Should Crawford be Whining?

[SenorPipino]

A couple days ago I read about Crawford whining that even if Lomachenko defeats Rigo, he, not Loma, should be the 2017 Fighter of the Year.

Now why this is so important to Crawford, I don't know. Today's fighter seem to focus more on public recognition than they do on actual achievement.

Well, Lomachenko did get the "W" last night over the lethargic Cuban, but does that entitle him to the award as Crawford fears?

I'm not certain either boxer really qualifies, but in fairness, it hasn't been exactly a bumper year for outstanding achievement by any fighter.

Crawford beats lightly regarded Diaz in a ho-hum matchup and then admittedly looks very impressive in stopping Indongo to unify the 140 lb. titles.

But until Indongo won his belts over Troyanovsky and Burns, he wasn't really very high on the boxing radar.

Nice accomplishments by Crawford, but FOTY worthy? Doesn't seem close.

Loma picked up 3 wins this year, but 2 were versus no-hopers like Sosa and Marriaga, and the third last night against undersized Rigo. Even Lomachenko downplayed the significance of that win, pointing to the size discrepancy.

By today's standards 3 title wins might be enough to win him the award, but he didn't do anything truly special. Loma did the expected.

Wilder had a couple of sizzling KO wins over contender Washington and a lights out performance over respected former champ Stiverne. So why not Wilder?

But he only fought twice. Again, is that enough to justify the honor, no matter what Crawford insists?

I might as well throw Joshua into the mix. I can't overlook his KO over the revered Wlad and his stoppage of Takam.
But again, that's just 2 fights. And Klitschko was at the very end of the line. Takam was a late substitute fringe contender.

I can't go with AJ.

Some probably like Mikey Garcia. Impressive performances this year, but his 2 (again just 2) bouts were against the fairly unproven alphabet champion Zlaticanin and a somewhat faded (and jaded) Broner.

Mikey's in the mix but you can't say "Wow!" about his 2017.

Yeah, I like Canelo, even if he was saddled with a draw against Golovkin.

He easily dominated the much bigger Chavez Junior without working up much of a sweat, and then turned in a head turning, career performance against a real, legitimate middleweight.

Still, if the judges called it a draw, it's a semi-blemish on the Mexican's record, and probably puts him out of the running for FOTY.

So maybe I have to go with that rugged and unheralded Thai guy, Sor Rungvisai, the one who shook up the world by twice defeating perhaps the then #1 P4P fighter in the world, Chocolatito.

Some dispute the first bout's outcome, but the judges gave it to Sor Rungvisai, and that's what counts.

In the rematch, the Thai left no doubt, manhandling Gonzalez by KO and sending him into retirement. For the time being, at least.

So that's who I'm going with. That little Thai warrior. He too had only 2 bouts in 2017, but that seems to be an unfortunate trend, and I can't buck it.

To his credit, Sor Rungvisai twice beat an elite champion who was unbeaten in 46 bouts. That's as good as it gets.

And whether or not he wins that FOTY honors, I want to be at the Fabulous Forum in February when Sor Rungvisai locks horns with all-action Juan Francisco Estrada.

Maybe that will be the 2018 Fight of the Year fought by the 2017 Fight of the Year.

[phillykid]

No argument here, Rungvisai is a really good choice for FOTY.

Crawford is up there too though imo, a win over a former gold medalist and completely unifying the division with such ease is pretty impressive.

Personally i don't think Loma's wins this year are as impressive as Crawfords so i agree with him here.

[Blodhemn]

Crawford seems to need attention. He's all about "me, me, me". According to him, Loma and Rigo copied his ring walk.

[Tanzio]

AJ.

[Kalan]

Wilder had a couple of sizzling KO wins over contender Washington and a lights out performance over respected former champ Stiverne. So why not Wilder?

Yeah, I like Canelo, even if he was saddled with a draw against Golovkin. He easily dominated the much bigger Chavez Junior without working up much of a sweat, and then turned in a head turning, career performance against a real, legitimate middleweight

Wilder sizzling???? .... Washington was no contender and beat nobody... And he was more easily beaten by Miller -- who showed a much better boxing game than Wilder by dominating Washington with his jab.... Stiverne isn't respected... He's a fat ass who didn't train, hasn't fought for years, and hasn't beaten anyone of significance for years.

