Bad Left Hook Fight of the Month Poll - May 2010

Previous winners:

January: Carlos Tamara TKO12 Brian Viloria (25%)

February: Antonio Escalante UD10 Mickey Roman (48%)

March: Andre Dirrell DQ10 Arthur Abraham (48%)

April: Mikkel Kessler UD12 Carl Froch (65%)

After a month with a baker's dozen of great fights, we had a month with a lot of promise, but not nearly as many great fights.  Lots of good, solid fights, including one blockbuster fight that showed a masterclass but one-sided performance, but only a few true standouts, one of which wasn't aired on US TV, and one of which featuring fighters with combined records of 0-0 entering the fight.

Saul Alvarez TKO-9 Jose Miguel Cotto - Probably the most entertaining fight of the biggest card of the year, Alvarez came back from getting hurt early to lay a beating into teak tough Cotto.  In the first round, Cotto surprised Alvarez up against the ropes to wobble Canelo's legs.  However, as the fight went on, Alvarez got more confident, getting stronger and more offensively varied as the fight went on.  It was a good introduction to the U.S. public for Canelo, and it was a strong enough performance by Cotto to likely warrant more TV time in the future.

Hugo Cazares UD-12 Nobuo Nashiro - Cazares and Nashiro rematched a draw that was a solid fight in 2009 to battle in a fight of the year candidate for 2010.  Much like last month's fight of the month, each round of the bout built on the last, getting more and more savage. The fight culminated with a very strong round of the year candidate in the 12th, when the two just kept blasting each other to the body for the full round, with Nashiro trying to score the late knockout, with both guys pressed up against the other.  The last round is here, and links to the full fight are there as well.

Ramsey Luna UD-4 Rene Luna - This fight might be exhibit 1A as to why you shouldn't change the channel before the walk-off bout.  On Friday Night Fights, Ji Hoon Kim ended Ameth Diaz's night in one round, which left time for this bout between two Texas fighters (unrelated) making their professional debuts.  While Ramsey was clearly a cut above local favorite Rene, both guys were there to fight and to win.  The first couple rounds were marked by nonstop offense and little defense from either fighter, including a knockdown scored by Ramsey.  Later in the fight, the two were clearly exhausted, but kept on battering each other to the extent they had the energy to do so.

Yonnhy Perez D-12 Abner Mares - While it wasn't quite the barnburner some expected, this was still a decent action bout with long stretches of good offensive technical fighting, not too much defense, and a few stretches of brawling.  Mares appeared to outbox Perez in many of the early rounds, but Perez came back with higher volume and stronger shots late in the fight.  While the draw was giving Perez the benefit of the doubt, it did indicate the close nature of the fight, with many difficult rounds to score.

Librado Andrade RTD-8 Eric Lucas - Both fighters have been known for being forward-moving bullies in their careers, it didn't disappoint.  After a surprisingly technical first round, the two both tried to pressure each other, leading to numerous exchanges without too much regard for defense.  For about six rounds, it was a relatively competitive fight, although it became increasingly one-sided in the late rounds.  After the eighth, Lucas quit on his stool, saying he didn't want to fight if he can't fight at a world level.

Honorable mentions: Floyd Mayweather Jr. UD12 Shane Mosley, Ruslan Provodnikov TKO9 Emmanuel Augustus, Orlando Salido SD12 Cristobal Cruz, Amir Khan TKO11 Paulie Malignaggi, Michael Katsidis KO3 Kevin Mitchell, Sergei Dzinziruk TKO10 Daniel Dawson, Shinny Bayaar D12 Ashley Sexton, Julio Diaz UD12 Herman Ngoudjo, Jorge Solis UD12 Mario Santiago, Marco Huck TKO10 Brian Minto.

NOTE: I will assume that votes for "other" are votes for Mayweather-Mosley.  I just didn't want to skew the poll by including that fight in the poll itself, especially since it wasn't a competitive bout, although no doubt that some people who appreciate the technical aspect or spectacle of boxing probably thought that was the fight of the month.  Whenever a blockbuster fight is included in the poll, it usually ends up winning by default, since a bunch of people who normally wouldn't vote who have only seen that fight end up voting in the poll.