Ring Magazine Fights of the Year

[Thread Stealer]

For the last 3 decades, I'll say which ones I agree and disagree with, and which others were more deserving IMO.


1977: Jimmy Young W12 George Foreman

Strongly disagree. Matthew Franklin/Saad Muhammad's first bout with Marvin Johnson is one of the best fights I've seen.

1978: Leon Spinks W15 Muhammad Ali

Bruce Curry-Monroe Brooks and Larry Holmes-Ken Norton were better fights.

1979: Danny Lopez KO15 Mike Ayala

Probably need to see some more fights in 1979. Lopez-Ayala was excellent, but so was Saad's rematch with Marvin Johnson.

1980: Matthew Saad Muhammad KO14 Yaqui Lopez

No argument.

• 1981: Sugar Ray Leonard KO14 Thomas Hearns,

Leonard-Hearns I was great for its skill level, drama, and shifts in momentum. For action, it's rather overrated. William Lee-John LoCicero was a great action fight that year.

• 1982: Bobby Chacon W15 Rafael Limon,

No argument. Either this or Aaron Pryor-Alexis Arguello I.

• 1983: Bobby Chacon W12 Cornelius Boza-Edwards

No argument.

• 1984: Jose Luis Ramirez KO4 Edwin Rosario

I need to see more fights in 1984, but this was a terrific bout.

• 1985: Marvin Hagler KO3 Thomas Hearns,

No argument.

• 1986: Stevie Cruz W15 Barry McGuigan

Haven't seen this one in full. Not sure if this is more deserving than Evander Holyfield-Dwight Qawi I.

• 1987: Sugar Ray Leonard W12 Marvin Hagler

What other really good fights took place in 1987? Leonard-Hagler was a good fight, but fight of the year?

• 1988: Tony Lopez W12 Rocky Lockridge

Haven't seen this one.

• 1989: Roberto Duran W12 Iran Barkley

Not a bad choice. This was a terrific fight, so was Evander Holyfield-Michael Dokes.

• 1990: Julio César Chávez KO12 Meldrick Taylor

No argument.

• 1991: Robert Quiroga W12 Akeem Anifowoshe

No argument, although I can see the case made for James Toney-Mike McCallum I.

• 1992: Riddick Bowe W12 Evander Holyfield I

Bert Cooper-Michael Moorer was probably a little more fan-friendly.

• 1993: Michael Carbajal KO7 Humberto Gonzalez I

No argument.

• 1994: Jorge Castro KO9 John David Jackson

Not quite sure if this is more deserving than Frankie Randall-Julio Cesar Chavez I.

• 1995: Saman Sorjaturong KO7 Humberto Gonzalez

Very good fight. I personally thought the third Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield bout was a great fight. Excellent in-fighting, and just when it seemed that Holyfield was done, he almost took out Bowe in round 6. Then Bowe takes out Holyfield 2 rounds later.

• 1996: Evander Holyfield KO11 Mike Tyson (fight #1)

Awful choice. Great event. Good fight, but Marco Antonio Barrera-Kennedy McKinney was considerably better. Andrew Golota-Riddick Bowe II, even with the ending, was a better fight. So were Arturo Gatti-Wilson Rodriguez, Frankie Liles-Tim Littles, and Kevin Kelley-Derrick Gainer I.

• 1997: Arturo Gatti KO5 Gabriel Ruelas

I prefer Naseem Hamed-Kevin Kelley.

• 1998: Ivan Robinson W10 Arturo Gatti (fight #1)

No argument.

• 1999: Paulie Ayala W12 Johnny Tapia (fight #1)

Haven't seen these fights. I loved Derrick Jefferson's fight with Maurice Harris though.

• 2000: Erik Morales W12 Marco Antonio Barrera I

No argument.

• 2001: Micky Ward W10 Emanuel Burton

No argument, but Ezra Sellers-Carl Thompson was a terrific fight.

• 2002: Micky Ward W10 Arturo Gatti I

No argument.

• 2003: Arturo Gatti W10 Micky Ward III

James Toney-Vassily Jirov and Michael Gomez-Alex Arthur were better.

• 2004: Marco Antonio Barrera W12 Erik Morales III

No argument.

• 2005: Diego Corrales KO10 José Luis Castillo I

No argument.

