Interested in what people think was the biggest statement made by a fighter. This is not the same as fight of the year or fighter of the year. An example could be kell brook proving he really was the special one by stepping up on the world stage and ripping the world title off the champion on his home turf.
I've got a few others but what do you guys have?
Kovalev probably. Dominating B-Hop, even at his advanced age, is a bigger statement than beating Shawn Porter or Gary Russell Jr.
Not hard to pick out the candidates though. Brook, Loma, Walters, and Crawford the big movers this year.
Honourable mention to Pacquiao too. Beating Bradley as he did was a big statement. A lot of people thought he was done.
I was also going to list Manny for similar reasons as he has basically gotten 3 comeback wins in a calender year. He didn't get the KO I wanted to see against ALgieri so he didn't get the exclamation point.
Yeah that's an interesting one, I believe manny was worth a shout as he did still get Algieri to do his backwards roll.
It's interesting to see how Floyd didn't really prove make a statement at all this year. We all knew he could handle slower plodders with ease. The only thing he did show is he still has his legs where as some people thought they were gone.
. . . . Seeing Crawford travel for Burns was also great...and Gamboa-Crawford was my favorite fight of the year...Iagree, he made a statement this year
Brook - considering he was basically unknown to a lot of US fans, just coming over and handling Porter was impressive. I don't know if they'll remember his name here right away, but I bet he made a statement to his doubters back home.
It showed his level of self belief, particularly after Beltran was on the bitter end of a dubious decision.
Great shouts. I was also shocked at how Cotto proved he's still a relevant force by picking up the middleweight title.
That's a good one - I like to see those performances from older veterans...the 'I'm not done yet' wins. It opens the door for the big fights. All their old fans who thought it was over take notice and come out of the woodwork. Now Froch might get one and now Cotto has several options.
I was also going to list Manny for similar reasons as he has basically gotten 3 comeback wins in a calender year. He didn't get the KO I wanted to see against ALgieri so he didn't get the exclamation point.
I like the way that your suggestions are at different points in their careers and the way that varies the statements that they made.
As a Brit I'd also put Brook there like MBE suggests. We've waited a long time for him to step up to a higher level.
I'd also put Crawford in there for the way that he's gone about plying his trade. He seems to do things correctly in a manner that captures the fan's respect.
Seeing Crawford travel for Burns was also great...and Gamboa-Crawford was my favorite fight of the year...Iagree, he made a statement this year
Brook - considering he was basically unknown to a lot of US fans, just coming over and handling Porter was impressive. I don't know if they'll remember his name here right away, but I bet he made a statement to his doubters back home.
being a HW fan I will go with alexander povetkin. the reason I choose him is because after that terrible title fight he came back & KO'd 2 top 15 contenders to get himself in striking distance of another title shot...
I would say Kovalev made the biggest statement, he advanced the ball the furthest on his career.
Kind of a weak year though obviously some other dudes got mentioned you could include but really not a lot big happened.
As kind of an odd one I would say Manny made a big statement, personally I always thought he beat/beats Bradley and Algeri is not all that but those two wins put him essentially back where he was. That is a pretty big jump when you consider how people thought of him fading.
Kovalev
Nicholas Walters(more like a breakout win but i'll throw it out there)
Froch in how Groves II ended.
I like the way that your suggestions are at different points in their careers and the way that varies the statements that they made.
As a Brit I'd also put Brook there like MBE suggests. We've waited a long time for him to step up to a higher level.
I'd also put Crawford in there for the way that he's gone about plying his trade. He seems to do things correctly in a manner that captures the fan's respect.
Kovalev
Nicholas Walters(more like a breakout win but i'll throw it out there)
Froch in how Groves II ended.
Great shouts. I was also shocked at how Cotto proved he's still a relevant force by picking up the middleweight title.