411's Prizefighter of the Month: November '09
Posted by Matt Knowles on 12.05.2009
The 411mania boxing staff takes a look back at the month-that-was for November '09...
Welcome back Fight Freaks!
The month of November was quite eventful, with pay-cable/PPV events on every single Saturday throughout the month. Titles changed hands, upsets were a-plenty, and a living legend added another new notch to his historic belt!
Here are the 411mania unified rules:
*** Each staff member picks five prizefighters and ranks them. A point value is then assigned to each of those rankings. Here is how it breaks down:
*** The fighter with the most cumulative points becomes our Prizefighter of the Month. New point values are then assigned to each combatant in the top 5, which count towards the tally for Prizefighter of the Year. Those point values are:
5. Yuri Foreman - Pulled off a semi-upset of Daniel Santos to claim his first belt and did it in dominating fashion. It was also the first Foreman fight that I can remember being watchable which earns the man bonus points. If that's not enough, Top Rank and Roach are trying to use him as a bluff against Mayweather. Pretty good month for the Lion of Zion.
4. Koki Kameda - Eastern boxing doesn't get much respect from the Western press but Kameda's victory of Daisuke Naito deserves recognition. This 23 year old outboxed Naito in one of the biggest fights in Japanese history. Kameda is slick, charismatic, and brash and is already one of the biggest sports stars in Japan. Their's already a bout in the works for him to fight Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in another Asian super fight.
3. Lucian Bute - Goes to show you what type of month November was if Lucian Bute can only grab the third spot. He silenced any doubters with his brilliant performance against Librado Andrade. It goes without saying that Lucian Bute and the eventual winner of the Super Six must meet in the ring.
2. Andre Ward - His domination of Mikkel Kessler was one of those rare performances when you realize a star is being born right before his eyes. Ward had some detractors during the early stages of his career and they must feel foolish after his dissection of the odds on favorite to win the tournament. It's going to be very hard to ever go against Ward, again.
1. Manny Pacquiao - Every time, Manny goes up in wait we're foolish enough to ask if he can handle the punches. Is it safe to say we don't have to ask that question ever again? He took the best shots of a true bruiser and not only kept going but seemed to get stronger while Cotto withered against Pacquiao's aggression. The only question left for Manny is whether he can beat a skilled counterpuncher like Floyd Mayweather. For the love of god, make it happen.
Ryan the Rhino
1. Manny Pacquiao – