Part One

Part Two

Part Three

5. Juan Manuel Lopez v. Rogers Mtagwa
October 10, 2009 - New York, New York

When this fight was signed, we groaned. Everyone groaned. Mtagwa had proven himself tough, durable and exciting with his 2008 breakthrough fight against Tomas Villa, a Fight of the Year contender, but against Lopez? Totally overmatching Mtagwa. He was better than his record, sure, but against LOPEZ??

Top Rank had to be kidding us. Lopez himself was publicly unhappy with the fight, feeling it wasn't good enough.

Dear Rogers Mtagwa,

On behalf of everyone, we apologize.

Sincerely,

Bad Left Hook

Two straight years now, Rogers Mtagwa has come up with a Fight of the Year contender, the first time against Villa (a similarly B-or-C-level fighter) and now against A-level Lopez, an unbeaten titlist he took to the absolute limit. Lopez had never been tested, really, and this time out, he was. Mtagwa showed early he had no fear of Lopez, a powerful puncher with good boxing skills.

Lopez, to his credit, returned the fury, tagging Mtagwa with vicious shots that would have knocked a lesser fighter down or even out. Both of them took clean, hard punches the entire fight, with both men in trouble at various points. It was Lopez's skill and speed that wound up winning him the fight, but make no mistake. He barely survived this one, and it caused a lot of folks to re-examine their thoughts on where he was at in his career.

For me, it made me do two things. First off, I actually came out thinking more of Lopez, who showed he can take a shot and win a gritty, down-and-dirty war of a fight. All we knew before this one was he was skilled and strong; now we knew he was a fighter with some toughness, too. And I also went ahead and declared Mtagwa not just "better than his record," but dramatically so, and someone whose record should probably just be ignored. Forget those losses. This guy can war.

4. Ulises Solis v. Brian Viloria
April 19, 2009 - Quezon City, Philippines

For a long, long time, Ulises Solis was seen by many as the guy that just might be able to beat Ivan Calderon, the unbeaten ruler of the two lightest weight divisions in boxing. Mexican Solis (whose brother Jorge previously appeared on the list) had become dominant at 108 pounds, and his fight in the Philippines on Top Rank PPV against Brian Viloria would surely be a win. A pretty good win, but a win.

Viloria, after all, had just never shown the "it" required to come through in these fights. He'd had his chances. Yes, he previously held the WBC title with a couple of good wins, but then some spark or something left him. "Hawaiian Punch" didn't seem quite so imposing anymore. He wasn't hitting as hard, didn't seem as mentally "there" in his big fights against Omar Nino and Edgar Sosa. He was by no means a bad fighter; more a dreadfully frustrating guy, a fighter you knew was better than he was performing a lot of the time.

All that was laid to rest with the best performance of Viloria's career on April 19. While this one lost our Fight of the Month poll to the far more widely-seen and hyped Froch-Taylor, I think there's almost no comparison when trying to determine which is the better fight. Solis-Viloria had better sustained action, a better crowd and better ebb and flow.

Viloria came out hot, beating up on Solis early. He opened up cuts over both of Solis' eyes, and the Solis corner did a great job keeping them under control. In the middle rounds, it looked as though we might get the usual Viloria script, as Solis started taking control of the action, fighting in the middle of the ring and making his stand.

Viloria's corner jumped all over him, urging him to turn up the heat again and not let another major fight slip away. And he dug down deep and found the heart to do just that. Everything Solis brought to him, Viloria dished out that and more in return. Eventually, the punishment piled up, and Viloria knocked out Solis in the 11th round to win the IBF junior flyweight title in a wonderful fight that still hasn't gotten its due.

3. Ricardo Cordoba v. Bernard Dunne
March 21, 2009 - Dublin, Ireland

If Ireland's Bernard Dunne was going to overcome the more skilled and more experienced Ricardo Cordoba in Dublin, it was going to have to be a war. Frankly, Dunne probably didn't deserve the title shot, and I don't mean that to be disrespectful. Bernard Dunne became one of my favorite fighters this year, in part because of the overwhelmingly passionate connection he has with the fans in his country. When he won this fight and the WBA title from Cordoba, his fans gave him one of the most enormous ovations you'll ever hear. And when he lost the belt later in the year, they gave him another one.

Dunne is also one of those guys who reminds me of the movie Rudy, and specifically, a line that Movie Ara Parseghian had about Movie Rudy. When I think of guys like, say, Audley Harrison, I see wasted talent, and it reminds me of that line: "If you had a tenth of the heart of Ruettiger you could've been All-American!"

