2004: A Year in Review.

2004 has been quite an extraordinary year for boxing. As well as witnessing the demise of mainstays such as Roy Jones Jr. and Mike Tyson, we have also witnessed the rise of the next crop of boxing superstars. Jeff Lacy, Miguel Cotto and Kassim Ouma won their first world

titles this year. Whether these fighters will enjoy the success of the breed they are replacing, (De La Hoya, Hopkins, Trinidad, Tszyu) remains to be seen, but we will watch their careers with interest. Speaking of Trinidad and Tszyu, these future hall of fame fighters announced in no uncertain terms that they are back. Trinidad snuffed out the brave challenge of Ricardo Mayorga in October and Tszyu defied twenty-two months of inactivity, (and the critics) to destroy Sharmba Mitchell a month later. Evergreen Bernard Hopkins also proved that at forty, he still has what it takes by taking out Oscar de la Hoya in a fight that, despite the hype, failed to live up to expectation. Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales staged World War III in November and Diego Corrales capped a great year by making Acelino Freitas quit, adding to his impressive rematch win over Joel Casamayor. Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson both did the unimaginable, they knocked Roy Jones on his ass and kept him there – and an unheralded British heavyweight named Danny Williams effectively retired Mike Tyson. So, what with Christmas just around the corner, I’ve decided to stop shopping and guzzling beer for a day to give you my list for boxing’s most important happenings for the year 2004.

Fight of the Year –Barrera-Morales III. This ones a given. Those who saw the November 27 war between Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales will never forget it. Barrera controlled the early exchanges with his short arm hand speed, but in the middle rounds, Morales came storming back, sharp shooting from the outside. The last three rounds were sheer poetry, neither guy taking a backwards step, even though both must have been exhausted. In the end, Barrera survived a near knockdown in the twelfth to come storming back and he was wailing on Morales at the bell, enough to give him a razor thin majority decision win. But the real winners were the fans.

Honorable Mention-Trinidad/Mayorga. Yeah, I know, it was a rather one-sided beat down by Tito on a guy who is naturally smaller than him and who was tailor made for him. But hear me out-While it lasted, it was absolutely electrifying, mainly thanks to Mayorga’s balls and heart. A buddy and myself dropped twenty bucks each on Trinidad to stop him in the fifth and we were going nuts, until Trinidad hit him there instead, (it looked like the leg to me though.). As it was, we were a couple of rounds early, but got to witness the enormous courage of Mayorga. Say what you will about him, but ‘El Matador’ is one tough hombre. Anyone who asks Tito to hit him flush on the chin with a left hook has got to be tough. More importantly, Ricardo’s head is still attached to his shoulders.

Knockout of the Year-Also reasonably predictable, but Antonio Tarver’s one punch demolition of Roy Jones Jr. takes the cake. After a tense first round where Roy took the spoils with his inside-outside shooting, Buddy McGirt uttered the now famous line: “Go out and get yours.” Tarver responded and for the first minute and a half of the second round he looked a more confident fighter. Suddenly, with 1:32 remaining in the round, Jones threw a lazy straight right and started backing up. Both men threw left hooks simultaneously, only Tarver’s was harder and faster, landing on Jones chin like a guided missile. Jones collapsed under the ropes in Tarver’s corner, wearing a “what the hell just hit me” look and bravely struggled to his feet. But referee Jay Nady had seen enough.

Honorable Mention-Rafael Marquez knocking out Heriberto Ruiz with one of the sweetest right uppercuts you’ll ever see. As far as one-punch knockouts go, it was the equal of Tarver’s, but because of the magnitude of the Jones-Tarver fight, I just couldn’t give it the nod. Another honorable mention goes to Ghana’s Kofi Jantuah. The 154-pound contender brutally knocked out Marco Antonio Rubio with a picturesque left hook on the Hopkins-De La Hoya under-card.

Round of the Year-Barrera/Morales, round twelve. Why? Tension, drama, action, blood, guts, changes in momentum and anything else that makes a round of boxing entertaining, this round had it. Morales started fast, stunning Barrera with a combination that had him reeling across centre ring. But by the end, even though it had looked like he was wilting, it was Barrera taking it to Morales, pounding him in a corner as the bell sounded.

Honorable Mention-Marquez/Pacquiao round one. Ok, so it was one-sided, but it was also the best damn opening round to a title fight I’ve seen in many a year. That left hand of Manny Pacquiao is a helluva shot aint it? And that chin of Marquez’ isn’t too bad either.

