Ted the Bull’s Boxing Awards for 2011

Looked horrid against Fury but really turned it around against the Nordic nightmare

Cant disagree w/ most (havent watched either of those FOTY fights though) but I’d suggest Peterson beating Khan as an upset too.

Not that Petersons awful or anything, teh fight ust had an aura of a formality before Khan faced Mayweather.

I was one of a handful not at all surprised that Kirkland beat Angulo. Perro does nothing for me. He’s poor man’s Margarito in all ways.

Good lord, let there never be a fight in New Mexico, that ref was beyond horrible. Holms should be thankful that she is alive after that type of fight. You know when you are safer fighting in Mexico given the ref that was in place there.

Good picks Ted. I have Berto vs. Ortiz as my FOTY, but I may be biased. It’s hard for me to objectively compare a fight I saw long after the fact on Youtube with one I saw in the moment in HD with friends.

I think “trainer of the year” (which I completely agree) beats “worst decision of the year” (where I also agree) for “easiest pick of the year.” But only because there have been so many bad decisions in 2011.

Oddly, it was just as good of a year for entertaining fights as it was for bad judging and reffing.

"I knew I had the strength to knock him out in the 12th round."
—Michael Grant

I hit him with the left hook and I looked down, and I saw that his legs were twitching, and I knew that the fight was over.
Nonito Donaire

The Holly Holm (30-2-3, 9-KOs) vs. Anne Sophie Mathis (26-1, 22-KOs) "World Dominance" fight is bothering me, and it should bother everyone with a stake in professional boxing.
Lisa Creech Bledsoe

Baring something unforeseen on December 30 (and with Jermaine Taylor fighting anything can happen insofar as a brutal KO is concerned), Michael "Big" Grant’s dramatic come-from-behind KO of Frans ‘the White Buffalo" Botha is my choice for KO of the Year for 2011. Botha had dominated the fight, nearly finishing off Grant in the 7th and 11th rounds, but "Big’ did the job with a withering right cross with just 37 seconds left in the fight that left the Buffalo down and out for several minutes. In the process, Grant claimed the vacant WBF title and got himself back into the heavyweight mix

Nonito Donaie’s near decapitation of Mexican Fernando "Cochulito" Montiel in February. was a close second. When Donaire decked Montiel for the first time in the second round, the fight should have been stopped right there and then. However, Referee Russell Mora "allowed" Montiel to stagger back to his feet to take more, albeit unnecessary, punishment Donaire finished off his helpless opponent with a malefic left hook .

Lost in the intrigue of "Eyegate" and the weekend jubilation of "Cottorama," Holly Holm’s violent knockout loss to Anne Sophie Mathis of France in Albuquerque, New Mexico on December 2 was every bit as scary as Vonda Ward’s KO loss to Ann Wolfe several years ago. This fight has haunted me ever since I witnessed it; warning, it is not for the faint of heart.

Although we’ll see if he can complete it. Or how about the guy who was wrongly in prison for 25+ years and made his pro debut at age 53?

I’ll have to keep an eye on Darley Perez, who hasn’t really been on my radar. It looks like he had quite a good year. A few other guys who really blew up this year: Thomas Dulorme, Froilan Saludar, Gilberto Romero Sanchez, Thomas Oosthuizen, Jessie Vargas, Danny Garcia, Leo Santa Cruz, Scott Quigg, Grzegorz Proksa and George Groves. In terms of tough schedule and good results, my POTY might be Sanchez.

Manour really didn’t come back from boxing, did he?

Fight of the Year: Akira Yaegashi vs. Pornsawan “Terminator” Porpramook

By Ted Sares:

2011 could well be described as an odd year in boxing. We had "Toegate." We had the horrid Lara-Williams decision, the Hopkins-Dawson debacle, and the strange ending of Mayweather vs. Ortiz. There were many strange referee jobs this year as well including the dangerous non-stoppage of Holly Holm and the low blow fest on Joseph Agbeko. 2011 also saw the Mexican fighters make a strong showing including Juan Manuel Marquez’s sparkling performance in "defeat," and Canelo’s emergence as a phenom. Antonio Tarver continued to shine as both a commentator and a boxer.

Ann “Brown Sugar” Wolfe and her charge James Kirkland did enough in one year to make any fan happy. The "Mandingo Warrior’s’ turnaround, with its many subplots, was one made for the movies.

While Andre Ward will run off with Fighter of the Year, he still lacks the shock and awe or charismatic sizzle that usually accompanies such an award. He just may win all of his fights without a KO, but winning almost 90% of the rounds is probably as good as anything.

