Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images
Round By Round Boxing is back with another set of midyear awards.
What’s happened thus far in 2015?
Well, after years of back-and-forth negotiations and what seemed to be a number of ridiculous demands from both sides, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao finally got it on on May 2, 2015.
While the event itself was a huge financial success and broke every record imaginable, the action in the ring left a lot to be desired and the shoulder gate aftermath involving Manny Pacquiao’s injury left a sour taste in many fans’ mouths–and pockets.
What was a labeled as the “Fight of the Century” ended up being topped (in terms of fan-pleasing action) the very next weekend with Canelo Alvarez‘s blistering knockout of James Kirkland.
Fighters like Kell Brook, Gennady Golovkin and Sergey Kovalev have bolstered their resumes with impressive victories and seem poised to be in the running for many year-end awards.
In the first half of 2015, boxing fans have been getting used to a host of “free” Premier Boxing Champions cards on NBC, CBS and Spike TV. More PBC events will round out the year on Bounce, ESPN and ABC as well.
Roc Nation Sports also brought boxing to BET and Golden Boy Promotions continued to promote their future stars with LA Fight Club and Golden Boy Live cards on Fox Sports 1 / Fox Deportes.
The staff at RBRBoxing has saddled up again and decided to try our hand at some midyear awards for the categories of fight of the midyear, upset of the midyear, KO of the midyear, who is winning the TV battle, fighter of the midyear and round of the midyear.
Whether you agree or disagree with our selections make sure to leave a comment with your picks below.
Header photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images
Fight of the Midyear
Consensus: Matthysse vs. Provodnikov
I think many people will go cliché and pick, Lucas Matthysse vs. Ruslan Provodnikov for this category; it was a great fight and a war of tough chins. But, as a student of the “Sweet Science” and being a technical boxing fan at heart, I have to select Seanie Monaghan vs. Cleiton Conceicao.
This fight was shown on TruTV and might have fallen under the radar for the average boxing fan. The two threw a nearly identical amount of punches throughout the fight, and Monaghan was cut above his eye in just the second round.
Conceicao landed some stunning blows on Monaghan throughout the 10-round bout, yet Monaghan pulled off a unanimous decision victory. He was able to do this by effectively cutting off the ring and trapping Conceicao in nearly every corner.
Monoghan was able to keep the look of the aggressor by never chasing the quick footed Canceicao. The technical side of the Sweet Science is not for everyone, but I have to give credit when I see it displayed so masterfully.
Pick: Seanie Monaghan vs. Cleiton Conceicao
Lou Catalano, Senior Writer
While it may not have reached the Arturo Gatti/Mickey Ward levels some anticipated, Lucas Matthysse vs. Ruslan Provodnikov was a fantastic scrap that lived up to the massive hype surrounding it.
Matthysse controlled the first half, while the unbreakable, indefatigable Provodnikov climbed back into the fight in the second half.
Nobody went down, nobody was really even badly hurt, but these guys went to war and it will be in the running for FOTY in six months.
Pick: Lucas Matthysse vs. Ruslan Provodnikov
Tony Calcara, Staff Writer
Lucas Matthysse vs. Ruslan Provodnikov featured two men with guts and heart who sold themselves out in the most elementary of ways to win.
Pick: Lucas Matthysse vs. Ruslan Provodnikov
Leann Perez, Staff Writer
This fight was everything that it was hyped up to be. Two fighters who are known for their warrior fighting style were warriors that night and delivered blow after blow to each other.
Lucas Matthysse was more on his toes and delivered endless combinations against Ruslan Provodnikov, while Provodnikov kept coming forward and delivered some hard hitting shots as well.
Not one knockdown in that fight, which you left you wondering ‘OMG how much more can these guys take?’ Blood, heart and respect, along with some great boxing gave one hell of a fight that night for boxing fans.
Pick: Lucas Matthysse vs. Ruslan Provodnikov
Brandon Glass, Contributing Writer
Jean Pascal fought Sergey Kovalev like he had been telling himself he wasn’t gonna let this dude come in his backyard and clown him. He wasn’t intimidated at all, and even ate big shots that have killed a man before.
No one thought he would take the fight to Kovalev like that, countering his jab with a sometimes outrageously telegraphic right hand.
A peaking Kovalev “Macguyver-ed” his way out by increasing his output with combination punching, wobbling the Hatian-Canadian several times before a controversial stoppage.
