Top fights, punch, fighter of 2009

[pk500]

The five best fights out of the 100 or so I've watched this year, in order:

1. Bernard Dunne v. Ricardo Cordoba. What an amazing rally by Dunne in front of an electrified crowd in his native Ireland. The most electric atmosphere of any fight I watched this year. A savage, savage fight. I leaped out of my couch numerous times while watching this fight.

2. Juan Manuel Lopez v. Rogers Mtgawa. This was supposed to be a fairly easy tune-up for JuanMa as he heads for a showdown with Yuriorkis Gamboa. Instead, Mtgawa pressed the unbeaten Lopez like no other fighter. JuanMa needed to dig VERY deep to win this one.

3. Paul Williams v. Sergio Martinez. A fascinating clash of styles. Both guys refused to back down. The ebb and flow of this bout was fantastic, as Martinez changed strategy on his feet at least twice to counter Williams' superb work rate and reach.

4. Juan Manuel Marquez v. Juan Diaz. Marquez rallied to beat the Baby Bull in a great slugfest in Diaz's hometown of Houston.

5. Yonnhy Perez vs. Joseph Agbeko. The number of punches thrown in this bout was staggering. All action from the opening bell to the 12th. I'm pretty sure this bout registered the highest number of punches ever thrown in a 12-round fight monitored by CompuBox. I'm surprised the output didn't melt down CompuBox's servers. An epic.

Punch of the year:



Any questions?

Fighter of the year:



Once again, any questions?

How about you cats? Your top fights, punch and fighter of 2009?

Take care,
PK

[pietasterp]

Re: Top fights, punch, fighter of 2009

Largely agree with your list, with the following additions:

- Luis Collazo v. Andre Berto: action fight all the way through, some hellacious shots given/taken by both men, high-octane action throughout.

- Shane Mosley v. Antonio Margarito: a simply stunning result, not just in the final decision but in the way it all went down...from the pre-fight locker-room drama to the eventual stoppage after what seemed like 3 straight rounds of totally dominating hellacious shots battering Margo's pumpkin, I just didn't see any of it coming (I was certain Margo was going to KO Mosley, just a matter of in which round....). And boxing justice was served.

Fighter of the year is really not in question, it's most certainly Pacquiao. I'd give Shane the comeback fighter of the year, though - I thought he was just done...surprise! He's not done.

Punch of the year...I don't know, nothing stands out immediately, but I would agree with you that Pacquiao's freight-train left hook to Ricky Hatton that knocked him out cold was up there on the list.

[pk500]

Re: Top fights, punch, fighter of 2009

Honest to God: Those two fights you mentioned just missed my cut. I sh*t you not!