By Cliff Rold
They are all lies of course.
Anyone who says boxing isn’t good anymore, that it’s dead, that the best never fight each other…lies and damn lies all.
Sure, the sport isn’t quite what it used to be. Fighters don’t fight enough. There are still bad decisions, hometown calls, and the air of politics. Guess what? The same is true in every professional sport. The difference in boxing is that the negatives are so naked, so visceral, because at the end of the day it’s just two men, at center ring, shedding blood and sweat for the honor of victory.
Don’t let the negatives be too distracting.
The first decade of the twenty-first century had just as much its share of fantastic as any time before it.
Boxing in the early 2000s saw an explosion of interest in Europe, record wealth in lower weight divisions, and megastars emerging in almost every part of the sports sometimes regionalized landscape.
Throughout the week, this scribe and fellow BoxingScene regular Jake Donovan will be taking a look at the best fights and fighters of the 00’s , a stroll down memory lane and chance to honor the best of best of the last ten years one more time. Jake has already unveiled the top ten fights. In terms of fighters, the work begins towards a Top 25.
To come up with those names, a list of 35 was constructed. To the credit of the times, these 35 were not the only outstanding pugilists in the decade. Excellent warriors like Yutaka Niida, Eagle Kyowa, Arthur Abraham, Acelino Freitas, Cristian Mijares, Timothy Bradley, Paul Williams, Jean Marc Mormeck and Chad Dawson also fell short. Once narrowed to 35, voting was conducted to reach a top ten. Remaining votes were combined with ample discussion and a formula weighing key accomplishments (title reigns, defenses, key wins) to produce numbers 11-25.
That left ten fighters off the list, and the names which missed inclusion speak highly of just how strong the years 2000-2009 really were for the sweet science. There is no effort to rate these ten who missed the cut; they are listed in order by weight division. Each of these ten men simply earned an acknowledgment for their contributions to the game, as well as an explanation for exclusion.
Vitali Klitschko – Heavyweight
Record: 39-2, 37 KO
Record in the 00’s: 12-2, 10 KO
Lineal Championships: None
Belts Held: WBO Heavyweight, 2000; WBC/Ring Magazine Heavyweight 2004-05, 1 Defense; WBC Heavyweight 2008-09, 3 Defenses
Fighter of the Year: None
Fight of the Year: None
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Defeated: Orlin Norris (KO1); Corrie Sanders (TKO8); Samuel Peter (RTD8); Juan Carlos Gomez (TKO9)
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Faced in Defeat: Chris Byrd (RTD by 9); Lennox Lewis (TKO by 6)
How He Missed: Following the retirement of Lennox Lewis, he often appeared to be the best Heavyweight in the world. Unfortunately, those appearances were rare. Various ailments and injuries kept Vitali out of the ring for almost four years and, compared to the men who made the top 25, his overall accomplishments didn’t come with enough quality wins (how could they in the worst division in the sport over the last five years). Also, while he was leading against both Byrd and Lewis on the cards when the fights ended, he ultimately lost both of those encounters.
David Haye – Cruiserweight/Heavyweight
Record/Record in the 00’s: 23-1, 21 KO, 1 KOBY
Lineal Championships: World Cruiserweight 2007-08, 1 Defense
Belts Held: WBC/WBA Cruiserweight 2007-08, 1 Defense; WBC/WBA/WBO Cruiserweight 2008; WBA Heavyweight 09-Present
Fighter of the Year: None
Fight of the Year: None
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Defeated: Arthur Williams (TKO3); Giacobbe Fragomeni (TKO9); Jean Marc Mormeck (TKO7); Enzo Maccarinelli (TKO2); Nikolay Valuev (MD12)
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Faced in Defeat: Carl Thompson (TKO by 5)
How He Missed: Haye, who won titles in two weight classes, made a huge move to close the decade but those two big wins weren’t quite enough. Still only 29, Haye could well be a major player in the decade ahead.
