By Cliff Rold
As Guillermo Rigondeuax went down for the second time in the seventh round against Hisashi Amagassa, boxing’s never ending season was in full focus. Right up until the last day of the year, boxing continued to deliver thrills in its most common interval.
Fights can be scheduled for any number of them, from four to twelve. Boxing is measured in rounds. Each one is its own fight, woven into a tapestry of a longer combat. A fighter can win every single fight in a given night and see it all slip away with a frame to go.
This year there were several strong candidates for the best ‘no more than three minutes’ (barring a bad bit of timekeeping) of the year. None impressed us as much as the effort poured out from two of the sports smallest men, battling to unify half of the major titles in their class.
They’d already given us a classic. In the twelfth and final round, they made sure there were no regrets.
2014 Round of the Year: Francisco Rodriguez Jr.-Katsunari Takayama, Round 12
This epic between the WBO 105 lb. titlist Rodriguez (16-2-1, 11 KO) and IBF titlist Takayama (28-7, 11 KO) was exhausting to watch. Imagine what it felt like to be in the ring. Takayama came off the floor in the third and both men took turns leaving the crowd in awe. Having set an unreal pace from the start, they combined for nearly 300 punches in the final frame.
…they went to the corner with three minutes left to stake their claim.
Takayama was off the stool first for the final round. Rodriguez’s face was a bruised mass but he could see his target. A Takayama slip in Rodriguez’s corner was followed by a right hand, Rodriguez receiving a warning for hitting a down man. Takayama appeared none the worse for it and they resumed action. Hurting Takayama with a right hand near the minute mark, Rodriguez was tied up and Takayama quickly cleared his head. In the final minute, it was Rodriguez landing more and trying to put his man away. Takayama fittingly came up with one last assault, working Rodriguez on the ropes with one last salvo.
The power shots of Rodriguez ultimately told the tale on the judge’s cards, though one score was egregiously unfair to the valiant effort of Takayama. Rodriguez won by tallies 115-112, 116-111, and a patently absurd 119-108 to unify two of the four prominent sanctioning body titles.
Almost as memorable as the round itself was the sight of the great Julio Cesar Chavez embracing his inner fan. Working commentary for the bout, he can be seen on camera, coming out of his seat and cheering like a little kid. It was that sort of fight, the kind of battle that reminds us how much the men who put on gloves give of themselves and how much joy boxing can provide in its finest hours.
Who are we to argue with the Lion of Culiacan? It was the round of the year.
Runner-Up: Tommy Coyle-Daniel Brizuela, Round 11
Neither man may ever win a major title, though Coyle (20-2, 9 KO) will have his chances. They’ll always have this Lightweight classic. They combined for eight total knockdowns, three in this memorable frame alone. Coyle was down first on a body shot early in the round only to rise and deck Brizuela (27-4-2, 8 KO). Coyle did it again and looked ready to finish but an errant low blow gave Brizuela enough time to clear his head and make it to the final round. Coyle would end matters there, to some debate. There was no debating the spectacle of the violent eleventh.
OTHERS RECEIVING CONSIDERATION
Thomas Williams-Cornelius White, Round One: Sometimes, a great fight can happen and still be over before three minutes have gone by. Such was the case in this Light Heavyweight scorcher. Williams dropped White right away and seemed well on his way to an early stoppage. A moment of relaxation was all White needed to even the knockdown count and create immediate drama. Williams got up and it was his turn again, flooring White and turning the tide permanently. White beat the count but Williams was all over him to draw the stoppage.
Orlando Salido-Terdsak Kokietgym, Round One: Kokietgym gave Juan Manuel Marquez a fun fight many years ago and then was largely forgotten on western shores. He was quickly recalled when each man hit the deck in the first to begin what would ultimately be a seven-knockdown Jr. Lightweight exercise in savagery.
Juan Manuel Lopez-Daniel Ponce De Leon, Round 2: A lot had changed since Lopez stopped De Leon in the first round of their first fight. Lopez’s brittle chin had proved his undoing as he moved through war after war. De Leon got better in terms of skills and, while also stopped since their first fight, was perceived to have more in the tank. When Lopez went down in round two from a left, conventional thinking prevailed, right? Not so much. It turned out Lopez’s hook was still his kryptonite, dropping De Leon like dead weight. A follow-up assault sent De Leon tumbling to the floor again before a final salvo on the ropes drew the fight to a close. It was a lot of business for a short night.
Daniel Lemieux-Gabriel Rosado, Round Four: For those who wondered why Rosado can lose more than he wins against top guys and keep getting called to premium cable, this fight was another reminder. Each man was hurt, and kept his feet, in this three-minute Middleweight donnybrook. Lemieux would ultimately draw the stoppage in the tenth.
Koki Eto-Ardin Diale, Round Eight: Screw defense. Already weary from seven hard rounds, these two Flyweights came out winging bombs in Gatti-Ward fashion. Eto put an exhausted Diale down twice and…well…they were just getting started. Matching Eto punch for winging punch, the two men beat on each other until Diale nearly dropped Eto. Keeping his feet, Eto roared back, trapping Diale as they again went punch for punch until Diale’s arms just sort of stopped swinging and the referee saved both men from each other.
Terrence Crawford-Yuriorkis Gamboa, Round Nine: After taking Gamboa’s best shot in the first three rounds, Crawford took over this game of high speed chess and began breaking the Cuban talent down. Floored in the eighth, Gamboa came up with a final assault in the ninth and had Crawford wobbled. The reigning Lightweight titlist kept his bearings and pushed back, dropping Gamboa twice to finish the best Lightweight title fight since Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz I.
Adrien Broner-Emanuel Taylor, Round 12: 2014 was never better than during the loaded first weekend of November. With major fights all over the world, these Jr. Welterweights might have provided the most dramatic finish. Broner was getting a test from Taylor in a crowd-pleasing, fast paced fight. Taylor stunned Broner early in the twelfth and was making his case for the upset when Broner unleashed a monster left uppercut to drop Taylor and seal a decision win.
BOXINGSCENE.COM 2014 AWARDS SEASON
Network of the Year: HBO
Comeback of the Year: Rocky Juarez
Prospect of the Year: Anthony Joshua
Event of the Year: Mayweather/NSAC
Fighter of the Year: Naoya Inoue
Knockout of the Year: Alexander Povetkin KO10 Carlos Takam
Robbery of the Year: Oscar Excandon SD12 Tyson Cave
Round of the Year: Francisco Rodriguez Jr.-Katsunari Takayama, Round 12
Fight of the Year: To be announced
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com