Dunne is all heart. He's not a special talent in the way so many fighters are. He's a warrior, a proud and gutsy guy who fights until he can fight no more. Against Cordoba, he put on what may wind up being by far the best performance of his career. Both men bled, both took hard shots, and in the end, it was Dunne who outlasted the defending titlist, winning the belt in Dublin after an epic war that felt like it could have ended on countless occasions.

2. Paul Williams v. Sergio Martinez
December 5, 2009 - Atlantic City, New Jersey

When Kelly Pavlik canceled his fight with Paul Williams for the second time, we got Sergio Martinez as a replacement. On paper, it would be a tactical, lefty-versus-lefty affair, probably not very explosive, but a good substitute fight for sure.

It took less than a round for this to turn into a stunningly savage bout. Williams clipped Martinez for a knockdown in the opening round, but just before the end of the frame, Martinez drilled Williams and put him on the canvas. Williams was hurt.

And Williams seemed to fight much of the rest of the bout hurt, too. By the end of it (a decision win for Tall Paul), he seemed to be going purely on instinct. Martinez was able to neutralize Williams with a right hook early that landed at will, and later a straight left hand that kept getting through. But Williams was there, and at some points, he dominated the fight, making exceptional mid-fight changes in his gameplan and going toe-to-toe with Martinez.

It was a fight we just didn't expect to see, and a reminder that a great, great fight can happen when nobody sees one coming. Both of them upped their stock greatly with this outstanding brawl, a must-see fight that turned very good boxers into pure warriors, at least for one night.

1. Juan Manuel Marquez v. Juan Diaz
February 28, 2009 - Houston, Texas

When Juan Manuel Marquez knocked out Juan Diaz in the ninth round of this all-time classic, I had a feeling right then on February 28 that this fight would not be topped.

There were some good attempts. Dunne and Cordoba a month later; Williams and Martinez at the end of the year; three great fights in October. But I go back to this fight, and nothing is better. Non-stop action on both sides. It was obvious early that there was something in the air in Houston, that Diaz had come to beat a hero, and that Marquez wasn't quite ready to go down.

Diaz's attack was as focused and sharp as ever. He beat Marquez back, pinning him on the ropes, where he'd unload. But a savvy fight watcher could see Marquez scoring points, too, as he counter-punched with precision and force. Though Diaz was winning the fight early, it was clear Marquez would not simply be laying down.

Whoever was losing this one was going out on their shield.

Diaz was busted open in the fight, and a cut had plagued him badly in his lone career loss to Nate Campbell. He hadn't dealt with it well and his corner dealt with it even worse. This time, they did better by him, but Diaz was still jumpy about it. This time, though, it wasn't fear of the cut or the blood or of losing. It was fear, I think, of the fight being taken from him because of the cut.

So Diaz went out and tried to finish Marquez. What happened was the old master taught another class for the kiddies watching at home -- how to finish an aggressive, wounded opponent. Marquez decked Diaz in the ninth. Diaz came back, but the tide had totally turned, and he was on his last legs. Marquez stormed again, flooring Diaz at center ring on a beautiful punch, and the referee rightly called it off. One of the best fights of the entire decade, and the best of 2009.

Photo Credits

Lopez-Mtagwa: Flickr, via The Rumble

Solis-Viloria: AP / Aaron Favila

Cordoba-Dunne: Zimbio

Williams-Martinez: BoxingScene.com

Marquez-Diaz: Marlene Marquez / Pound4Pound.com

Tonight's fantastic HBO World Championship Boxing event provided some amazing excitement, and we've got the numbers to break down the fights, round-by-round, courtesy of our friends at CompuBox.

CompuBox's Arreola-Minto Comments: "Heavyweight throwdown, as Arreola landed 57% of his power shots, the ballsy Minto landed 46%. Arreola too big- he closed show landing 34 of 46 power shots (74%) in fourth round."

CompuBox's Williams-Martinez Comments: "Fight of the Year candidate. Williams was busier (979-638) and landed more (300-254) total punches while Martinez landed the harder shots and also landed 41% of his power shots. Of their 554 total punches landed, 389 were power shots. Judge Pierre Benoist gave Martinez ONE round -- the man should be banned for life!"

Full stats available after the jump!

Continue reading this post »

Before the main event fight went live, HBO showed a video package to recap what has been a tremendous year for boxing. Max Kellerman narrated great fights, great upsets, controversies, and sadly, those fighters we lost early this year.

One was Vernon Forrest, and main event fighter Sergio Martinez fought tonight in his honor. Martinez surely did Forrest proud with his performance tonight.

