By: PAUL R. JONES! feat. ALEX BURGOS
In the spirit of awards season, and with the GOLDEN GLOBE® AWARDS behind us, Round By Round Boxing (RBRBoxing) officially announces the recipients of our coveted 2019 YEARLY AWARDS*
FIGHT OF THE YEAR
WINNER
ERROL SPENCE JR. SD12 SHAWN PORTER
Welterweight
Last September, ERROL SPENCE JR. and SHAWN PORTER dazzled fans at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, putting on a virtuoso performance in a nip-and-tuck battle that garnered our vote as the 2019 FIGHT OF THE YEAR.
This high-stakes welterweight clash had it all: drama, technical skill, heated exchanges, and a knockdown, all of which created suspense right up until the final scorecards were read and SPENCE was declared the winner.
FIGHT OF THE YEAR,
WOMEN’S BOXING
WINNER
KATIE TAYLOR MD10 DELFINE PERSOON
Lightweight
KATIE TAYLOR and DELFINE PERSOON fought hard over 10 grueling rounds to earn RBR’s 2019 FIGHT OF THE YEAR award in women’s boxing.
Despite there being some debate as to whether Taylor deserved the nod, no one would deny the high-level boxing that was on display in this matchup, which ultimately crowned Taylor as the undisputed World Lightweight Champion in only her 14th pro fight.
FIGHTER OF THE YEAR, MALE
WINNER
CANELO ÁLVAREZ
Middleweight
CANELO ÁLVAREZ had a banner year in 2019, including wins over Daniel Jacobs and Sergey Kovalev, the latter by knockout.
Alvarez continued to improve offensively and defensively, and added a world title in a fourth division to his trophy case.
His accomplishments and consistency made him our consensus pick for 2019 FIGHTER OF THE YEAR.
FIGHTER OF THE YEAR, FEMALE
WINNER
AMANDA SERRANO
Featherweight
Despite strong challenges from fellow contenders Claressa Shields and Katie Taylor, AMANDA SERRANO is RBR’s 2019 FEMALE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR.
Serrano set a Guinness World Record for the most world titles won by a woman across multiple weight classes and became the first 7-division World Champ in women’s boxing history.
KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR
WINNER
DEONTAY WILDER KTFO1 DOMINIC BREAZEALE
Heavyweight
DEONTAY WILDER’s one-round annihilation of DOMINIC BREAZEALE was one of the most devastating knockouts of 2019, and more than worthy of our 2019 KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR award.
The culmination of a beef reached that reached the point of no return, Wilder would ultimately have the final word after knocking out Breazeale in a one round with a punch that could be heard in the cheap seats.
COMEBACK FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
WINNER
JEAN PASCAL
Light Heavyweight
After briefly flirting with retirement in 2017, JEAN PASCAL decided that he would rather empty his tank than listen to the groundswell of public opinion that it was time for the Haitian-Canadian to call it quits.
Nevertheless, Pascal’s 2018 was a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs that likely produced doubts about where he stood in the sport.
Fast-forward to 2019 and boxing saw a virtual revival of Pascal, who recorded wins over former champions Marcus Browne and Badou Jack, and both earned and defend his WBA (World) and WBC titles in the process.
For his turnaround, Jean Pascal is our 2019 COMEBACK FIGHTER OF THE YEAR.
MOST IMPROVED
FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
WINNER
JULIAN “J-ROCK” WILLIAMS
Junior Middleweight
JULIAN “J-ROCK” WILLIAMS edged Jamel Herring in our voting to earn RBR’s 2019 MOST IMPROVED FIGHTER OF THE YEAR award.
Williams shook up the world after beating former world champion Jarrett Hurd in a bout worthy of FIGHT OF THE YEAR and UPSET OF THE YEAR consideration.
UPSET OF THE YEAR
&
ROUND OF THE YEAR
WINNERS
ANDY RUIZ JR. TKO7 ANTHONY JOSHUA
Heavyweight
&
ANTHONY JOSHUA vs. ANDY RUIZ JR. — ROUND 3
Heavyweight
ANDY RUIZ JR.’s knockout of ANTHONY JOSHUA was RBR’s unanimous pick for 2019 UPSET OF THE YEAR.
It also featured the most exciting round of the year (ROUND 3), highlighted by back-and-forth action, multiple knockdowns, and the precursor to one of the for one of the biggest upsets since Buster Douglas beat Mike Tyson at the Tokyo Dome in 1990.
Don’t forget to let us know if you agreed with our selections by leaving us a comment, and “liking” and retweeting this article on social media.
It would mean a lot to us.
* Note. All selections were made by seven RBRBoxing staff writers and photographers.
About the Authors:
Paul R. Jones! is a boxing writer and ringside photographer for Round by Round (RBR) Boxing. He also chairs RBR’s Quarterly Pound-for-Pound Rankings Panel. A scientist by day and boxing writer by night, Paul covers the humorous, offbeat, and absurd from the sport of boxing. You can keep up with more of what Paul is thinking about on Twitter @boxingepicenter. For inquiries, e-mail him at prjones1@hotmail.com.
Alejandro “Alex” Burgos is a former Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Round by Round Boxing. He is a professional blogger, SEO Consultant and Marketing Director at Capital Practice Consulting in Washington, DC.