Upset of the Year-Antonio Tarver KO2 Roy Jones Jr. In a year of monumental upsets, this one has to be the undoubted winner. I must admit that I was one of those observers predicting another Montell Griffin style blowout by Roy. My thinking was, “Piss off Roy at your peril,” and Antonio worked damn hard to piss Roy off. When he asked if Jones had any excuses at the introduction, I thought to myself, “Well, at least he’s confident.” About five minutes later I’m sitting in a crowded bar with my jaw on the floor – exactly the same place as Roy Jones Jr.

Honorable Mention-Danny Williams KO4 Mike Tyson. Would have won for sure in any other year. But was it really that much of an upset? Tyson has looked shot for years and Danny is 260-pounds of good lovin’. Get through the first round or two with Tyson these days and he’s toast. Nevertheless, I sure as hell didn’t call it, so here it is with an honorable mention. Glen Johnson deserves a mention here as well, as I predicted he would get a pasting from Roy Jones in their match-up, and lose to Tarver in their fight this past weekend. The morale of the story – don’t take tips from this writer.

Disappointment of the Year-The fact that John Ruiz is still a heavyweight champion. Fres Oquendo and Andrew Golota hang your heads in shame. Because of your incompetence, we are forced to sit through at least one more fight from the worst heavyweight champion in history. Watching Ruiz fight is like rubbing your face against a cheese grater. Please Lord, I am not a religious man, but the sooner someone delivers us from the evil that is watching John Ruiz fight, the better.

Honorable Mention-Oscar’s capitulation against Hopkins. Is the “Golden Boy” a little soft around the middle or what? I saw the guy wince when he got hit to the body by Mosley at 154, and now he is stopped by a good, but definitely not great, body shot from Hopkins. You can’t tell me that the body shot Hopkins hit Oscar with was harder than the body shots Tito hit Mayorga with. But Mayorga kept getting back up. Why? Because he is tough, and he’s a shit-load tougher than Oscar de la Hoya, that’s why. Oscar is reminding me of Rocky before his first fight with Clubber Lang – he’s gotten civilized, the worst thing that can happen to any fighter. Oscar’s got to stop sleeping in silk
sheets and Puerto Rican pop princesses, get his rich ass back down the old gym and get some spit and sweat into it. Besides, Oscar is way too good looking. I like my fighters ugly. Come to think of it, maybe I’m just annoyed that Oscar’s pathetic capitulation deprived me the joy of seeing him get beat up some more.

Comeback of the Year-Kostya Tszyu. I can hear thegroans of the Trinidad fans from here but listen: Sharmba Mitchell was a much more dangerous fight for Tszyu than Mayorga was for Trinidad. Plus, Tszyu was actually out injured, and there was no way of knowing how his body would react to the stress of a fight. The fact that he disposed of Mitchell so clinically after being out of action for twenty-two months is testament to how great a comeback it was and I , for one, am glad he’s back.

Honorable Mention-Tito. Yes, taking nothing away from Tito, his comeback performance against Mayorga was a breathtaking display of accurate power punching. The only reason he didn’t win this category are: (a) Mayorga was incredibly easy to hit and (b) He is a blown up welterweight.

Fighter of the Year-Diego “Chico” Corrales. 2004 was a watershed year for Corrales. Coming into the year he was desperate to avenge his stoppage loss to Joel Casamayor in October last year. Although he wanted to continue, the referee deemed that the cuts inside his mouth were too severe. So, in March, Corrales went at it again with Casamayor, and this time fought a much more controlled fight to eke out a deserved split decision. Then, in August, Chico defeated WBO lightweight champion Acelino Freitas of Brazil. Freitas controlled the early rounds with slick movement and counter punching, but Corrales eventually caught up with him, putting him down in the eighth, ninth and tenth rounds. After the third knockdown, Freitas told the referee that he’d had enough. These two performances against top quality opposition have done enough for Diego “Chico” Corrales to earn fighter of the year honors in 2004.

Honorable Mention-Glengoffe Johnson. It’s been a rough road for Glen Johnson, the victim of at least seven questionable decisions in his career, and it was nice to see him finally vindicated on Saturday night at the Staples Center. First off, in February, he won the vacant IBF light heavyweight title by defeating Clinton Woods in England. In September he was a heavy underdog against Roy Jones Jr. but he out-hustled the former champion thoroughly before ending matters in the ninth round with a brutal overhand right. Then, rather than face his mandatory challenger, Johnson gave up his hard-earned belt for the chance to face Antonio Tarver in a match to decide the best light heavyweight on the planet. In spite of the more polished skills of Tarver, Johnson worked hard to cut off the ring and stung Tarver repeatedly to the body. Although the fight was close, the judges gave Johnson the nod, a fitting result for a true humble warrior of the sport, who always shows up in shape and ready to fight.

Greig Johnston can be reached at levibillups@yahoo.com