Head turning performance by Canelo???? ... The only thing that turned peoples heads were the pathetic scorecards... Everybody knows Golovkin won that fight... And Canelo was about 10000000/1 favorite to beat Chavez... Chavez can't box or punch and has no ambition... He was stopped by chicken-necked Pole Fonfara -- who's about as ridiculous looking a boxer as you can find and was a cherry pick for Chavez -- a cherry-pick he got knocked out by.

[jas80s]

A couple days ago I read about Crawford whining that even if Lomachenko defeats Rigo, he, not Loma, should be the 2017 Fighter of the Year.

Now why this is so important to Crawford, I don't know. Today's fighter seem to focus more on public recognition than they do on actual achievement.

Well, Lomachenko did get the "W" last night over the lethargic Cuban, but does that entitle him to the award as Crawford fears?

I'm not certain either boxer really qualifies, but in fairness, it hasn't been exactly a bumper year for outstanding achievement by any fighter.

Crawford beats lightly regarded Diaz in a ho-hum matchup and then admittedly looks very impressive in stopping Indongo to unify the 140 lb. titles.

But until Indongo won his belts over Troyanovsky and Burns, he wasn't really very high on the boxing radar.

Nice accomplishments by Crawford, but FOTY worthy? Doesn't seem close.

Loma picked up 3 wins this year, but 2 were versus no-hopers like Sosa and Marriaga, and the third last night against undersized Rigo. Even Lomachenko downplayed the significance of that win, pointing to the size discrepancy.

By today's standards 3 title wins might be enough to win him the award, but he didn't do anything truly special. Loma did the expected.

Wilder had a couple of sizzling KO wins over contender Washington and a lights out performance over respected former champ Stiverne. So why not Wilder?

But he only fought twice. Again, is that enough to justify the honor, no matter what Crawford insists?

I might as well throw Joshua into the mix. I can't overlook his KO over the revered Wlad and his stoppage of Takam.
But again, that's just 2 fights. And Klitschko was at the very end of the line. Takam was a late substitute fringe contender.

I can't go with AJ.

Some probably like Mikey Garcia. Impressive performances this year, but his 2 (again just 2) bouts were against the fairly unproven alphabet champion Zlaticanin and a somewhat faded (and jaded) Broner.

Mikey's in the mix but you can't say "Wow!" about his 2017.

Yeah, I like Canelo, even if he was saddled with a draw against Golovkin.

He easily dominated the much bigger Chavez Junior without working up much of a sweat, and then turned in a head turning, career performance against a real, legitimate middleweight.

Still, if the judges called it a draw, it's a semi-blemish on the Mexican's record, and probably puts him out of the running for FOTY.

So maybe I have to go with that rugged and unheralded Thai guy, Sor Rungvisai, the one who shook up the world by twice defeating perhaps the then #1 P4P fighter in the world, Chocolatito.

Some dispute the first bout's outcome, but the judges gave it to Sor Rungvisai, and that's what counts.

In the rematch, the Thai left no doubt, manhandling Gonzalez by KO and sending him into retirement. For the time being, at least.

So that's who I'm going with. That little Thai warrior. He too had only 2 bouts in 2017, but that seems to be an unfortunate trend, and I can't buck it.

To his credit, Sor Rungvisai twice beat an elite champion who was unbeaten in 46 bouts. That's as good as it gets.

And whether or not he wins that FOTY honors, I want to be at the Fabulous Forum in February when Sor Rungvisai locks horns with all-action Juan Francisco Estrada.

Maybe that will be the 2018 Fight of the Year fought by the 2017 Fight of the Year.

Nice job laying out the principle arguments, though I would be remiss if I didn't say I was mystified by your assessment of the heavyweight picture. Calling Stiverne respected and then calling Wlad end of the line just doesn't fit for me. Stiverne is massively disrespected and seems to have done a good amount to earn it. And, I thought Wlad looked very good in the fight with Joshua, he may have been at the end of his career, but on that night, age was just a number.

