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Remember in 2005 I bored you all with my heavyweight report card at the end of the year?
Well I thought I'd bore you again, as I take a look at significant match-ups and title bouts of the year, and rank them. Why not join in?
February: Danny Williams vs. Matt Skelton. Williams's second SD defeat of an unbeaten prospect in a row, this was rarely pretty but fairly exciting. Those suggesting that Skelton deserved the nod are perhaps forgetting that you don't score points with headbutts, and Matt was lucky to see the final bell. While I admit to humdilla bias in this case, this was still a good one, and went some way to removing the memory of Williams-Harrison. B+
Calvin Brock vs. Zuri Lawrence. The Boxing Banker (don't laugh) improved his stock by following a lacklustre performance with one of the most brutal KOs in memory, appearing to have killed Lawrence for several anxious moments. B-
March: Hasim Rahman vs. James Toney. The WBC title saw a man who was given the belt outside the ring defend it against a man who should still have been on suspension for failing a drugs test. In the event, Rahman redeemed himself with a strong display while Toney somewhat shamed himself with his poorest display in years, and an appalling conditioning. He was lucky to get a draw in a watchable but unmemorable affair. C
April: Lamon Brewster vs. Serguei Lyakhovich. How many more undiscovered prospects are there in the former Soviet Union? Here Lyakhovich outpointed Brewster in what was the most thrilling heavyweight boxing match since Lewis-Klitschko. A
Audley Harrison vs. Dominic Guinn. Should we even include this one? Two much-derided contenders strive for another chance at the limelight. Both do little, but Harrison does that little bit less. Tupac, Tupac! D+
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Chris Byrd. Byrd showed heart and chin in a one-sided bout. Byrd actually dissed my boy for his showing against Vitali, so in some way its just desserts. I didn't think that at the time, though, and this wasn't a competitive match-up. Also of note was the pure gayness of Wlad winning to the tune of Kool and the Gang and a ring full of golden glitter. B-
Sam Peter vs. Julius Long. Are we even going to talk about this? Audley Harrison's fourth pro opponent (TKO 2) is dusted down and wheeled out for Peter to bomb out in one and reinvigorate the guy's career trajectory. Far from convincing, but it IS kind of fun seeing Sam bomb out bums... B
June: Calvin Brock vs. Timor Ibragimov While a 29-0 record is notable, I honestly don't think we'd be talking about Brock as much if he didn't have this on his passport:
. The urge for him to become a serious contender is puzzling, as while he might be "the last best hope" for American heavyweights, he's somewhat cumbersome and frequently in dull fights, both of which are in evidence here. That said, he can't take the blame for all of it, and I had him winning by 117-111. Just one question - Lennox, what IS a "ball of fish"? D+
Nicolay Valuev vs. Owen Beck Valuev made his first defence against a guy there to be taken out, though did admittedly look quite impressive in doing it so early on. B-
July: Danny Williams vs. Matt Skelton II Out-thought as much as out-fought by Skelton, Danny came in at a career-heaviest (yes, another one) 280lbs+ to face the ultimate inside brawler. Skelton commendably resisted his nature and elected to fight on the outside using mobility and not getting drawn into a war. For the ridiculously heavy and almost static Williams this was a bad move, and he lost the unanimous decision, spending the evening looking for one big shot. Skelton's antics didn't really do much to please the crowd expecting a rerun of the first brawl, but it paid off, and Williams must be rueing the fact that he turned down the European championship for this. C-
August: Hasim Rahman vs. Oleg Maskaev. The second classic fight of the year, Rahman banishes memories of his laborious draw with an overweight Toney in a heavyweight fight with an exceptionally high workrate for the modern age. Both boxers were interested in trading the whole way through, meaning it was the one-sided refereeing of Jay Nady, not Rahman, that turned out to be "America's Last Line of Defence". A
September: James Toney vs. Samuel Peter. 116-111 Toney. That's what my scorecard said after an entertaining bout where James was hurt but educated Peter for most of the twelve rounds. The unbelievable SD win for Peter was so controversial it prompted a rematch, to take place in January of the new year. B+
October: Nicolai Valuev vs. Monte Barrett. A fight so anti-climatic and unmemorable I actually forgot to initially add it to the list, this saw Barrett - offered up as cannon fodder for Don King's first Valuev co-promotion and major US debut - extend the giant into the 11the round. While the huge weight leaning on Barrett eventually wore him down, he acquitted himself far better than he was supposed to, while the jury's still out on Valuev in an incredibly tepid affair. C-
November: Sergei Liakovich vs. Shannon Briggs. From the heavyweight fight of the year to the stinker of the year in a bout where even Chris Byrd and Davarryl Williamson said there could have been more action. Sergei could have at least gone out on his shield, but instead both men saw fit to throw single punches for the best part of eleven rounds in a deeply tedious bout. Forward to round 12 and skip the rest. D+
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Calvin Brock. I was writing these as I saw them, which explains my earlier remarks about Brock being promoted as a prospect and now seeing him flattened. He did better than expected, I imagine he can come again. B
John Ruiz vs. Ruslan Chagaev. Ruiz, always likeable for his persistence if nothing else, is perhaps finished as a top ten contender after appearing to legitimately lose a decision on his comeback in a better than expected bout. C+
December: Danny Williams vs. Audley Harrison II. Astonishingly, not only did Harrison manage to - if not erase, then temporarily bring them into question - the "coward" and "Fraudly" monickers, he also helped to erase the memory of stinking out the joint in the same arena against the same opponent a year earlier. While seeing a shot Danny Williams busted up and retired still doesn't answer all the questions about Audley, it does, for the moment, reawaken some of the career options he'd buried back in April. B+
Well I thought I'd bore you again, as I take a look at significant match-ups and title bouts of the year, and rank them. Why not join in?