Another was Arturo Gatti, and tonight at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Martinez and Paul Williams did the memory of Gatti proud in his signature building.

In what was expected to be a tactical affair, all out savagery, brutality and boxing war broke out between Williams and Martinez, thrilling one of boxing's best cities, and reminding us once again that you just never know when you might get a fight for the vaults.

Williams wound up winning the fight by majority decision. We'll get to that part later. For now, let's talk about the fight.

Martinez went down with bad balance in the first round, touched more than punched by Williams. Just before the bell signaled to end the opening frame, Martinez nailed Williams with a right hook that sent the taller fight tumbling to the canvas. And he was hurt.

For two more rounds, Martinez's precision counter punching was clinical. Williams absorbed right hook upon right hook, looking like a fighter being outsmarted and outfought.

But then Williams made an adjustment and turned the tide of the fight. After seven rounds, I had Williams ahead by one point (having given Martinez a 10-9 in the first).

Down the stretch, both were exhausted, and both had their moments. They continued to battle their hearts out, showing unexpected grit, fire and resolve. It looked at times as if a stiff breeze could have blown Martinez over, and Williams seemed to be fighting purely on instinct.

It was a fight that made you marvel at what these athletes do to themselves and each other. Both pushed on when it seemed nothing was left, and they did so for just about half the fight, truthfully. Williams appeared badly shaken early in the fight, and didn't seem too clear-headed in his post-fight comments. He could have been out there fighting through a hand injury or possibly even a mild concussion. Whatever it was, he left nothing in reserves. Neither did Martinez.

Everything you could want out of a fight was in this one. It was dramatic, it turned on dimes. Just when you thought you had it figured out, the other guy would come roaring back into the fight.

It was a very serious contender for Fight of the Year, and I stand and cheer for both Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez.

Worst Scorecard of 2009

About those scores. One card was 114-114, one was 115-113 for Williams, and the third, from judge Pierre Benoist, was 119-110 for Williams.

This made Gale Van Hoy's 118-110 Diaz card from Diaz-Malignaggi I look defensible. It is absolutely ridiculous that Benoist thinks Martinez won just one round of this fight. He should never judge another fight again, not on the world title level, and not in a National Guard Armory. This was such a piss poor excuse for a qualified judge that words cannot properly describe it. There's no "mistake," there's no "you could have seen it that way, maybe." There's none of that. The man is not qualified based on this one fight alone.

If you took a dog, and you let it walk through chocolate, so that it had chocolate on its paws, and then whichever piece of construction paper the dog got the most paw prints on indicated which fighter won that round, the dog would have scored it closer to correct than Pierre Benoist did. It is utterly ridiculous and should be dealt with immediately.

They promised action. They delivered.

Cristobal Arreola (28-1, 25 KO) stopped Brian Minto in a wild, four-round shootout in Atlantic City tonight, bouncing back from his September loss to Vitali Klitschko and ending 2009 on a high note.

The fight was highly entertaining, as Minto (34-3, 21 KO) refused to back down from the taller, heavier man, and in the end, was outgunned and overpowered as expected.

Much of the focus will be on the fact that Arreola came in at 263 pounds, very disappointing for fans of his, and for HBO, who set up a nice little feature for Arreola about how he was working so much harder. 263 was his heaviest weight on the scales ever, 12 pounds heavier than he weighed against Klitschko in September.

After the fight, Arreola did his usual playing off of the weight questions, making jokes about how he likes food, dropping some F-bombs, doing his bit where he tries to be The Fun Fighter. He is a fun fighter, and he seems like a cool guy, but it's very clear that he does not really care about conditioning. I mean, he's made that more than obvious. It's not "hating" to point this out, as Arreola has it in his head, it's a fact. He has made it completely apparent that conditioning is not a concern of his, and then he makes corny jokes about burritos and beer so that everyone will go, "Ha ha! Oh, fun!"

He's still a good fighter. What's frustrating is he has the tools to be more than that.

Our coverage will continue one post below as we approach the Paul Williams-Sergio Martinez main event.

On the off-TV undercard in Atlantic City:

• Carlos Quintana was decked in the second round, but came back to stop Jesse Feliciano in three.
• Tony Thompson stopped Chazz Witherspoon in nine.

Tonight at 9:30pm ET, HBO is live with a two-fight show featuring the Paul Williams-Sergio Martinez middleweight main event, and heavyweights Cristobal Arreola and Brian Minto in the co-feature. Join us!

PAUL WILLIAMS		SERGIO MARTINEZ
	Main Event

Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez have had quite an actionless few months. But they've managed to stay in the press.

