WHO WILL BE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: CRAWFORD, LOMACHENKO OR WARD?
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 26 Dec 2016
The "Sugar Ray Robinson Award" is given to the Boxing Writers Association of America's Fighter of the Year. The BWAA gave Jack Dempsey the first trophy in 1938. The original purpose of the trophy was to recognize "an individual who did the most for boxing in the previous year." The members of the BWAA cast their vote to choose the best boxer each year regardless of weight class or nationality.
This year 2016 three popular names cropped up as the strong candidates for the most prestigious boxing award. They are WBO junior lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko, WBC/WBO/The Ring light welterweight titlist Tererence Crawford and WBA/WBO/IBF light heavyweight king Andre Ward.
Lomachenko is currently rated No. 6 best fighter pound-for-pound by The Ring. The Ukrainian was the reigning WBO featherweight champion that time moved up to challenge Roman 'Rocky' Martinez (29-2-3, 17 KOs) for his WBO super featherweight title on June 11 at the Madison Square Garden Theater. Lomachenko became the fastest boxer to win a world title in two weight divisions knocking out Martinez in the 5th round of the world title fight. Lomachenko dominated the fight connecting 87 punches to Martinez's 34.
Lomachenko then defended his WBO title against the undefeated Jamaican Nicholas Walters (26-0-1, 21 KOs) at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas on November 26. Lomachenko was dominant right from the opening bell and throughout the first six round landing more combination punches in the sixth which made Walters retire on his corner at the end of the seventh round.
Compubox stats showed Lomachenko landed 114 of 437 punches thrown (26 %) while Walters landed 49 of 264 (19 %). Lomachenko earned his first $1 million purse.
On March 26, Ward, The Ring No. 2 ranked pound-for-pound, made his light heavyweight debut against Sullivan Barrera, who was also undefeated at the time, in his hometown at the Oracle Arena. Ward floored Barrera to the canvas in the third round as he turned a left hook while on the ropes. Ward handily earned the nod of the three judges who scored the fight 117-109, 119-109, and 117-108.
On July 30, Ward fought and won easily against Alexander Brand to claim the vacant WBO Intercontinental light heavyweight title. All three judges saw the fight 120-108 all for Ward.
Ward faced unified light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev at the T-Mobile Arena on November 19.This Ward's first fight in Las Vegas. After being knocked down in the second round, he won a closely contested unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 114-113 in favor of Ward who wrested Kovalev's WBA (undisputed),IBF, and WBO light heavyweight titles and became a two-division world champion. The decision though elicited several controversies from boxing experts.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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