February: Danny Williams vs. Matt Skelton. Williams's second SD defeat of an unbeaten prospect in a row, this was rarely pretty but fairly exciting. Those suggesting that Skelton deserved the nod are perhaps forgetting that you don't score points with headbutts, and Matt was lucky to see the final bell. While I admit to humdilla bias in this case, this was still a good one, and went some way to removing the memory of Williams-Harrison. B+
Calvin Brock vs. Zuri Lawrence. The Boxing Banker (don't laugh) improved his stock by following a lacklustre performance with one of the most brutal KOs in memory, appearing to have killed Lawrence for several anxious moments. B-
March: Hasim Rahman vs. James Toney. The WBC title saw a man who was given the belt outside the ring defend it against a man who should still have been on suspension for failing a drugs test. In the event, Rahman redeemed himself with a strong display while Toney somewhat shamed himself with his poorest display in years, and an appalling conditioning. He was lucky to get a draw in a watchable but unmemorable affair. C
April: Lamon Brewster vs. Serguei Lyakhovich. How many more undiscovered prospects are there in the former Soviet Union? Here Lyakhovich outpointed Brewster in what was the most thrilling heavyweight boxing match since Lewis-Klitschko. A
Audley Harrison vs. Dominic Guinn. Should we even include this one? Two much-derided contenders strive for another chance at the limelight. Both do little, but Harrison does that little bit less. Tupac, Tupac! D+
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Chris Byrd. Byrd showed heart and chin in a one-sided bout. Byrd actually dissed my boy for his showing against Vitali, so in some way its just desserts. I didn't think that at the time, though, and this wasn't a competitive match-up. Also of note was the pure gayness of Wlad winning to the tune of Kool and the Gang and a ring full of golden glitter. B-
Sam Peter vs. Julius Long. Are we even going to talk about this? Audley Harrison's fourth pro opponent (TKO 2) is dusted down and wheeled out for Peter to bomb out in one and reinvigorate the guy's career trajectory. Far from convincing, but it IS kind of fun seeing Sam bomb out bums... B
June: Calvin Brock vs. Timor Ibragimov While a 29-0 record is notable, I honestly don't think we'd be talking about Brock as much if he didn't have this on his passport:
. The urge for him to become a serious contender is puzzling, as while he might be "the last best hope" for American heavyweights, he's somewhat cumbersome and frequently in dull fights, both of which are in evidence here. That said, he can't take the blame for all of it, and I had him winning by 117-111. Just one question - Lennox, what IS a "ball of fish"? D+Nicolay Valuev vs. Owen Beck Valuev made his first defence against a guy there to be taken out, though did admittedly look quite impressive in doing it so early on. B-
July: Danny Williams vs. Matt Skelton II Out-thought as much as out-fought by Skelton, Danny came in at a career-heaviest (yes, another one) 280lbs+ to face the ultimate inside brawler. Skelton commendably resisted his nature and elected to fight on the outside using mobility and not getting drawn into a war. For the ridiculously heavy and almost static Williams this was a bad move, and he lost the unanimous decision, spending the evening looking for one big shot. Skelton's antics didn't really do much to please the crowd expecting a rerun of the first brawl, but it paid off, and Williams must be rueing the fact that he turned down the European championship for this. C-
August: Hasim Rahman vs. Oleg Maskaev. The second classic fight of the year, Rahman banishes memories of his laborious draw with an overweight Toney in a heavyweight fight with an exceptionally high workrate for the modern age. Both boxers were interested in trading the whole way through, meaning it was the one-sided refereeing of Jay Nady, not Rahman, that turned out to be "America's Last Line of Defence". A
September: James Toney vs. Samuel Peter. 116-111 Toney. That's what my scorecard said after an entertaining bout where James was hurt but educated Peter for most of the twelve rounds. The unbelievable SD win for Peter was so controversial it prompted a rematch, to take place in January of the new year. B+
October: Nicolai Valuev vs. Monte Barrett. A fight so anti-climatic and unmemorable I actually forgot to initially add it to the list, this saw Barrett - offered up as cannon fodder for Don King's first Valuev co-promotion and major US debut - extend the giant into the 11the round. While the huge weight leaning on Barrett eventually wore him down, he acquitted himself far better than he was supposed to, while the jury's still out on Valuev in an incredibly tepid affair. C-
November: Sergei Liakovich vs. Shannon Briggs. From the heavyweight fight of the year to the stinker of the year in a bout where even Chris Byrd and Davarryl Williamson said there could have been more action. Sergei could have at least gone out on his shield, but instead both men saw fit to throw single punches for the best part of eleven rounds in a deeply tedious bout. Forward to round 12 and skip the rest. D+
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Calvin Brock. I was writing these as I saw them, which explains my earlier remarks about Brock being promoted as a prospect and now seeing him flattened. He did better than expected, I imagine he can come again. B
John Ruiz vs. Ruslan Chagaev. Ruiz, always likeable for his persistence if nothing else, is perhaps finished as a top ten contender after appearing to legitimately lose a decision on his comeback in a better than expected bout. C+
December: Danny Williams vs. Audley Harrison II. Astonishingly, not only did Harrison manage to - if not erase, then temporarily bring them into question - the "coward" and "Fraudly" monickers, he also helped to erase the memory of stinking out the joint in the same arena against the same opponent a year earlier. While seeing a shot Danny Williams busted up and retired still doesn't answer all the questions about Audley, it does, for the moment, reawaken some of the career options he'd buried back in April. B+
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