James Toney – Cruiserweight/Heavyweight
Record: 72-6-3, 44 KO, 2 No Contests
Record in the 00’s: 14-2, 7 KO, 2 No Contests
Lineal Championships: None
Belts Held: IBF Cruiserweight 2003
Fighter of the Year: 2003 – Ring/BWAA
Fight of the Year: 2003 – BWAA: UD12 Vasily Jirov
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Defeated: Vasily Jirov (UD12); Evander Holyfield (TKO9)
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Faced in Defeat, Draw or No Contest: John Ruiz (No Contest); Hasim Rahman (D12, No Contest); Samuel Peter (L12, L12)
How He Missed: In 2003, Toney reminded the world why he is a certain Hall of Famer, defeating Jirov in a classic and becoming one of only two fighters ever to stop Holyfield. After that, he reminded the world why he’ll always fall short in comparison to the immortals with which his talents compare, letting two winnable shots at Heavyweight belts get away from him. He showed up overweight and still beat Ruiz for the WBA title only to give the belt back after a failed test for performance enhancers. He showed up sloppy against Hasim Rahman and settled for a draw for the WBC belt.
Antonio Tarver – Light Heavyweight
Record: 27-6, 19 KO
Record in the 00’s: 12-6, 5 KO
Lineal Championships: None
Belts Held: WBC/IBF Light Heavyweight 2003; Ring/WBC/WBA Light Heavyweight 2004; Ring Light Heavyweight 2005-06, 1 Defense
Fighter of the Year: None
Fight of the Year: None
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Defeated: Reggie Johnson (SD12); Montell Griffin (UD12); Roy Jones (TKO by 2, UD12); Glen Johnson (UD12); Clinton Woods (UD12)
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Faced in Defeat: Roy Jones (L12); Glen Johnson (L12); Bernard Hopkins (L12); Chad Dawson (L12, L12)
How He Missed: He pulled off the decade’s biggest upset with a second round knockout of Roy Jones and provided the great Jones a rival. At times, Tarver could look fantastic and others uninspired, as was the case in a terrible effort against Bernard Hopkins. He was the ultimate up and down fighter. Tarver was a very near miss for the Top 25 on the strength of the Jones wins anyways.
Felix Trinidad – Jr. Middleweight/Middleweight/Light Heavyweight
Record: 42-3, 35 KO, 1 KOBY
Record in the 00’s: 6-3, 6 KO, 1 KOBY
Lineal Championships: None
Belts Held: WBA Jr. Middleweight 2000-01, 2 Defenses; WBA/IBF Jr. Middleweight 2000-01; WBA Middleweight 2001
Fighter of the Year: 2000 – Ring/BWAA
Fight of the Year: None
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Defeated: David Reid (UD12); Fernando Vargas (TKO12); Williams Joppy (TKO5); Hasine Cherifi (TKO4); Ricardo Mayorga (TKO8)
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Faced in Defeat: Bernard Hopkins (TKO by 12); Winky Wright (L12); Roy Jones (L12)
How He Missed: The best year of Trinidad’s career kicked off the decade and he added to it with the Joppy win to start 2001. When that one was over, Trinidad was pressing Roy Jones and Shane Mosley for the top of the pound-for-pound charts. From there, he was undressed by Bernard Hopkins in September 2001 and became a special guest star with only four more fights through 2008.
Vernon Forrest – Welterweight/Jr. Middleweight
Record: 41-3, 29 KO, 1 KOBY, 1 No Contest
Record in the 00’s: 11-3, 4 KO, 1 No Contest
Lineal Championships: World Welterweight 2002-03, 1 Defense
Belts Held: IBF Welterweight 2001; Ring/WBC Welterweight 2002-03, 1 Defense; WBC Jr. Middleweight 2007-08, 1 Defense; WBC Jr. Middleweight 2008
Fighter of the Year: 2002 – Ring/BWAA
Fight of the Year: None
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Defeated: Vince Phillips (UD12); Shane Mosley (UD12, UD12); Ike Quartey (UD10); Carlos Baldomir (UD12); Michelle Piccirillo (TKO11); Sergio Mora (UD12)
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Faced in Defeat: Ricardo Mayorga (KO by 3, L12); Sergio Mora (L12)
How He Missed: The late former two-division champion shocked the boxing world with two major wins over Mosley in 2002 but losses every bit as shocking to Mayorga killed his momentum. Injuries sidelined Forrest for all but a handful of fights from there and a highly controversial win over Quartey combined with a split versus the average Sergio Mora hurt his in-ring standing for the decade.