Kovalev retained all three of his belts, all formerly owned by Pascal, and re-enforced his claim as the best at 175 right now.
Pick: Sergey Kovalev vs. Jean Pascal
Yazket Espino, Staff Writer
Back and forth action that saw former champion Mijares (51-8-2) dropped and hurt by Nebran (13-9-1) in a bloody fight. Both fighters showed heart and determination as Mijares won a hard fought unanimous decision.
Pick: Cristian Mijares vs. Vergel Nebran
Mike Burnell, Staff Writer
This was a good, old-fashioned scrap with no pageantry or conditions. It featured two of the toughest contenders that Jr. Welterweight division has to offer against each other which is becoming increasingly rare.
The steak was as good as its sizzle as both fighters gave no quarter while maintaining a fast pace and were still going at it when the final bell rang.
Pick: Lucas Matthysse vs. Ruslan Provodnikov
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
You can certainly make a legitimate argument for Sergey Kovalev vs. Jean Pascal, David Lemieux vs. Hassan N’Dam and a couple of other fights because there is no real clear-cut winner at this point.
I’ll go with Lucas Matthysse vs. Ruslan Provodnikov because even with the lofty expectations put on the fight beforehand, we still came out satisfied and appreciative that nobody died. Kudos to both men.
Pick: Lucas Matthysse vs. Ruslan Provodnikov
Other Nominees
Upset of the Midyear
Consensus: Chavez Jr. vs. Fonfara
Badou Jack over Anthony Dirrell because well let face it, “And NEW,” has to be one of the most exciting phrases in boxing.
Jack won the majority decision in a very close fight over Dirrell in April’s PBC card shown on Spike TV.
The two talked lots of trash before the fight and nearly went to blows at the weigh ins. This was a decent upset for Badou Jack as he captured the WBC super middleweight title.
Pick: Badou Jack vs. Anthony Dirrell
Lou Catalano, Senior Writer
In hindsight, it’s hard to imagine why so many of us picked the catch weight-loving Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to win this fight. Chavez uses his considerable size advantage to wear down opponents, but in this case, Andrzej Fonfara was the much bigger guy.
Chavez hung in there, but he was eating every punch Fonfara threw and eventually wilted. After he was dropped hard in the ninth round, he quit on his stool in between rounds.
His post-fight interview was another Jim Gray classic, with Chavez proclaiming (we think, but who the hell knows) in concussed, broken English, that he thought he was winning the fight.
Pick: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Andrzej Fonfara
Tony Calcara, Staff Writer
In a way, I was not stunningly surprised given Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.’s appetite for being lazy and disinterested.
It was the way Andrzej Fonfara continued to press and ultimately, let’s be clear here, made Chavez quit.
He can make all the excuses he wants, but Chavez quit in his corner. I didn’t see that coming.
Pick: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Andrzej Fonfara
Leann Perez, Staff Writer
The third and final matchup between Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios was supposed to be World War 3. No one can argue that these two didn’t deliver two amazing fights before, with each winning one a piece, leaving fight fans to wonder how the saga would end.
The third fight was hosted in Denver, the hometown of Alvarado, bringing HBO back to the Mile High City for the second time. Alvarado was arrested for gun possession and Rios trained his butt off to make weight and bring on the fight.
The victory for Rios wasn’t a big upset as any fight fan could see this coming from a mile away, but maybe the fact that Alvarado never showed up at all was the bigger disappointment.
Pick: Brandon Rios vs. Mike Alvarado 3
Brandon Glass, Contributing Writer
New trainer, new perspective on life due to becoming a father, and still the results are the same. Chicanery.
Andrzej Fonfara outclassed the spectacle that is Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., who quit on the stool like a chump between the ninth and 10th round after getting put on his ass for the first time in his career.
His father’s shoes will always be too big for him, no matter what he does at this point.
Pick: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Andrzej Fonfara
Yazket Espino, Staff Writer
As a late replacement on a one day notice, Thompson shocked Brandon Adams and TKO’d the favorite within two rounds to win the Boxcino Junior Middleweight final.
Pick: John Thompson vs. Brandon Adams
Mike Burnell, Staff Writer
Undefeated Anthony Dirrell had more experience, fought better opposition and was the newly crowned WBC Super Middleweight Champion.