• Paul Williams was supposed to be fighting Kelly Pavlik for the middleweight championship.
• Sergio Martinez called out Joshua Clottey. Then insulted him in the press.
  
• Sergio Martinez got into a verbal war with Vanes Martirosyan that amounted to zilch.
• Sergio Martinez ripped Sergio Mora in the press.
• Sergio Martinez pretty much ripped everyone.

Now, with Williams and Martinez both claiming that nobody will fight them, they're stuck with each other at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, tonight on HBO at 9:30pm ET.

You can't say these guys won't back themselves up.

So what happens in this one? You've got two lefties, both with long reaches. Martinez (44-1-2, 22 KO) is, as Harold Lederman said in February, "a cutie if I ever sawr one." Martinez loves to stay at distance, almost taunting opponents with his hands at his sides, looking for just the right time to move in, then back out.

He's a fantastic disruptor of rhythm. But can Williams (37-1, 27 KO) have his rhythm disrupted? Winky Wright tried to do that this summer, but Williams found a way to keep throwing no matter what, even if he had to throw a punch under his own held arm.

This is a fight that begs for one of them to be a victim of a "bad matchup." Early thought might tell you to beware Martinez as a spoiler tonight, and that came into my mind too. Lefty, long reach, very smart in the ring.

But the bad matchup is going to be Sergio's. Paul Williams is too active, too long, too tall and too good for Martinez, who wasn't exactly looking like a world-beater against Kermit Cintron, though he definitely should have won that fight instead of being handed that ludicrous draw.

HBO seems to really like Martinez, and with good reason. He's a very, very good fighter. But I think Williams is simply a class above him. There are a lot of terrific fighters that Martinez could give fits. I just don't think Williams is one of them. The matchup is all wrong for Sergio. Williams by decision.

On the undercard, Cristobal Arreola comes in at his heaviest weight ever, tipping the scales at 263 pounds, to face veteran Brian Minto. Minto's not as good as his 34-2 record, and I expect Arreola to bust him out of there pretty quickly, within the first four rounds. But Minto will come to fight, and it'll be a decent show.

Looks like the speculation is over. Rick Reeno of BoxingScene.com reports that it will be fringe contender Brian Minto who will face Cristobal Arreola on December 5 in Atlantic City. HBO will televise the fight as a co-feature. The show will be main evented by Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez.

Minto (34-2, 21 KO) is a 34-year-old pug whose greatest win probably came in 2006, when he quickly ended Axel Schulz's comeback attempt in Germany. He's beaten several knockaround guys like Jeremy Bates, Vinny Maddalone, Danny Batchelder, Billy Zumbrun and Chad Van Sickle, but has never beaten anyone near Arreola's level. Minto's two losses have come against Tony Tubbs (SD-10, 2004) and Luan Krasniqi (UD-12, 2007).

Since I don't want to say he has no shot, I'll jut say he has very little chance at upsetting Arreola. At 5'11" with a 72" reach, he's quite small compared to Arreola (6'4", 77"), doesn't have big power, isn't fast, isn't terribly skilled. He's a tough guy and he always comes to fight, but I see him getting blown out.

On paper, this seems like a big guy version of what we saw with Alfredo Angulo and Harry Joe Yorgey this past week. Tough, strong, promising younger fighter against a guy in his 30s with a decent looking record and not much else going for him. If Minto makes this an exciting fight, don't be surprised. But also don't be surprised if that excitement doesn't last very long.

BoxingScene.com reports that there are four names being talked about as opponents for Cristobal Arreola on December 5, but two men are leading the race.

While Malik Scott (32-0, 11 KO, very empty record) and 37-year old Michael Grant (45-3, 33 KO) have been mentioned, it appears that Brian Minto and Derric Rossy are the most likely to face Arreola, as "The Nightmare" comes back from his first professional loss.

Rossy (22-2, 12 KO) is a 29-year old out of Medford, New York whose most famous fight was a win over Ray Mercer in China back in 2008. He was knocked out by Eddie Chambers in 2007 and by Alexander Dimitrenko in 2008, and the same fate surely would await him against Arreola. He's not that big of a puncher and doesn't have Arreola's boxing skills, either. He's also notable for playing college football at Boston College (1998-2001). He started three games in his senior season.

We discussed Minto (34-2, 21 KO) yesterday. He's a tough guy, but he's also 34 years old and really undersized (5'11", 72" reach). Arreola would likely take his head off, and even with Minto's reputation of making it a tough night for anyone, Arreola's size, youth and power spell doom for Minto, and I don't think that one goes too far into the night.

