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

[kidaguilar]

There are only 4 legit contenders for fighter of the year.
Hopkins,Canelo,Algieri and Cotto so far. A hopkins win over Kovalev will more than likely grantee him FOTY on the other hand a Hopkins loss and a Algieri win will in my opinion get him the vote. If both Algieri and Hopkins lose and Canelo were to fight Kirkland and win big i believe he will get the FOTY award. If everybody else looses and Cotto wins against a fighter like Andy Lee like some are predicting i can see him wining the award based off his win against Martinez. Golovkin wont fight anybody credible before the end of the year leaving him out.

[Mr. David]

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.

I don't pick the graphics. And yes, if Algieri beats Pacquiao, that puts him up there.

Boxing aficionado Ryan Bivins agreed with me, though we both consider Algieri beating Pacquiao a longshot:

https://twitter.com/RyanBivins/statu...05822698913792

Let me say again what I've said before: I don't care who wins the fights. All I ever hope for is that there's a good story for me to tell.

Cheers,
David

[Wuckoo]

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.

He still won though. It's not street fighting but boxing. And Algieri outboxed him. He got hurt in the first round but came back from it. And it wasn't like Provo was just walking through him.

[SUBZER0ED]

He still won though. It's not street fighting but boxing. And Algieri outboxed him. He got hurt in the first round but came back from it. And it wasn't like Provo was just walking through him.

Ok, you saw one fight, I saw another. Granted, Algieri won officially.

I don't pick the graphics. And yes, if Algieri beats Pacquiao, that puts him up there.

My thing here is the irony of all this. Before Provo gave Bradley hell, he was considered a "c" fighter. Before Algieri "outboxed" Provodnikov, he was considered a "c" fighter. Now, Algieri gets a title shot against the #2 biggest PPV draw in the world, and should he win (which we agree is a longshot), will be a top candidate for FOTY! Yet, many consider Pacquiao a faded champion. So how would a "c" fighter defeating a "faded champion" qualify him as a top candidate for FOTY???

[ShoulderRoll]

Terrence Crawford will have had the best run if he beats Beltran.

Barring a huge upset that rocks the sport the only other guy I would consider is Hopkins. But only if he beats Kovalev.

[kebark]

Am I really the only one cheering on Amnat Ruenroeng? From nowhere to beat a trio of world class opponents, if he gets past Arroyo of course, deserves a mention.

[Dealer]

Bud Crawford is in the lead at the moment without a doubt.

If Hopkins or Kovalev win decisively, then a solid argument could be made for whoever that might be.

However, if Chris Algieri beats Manny Pacquiao, Chris Algieri is the Fighter of the Year by a mile.

[Pigeons]

I don't think Algieri has much of a chance against Pacquiao, but it would be quite a story. He was literally a club fighter before the Provodnikov fight. I'm rooting for him.

[Pigeons]

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.

So you think Provodnikov won that fight because of 2 punches that he landed in the first round?

That's very illogical.

[Dealer]

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.

Couldn't help but notice that you failed to mention that he had one eye for more than half of the fight. To say Algieri merely survived is ridiculous. He made Provodnikov look foolish for all of eight rounds at the very least. This isn't BKB. Footwork and and having a jab are big parts of boxing.