Badou Jack didn’t have any major world class experience to speak of and was just two fights removed from being stopped in the first round by Derek Edwards.
In what Dirrell hoped would be his first defense he was upset via 12 round majority decision in a closely contested match.
Pick: Badou Jack vs. Anthony Dirrell
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
I guess by now we all know to expect the unexpected from Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. But, evening knowing that Jr.’s love for the taco bar outweighs his love for boxing, I never thought Andrzej Fonfara would make him quit on his stool.
Pick: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Andrzej Fonfara
Other Nominees
KO of the Midyear
Consensus: Canelo vs. Kirkland
Well hmmm… There was this one time Canelo Alvarez nearly put James Kirkland in a body bag with a hammering right hand.
In fact, my chin hurts just thinking about it, so I will pick that.
Pick: Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland
Lou Catalano, Senior Writer
Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland came at the perfect time, directly after the outhouse stench that Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao left us with.
Canelo had Kirkland badly hurt almost from the very beginning, dropping him hard in the first round with a right hand that he never really recovered from.
Finally in the third round, Canelo corkscrewed Kirkland into the canvas with a gorgeous right cross. It was a brilliant one-punch KO, solidifying Canelo’s spot as one of the biggest stars in the sport.
Pick: Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland
Tony Calcara, Staff Writer
This is an easy one. Canelo Alvarez’s second-round beat down of James Kirkland. That was as brutal as it gets.
Pick: Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland
Leann Perez, Staff Writer
Round 5 through Round 5 looked like Terence Crawford was having some slight difficulty with Thomas Dulorme. Really, he was just taking his time, picking apart his opponent in his head, and waiting to demolish Dulorme.
In Round 6, Crawford came out the corner with his game plan intact. Crawford applied massive pressure, landed devastating over hand rights, and threw endless punches knocking Dulorme down three times in Round 6 alone.
Finally, after being attacked against the ropes, Dulorme went down again and the ref waved off the fight. The victory gave Crawford his second WBO championship, this time at 140 pounds.
Pick: Terence Crawford vs. Thomas Dulorme
Brandon Glass, Contributing Writer
Canelo Alvarez swung the right hook like a baseball bat, hitting James Kirkland flush on the jaw.
Kirkland went limp, collapsing before stretching out and hitting the back of his head violently as it slapped the canvas. I thought he might be dead.
It was reminiscent of what Manny Pacquiao did to Ricky Hatton, or what Juan Manuel Marquez did to Pacquiao.
Thankfully, Kirkland was okay enough to give a slurred post-fight interview.
Pick: Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland
Yazket Espino, Staff Writer
An impressive one-punch knockout that seemed to leave James Kirkland lifeless on the mat.
Pick: Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland
Mike Burnell, Staff Writer
Dangerous punching James Kirkland came out fast in the first round hoping to give Canelo Alvarez a chin check. Alvarez showedpatience weathering the early attack and soon turned Kirkland’s aggressive attack against him, hurting him badly and dropping him.
Alvarez redefined the term “dropping him heavily” in the 3rd round when he feinted to the body and came over the top with a massive right hand that dropped Kirkland to the canvas as though he was boneless.
Pick: Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
Nothing was as exciting and jaw-dropping as the punch that sent James Kirkland to the canvas. The setup was so beautiful–a short jab to the body followed by a night-ending sledgehammer right.
Boxing is brutal, and nothing encompasses that like a vicious knockout. It would be totally wrong not to give two other guys some props here as well; Artur Beterbiev for his Drago style KO of Gabriel Campillo and Alexander Povetkin for his drubbing of Mike Perez.
Pick: Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland
Other Nominees
Who is Winning the TV Battle?
Consensus: HBO
I have to choose PBC without a doubt. There have been a few big disappointments shown and more last minute replacement opponents than I like to see, but otherwise Al Haymon and his Premier Boxing Champions are killing it right now.
Kudos to Haymon for bringing highly entertaining matchups and title fights back to network TV.
Pick: Premier Boxing Champions
Lou Catalano, Senior Writer
This is less than a battle and more of a forfeiture. Showtime apparently shot its load for the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight, because they’ve barely aired any boxing at all.
Al Haymon’s “Premier Boxing Champions” network fights have taken a significant number of fights away from Showtime as well.
HBO is winning easily, and probably have already locked it down for the year.