Neither Rossy nor Minto are exactly big steps up from the guys Arreola's already been beating, for instance Travis Walker or Chazz Witherspoon. But at the end of the day, it is just a bounce-back fight; HBO and Goossen Tutor will try to rebuild Arreola. Neither of the Klitschkos are likely to be in the sport for a whole lot longer, and at that point the heavyweight division will be in need of a new king. Arreola's as good a candidate as anyone, and with his style, the fact that he's Mexican-American, and his great personality, he's worth the bet.

The December 5 HBO card main evented by Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez is picking up some steam. Rick Reeno reports that the show will be held at historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, which was the venue for Williams' twice-postponed fight with middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik, too. It's an amazing boxing venue and even though it might not be the truly ideal place for this fight, there really isn't an ideal place for this fight, either. It should do far better in AC than it would have in Vegas, where they might've gotten lucky to draw 1,000.

With heavyweight contender Cristobal Arreola heading up the televised co-feature, contenders and pretenders alike seem anxious to take on the Mexican-American slugger, who suffered his first defeat in September at the hands of Vitali Klitschko. Owen Beck's manager contacted BoxingScene.com and had this to say:

"[I]f this was the 60s or 70s these young guys would be jumping at the chance to fight a proven veteran like Owen. That is one of the problems with boxing nowadaways. No one wants to take a risk."

He also said that Beck had been turned down by HBO (after the manager, Frank Meehan, contacted the network about the fight) because he's "been fighting journeymen." I think it's probably every bit as likely, if not more likely, that Beck was turned down because he's not a suitable opponent for Arreola at this point. Beck (29-3, 20 KO) hasn't beaten a notable opponent, well, ever really, with his best win coming against Darnell "Ding-a-Ling Man" Wilson, a natural cruiserweight who was giving up about 40 pounds in their fight. He was knocked out by Monte Barrett, knocked out by Nikolai Valuev, and beaten in a split decision by Ray Austin. Beck's simply not a viable name. He's not a "proven veteran," he's a guy that got exposed when he stepped up in competition and has never done anything to change the perception that he's just another mediocre heavyweight.

A slightly more interesting idea comes in the form of Brian Minto, the Pennsylvania scrapper. His team sent out a press release saying he'd love to take the fight with Arreola. Minto (34-2, 21 KO) is really no more qualified overall than Beck, probably, but he fights his ass off every time out and I'd rather see him get the shot than Beck, though again, to be fair to Owen Beck, Minto might have an even worse shot at beating Arreola. Minto is a mere 5'11" with a 72" reach and would be giving up a lot of size. He is probably best known as the guy that aborted Axel Schulz's 2006 comeback attempt by stopping him in six.

Beck is 33, Minto is 34. Either of them really would be a soft touch for Arreola, frankly, and I doubt either of them would be considered appropriate opponents by HBO's standards, which sometimes fluctuate given their intent for any given show

You know who I think would be plenty interesting at this point? Dominick Guinn, who isn't busy right now and is a DiBella fighter. DiBella's already involved in the card with Sergio Martinez, and Guinn has gone on a nice little three-fight win streak, taking Johnnie White's "0" in one round, beating the mammoth Gabe Brown, and knocking out Jean Francois Bergeron in two. He's 34 and if he's going to ever make that move some felt he had in him, it's probably now or never. Since that disastrous streak in which he went 4-6-1 (but still managed to beat Audley Harrison), he's rebounded and tried to get back on track.

I'm sure some will disagree that Guinn is much of a legit opponent, but I'd give him 10 times the shot I'd give either Beck or Minto, and there might not be anyone better willing to take the fight.

Rick Reeno of BoxingScene.com reports that a potential match on December 5 between Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams would take place at 160 pounds, not 154:

In a follow-up to an earlier story posted on BoxingScene.com, the clash between Paul Williams and WBC junior middleweight champion Sergio Martinez will be contested at 160-pounds, and not at 154. There is a verbal agreement between both parties to fight on December 5 on HBO. The contracts have yet to be exchanged at the present but both sides are confident the deal will get done.

Reeno reports that weight was a hang-up, but appears to also be a non-issue. Martinez is willing to fight Tall Paul at 160, instead of his natural 154. Williams had been training for a 160-pound fight with middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik.

Martinez-Williams wouldn't be for Martinez's WBC strap or Williams' interim title at 154 pounds if they fought at 160, but it shows gumption on behalf of both men if they do fight at that weight. With no titles, they're just fighting for pride and status. Hard not to respect both Paul and Sergio in that case.