European Fight Of The Year 2009

Bernard Dunne TKO 11 Ricardo Cordoba

Bernard Dunne came into the bout the underdog as Cordoba was the WBA super-bantamweight champ and the last person to beat Celestino Caballero. The o2 arena in Dublin was filled to capacity and the noise coming from the Irish fans was electrifying. As soon as the bell rang, everyone in attendance knew they were about to witness something special.

Cordoba was starting to take control until the 3^rd when from out of nowhere, Dunne landed a massive left hook that sent Cordoba to the floor and then back to his corner on wobbly legs. The Panamanian recovered well and put Dunne down twice in the 5^th. Cordoba was right back in it and as the fight went on, was going further ahead on the scorecards. With just six minutes left, Dunne knew he needed a knockout and with the weight of the crowd on his shoulders, came out for the 11^th and hit Cordoba with everything in the tank. Cordoba ended up on the canvas three times before the referee stepped in to rescue him, following a series of savage blows from Dunne.

The fight will go down in history as one of the greatest sporting occasions in the Republic of Ireland's history. Bernard Dunne left the ring a hero. Cordoba left on a stretcher.

Worth a mention- Paul Samuels TKO3 Cello Renda- Don't take my word for it, check it out on YouTube. The 2^nd round is straight out of Rocky.

European Fighter Of The Year 2009

Vitali Klitschko

There could only be one winner for Europe's fighter of the year award and that is Dr. Iron-fist himself, Vitali Klitschko. Say what you like about the big Ukrainian, but he has a unique style that he has mastered, and mastered so well that nobody in the heavyweight division has came even close to beating him. This has been the case once again in 2009. Three wins this year against credible contenders Juan Carlos Gomez, Chris Arreola and more recently Kevin Johnson, has made Vitali, and not his sibling Wladimir, the heavyweight division's true kingpin. In 2009, Vitali has taken care of, quite easily, contenders with the combined record of 93-1-1, very impressive stats for a fighter of any era.

If Vitali were to have a successful 2010 and were to unify the division by beating David Haye, beat another couple of credible contenders like Alexander Povetkin and Eddie Chambers, then the boxing press will have to start to recognize Vitali as a great and mention him in the same breath as the likes of Larry Holmes and Joe Frazier.

Worth a mention- Arthur Abraham - King Arthur successfully defended his middleweight title twice, then moved up to super-middle to participate in Showtime's Super-Six tournament. He now tops the tournament following a brutal 12^th round K.O. of Jermain Taylor.

European Prospect Of The Year 2009

Nathan Cleverly

The prospect honor goes to the Commonwealth light-heavy champ Nathan Cleverly. The Welshman won the belt back in 2008 with a victory over decent pug Tony Oakey and has spent 2009 successfully defending the trinket four times and also adding the British title to his collection.

In early 2010 Cleverly will travel to Italy to face the tough Antonio Brancolion for the European crown in a coming of age bout, that if victorious, will catapult Cleverly up the world rankings. What makes Cleverly's career even more extraordinary is that in between his four defenses, he has been at university studying for a degree in statistical mathematics. Maybe not quite yet the best super-middleweight in the world, although it's fair to say that he definitely is the smartest.

Worth a mention- Kell Brook- The British welterweight champ won the 2009 young fighter of the year award from the Boxing Writers Club in Britain.

European Knockout Of The Year 2009

Arthur Abraham KO12 Jermain Taylor

One of the most sickening knockouts ever witnessed occurred in Berlin at the o2 arena this year, as Arthur Abraham sparked Jermain Taylor with a straight right that saw Taylor unconscious before his head even hit the canvass. The bout was the first installment of Showtime's new innovative Super-Six tournament and maybe the last for Jermain Taylor. The K.O. was that severe that Taylor was omitted to hospital and diagnosed with a severe concussion and short term memory loss.

Worth a mention- Cello Renda KO2 Sam Horton- Renda is becoming a bit of a cult figure in British boxing circles for his big hitting style that seems to never involve him in a dull fight. The bout was a British middleweight title eliminator, with Renda beating the previously unbeaten Horton, with a huge left hook to the head that would have knocked out an elephant.