Oscar De La Hoya – Welterweight/Jr. Middleweight
Record: 39-6, 30 KO, 2 KOBY
Record in the 00’s: 8-5, 5 KO, 2 KOBY
Lineal Championships: World Jr. Middleweight 2001-03, 2 Defenses
Belts Held: WBC Welterweight 2000; WBC Jr. Middleweight 2001-02, 1 Defense; Ring/WBC Jr. Middleweight 2002-03; WBO Middleweight 2004; WBC Jr. Middleweight 2006-07
Fighter of the Year: None
Fight of the Year: None
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Defeated: Arturo Gatti (TKO5); Javier Castillejo (UD12); Fernando Vargas (TKO11); Yori Boy Campas (TKO7); Felix Sturm (UD12); Ricardo Mayorga (TKO6); Steve Forbes (UD12)
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Faced in Defeat: Shane Mosley (L12, L12); Bernard Hopkins (KOby9); Floyd Mayweather (L12); Manny Pacquiao (KOby8)
How He Missed: The biggest financial star of the decade, De La Hoya picked up perhaps the most satisfying win of his career with a knockout of Vargas in 2002. It was a rare highlight as De La Hoya mostly served to elevate other men by losing to them in his toughest fights. There was a case to be made that he should have received the second Mosley decision; there was a stronger case for losing to Felix Sturm.
Chris John – Featherweight
Record: 43-0-2, 22 KO
Record in the 00’s: 29-0-2, 16 KO
Lineal Championships: None
Belts Held: WBA Featherweight 2003-Present, 12 Defenses
Fighter of the Year: None
Fight of the Year: None
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Defeated: Ratanachai Sor Vorapin (UD10); Derrick Gainer (UD12); Juan Manuel Marquez (UD12)
How He Missed: John was the dominant Featherweight in the world over the last few years but he just missed most of the wave of talent which set revenue records for the division and lacked at times for strong opposition. His win over Marquez was highly debatable but his multi-defense title reign might have gotten him into the Top 25 anyways with just a little thinner herd.
Hozumi Hasegawa – Bantamweight
Record: 28-2, 12 KO
Record in the 00’s: 27-2, 12 KO
Lineal Championships: None
Belts Held: WBC Bantamweight 2005-Present, 10 Defenses
Fighter of the Year: None
Fight of the Year: None
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Defeated: Veeraphol Sahaprom (UD 12, TKO9)
How He Missed: Hasegawa defeated an unheralded but special Bantamweight in Sahaprom, stopping him just short of the division record for title defenses. By the end of the decade, he was making noise as a pound-for-pound player with a remarkable power surge. Unification would have helped his cause.
Jorge Arce – Jr. Flyweight/Flyweight/Jr. Bantamweight
Record: 52-6-1, 40 KO
Record in the 00’s: 31-3, 25 KO
Lineal Championships: World Jr. Flyweight 2002-05, 7 Defenses
Belts Held: WBC Jr. Flyweight 2002-05, 7 Defenses; interim WBC Flyweight 2005-06, 4 Defenses; interim WBA Jr. Bantamweight 2008-09, 1 Defense
Fighter of the Year: None
Fight of the Year: None
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Defeated: Yosam Choi (TKO6); Melchor Cob Castro (TD6, KO5); Adonis Rivas (TKO10, RTD6); Rosendo Alvarez (KO6); Hawk Makepula (TKO4); Medgoen Singsurat (TKO1)
Current/Former Titlists/Champions Faced in Defeat: Cristian Mijares (L12); Vic Darchinyan (TKO by 11); Simphiwe Nongqayi (L12)
How He Missed: Arce was a key figure in a resurgence of interest in the lower end of the scale and provided a series of thrilling fights, not the least of which came against Hussein Hussein on the undercard of Erik Morales-Manny Pacquiao I. With a higher volume of quality wins, he might well have made a case.
There they are, the fighters who just missed the cut for the top 25 of the 00’s, surely an impressive bunch who beg the question of who is left to be rated. Those answers will begin to emerge in Part II when numbers 11-25 are unveiled.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
