BoxRec

Crawford if he dominates/stops Beltran having already dominated Burns in Scotland and TKO'd Gamboa.

fergusg wrote:Why is Kell Brook included in this poll?

One can't please everybody. Brook defeated an American champion in the U.S. which is an achievement.

fergusg wrote:To be honest... and I could be wrong here, but there are bound to be critics that would argue that Kovalev (the betting favourite and the significantly younger and stronger fighter) failed to stop a 50 year old man that didn't punch back, whilst the rest of the guys he beat this year were unheard of.

It's quite easy to downplay and disparage the achievements of any boxer, isn't it? Nobody else ever stopped Hopkins either, not even in his late 40s.

Most people (including Hopkins himself) are giving Kovalev full credit for being the first one to dominate B-Hop. The other boxers Sergey beat this year were previously undefeated.

I remember when Floyd Mayweather failed to stop faded age 40 Mosley, you had nothing but praise for him.

fergusg wrote:Why is Kell Brook included in this poll?

Because he won his world title in a foreign country in front of a hostile crowd. That's something your favorite boxers have never accomplished.

Probably not, but this is what this thread is supposed to determine.

I would say it is between Terrence Crawford and Roman Gonzalez. Gonzalez is going for a 4th TKO in 4 fights this year against Fuentes. Crawford has his 3rd fight of the year against yet another good opponent. It will depend how both look in their last fight of the year. If both win by stoppage, I would give Crawford the win because of the quality of the opposition. If both look bad in their last fight, I can see giving it to either GGG or Kovalev.

PS If Algieri beats Pacman, he's the winner.

if Inoue beats Narvaez he damn well deserves a mention! If he doesn't then Gonzalez, if he beats Fuentes, would be my pick

It's got to be Hopkins after taking on kovalev at 50!. Younger boxers should take a leaf out of his book, he's showing them the way, instead of them protecting the zero all the ffing time fight each other!

Lets see...

Canelo: He had Angulo & Lara in 2014. Angulo earlier lost to Lara, and lost his last fight against #46 ranked De la Rosa. Beating Angulo is good, but doesn't make you 'Fighter of the Year' otherwise James De la Rosa might be one. Against Lara, Canelo didn't really convince me. Many believe it should have been a draw, or a win for Lara. Is Canelo a Fighter of the Year candidate? NO.

Mayweather: Had two fights with Maidana in 2014. First time he probably underestimated him, and the second time, he still had a hard time, including getting hurt. Good wins, but nothing special. It was Maidana, not Pacquiao. Is Mayweather a Fighter of the Year candidate? NO.

Brook: Had two fights in 2014, against Robles (don't know him) and Shawn Porter. Porter has been the favourite for many people, including me. And that was a dominant, good win for Brook. Is Kell Brook a Fighter of the Year candidate? YES.

Pacquiao: Has a upcoming fight against good, but not special Algieri, which i expect him to beat clearly. Earlier this year, he beat a prime Tim Bradley. Very important win for Pacquiao. Is he a Fighter of the Year candidate? YES.

Gonzalez: To be completely honest, i don't watch this weight-class, so i don't have a clue if he should be a Fighter of the Year candidate or not. ---

Golovkin: Had three fights in 2014, one irrelevant win against Adama, one mismatch against Rubio & a good win vs Geale, who lost in 2013 to Darren Barker. Is this enough to make GGG a Fighter of the Year? NO.

Walters: Had two fights, against Darchinyan & Donaire. He did very good against Darchinyan, who troubled Donaire & surprised me against him, the 'Fighter of the Year 2012' with a stunning knockout. Fighter of the Year candidate? YES.

Crawford: Had two fights against Burns & Gamboa. Burns lost to unknown Zlaticanin later, but Gamboa has been a very good win. Crawford got a upcoming fight with Beltran. If he wins this, is he a candidate for Fighter of the Year? YES.

Kovalev: Had three fights with Agnew, Caparello & Hopkins. Two of them were pretty unknown & Hopkins has been old as never before. Very important win, but nothing special, since he already got taken to school by that loser Dawson. Is he a Fighter of the Year candidate? NO.

...

Brook, Pacquiao, Walters or Crawford. Hard to decide... Brook 'only' had one (great) win, just as Pacquiao with a (OK) fight coming up. Crawford had 1 1/2 great wins, with a good fight coming up, while Walters had 2 really good wins, and defeated the FOTY '12 by knockout. I think i've gotta give it to him.

Not a real obvious choice this year.. I might lean toward Gonzalez if he wins his upcoming fight.

Won THE Flyweight Title on the road... 4 wins. Tough to beat.

If he doesn't win, then it gets really tough. Probably Crawford (if he wins his next fight) or Kovalev.

On best wins... Walters, Gonzalez, Pacquiao, Crawford, Kovalev

On activity... Gonzalez, Kovalev, Crawford, Golovkin

"Ring" championship wins (not defenses)... Gonzalez, Cotto, Nietes


Gonzalez is the only one I see on all 3 lists.

It's between GGG and Kovalev.
Leaning toward Kovalev.