Having said that, good post, and you are right, it's a pretty tough call this year. For the most part, a knowledgeable fan can have a field day explaining why any fighter does NOT deserve FOTY this year. The one "signature win" fight this year ended in a draw, pretty much sums it up.

[Tanzio]

AJ stopping Wlad wasn’t a signature win?

Joshua is FOTY. He has the biggest win in the best fight.

[jas80s]

AJ stopping Wlad wasn’t a signature win?

Joshua is FOTY. He has the biggest win in the best fight.

I would be inclined to agree, but clearly many still think that Wlad had nothing left after his putrid performance against Fury and are, astonishingly, sticking to that take even though Wlad looked very sharp and came within a whisker of getting the KO.

But, I think AJ is a good call, especially when you consider that his other win was at least solid, if not expected.

[jas80s]

I used the term "signature win" to make the point that had the Canelo-GGG fight produced a winner, that fighter would have been a strong favorite to be FOTY, but the draw leaves a void that leads to the point that SenorPipino was making in the original post.

[Heretic]

Wilder had a couple of sizzling KO wins over contender Washington and a lights out performance over respected former champ Stiverne. So why not Wilder?

That's post of the year candidate right there

For me GGG beating Canelo in the ring and the win over Jacobs makes him the fighter of the year

[Heretic]

For the other contenders...

Sor Rungvisai beat the same opponent twice. That has bit diminishing results in my opinion. Also the first fight was really close.

Lomas other opponents were not that great this year and he was big favorite against Rigo. That's still great win

Joshua has maybe the second best case here. Wlad was pretty badly over the hill and still came really close of winning. Takam is not on the same level as the opposition of the others mentioned on this conversation. Both fights were also stopped bit too early

I don't think that Crawfords victims are good enough to warrant fighter of the year honors.

GGG has really good win in Jacobs. Also one way to see the Canelo fight is this... GGG had all the odds and money stacked against him. He was going to need KO to win that fight. Boxing to a draw in this corrupted sport was really impressive accomplishment

[Ricky_]

Wilder had a couple of sizzling KO wins over contender Washington and a lights out performance over respected former champ Stiverne. So why not Wilder?

That's post of the year candidate right there

For me GGG beating Canelo in the ring and the win over Jacobs makes him the fighter of the year

Same for me. Battering Canelo senseless was performance of the year, throw in a tight win over Jacobs you have FotY.

[Enlightened-One]

A couple days ago I read about Crawford whining that even if Lomachenko defeats Rigo, he, not Loma, should be the 2017 Fighter of the Year.

Now why this is so important to Crawford, I don't know. Today's fighter seem to focus more on public recognition than they do on actual achievement.

Well, Lomachenko did get the "W" last night over the lethargic Cuban, but does that entitle him to the award as Crawford fears?

I'm not certain either boxer really qualifies, but in fairness, it hasn't been exactly a bumper year for outstanding achievement by any fighter.

Crawford beats lightly regarded Diaz in a ho-hum matchup and then admittedly looks very impressive in stopping Indongo to unify the 140 lb. titles.

But until Indongo won his belts over Troyanovsky and Burns, he wasn't really very high on the boxing radar.

Nice accomplishments by Crawford, but FOTY worthy? Doesn't seem close.

Loma picked up 3 wins this year, but 2 were versus no-hopers like Sosa and Marriaga, and the third last night against undersized Rigo. Even Lomachenko downplayed the significance of that win, pointing to the size discrepancy.

By today's standards 3 title wins might be enough to win him the award, but he didn't do anything truly special. Loma did the expected.

Wilder had a couple of sizzling KO wins over contender Washington and a lights out performance over respected former champ Stiverne. So why not Wilder?

But he only fought twice. Again, is that enough to justify the honor, no matter what Crawford insists?

I might as well throw Joshua into the mix. I can't overlook his KO over the revered Wlad and his stoppage of Takam.
But again, that's just 2 fights. And Klitschko was at the very end of the line. Takam was a late substitute fringe contender.

I can't go with AJ.

Some probably like Mikey Garcia. Impressive performances this year, but his 2 (again just 2) bouts were against the fairly unproven alphabet champion Zlaticanin and a somewhat faded (and jaded) Broner.