Make sure you check out the rest of the 2009 Boxing Awards from ProBoxing-Fans.com. It's the best way to recap the entire up and down, crazy year in boxing. And if you agree or disagree with any of the recipients, let us know in the comments!

The junior welterweight division has evolved in the past year from a division of young pretenders, into one of the most competitive divisions in the sport. Older belt holders like Ricky Hatton, Junior Witter and Andriy Kotelnik have been replaced with much younger champions Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander, Juan Urango and Amir Khan. If fights can be made between the cream of the division, then 2010 could be an explosive year for the junior-welters.

So what of the division's newest belt holder Amir Khan 22-1 (16)? Opinion is divided as to whether or not he is the genuine article or just another over protected, hyped up pretender. Here we will try and address the issue if Khan were to compete with the best the division has to offer (it is worth noting that Manny Pacquaio and Juan M Marquez are not listed as both will probably not be fighting at the light-welter limit any time soon. Fighters listed here are those that call 140lbs their home, as per the ProBoxing-Fans.com junior welterweight rankings).

Khan vs. Timothy Bradley 25-0 (11)

British newspapers have been reporting recently that talks are already underway between promoters Gary Shaw and Frank Warren for the unification bout to take place in early 2010. This I believe is the hardest bout to pick a winner. Both do the fundamentals well and have great technical ability. Although Khan has the slight advantage in speed and punch power, it is fair to say that Bradley gets the nod on punch resistance and quality of opposition (remember Bradley beat Britain's WBC champ Junior Witter back in May '08, the same time Khan was fighting domestic rival Michael Gomez).

Even though Khan has tasted defeat, both fighters are young and believe themselves to be invincible. Khan's speed of foot, coupled with Bradley's ring savvy, should produce a clash of styles that fans of the finer points of the sweet science would appreciate.

Verdict- Khan W12. Why? Blind patriotism.

Khan vs. Kendall Holt 25-3 (13)

Kendall Holt hits much harder than his 13 knockouts suggest. Just like Bradley, he does the fundamentals well and possesses good ring smarts, but would this be enough to hold Khan at bay for 12 rounds? I think not. Even though Holt holds wins over David Diaz, Demetrius Hopkins and Ricardo Torres, Khan is a different animal altogether. His knack for getting into range and delivering precise combinations would be too much for Holt to handle. Of course with Khan's suspect chin and Holt's punch power, anything could happen, particularly early on. However, I see the bout lasting the scheduled 12 and once again Holt coming up a little short against genuine world class opposition, the way he did against Timothy Bradley.

Verdict- Khan W12

Khan vs. Ricky Hatton 45-2 (32)

Just the thought of Hatton-Khan in early 2010 is enough to get the palms of the hands to sweat. For British fans it would be the biggest fight of a generation. Hatton, the most popular Brit of all time against the young pretender to his throne. A year ago the fight would have been laughed at. Now though both fighters are at different points in their careers and it seems to make more sense than any other fight out there.

The outcome would all depend on which Hatton turns up. Hatton is a different fighter than the one that made the great Kostya Tszyu quit on his stool back in June '05. Today Khan would be too quick and strong for a weight drained Hatton and although I am a huge admirer of Hatton, I believe he'd be making a huge mistake in picking Khan for his goodbye bout.

Verdict- Khan TKO8

Khan vs. Juan Urango 22-2 (17)

Juan Urango is a freak of nature, the neck of a Canadian redwood, Khan would hit him with everything he's got for the full 12 rounds and Urango wouldn't even flinch. Never mind a chin made of granite, more like reinforced steel. He went 11 rounds against pound for pound maybe the hardest single puncher in boxing in Randall Bailey and came out on tops, in what was probably his best win to date. Khan is no Randall Bailey however and would stick and move for the whole 12 rounds to win a unanimous decision, in what would have to be an extremely disciplined performance from the young champion.

Verdict Khan W12

Khan vs. Marcos Maidana 27-1(26)

The last time Khan got inside the ring with a South American puncher he lasted all of 54 seconds. Maidana is the WBA interim champ and number1 contender to Khan's trinket, so he should be the obvious choice for a next defense. Although don't be too surprised if team Khan stays well away.