Pick: HBO
Tony Calcara, Staff Writer
Premier Boxing Champions is making noise and is great for the sport. There have been some solid, exciting bouts.
Showtime continues to put on a good show and I love their televising 90 minutes of undercard action on an alternate Showtime channel.
HBO, however, continues to be the measuring stick and presents a superior product all the way around.
Pick: HBO
Leann Perez, Staff Writer
While Showtime and HBO are still bringing in some solid numbers in viewing, Premier Boxing Champions is killing it with primetime television.
First it was with PBC on NBC, but now you can see Premier Boxing Champions on NBC Sports Network, CBS, Spike TV, Bounce, ESPN, and soon Fox Sports 1 as well.
Whether the fights are decently matched or not, or you have an issue with the Al Haymon takeover, you gotta admit it, the man is taking over. One TV at a time, and for free!
Pick: Premier Boxing Champions
Brandon Glass, Contributing Writer
HBO. The emergence of Terrence Crawford, Lucas Matthysse vs. Ruslan Provodnikov, Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland, and Sergey Kovalev vs. Jean Pascal are a few solid reasons why. ‘Nuff said.
Pick: HBO
Yazket Espino, Staff Writer
Have put competitive matchups in almost every boxing telecast.
Pick: HBO
Mike Burnell, Staff Writer
HBO is winning the battle with the number of quality cards and matchups featuring current stars and some excellent prospects.
While HBO/Showtime have better cards than Premier Boxing Champions, I definitely have to give an honorable mention to PBC for bringing free boxing back to network to TV.
Pick: HBO
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
While Premier Boxing Champions has done a lot to bring boxing back to the mainstream, this category simply boils down to quality over quantity. HBO isn’t free TV, but it’s also not hard to find (or subscribe to).
Almost all of the fight of the midyear candidates were aired on HBO. That says a lot for quality. I won’t complain about the PBC cards because it seems like there is a fight on every weekend (and that’s a good thing), but I’m also not going to rush and say Al Haymon and PBC are the greatest thing to ever happen to the sport either.
Pick: HBO
Other Nominees
Fighter of the Midyear
Consensus: Gennady Golovkin
GGG! Who doesn’t love the “Good Boy Killa” and his “Big Drama Show?”
This guy is the face of boxing right now, Gennady Golovkin is slaying every opponent. He has a great technical skill set paired with a killer instinct and always remains a class act.
Pick: Gennady Golovkin – 2015 Record: 2-0, 2 KOs
Lou Catalano, Senior Writer
Gennady Golovkin has fought twice, and though neither fight was against elite guys, he butchered them both and made it look easy.
Pick: Gennady Golovkin – 2015 Record: 2-0, 2 KOs
Tony Calcara, Staff Writer
Gennady Golovkin continues to impress and calls out for Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez.
Pick: Gennady Golovkin – 2015 Record: 2-0, 2 KOs
Leann Perez, Staff Writer
Inactivity is a fighter’s worse enemy, Mike Reed is the exact opposite. It’s the beginning of July and Reed has fought three times this year already. In March, he won by TKO in the second. In May, he won again by TKO in the second, and most recently on June 13 he won by unanimous decision.
Reed is a hard working fighter, never getting out of shape, not just from his dedication, but also from his fight schedule.
Reed is a name you’ll see on your TVs soon, as he’s sure to headline a truTV fight card, and be back in the ring two to three more times before the year’s end.
Pick: Mike Reed – 2015 Record: 3-0, 2 KOs
Brandon Glass, Contributing Writer
It was almost a tie between Brook and Triple G, both avoided by many of their contemporaries, both fighting twice and winning each by stoppage in 2015 already.
But then I thought, Golovkin didn’t recover from serious injuries after being attacked with a machete before his 2015 run. Brook required life saving surgery after being stabbed once in the arm and three times in the leg.
The ease with which he’s been running through his opponents, you would likely forget if you even knew he was injured. That gives him the edge in my opinion. He’s been through a lot, but refuses to decelerate no matter what.
Pick: Kell Brook – 2015 Record: 2-0, 2 KOs
Mike Burnell, Staff Writer
Gennady Golovkin has fought twice this year and won both by knockout. The competition hasn’t been what we would like to see but in this instance it doesn’t seem to be of his choosing.
GGG is consistent, wants to provide fans with “big drama show” and fight anyone from 168 to 154. GGG is what is right with boxing at the mid-year.