Fight of the Year: Yaegashi vs. Porpramook

Now most may assert that when it comes to Fight of the Year, it will be hard to beat the Wolak vs. Rodriquez draw and the Berto vs. Ortiz brawl, but I submit I have two fights that did just that.

Yaegashi (Japan) and Porpramook (Thailand) put on one of the greatest fights since the 2006 classic for the WBA World super bantamweight title between Thai warrior Somsak Sithchatchawal and Frenchman Mahyar "Little Tyson" Monshipour. Thai fighters seem to have a knack for engaging in such incredible fights.

Yaegashi (15-2) vs. Porpramook (23-4-1) took place on October 24 in Tokyo and those fortunate enough to view the footage are still in a daze over what they saw. These two warriors arguably fought the greatest strawweight (minumweight) fight ever. The fury of the fight built and increased into the late rounds, as the display of fast punching, withering hooks, sharp counters, punishing overhand rights, and incredible stamina on the part of both fighters had the crowd up and roaring throughout. Finally, in the 10th stanza, Yaegashi caught the Thai on the ropes and unleashed a flurry that snapped the Terminator’s neck back forcing the referee to end matters as the crowd went into an absolute frenzy. At stake was Porpramook’s WBA World Minimumweight title.

Second place: Makoto Fuchigami vs. Koji Sato

Technique and skill had long been replaced by the basic desire to win. Blood, trickling off the face of each fighter, sprayed about the ring as each man launched and absorbed haymaker after haymaker

—Sidney Boquiren

In a mirror image of Yaegashi and Porpramook, the back and forth, ebb and flow drama that unfolded in the blood spattering brawl between Japanese middleweights Makoto Fuchigami (18-6) and Koji Sato (20-2) on December 12 in Tokyo was not one for the faint of heart. This non-stop brawl featured one rattling haymaker after another—wave after wave— and most seemed to land. It became a battle of sheer attrition until near the end when one of the most dramatic comebacks I have ever witnessed occurred.

Fuchigami,. his face looking like a tomato pizza, seemed ready to go up until the ninth, but then he decided that round nine would be his chance to end matters against a now badly fatigued and virtually powerless Sato.The bigger Sato found himself pinned against the ropes and unable to fend off Fuchigami’s swarming attack. The referee stepped in to rescue the helpless champion at the 1.26 mark.

Like the Yaegashi vs. Porpramook, this was another that flew under the radar but fortunately I caught both on video and will not soon forget what I witnessed. The difference between these two brawls was razor thin and there was nothing odd about them.

The lesson will be posted below

reflecting boxing acumen and debating skills. The issue wqould be subject to heated but civil debate.

A certain other site offers the following as a represenative posts:

“who vs what? whom, what? WTF? jesus”

“hey, you forgot watznidkrd vs awbnuidbpm.. that’s a candidate too for fight of the century.”

“Listen, there’s no way I’m going to list a “fight of the year” with names that sound like jumbled words for rising up the dead. How about “Kirkland vs Angulo?” That works for me."

“Richard Stroumtsong vs Wladimir Boloverenerinsky and Pogolomesieu Pansemi vs Victor Jose de las flores verdes, for me the fights of the year.”

“Why do they always have midgets for fight of the year?”

And one that makes it a bit worthwhile:

no clue
Great call Ted … looked this one Yaegashi vs. Porpramook up and was enthralled throughout.. amazing fight … on a par with Corrales Castillo .. and in terms of pure action and unflagging tempo even better.. Wolak vs. Rodriquez doesn’t even need apply – a lot of heart, but damn that fight was sloppy like hell and had Walak charging in like a demented buffalo all fight long, which to me was an ugly sight.. Berto vs. Ortiz needn’t apply either.. There were flashes of brilliance and multiple knockdowns but the intensity went up and down, there were a lot of clinches and rough stuff.. Yaegashi vs. Porpramook was pure fighting fierceness from word go and both showed great skill, resilience, punching versatility and heart till the end .. FOTY with no other fight even coming close and that holds true for Kirkland vs Angulo as well.

The obvious conclusion is that a some sites are only interest edin post count regardless of the morons, assholes, and rump swabs who continually post their inanities without beng warned much less banned. .

The Lesson: Bad Left Hook is a site for boxing fans.

“I kept it short so you could finish it in an hour”. Hahaha!!!
Comment of the year for me. Nice one !!

I thought George Groves’ stoppage of Paul Smith was impressive. Especially given that Degale took nine to beat him. That first right hand didn’t look much, but the fight was over thereafter.