This would become a nightmare defense for Khan. Maidana hits like a mule and Khan's punch resistance is questionable, put this together and you get the Englishman laying flat on his back getting counted out for the 2^nd time in his short career. Khan is a better boxer than Maidana and could use his superior skills to outbox the young Argentinian over 12, although 36 minutes is a long time for Khan to refrain himself from fighting toe to toe with Maidana. This would be his downfall.

Verdict- Maidana KO8

Following last weeks sensational first round stoppages of Roy Jones and Dmitriy Salita, comparisons are already being made with devastating early knockouts of the past. Looking back, here are the 5 most controversial, historically significant and devastatingly brutal stoppages that never made it further than the opening round.

Best Knockouts in the First Round in Boxing: Tyson KO1 Spinks

• When: 27th June 1988
• Where: Hilton hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada

Going into the bout Spinks was 31-0, had defeated the great Larry Holmes twice and was still regarded as the true heavyweight champion of the world, as he never lost his title in the ring.

Tyson was the new kid on the block, undisputed heavyweight champ with a perfect record of 34-0. Boxing writers at the time couldn't pick a winner, either Tyson with his rugged aggression or Spinks with his technical smarts.

What played out was a 91 second beat down that started with a right to the body and ended with Mike Tyson becoming the true undisputed champion and the most feared man on the planet.

Spinks never fought again.

Best Knockouts in the First Round in Boxing: Clay KO1 Liston

• When:25th May 1965
• Where: St. Dominic's Hall, Lewiston, Maine

Cassius Marcellus Clay shook up the world by winning the heavyweight title in 1964 by defeating the menacing Sonny Liston in 6 rounds, in what was one of the biggest upsets in the sports history. There were some question marks however over the manner of victory as Liston cited an injured shoulder as the reason he couldn't come out for the 7th. Due to popular demand, the rematch was made and was to become the most controversial title fight in heavyweight history.

The fight was over inside 60 seconds, all due to a seemingly harmless punch to Liston's temple. Confusion reigned in the arena, Clay stood above Liston shouting 'Get up, get up', referee Jersey Joe Walcott lost the count during a mix-up between himself and a ringside official and the bout was only officially called to a halt after ringside scribe and Ring magazine editor Nat Fleischer, informed Walcott that Liston was on the canvas for the full 10 seconds.

Liston fought on until 1970, the year of his death. Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali and became a global superstar.

Best Knockouts in the First Round in Boxing: Liston KO1 Patterson

• When: 25th September 1962
• Where: Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois

Because of Sonny Liston's links with organized crime, Floyd Patterson's advisers did everything in their power to prevent the match-up from ever being made. Patterson though finally defied the wishes of his manager Cus D'Amato and signed to fight on 25th September 1962 in Comiskey Park, Chicago.

Some at ringside actually thought Patterson had a great chance of victory, as he possessed the supreme skill and speed. That idea was put to bed early however as the champ was unable to beat the count, after a series of vicious blows handed out by Liston. The bout lasted only 2 minutes and 5 seconds and Sonny Liston was crowned the new heavyweight champ, his first defense, a return with Patterson. This time the bout lasted only 4 seconds longer, another brutal 1st round knockout.

Best Knockouts in the First Round in Boxing: Marciano KO1 Walcott

• When: 15th May 1953
• Where: Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois

Rocky Marciano was the new heavyweight champion of the world, following a grueling 13th round KO of champ Jersey Joe Walcott 8 months earlier. Marciano was rough, tough and possibly the hardest hitting heavyweight champ of all time. While other champs were blessed with ring savvy, Rocky was blessed with a steely will and a chin made of granite. If the rematch was to become half as good as the first encounter then fans would be in for a thrilling night.

They certainly were not. Marciano made it a quick nights work after only 2:25 minutes, blowing away Walcott with a left hand, short right uppercut combination that left the former champ in no fit state to continue.

Walcott retired after the bout, trying his hand at acting, wrestling and even became a referee. Rocky on the other hand defended his title a further 5 more times and retired as undefeated champion of the world. He tragically lost his life in a plane crash on August 1969 on the eve of his 46th birthday.

