As the year comes to a close, let’s look back at some of the highlights and hand out awards to the best and most memorable fights.
No doubt, the year 2022 gave us many surprises but it will also be remembered for the fights that never came into fruition.
Boxing also gave us a high-water moment when we learned of Ukrainian fighters Oleksandr Usyk and Vasily Lomachenko returning home intending to fight for their motherland.
Here are our winners.
UPSET OF THE YEAR. No doubt, this award has to go Dmitry Bivol vs. Canelo Alvarez.
Though were not too confident about it, we correctly predicted Bivol to prevail. My reasoning was that this fight had shades of Bernard Hopkins vs. Felix Trinidad written all over it. The good smaller man, continuously moving up in weight only to get smacked by a good, but bigger man.
From the get-go the size difference between the two was quite glaring. The taller Bivol was able to find an early home for his jab which he used to keep Canelo at bay.
Bivol, a ring tactician, covered up well with a high guard, which forced Canelo to throw wide, and opened the latter up for his counters throughout the fight.
The scorecards 115-113 all in favor of Bivol were a bit too close for me but, of course, there were several evenly-fought rounds that could have been given to either man.
Canelo is a tremendous puncher with power in both hands and in his previous fights at the middleweight and super-middleweight divisions, he would walk down his foes with his power.
But this time, he could not bully Bivol around and the latter was able to overpower Canelo in some exchanges. His huge arms were also able to fend off and parry Canelo’s wide blows and he was able to dish out some punishment of his own.
He was like a ramrod, steady and slow but efficient and effective
Entering the fight, Canelo had a win probability of 83.3 percent. Unfortunately, Bivol had plans of his own and defended well to keep his WBA light heavyweight crown.
LAST ROUND. It’s on two people close to my heart born on Christmas Eve -- my daughter Julia Emmanuelle and my kumpare Ditdit Gorne. Cheers!