Wige247
08-01-2007, 04:01 PM
Think about all the meaningful fights we've had & are going to have. I've only been big into boxing for a lil over 10 years, but I can't remember this many important fights for both casual & serious fans.
We've seen contenders emerge as heir-apparents on the backs of top-tier opponents who were supposed to expose them (Sam Peter W12 James Toney, Chad Dawson W12 Tomacz Admaek, Juan Diaz TKO8 Acelino Freitas, Paulie Malignaggi W12 Lovemour Ndou, Miguel Cotto KO11 Zab Judah, Paul Williams W12 Antonio Margarito, Kelly Pavlik KO7 Edison Miranda).
We've seen P4P elites face off or, at least, schedule to face off (Floyd Mayweather Jr. W12 Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins W12 Winky Wright, Joe Calzaghe vs. Mikkel Kessler, Miguel Cotto vs. Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton).
We've seen the king's take on the best that their division has to offer (Jean-Marc Mormeck W12 Oneill Bell & vs. David Haye, Jermain Taylor vs. Kelly Pavlik, Rafael Marquez TKO7 Israel Vazquez, Juan Manuel Marquez W12 Marco Antonio Barrera).
And finally, we've seen more progress this year in the HW division than we've seen since Holyfield vs. Lewis. Wladimir Klitschko finally gave the public a champ that brought stability to the belt and set himself up as the definitive #1 in the division even if he has only 1 belt. Chagaev & Ibragimov are finally giving us a unification fight that brings up 1 step closer to an undisputed HW champion. And for the first time in a while all the belt-holders (& Sam Peter if he wins vs. Maskaev) can claim that they are the very best in the division b/c they beat the best to get a piece of the HW titles.
Has there been a better year in boxing than 2007 in the last 25 years? I dont' think so.
We've seen contenders emerge as heir-apparents on the backs of top-tier opponents who were supposed to expose them (Sam Peter W12 James Toney, Chad Dawson W12 Tomacz Admaek, Juan Diaz TKO8 Acelino Freitas, Paulie Malignaggi W12 Lovemour Ndou, Miguel Cotto KO11 Zab Judah, Paul Williams W12 Antonio Margarito, Kelly Pavlik KO7 Edison Miranda).
We've seen P4P elites face off or, at least, schedule to face off (Floyd Mayweather Jr. W12 Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins W12 Winky Wright, Joe Calzaghe vs. Mikkel Kessler, Miguel Cotto vs. Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton).
We've seen the king's take on the best that their division has to offer (Jean-Marc Mormeck W12 Oneill Bell & vs. David Haye, Jermain Taylor vs. Kelly Pavlik, Rafael Marquez TKO7 Israel Vazquez, Juan Manuel Marquez W12 Marco Antonio Barrera).
And finally, we've seen more progress this year in the HW division than we've seen since Holyfield vs. Lewis. Wladimir Klitschko finally gave the public a champ that brought stability to the belt and set himself up as the definitive #1 in the division even if he has only 1 belt. Chagaev & Ibragimov are finally giving us a unification fight that brings up 1 step closer to an undisputed HW champion. And for the first time in a while all the belt-holders (& Sam Peter if he wins vs. Maskaev) can claim that they are the very best in the division b/c they beat the best to get a piece of the HW titles.
Has there been a better year in boxing than 2007 in the last 25 years? I dont' think so.