Best Knockouts in the First Round in Boxing: Louis KO1 Schmeling

• When: 22nd June 1938
• Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York

Along with the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Louis vs. Shcmeling II was one of the most significant major sporting event of the 20th century.

The Nazi party was in full swing and popular opinion at the time was that Schmeling was the face of fascism. Hitler himself even sent Schmeling a telegram wishing good luck. The bout wasn't just billed as black vs white, but democracy vs totalitarianism and even good vs evil.

Schmeling was the only man to have ever beaten Louis back in 1936 by 12th round KO and Louis was out for revenge.

As soon as the fight began, Louis started to land cleanly with ferocious lefts and rights to the challenger's jaw. Schmeling was on the canvas taking a count when his trainer Max Machon threw in the towel and referee Arthur Donovan waved it off at the 2:04 mark. It was not only a defeat for Schmeling but also a massive defeat for Nazism.

Of course the world later found out that Schmeling was not this fascist thug he was portrayed to be and even risked life and limb by hiding Jewish children in his Berlin apartment during raids by the gestapo. A true hero, he lived to the ripe old age of 99.

Louis went on to be arguably the greatest ever heavyweight in the history of the sport.

Image Credit: Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons

Great Britain's WBA light-welter champ Amir Khan, 21-1(16) will fight the biggest fight of his pro career on December 5th in Newcastle, England, when he faces the very durable New Yorker Dmitriy Salita, 30-0-1(16), in what will be Khan's first defense of the trinket he won in July by outpointing Ukrainian Andriy Kotelnik.

Khan vs. Salita Preview

Salita (also born in the Ukraine, now residing in Brooklyn) will be a huge underdog in what is fair to say an extremely long overdue title challenge (remember Salita won the NABA light-welter title way back in August 05 with a 9th round TKO of Shawn Gallegos). Salita is a solid technical boxer, does the fundamentals well and of course is undefeated, but does he posses the tools to dethrone Khan in the champs backyard?

Speed kills and Khan has speed in abundance. This will be a major factor in determining the fight's outcome. Whether Salita can cope with Khan moving in and out with precise combinations remains to be seen.

Khan's career has been guided thus far by Britain's most successful promoter Frank Warren. Apart from the one obvious blip, a 54 second KO at the hands of Breidis Prescott, (ironically Prescott will fight London's Kevin Mitchell on the undercard) Khan's career has been guided impeccably.

Team Khan's best decision to date has been in relocating to Hollywood's Wild Card gym under the tutelage of the revered Freddie Roach. Roach has worked his magic by changing Khan from the chin in the air, hands low fighter of the Prescott bout, to the world champion we see before us today, although a lot of credit has to also go to Alex Ariza. As strength and conditioning coach, Ariza is responsible for the physical improvements in Khan, who is now a much stronger fighter of the Khan of a year ago.

This leads us to the question of punch resistance. Khan has been criticized in the past for having a glass jaw, most notably for the way he was KO'd by Prescott. We have to remember however, the left threw by Prescott that night could have knocked out a Himalayan yak. Salita has been down himself a few times early on in fights and it's no big secret that he is a slow starter. Therefore if Khan jumps in early he might leave himself open and with question marks over his own chin, don't be surprised if we see an early knockdown or two.

All things said Khan should be too fast, too strong and ultimately too good for what will be a very determined Salita, so if I was a betting man (which I very much am) I see the referee stepping in to rescue Salita from taking any more unnecessary punishment late in the fight and Amir Khan successfully defending the WBA title for the very first time.

Khan vs. Salita Prediction

Verdict Khan TKO 10

Top 5 Boxers from the U.K. Over the Last 10 Years

1. Joe Calzaghe 46-0 (32)

World super-middle champ, 1997-2007

O.K., so the Pride of Wales took his time in convincing his skeptics outside the U.K. of his greatness, but boy didn't he deliver big time in destroying the previously unbeaten American Jeff Lacy, in what was one of the finest ever performances inside a British ring. Wins over Lacy, Mikkel Kessler, future Hall of Famers Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones, coupled with a record 21 defenses of the WBO Super-middle title spanning over 10 years, places Calzaghe in the greatness category, not just in British boxing but in world boxing.

