Dmitry Bivol Leads FOTY 2022 Candidates
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 09 Nov 2022
As before, the year about to end is not bereft of eye popping or dominant performances from regular standouts and studs as Tyson Fury, Oleksander Usyk, Terrence Crawford and Errol Spence even the comebacking Deontay 'The Bronze Bomber' Wilder.
As well as brilliant boxing masterpieces from sweet science maestros Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney and surprisingly easy demolition jobs by Naoya Inoue and compatriot Kenshiro Teraji in high profile major title unification bouts before hometown crowds which were also followed by many boxing aficionados elsewhere.
Then there was the surprising winning streak of former light flyweight fighter Jessie Bam Rodriguez in the decidedly heavier super flyweight division stealing the thunder from the marquee names in the loaded division with wins over the veteran tough likes of Carlos Cuadras (UD12), Srisaket Sor Rungvusai (KO 7) and Israel Gonzalez (UD 12) in consecutive WBC title fights.
But nothing will likely match the dominant unexpected victories of Russian WBA light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol over Mexican former consensus pound for pound king Canelo Alvarez which disappointingly was not reflected in the official scorecard and Canelo's erstwhile highly regarded undefeated compatriot Zurdo Ramirez which this time was undeniable.
Not only Bivol clearly beat Canelo for the first time in nearly a decade since the then marvelous Floyd Mayweather Jr schooled the then still very young and somewhat raw Mexican redhead Warrior, his victory fell Alvarez from his top perch and precipitated a drastic overhaul of the pound for pound totem pole also for the first time in a long while.
Likewise Bivol took care of the bigger and knockout streaking Zurdo Ramirez as if the Mexican light heavyweight, like his more illustrious compatriot Canelo, had no business sharing the ring with him.
The emergence of Bivol is long time in coming and a Fighter of the Year award this year would be a fitting reward for the 30-year-old former amateur standout who had for a time largely fought behind the shadow of his more feared countryman Arthur Beterbiev who is the unified WBC-IBF champion at the same 175 lbs division.
A clash against Beterbiev would have to wait for next year if it could be arranged but Bivol is also eyeing a lucrative rematch with Canelo at either 175 or 168 lbs depending on the preference or pleasure of the Mexican who may be proud to fight and again possibly lose to Bivol at his regular weight class.
Significantly, Canelo had recovered some of his luster later with a more convincing points win over another of his bitter rival Gennadiy Golovkin in the defense of his undisputed super middleweight world crown. The aging Golovkin had himself regained lost grounds by winning the unified WBA-IBF middleweight crown by come from behind knockout victory over Japan's Ryota Murata in one of the compelling wins registered during the year.
American Jermall Charlo now holds all the belts at 160 lbs following a stirring knockout win over the nail tough Argentine Brian Castano in yet another significant victory in 2022.
Though it is somehow safe to say that Bivol has the inside track of the FOTY award this year, still we cannot discount the other top fighters who recorded quite a victory or two during the same period.
Like Usyk who despite volunteering his services for Ukraine in its ongoing war against Russia and losing some weight in the process, still decisively defended his three world titles against former champion Anthony Joshua in his only fight this year.
Or the still undefeated WBC and Ring Magazine recognized lineal world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury who scored an impressive knockout title defense against the highly regarded Dillian Whyte.
And there's former WBC titlist Wilder who scored a scary one punch, one round knockout of Robert Helenius in a heavyweight eliminator a few weeks back.
Then there's the highly rated duo of welterweight champions Errol Spence and Bud Crawford, especially Crawford who was the first ever to stop Porter in a fight in another successful defense of his WBO crown during the year and who has still has a chance to showcase his wares in a scheduled title fight versus former world champion David Avenasyan this December.
Also having a major fight this December is the so called Japanese Monster Inoue who is bidding to unify all belts at bantamweight against WBO titlist Paul Butler of the UK in Saitama. Inoue had earlier affirmed his position as the best bantamweight and among the top pound for pound fighters in the planet (he is currently #2 behind only Usyk) with an emphatic three round demolition of former bitter rival and multi division world champion Nonito Donaire in June, adding the WBC crown to his WBA and IBF belt collection.
Potential applecart upsetter could be sentimental old time favorite Roman Chocolatito Gonzalez of Nicaragua, the former pound for pound king who is fighting Mexican Juan Francisco Estrada also in December for the Ring Magazine lineal world super flyweight crown in their rubber match. Earlier Chocolatito regained the WBC regular world super flyweight title with a masterful points win over the former unbeaten Mexican WBC flyweight king Julio Cesar Martinez.
If he could repeat his 2017 win over Estrada at light flyweight, Gonzalez will also chalk up two wins over highly regarded Mexicans this year.
Will the predominantly American voting members of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) choose a Russian as the Fighter of the Year for 2022?
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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