BoxingScene.com’s 2008 Year-End Awards Part II

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

By Cliff Rold - Yesterday, BoxingScene recognized some of the best in Boxing 2008. We saved the best for last. Without further ado, staff voting for Fighter, Fight and Round of the Year is revealed.

Fighter of the Year: Manny Pacquiao

Perhaps Boxing’s most thrilling elite fighter, the current pound-for-pound king Pacquiao was the clear choice for fighter of the year in 2006 when he stopped Erik Morales twice and punished former titlist Oscar Larios in between. 2006 has been topped. A unanimous staff choice, no fighter had a bigger year in 2008 than the Filipino icon. Factor in Pacquiao’s in, and out of, ring impacts and no one else comes close.

He was already a great fighter and easy Hall of Famer before the year started. Through this last twelve months, defeating Boxing’s biggest star and one of its reigning best, pound-for-pound, he further entrenched himself with some of history’s elites in terms of accomplishment, entered conversations about the all-time greats, and changed his economic future for the better. Let’s look first at the accomplishments. [details]

[Thread Stealer]

I'm glad they mentioned Vic Darchinyan as a serious candidate for Fighter of the Year.

He's too often overlooked when this subject has come up.

[MANGLER]

No argument on those picks.

[Sweet Pea]

No argument on those picks.

Yes, they nailed them right on the money.

[Epie2]

Cliff Rold, your saying Darchinyan's draw with Z Gorres would've been a win had the fight been held outside of the Philippines is not well thought of and an affront to Filipino boxing judges. Check the records. One of the 2 non-Filipino judges had Gorres winning while the other scored the fight a draw. It was the Filipino judge, Jonathan Davis, who scored the fight for Darchinyan. Had the Filipino judge been biased for his countryman, as you implied Filipino boxing judges are, Darchinyan would have lost by majority decision.

[crold1]

Cliff Rold, your saying Darchinyan's draw with Z Gorres would've been a win had the fight been held outside of the Philippines is not well thought of and an affront to Filipino boxing judges. Check the records. One of the 2 non-Filipino judges had Gorres winning while the other scored the fight a draw. It was the Filipino judge, Jonathan Davis, who scored the fight for Darchinyan. Had the Filipino judge been biased for his countryman, as you implied Filipino boxing judges are, Darchinyan would have lost by majority decision.

I didn't say anything about ethnicty of judges; I merely commented on turf. Crowds can influence judges from anywhere on home turf and maybe the crowd did. either way, looked like a clear win for Vic.

[Epie2]

In the Gorres-Darchinyan fight the Panamanian referee was doing a poor job and the crowd reacted. But to say that the crowd influenced the Thailander and Australian judges is to question the competence of those judges in doing their job.

One thing is clear. Foreigner fighters can rely on the fairness of Filipino boxing judges when they fight in the Philippines.

[crold1]

In the Gorres-Darchinyan fight the Panamanian referee was doing a poor job and the crowd reacted. But to say that the crowd influenced the Thailander and Australian judges is to question the competence of those judges in doing their job.

One thing is clear. Foreigner fighters can rely on the fairness of Filipino boxing judges when they fight in the Philippines.

God forbid anyone ever question judging in Boxing.

[KingArthur]

I didn't say anything about ethnicty of judges; I merely commented on turf. Crowds can influence judges from anywhere on home turf and maybe the crowd did. either way, looked like a clear win for Vic.

Hostile territory, hostile crowd would have influenced even an ARMENIAN judge that night. And dont tell me they weren't hostile, they were throwing everything but their babies in the ring that night.