• 2006: Somsak Sithchatchawal KO10 Mahyar Monshipour

No argument.

• 2007: Israel Vazquez KO 6 Rafael Marquez (boxer) II

No argument. Kelly Pavlik-Jermaine Taylor I was great though.

[CutMeMick]

You remind me of Ted The Bull....
aka. Sares...

[ICB]

I've said it many times and i'll say it again how the hell did Spinks vs Ali 1 get FOTY ?? that was such a boring fight Ali just did nothing and layed on the ropes for most of the fight, the last round was great i'll admit but it doesn't make up for the other boring rounds with only 1 guy fighting, and i didn't find Young vs Foreman exciting either except for 7th and 12th rounds.

[CutMeMick]

1981 although I agree with you Lee-LoCicero was a great fight. The Ring does not award fights of that caliber. If you notice it's always major fighters/fights that get the knod.

1994 I think it's an excellent choice it was an amazing and one of my all time favorite fights. Much better then Randall - JCC 1.

1999 is a perfect choice. Non-stop action and they traded shots from begining to end. Also Harris-Jefferson was awarded the Ring KO of the Year, which I agree it was a good fight but it was a great KO. Tapia-Ayala was a great fight.

2001 could IMO have had both Ward-Burton & Sellars-Carl as co-winners. Both great fights.

2003 also had Barrios-Freitas. Superb fight IMO.

2007 was a great year for boxing fans lot's of great fight. 2007 also had Ornelas-McKart II great action fight IMO, better then Pavlik-Taylor I.
Let's not forget Jaidon-Bika.

[Thread Stealer]

You remind me of Ted The Bull....
aka. Sares...

Please elaborate on this.

[DAVIDTUA]

For the last 3 decades, I'll say which ones I agree and disagree with, and which others were more deserving IMO.


1977: Jimmy Young W12 George Foreman

Strongly disagree. Matthew Franklin/Saad Muhammad's first bout with Marvin Johnson is one of the best fights I've seen.

1978: Leon Spinks W15 Muhammad Ali

Bruce Curry-Monroe Brooks and Larry Holmes-Ken Norton were better fights.

1979: Danny Lopez KO15 Mike Ayala

Probably need to see some more fights in 1979. Lopez-Ayala was excellent, but so was Saad's rematch with Marvin Johnson.

1980: Matthew Saad Muhammad KO14 Yaqui Lopez

No argument.

• 1981: Sugar Ray Leonard KO14 Thomas Hearns,

Leonard-Hearns I was great for its skill level, drama, and shifts in momentum. For action, it's rather overrated. William Lee-John LoCicero was a great action fight that year.

• 1982: Bobby Chacon W15 Rafael Limon,

No argument. Either this or Aaron Pryor-Alexis Arguello I.

• 1983: Bobby Chacon W12 Cornelius Boza-Edwards

No argument.

• 1984: Jose Luis Ramirez KO4 Edwin Rosario

I need to see more fights in 1984, but this was a terrific bout.

• 1985: Marvin Hagler KO3 Thomas Hearns,

No argument.

• 1986: Stevie Cruz W15 Barry McGuigan

Haven't seen this one in full. Not sure if this is more deserving than Evander Holyfield-Dwight Qawi I.

• 1987: Sugar Ray Leonard W12 Marvin Hagler

What other really good fights took place in 1987? Leonard-Hagler was a good fight, but fight of the year?

• 1988: Tony Lopez W12 Rocky Lockridge

Haven't seen this one.

• 1989: Roberto Duran W12 Iran Barkley

Not a bad choice. This was a terrific fight, so was Evander Holyfield-Michael Dokes.

• 1990: Julio César Chávez KO12 Meldrick Taylor

No argument.

• 1991: Robert Quiroga W12 Akeem Anifowoshe

No argument, although I can see the case made for James Toney-Mike McCallum I.

• 1992: Riddick Bowe W12 Evander Holyfield I

Bert Cooper-Michael Moorer was probably a little more fan-friendly.

• 1993: Michael Carbajal KO7 Humberto Gonzalez I

No argument.

• 1994: Jorge Castro KO9 John David Jackson

Not quite sure if this is more deserving than Frankie Randall-Julio Cesar Chavez I.

