Comments Thread For: “Fighting Words” - Pondering 2014’s Fighter of the Year

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

by David P. Greisman - In the grand scheme, the annual Fighter of the Year awards are an honor, but they are otherwise not as important as we might think.

That’s because a fighter’s legacy is judged for how he performs beyond predefined 365-day stretches. He is judged for winning and losing streaks, for title reigns and for significant victories and defeats. There are no seasons in boxing, and so a boxer need not judge himself by how one calendar year’s worth of work compares to his accomplishments in another, or whether his 2014 was better or worse than another fighter’s. His goals are title shots and television spots, to come out on top and to get paid well while doing so.

But as with many things in boxing, pondering who should be the Fighter of the Year can make for a fun debate. And as with several recent years, that debate can be a frustrating one.

That’s because this hasn’t been the kind of year in which one or many fighters put together awe-inspiring campaigns. Once again, a remarkable number of big-name fighters are expected to step into the ring only twice in the course of this calendar year. Often times, only one of a boxer’s wins will be a big one, with the other will come over a lower-level opponent. [Click Here To Read More]

[Cuban Linx]

For me, it's a race between 3 fighters.

Crawford is the front runner so far. Beating Ricky Burns for a title and then knocking out Gamboa was very impressive. He has a third fight coming up with Beltran later in the year and a victory should give him a big advantage.

The other two are Hopkins and Kovalev. If Hopkins beats Kovalev, and becomes undisputed champion I think he would deserve it.

If Kovalev beats Hopkins then that should also give him some leverage.

[Wuckoo]

I personally feel Crawford is fighter of the year. But knowing the way the media works it'll probably go to mayweather, pacquiao or cotto.

[Mike D]

Yeah I think it's Crawford with Salka coming in at a close second.

[Check_hooks]

Theres only been 1 fight that involved 2 top 10 P4P fighters and that was Pacquiao vs Bradley 2.

Pacquiao won easily so hes the FOTY

Beating a chinny blown up Gamboa doesn't prove anything

[Wuckoo]

Theres only been 1 fight that involved 2 top 10 P4P fighters and that was Pacquiao vs Bradley 2.

Pacquiao won easily so hes the FOTY

Beating a chinny blown up Gamboa doesn't prove anything

........by that logic cotto is fighter of the year. Martinez, although damaged, was top p4p. There were a lot of good fights and pacquiao-Bradley was one of them but I wouldn't say he's fighter of the year. In terms of p4p rankings pacquiao hasn't been active enough in the last couple of years to warrant that much praise. It's also not always about one fight. It's about the fighter themselves. Pac looked good but it's not like he stopped Bradley as some predicted and he wasn't landing flush of hurting him. Also I think that the other big fights lined up this year will produce better candidates.

[yoshik]

A wash

You will never be able to pick based on the miserable first half. If the heavy handed and ruthless brawler Algieri beats Pac then that's a pick. Until then KEEP HIS SMUG DISRESPECTFUL ARROGANT FACE OFF THIS SITE.

[Wuckoo]

Oh god, please please don't let this turn into a pacquiao debate thread.

[Teetotaler]

Probably canelo he fought angulo lara and probably Kirkland in December

[SUBZER0ED]

Does the writer have a bias toward Algieri? He's pictured in the article, and is described as a top candidate for FOTY if he beats Pacquiao. He won't beat Pacquiao, David. He didn't even beat Provodnikov; he survived Providnikov by running and pot-shotting. He still got hit, and visited the ER after the fight.