Mikey's in the mix but you can't say "Wow!" about his 2017.

Yeah, I like Canelo, even if he was saddled with a draw against Golovkin.

He easily dominated the much bigger Chavez Junior without working up much of a sweat, and then turned in a head turning, career performance against a real, legitimate middleweight.

Still, if the judges called it a draw, it's a semi-blemish on the Mexican's record, and probably puts him out of the running for FOTY.

So maybe I have to go with that rugged and unheralded Thai guy, Sor Rungvisai, the one who shook up the world by twice defeating perhaps the then #1 P4P fighter in the world, Chocolatito.

Some dispute the first bout's outcome, but the judges gave it to Sor Rungvisai, and that's what counts.

In the rematch, the Thai left no doubt, manhandling Gonzalez by KO and sending him into retirement. For the time being, at least.

So that's who I'm going with. That little Thai warrior. He too had only 2 bouts in 2017, but that seems to be an unfortunate trend, and I can't buck it.

To his credit, Sor Rungvisai twice beat an elite champion who was unbeaten in 46 bouts. That's as good as it gets.

And whether or not he wins that FOTY honors, I want to be at the Fabulous Forum in February when Sor Rungvisai locks horns with all-action Juan Francisco Estrada.

Maybe that will be the 2018 Fight of the Year fought by the 2017 Fight of the Year.

Crawford was upset about Top Rank, initially HBO and now ESPN, not marketing his name as heavily as Lomachenko's. He published several tweets about it.

I believe that is the root cause for his frustration and I do admit to being perplexed about his talents being downplayed in comparison to Lomachenko's.

Whilst Terence clearly has some justification for his obvious annoyance about the situation, his moaning runs the risk of tarnishing his image and portraying himself as a bit of a crybaby.

That's not my perception by the way, it's my belief that casual boxing observers will consider the American as a bit of a moaner, especially if they aren't educated about the sheer amount of marketing push that Lomachenko is currently receiving.

[Badhusker]

Crawford is right, and he deserves it. When was the last time there was an undisputed champion at any weight? It is a feat we may not see equaled for many years to come. It is especially hard with the ABC's mandatory demands.

Loma even said his win vs Rigo wasn't a good win for him.

[jamamb]

so now abc belts determine foty? indongo and diaz is solid but hardly a hands down choice. he only got 2 belts this year anyway not 4.

[Badhusker]

so now abc belts determine foty? indongo and diaz is solid but hardly a hands down choice

Fighter of the year, not fight of the year. No, they don't but it is a feat we don't see often. Crawford beat two different Olympic champs, btw, and one this year in dominating fashion.

[jamamb]

just say felix diaz mate. a decent b level pro. crawford had a good year but not buyng that hes the man of the year due to some belts. and he won only 2 in 2017. he sure has a good argument for fghter of 2017 but because of his dominatng performance of decent opposton (that he made appear as chumps). not belts. he could of put it beyond doubt or close to that with another win over someone okay.

[caldo2025]

Wilder had a couple of sizzling KO wins over contender Washington and a lights out performance over respected former champ Stiverne. So why not Wilder?

That's post of the year candidate right there

For me GGG beating Canelo in the ring and the win over Jacobs makes him the fighter of the year

Exactly!

[Badhusker]

just say felix diaz mate. a decent b level pro. crawford had a good year but not buyng that hes the man of the year due to some belts. and he won only 2 in 2017. he sure has a good argument for fghter of 2017 but because of his dominatng performance of decent opposton (that he made appear as chumps). not belts.

When Loma was asked who he thought was pfp the best in boxing, he said Crawford. Whatever we say as fans is purely subjective as well. No opinion is wrong.

[jamamb]

pfp 1 may well be crawford. you can deffo argue that. at worst top 3 for me. fighter of the year he has a good case but you can argue others over crawford too.

[Badhusker]

pfp 1 may well be crawford. you can deffo argue that. at worst top 3 for me. fighter of the year he has a good case but you can argue others over crawford too.

Of course. If someone said Loma or GGG is best pfp or deserves fighter of the year, a valid argument can be made. The same goes for pfp #1. If no arguments could be made, this discussion would not exist.