• 1995: Saman Sorjaturong KO7 Humberto Gonzalez

Very good fight. I personally thought the third Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield bout was a great fight. Excellent in-fighting, and just when it seemed that Holyfield was done, he almost took out Bowe in round 6. Then Bowe takes out Holyfield 2 rounds later.

• 1996: Evander Holyfield KO11 Mike Tyson (fight #1)

Awful choice. Great event. Good fight, but Marco Antonio Barrera-Kennedy McKinney was considerably better. Andrew Golota-Riddick Bowe II, even with the ending, was a better fight. So were Arturo Gatti-Wilson Rodriguez, Frankie Liles-Tim Littles, and Kevin Kelley-Derrick Gainer I.

• 1997: Arturo Gatti KO5 Gabriel Ruelas

I prefer Naseem Hamed-Kevin Kelley.

• 1998: Ivan Robinson W10 Arturo Gatti (fight #1)

No argument.

• 1999: Paulie Ayala W12 Johnny Tapia (fight #1)

Haven't seen these fights. I loved Derrick Jefferson's fight with Maurice Harris though.

• 2000: Erik Morales W12 Marco Antonio Barrera I

No argument.

• 2001: Micky Ward W10 Emanuel Burton

No argument, but Ezra Sellers-Carl Thompson was a terrific fight.

• 2002: Micky Ward W10 Arturo Gatti I

No argument.

• 2003: Arturo Gatti W10 Micky Ward III

James Toney-Vassily Jirov and Michael Gomez-Alex Arthur were better.

• 2004: Marco Antonio Barrera W12 Erik Morales III

No argument.

• 2005: Diego Corrales KO10 José Luis Castillo I

No argument.

• 2006: Somsak Sithchatchawal KO10 Mahyar Monshipour

No argument.

• 2007: Israel Vazquez KO 6 Rafael Marquez (boxer) II

No argument. Kelly Pavlik-Jermaine Taylor I was great though.

64 pts that was an amazing post
keep up the good work

[CutMeMick]

You remind me of Ted The Bull....
aka. Sares...

Please elaborate on this.

A man who posts here every now and then.
By the username Ted The Bull.
Who I believe is the writer Ted Sares.
Come on you know what I'm talkin' bout...

Anyway as usual good post/thread.

[CutMeMick]

1981 although I agree with you Lee-LoCicero was a great fight. The Ring does not award fights of that caliber. If you notice it's always major fighters/fights that get the knod.

1994 I think it's an excellent choice it was an amazing and one of my all time favorite fights. Much better then Randall - JCC 1.

1999 is a perfect choice. Non-stop action and they traded shots from begining to end. Also Harris-Jefferson was awarded the Ring KO of the Year, which I agree it was a good fight but it was a great KO. Tapia-Ayala was a great fight.

2001 could IMO have had both Ward-Burton & Sellars-Carl as co-winners. Both great fights.

2003 also had Barrios-Freitas. Superb fight IMO.

2007 was a great year for boxing fans lot's of great fight. 2007 also had Ornelas-McKart II great action fight IMO, better then Pavlik-Taylor I.
Let's not forget Jaidon-Bika.

Thread Stealer thoughts on my post?

[Thread Stealer]

I haven't seen Ornelas-McKart 2. Bika-Codrington was very good, but I preferred Vazquez-Marquez 2 and Pavlik-Taylor 1.

Freitas-Barrios was good, I think round 11 won round of the year. I was pretty amazed by the consistent action of Gomez-Arthur though. Even after Arthur was badly hurt and it appeared he was done, he came back to rock Gomez a couple times, before Gomez came back to stop Arthur.

With 1994, it kind of depends on your preference. Randall-Chavez I was competitive and fairly close all the way through. Castro-Jackson I was more one-sided for most of the fight, but an amazing come from behind win. Either one is fine with me. I've never seen the rematch though.

It's true that the bigger name fighters sometimes win out at times over the more action-friendly fights between lesser fighters.

[Thread Stealer]

You remind me of Ted The Bull....
aka. Sares...

Please elaborate on this.

A man who posts here every now and then.
By the username Ted The Bull.
Who I believe is the writer Ted Sares.
Come on you know what I'm talkin' bout...

Anyway as usual good post/thread.

The name sounds familiar.

I just did a quick google check on him and I'm sure I've read some of his articles before.