round, I knew that things would never be the same in the featherweight division. That’s what upsets do. FAVORITE GEORGE FOREMAN QUOTE “THE REFEREE IS GOING TO BE THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE RING TONIGHT, BESIDES THE FIGHTERS.” –round 1, Jones vs. Ruiz This is a category that I made up a few years ago and with the recent news that Big George will be leaving HBO, this is probably the last year I’ll get to use it. Listening to George Foreman is like watching an episode of “Saved by the Bell.” It’s extremely funny, but not for the same reason it was intended. This particular quote made me laugh even though my Foreman Filter was set to high. You’ve got to love George Foreman though. He always tries to find the best in every situation and he tries to articulate it to this fans. Unfortunately sometimes it comes out like this. Good luck Big George! Email questions or comments to Brent at: kentuckyheatwagon@hotmail.com Discuss This Topic at the Message Boards.
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