Which boxer had the worst or most disappointing year in 2009?
Boxing always has its fair share of ups and downs, highlights and disappointments. In 2009, there were many boxers who had terrible years for one reason or another. Unfortunately, the candidate list for boxers who had the worst years or who had the most disappointing year is actually quite long. In almost every case it’s a real head scratcher of a situation, and the down years seemed to blindside spectators and fans as well as insiders.
Most Disappointing Year in Boxing 2009 – Antonio Margarito
It’s a big fall from being one of the most avoided fighters in the sport to being an outcast because of illegal hand wraps. Prior the his bout with Shane Mosley, Margarito was caught with illegal materials in his hand wraps. The bout went on of course, and Mosley disposed of Margarito by fighting pressure with pressure. What followed was a 1 year long suspension from the sport that’s still being served, and a questioning of all of the man’s accomplishments.
He battered and broke down Miguel Cotto slowly over the course of a fight. He broke down Cintron twice in brutal fashion. There’s no evidence that he was wearing illegal hand wraps in either bout, but once that issue comes to the surface none of his wins can be viewed without that lens. To be one of the best welterweights in the sport, to be finally getting the recognition you fought your whole career to get, and then to throw that away from using an illegal wrap, it boggles the mind, and it’s a massive disappointment. Nobody disappointed us more than Margarito did in 2009.
Worst/Most Disappointing Year Runner Up – James Kirkland:
After beating Joel Julio around the ring in his biggest fight to date, Kirkland was primed to be moved to a title shot. Then his world got turned upside down and he got sent to jail. Luckily for him, the judge showed some mercy and his short sentence will enable him to hopefully continue his career. A fighter and a man who has struggled to move past so much hardship in his life just seemingly can’t keep himself out of trouble completely. Hopefully that changes with this, and hopefully he can and will resume his career at a high level.
Third Place- Jermain Taylor:
This gets filed in the “worst year in boxing” category, rather than the “most disappointing”. Taylor suffered two brutal knockout losses in 2009, both in the 12th round of a major fight. He was moments away from beating Carl Froch and capturing his super middleweight title when the Cobra laid him out. Earlier Taylor had failed to capitalize on knocking Froch down. Then against Arthur Abraham, boom came the dynamite once again, although this time he was headed towards a decision loss. Taylor is fighting on in the Super Six in 2010, to the objections of promoter Lou DiBella who ended their professional relationship.
4th Place- Kelly Pavlik:
Coming off the one-sided loss to Bernard Hopkins, 2009 should have been the year that Kelly Pavlik asserted himself as a dominant middleweight champion. Instead, he fought just twice, against opposition that falls somewhere above the tomato can level and considerably below the level needed for respectability as a champion. Fights with Arthur Abraham, Paul Williams and Winky Wright all could have been made… none of them were. Rumors of a drinking problem, of disinterest in the sport and of avoiding tough opponents have all surfaced, and after the Williams cancellation, somewhat justifiably.
Of course, we could have just as easily said that the most disappointing year in boxing was had collectively by the judges and referees of the sport. There were far too many robberies and bad decisions in 2009, and while that’s always an issue in the sport it was particularly bad this year.
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!