Pick: Gennady Golovkin – 2015 Record: 2-0, 2 KOs
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
Again, I’m going to go with quality over quantity. While Gennady Golovkin has stopped two decent opponents in Martin Murray and Wille Monroe Jr., Sergey Kovalev beat one of the best in his division (Jean Pascal).
Golovkin and Kell Brook are solid picks, but I’m sticking with the Krusher.
Pick: Sergey Kovalev – 2015 Record: 1-0, 1 KOs
Other Nominees
Round of the Midyear
Consensus: Arreola vs. Harper Rd. 4
Round 12 of the Danny Garcia vs. Lamont Peterson bout.
Victory seemed to be on the table for either opponent in the final round and the two went toe-to-toe, landing shots to the body and the head to finish the fight in very dramatic fashion.
Pick: Danny Garcia vs. Lamont Peterson – Round 12
Lou Catalano, Senior Writer
As aesthetically displeasing as these two tugboats were to the eye, they were all sexy time in the ring. Wasting no time, they fired bombs at each other until Curtis Harper swallowed a rocket of a right hand from Chris Arreola.
From there, he basically spent a couple of minutes being bounced around the ring like the worlds largest pinball. Somehow, the dude never went down.
It may have been the Homer Simpson diet that kept him upright, or sheer will. Either way, he showed serious guts (pun intended) by not only surviving, but winging bombs of his own.
Pick: Chris Arreola vs. Curtis Harper – Round 1
Tony Calcara, Staff Writer
Round 10 of Keith Thurman vs. Robert Guerrero (any of the later rounds proved to be exciting). Would like to see these guys give it another go. That was exciting stuff.
Pick: Robert Guerrero vs. Keith Thurman – Round 10
Leann Perez, Staff Writer
The Battle of Ohio was at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Adrien Broner was on the run and constantly holding whenever Shawn Porter applied the pressure, which was ALL the time.
It was pretty obvious that Porter was the busier and more aggressive fighter than Broner. For the 12th round, both men came out the corner swinging, Broner finally exchanging and catching Porter with a left hook.
Porter planted his butt on the canvas and the MGM Grand erupted. The shock of seeing Porter’s first knockdown of his career, and especially after winning most of the rounds against Broner, made all fight fans go crazy.
Porter went on to win by decision, though he said that knockdown definitely caught him off guard, but didn’t affect him.
Pick: Shawn Porter vs. Adrien Broner – Round 12
Brandon Glass, Contributing Writer
After getting floored in the first round, severe underdog Curtis Harper traded and rocked the imposing Chris Arreola in a diamond-in-the rough style Heavyweight matchup.
Arreola pressed the issue in the first three rounds only to slow in the fourth, where Harper recognized the playing field was level.
Harper began to make his case as a legitimate threat, hitting Arreola with right hands, particularly a vicious uppercut, that had Arreola holding on for dear life as his footing left him mid-step. Arreola also had moments, thudding Harper with his own right hand behind the jab, the same way he caused the first-round knockdown.
Also a candidate for FOTY, but I believe this round encapsulated the intensity of a banger if a heavyweight fight that somehow went the distance.
Pick: Chris Arreola vs. Curtis Harper – Round 4
Mike Burnell, Staff Writer
It wasn’t pretty, but this round is why fight fans love to watch the heavyweights. Both guys let it all hang out, literally and figuratively, and launched missiles at each other for the entire three minutes.
What they lacked in speed they made up for with impact and the round could have easily ended with one shot.
Pick: Chris Arreola vs. Curtis Harper – Round 4
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
Chris Arreola vs. Curtis Harper has been the unexpected slugfest of the midyear and there were a few rounds you could argue should be round of the midyear.
Seeing Harper jump on top of Arreola in Round 1 made me fully concentrate on the bout and when Arreola put down Harper with a blistering right hand I thought it was all over.
But, Harper got up and showed that cojones don’t have to come with a six pack. He fired back with everything he could muster and somehow survived the first stanza. By Round 4, Arreola was rethinking his taco and horchata diet.
Round 4 provided some of the best back-and-forth action, starting with Harper rocking Arreola with left and right hooks to start the round. By the middle of the round, Arreola took control and pushed Harper against the ropes, landing his own hooks.
Pick: Chris Arreola vs. Curtis Harper – Round 4
