My Biggest Disappointments This Year

The lackluster performances put in by Taylor against Hopkins both times. Yes, Hopkins has shown himself to be a master of the game for the past few years with good defense and knowing how to foul when the ref is blocked, but Taylor is a young, strong fighter who has shown aggressiveness and major skills in his previous matches. Yes, the detractors can say that he was fighting blown up Junior Middleweights and past-their-prime fighters, but Hopkins' signature win was against one who was a past-his-prime blown up lightweight, so that definitely evens the keel there. Taylor may go on to show us greatness. His slim and disputed victories against Hopkins may be completely attributed to Hopkins' defensive mastery and equally lackluster performance, but I expected more from the young guy who has been touted as the future of the Middleweight Division. The shellacking taken by Jameel McCline against Zuri Lawrence. First, McCline probably never reall belonged at the top of the heavyweight division, but he was there, and he damned near took out Chris Byrd. He showed flashes of possibility in that fight, and I have always hoped he would find that killer instinct in himself that would make him a complete and deadly fighter. For a man who walks around at 270+ lbs, he has shown stunning handspeed and pretty good stamina. He could have been someone had he found a way to make himself fight. Against Lawrence, someone not even worthy of being called a Journeyman, he lost almost every single round due due largely to being outworked. His heart wasn't in it. Do us a favor, Jameel. You seem to be one hell of a nice guy, and you have gone farther in boxing than perhaps you should have. If you can't find it in yourself to fight, don't. Use the nice guy image you have built and put it to good work talking to kids. There's always a place for ex-boxers from the tough streets to talk at schools. Robert Guerrero losing against Gamaliel Diaz. I don't want to take anything away from Diaz. He fought a great fight, consistently aggressive, poking holes in a defense that others could not find, and he won an impressive victory when he was just supposed to be an Opponent. Kudos to Diaz. For Guerrero's part, he looked out of sync the entire fight. It's the first time I've seen him in against a relentless opponent and he failed the test. I had high hopes of seeing him climb in weight and becoming a dominant champion at lightweight in a few years. He definitely has skills, and I hope he took something away from this fight that will allow him to learn and grow as a fighter. JCC, Jr, period. Ok, we get it. You're the som of a legend, and you show some skill, but it's time for you to step up in competition or get out of the game. I can no longer get excited seeing you, with 23 wins now, fighting club fighters. Either fight someone at least considered a Journeyman or quit wasting our time. James Toney vs. John Ruiz I had great hopes that Toney would finally end the attempts of the WWE to infiltrate boxing at its highest level, but my hopes were shot to hell with the positive steroid test. Yes, James, we understand that you had a prescription to heal the muscles you tore in your fight against Booker, but it would seem that if they were the same steroids found in your system, you wouldn't have had the belts stripped. Thanks for screwing up our chance to get rid of Ruiz. Now, thanks to you, we face the possibility of Ruiz being replaced by yet another freakshow. Castillo vs Corrales (X 2) The first fight was one for the ages. Brutal, non-stop action from beginning to end, only to be ruined by Castillo's whining after the fight about the mouthpiece issue. Face it, Jose. If you had had him truly hurt, there is no way he would have gotten off the canvas and beat you along the ropes like a ragdoll. I understand your pride, but you were out. You were out because you got complacent and let one of the hardest puchers in your division tag you good. The 15 extra seconds could not account for his ability to end you like that if he was ever truly hurt. And how to you respond to it? By coming in overweight for the second fight. Again, you let your pride screw you up in the eyes of many. You have tainted yourself as a fighter by refusing to make a contracted weight. Yes, I'm aware that he came in the ring at roughly the same weight, but he, unlike you, had to drain himself to make weight. Your stunning KO will always have that asterisk beside it now. You really accomplished nothing by cheating the way you did. Mike Tyson vs. Kevin McBride Mike, to be honest, I had no hope that a stunning victory against McBride would vault you back into the heavyweight picture. I did, however, hope that someone with a legendary, though marred, career such as yours could go out on a winning note. Please, for all of us, stay on the canvas this time. There are those of us who, despite your sometimes bizarre behavior, choose to remember you as you were. Allow us that. The Return of Riddick Bowe We love you Riddick, even though you are perhaps the biggest waste of raw talent to ever hit the heavyweight division. Despite what you think, your brain is no longer functioning at full capacity. If it were, you would realize it wasn't. You were a great fighter but you weren't all that bright to being with. Please don't make it worse. Add your own if you like.