Top 5 performances: Chris Eubank W12, Jeff Lacy W12, Mikkel Kessler W12, Bernard Hopkins W12, Roy Jones W12.

2. Lennox Lewis  41-2-1 (32)

World heavyweight champ, 1992-2003

After winning gold for Canada in the 1988 Olympics, Lennox Lewis relocated back to his birth place of London England, where he was to embark on what was to become a remarkable professional career. He combined his great technical ability with defensive smarts and at 6ft 5in was the supreme athlete. Often criticized for having a cautious mentality and suspect chin, Lewis defeated every man he ever faced. He retired champion and will be remembered as Britain's greatest heavyweight since Bob Fitzsimmons.

Top 5 performances, Frank Bruno TKO7, Evander Holyfield W12, Michael Grant KO2, Mike Tyson KO8, Vitali Klitschko TKO6

3. Ricky Hatton 45-2 (32)

World light-welter champ, 2005-2009

There's only one Ricky Hatton...you know the song! If there is any other fighter alive that can take an estimated 30,000 fans across the Atlantic to watch a prize fight, I would love to meet him. What people tend to forget about Hatton is that he can actually fight a bit. Crashing onto the world scene back in '05 forcing the great Kostya Tszyu to retire on his stool, Hatton became the first ever British recipient of Ring Magazine's Fighter of the Year. His only two defeats have been against modern day legends Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, nothing to be ashamed of. In an era when European fighters have gained a reputation for staying at home and being over protected, time and again Hatton has gone after the best fighters the division has to offer, when he could so easily have stayed in Manchester earning big money in capacity arenas. That is why he has a huge fan base. British fans love their fighters with big b.....

Top 5 performances: Ben Tackie W12, Kostya Tszyu RTD11, Luis Collazo W12, Jose Luis Castillo KO4, Paul Malignaggi TKO11

4. Prince Naseem Hamed 36-1 (31)

World featherweight champ, 1995-2000

The Prince just about scrapes onto the list as he had two World title fights in 2000, even though most of his best work was done in the nineties. By the turn of the millennium Hamed was still the most exciting fighter the U.K. had to offer, even though he was on the slide. Trained in his hometown of Sheffield under the tutelage of the Ingles in their now famous Wincobank gym, Hamed was the most naturally gifted British fighter in living memory. Hamed had an extraordinary unorthodox switch-hitting style, freakish punch power and a tongue as sharp as a razor. Easily Britain's best featherweight since Howard Winstone, along with Lennox Lewis Hamed put the U.K. on the boxing world stage in the nineties. His seven knockdown thriller with Kevin Kelly will go down as one of the most remarkable ever staged. Love him or hate him, or even love to hate him, one thing is for sure, no one on either side of the Atlantic will ever forget the little prince.

Top 5 performances: Vincenzo Belcastro W12, Steve Robinson TKO8, Billy Hardy TKO1, Kevin Kelly KO4, Wayne McCullough W12

5. David Haye 23-1 (21)

World cruiserweight champ, 2007-2008

The Hayemaker is probably the most controversial choice on the list as he is still very much active and still has a lot to prove. Even so, he makes the list on merit. Haye became undisputed cruiser king by knocking out Jean Marc Mormeck in his own backyard back in 07, then unifying the titles with a brutal second round demolition job on local rival Enzo Maccarnelli, in what was Britain's biggest fight since Benn-Eubank a decade earlier. Who knows what the future holds for Haye, there are a couple of brothers from the Ukraine that stand in his way of superstardom. The biggest puncher on the list with the most suspect chin makes Haye pure gold to watch and whatever the future has in store for the Hayemaker, I personally cant wait to watch it unfold.

Top 5 performances: Giacobbe Fragomeni TKO9, Tomasz Bonin TKO1, Jean M Mormeck TKO7, Enzo Maccarinelli TKO2, Nikolay Valuev W12

Photo Credit: Ben Duffy/Ian Monk Associates - Creative Commons 3.0 License