BOXING YEARENDER: RING MAGAZINE AWARDEES FOR 2007
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 29 Dec 2007
The Bible of Boxing, Ring Magazine awardees selected for the year 2007 are as follows:
Fighter of the Year: Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fought twice in 2007, winning a 12-round decision over Oscar De La Hoya on May 5 in Las Vegas to capture the WBC super welterweight title, and knocking out Ricky Hatton in the 10th round on December 8 in defending his world welterweight championship. It is the second time around that Mayweather has won the tribute, as he was The Ring?s 1998 Fighter of the Year.
Fight of the Year: Israel Vazquez KO 6 Rafael Marquez II
On August 4, 2007 in the Dodge Arena Texas, Israel Vazquez won the much anticipated rematch with Rafael Marquez to reclaim the WBC superbantamweight world title and making it 1-1 between the two fighters. Vasquez floored Marquez early in the 6th round and then went on to stop Marquez a few seconds later.
Round of the Year: Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez II, Round 3.
Vazquez already had a cut on the bridge of his nose. Marquez unleashed some jabs and landed a left hook to the body. Vazquez retaliated with a brutal left hook that wobbled Marquez. Both boxers traded blows on the inside, but Vazquez connected with the better punches. Vazquez threw some massive uppercuts hurting Marquez, but he's firing back. Nice combinations were let loose by Marquez. Vazquez struck back and endless trading of punches showcased the action-packed third round. It was a tough round for both fighters.
Upset of the Year: Nonito Donaire KO 5 Vic Darchinyan
Seven to one underdog Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire dropped the previously unbeaten IBF flyweight champion Vic "The Raging Bull" Darchinyan to score a stunning fifth round knockout. All over the USA where Filipinos had assembled to root for their countryman and across the Pacific into the Philippines, boxing fans were celebrating Donaire's amazing victory over the favored Darchinyan.
Knockout of the Year: Nonito Donaire KO 5 Vic Darchinyan
With 1:30 remaining in the fifth round, Darchinyan attempted to shoot a straight left cross to the middle but Donaire unloaded a flawless counter left hook that exploded on the champion's jaw. The punch crushed Darchinyan to the floor, as the champion landed flat on his back with his arms stretched out. Surprisingly, Darchinyan started to rise at the count of five only to fell face forward to the deck again before struggling to be back on his feet at the count of seven. Darchinyan wobbled after he managed to get to his legs then staggered straight forward before falling awfully into the ropes as the referee stopped the fight.
Comeback of the Year: Paul Malignaggi
Paulie Malignaggi aka "The Magic Man," 27 years old, 23-1-0 (5 KOs) professional record, is from Brooklyn, New York. On June 10, 2006, he faced the 25 year old, undefeated Miguel Cotto in Madison Square Garden. Malignaggi was down in the 2nd round and lost in an exhausting 12 round unanimous decision. He was left with a broken right cheek bone, a bleeding nose, and a cut around the left eye.
On February 17, 2007, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, he defeated Edner Cherry (21-5-2) in a ten round unanimous decision to improve his record to 22-1. On June 16, 2007, he defeated Lovemore N'dou via a 12 round unanimous decision to win the IBF world junior welterweight championship in a one-sided bout.
Event of the Year: Floyd Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya
?The World Awaits? was a boxing super welterweight superchampionship fight which took place on May 5, 2007, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada between six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya (38-4, 30 KOs) and undefeated four-division champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (37-0, 24 KOs). Mayweather won by split decision over De La Hoya in 12 rounds, winning the World Boxing Council (WBC) light middleweight title.
The De La Hoya-Mayweather fight set the record for most pay-per-view (PPV) buys for a boxing match with 2.4 million households, crushing the record of 1.99 million for the Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson II bout. Around $120 million in revenue was earned by the PPV. De La Hoya garnered $52 million for the bout, the highest purse ever for a fighter. The previous record prize was $35 million, set by Tyson and Holyfield. Mayweather received $25 million for the fight.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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