And the winner is…

I’m sure most pundits will be giving their fighter of the year accolade to Juan Manuel Márquez following his scintillating destruction of Manny Pacquiao earlier this month  However, in effect I pre-empted that by honouring Márquez at the end of last year (after he’d been robbed – once again - in the 3^rd Pacquiao fight: http://floatlikeabutterflysting.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/and-winner-is.html)

Instead, my 'alternative' fighter of the year award (aka The Fran) for 2012 goes to Andre Ward. At the very end of 2011 he dished out a one-sided beating to the very capable Carl Froch, winning the ‘Super 6’ tournament and proving he is far and away the best super middleweight in the world. Now, I’m generally not a huge fan of the ‘intermediate’ divisions – super this and junior that. However, in his only fight of 2012, Ward completely outclassed the light heavyweight champ Chad Dawson (in his first fight since defeating the legendary Bernard Hopkins – in my mind Hopkins’ only legitimate defeat in almost 20 years). So Ward is effectively the undisputed light heavyweight king – without actually having ever fought at 175 pounds. Not only is he deserving of The Fran, he may well be the best (active) fighter, pound for pound, on the planet.

That's the way to do it

After falling victim to three dubious decisions, Marquez decided to take the judges out of the equation - congratulations to him:

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/8728470/juan-manuel-marquez-knocks-manny-pacquiao-6th-round

Bet Pacquiao now wishes he'd taken that fight with Mayweather when he had the chance...

Where have all the good kings gone?

Boxing has become a complete joke - too many titles, top fighters ducking each other, Don King...

It used to be my favourite sport, but now there are perhaps two or three fights a year in which I have much interest - hence the paucity of recent posts on this blog. I am intrigued by Pacquiao v Marquez III later this month, and would relish a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight (if it ever happens), but there is little else to get excited about.

My interest in boxing has become comparable to my interest in music - I pine for the glory days of my youth: the 1980s! I've just read Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran and the Last Great Era of Boxing by George Kimball which is excellent. I hadn't realised that Hearns had broken his right hand during that phenomenal first round against Hagler, so basically fought the rest of the fight on guts. Them were the days.

So where's the catch (weight)?

Wasn't The Mayweather v Marquez fight supposed to be at a catchweight of 144 pounds? So how come Mayweather weighed in at 146 pounds? Apparently, he'll have to pay a $600,000 penalty for not even attempting to get down to the contract weight. But that's scant consollation for Marquez, who was duly pummelled by a man possibly a stone (or more) heavier at the start of the contest. Don't get me wrong, Mayweather is an unbelievable fighter - but, boy, does he like to play things safe.

Whisper it, but Marquez could win

After a few quiet months, some exciting fights are on the horizon, the first of which is Mayweather v Marquez this weekend. Mayweather is the clear favourite, but Marquez should not be underestimated. Let's not forget, despite being knocked down three times by Pacquiao in the first round of their initial fight, Marquez went on to dominate the contest and should have been given the decision. Although I didn't see the rematch, many analysts thought Marquez also won that fight. Mayweather has the weight advantage, and is undoubtedly an exceptional fighter. But can he keep taking such long breaks between fights without the 'ring rust' eventually affecting his performance? It should certainly be a great fight.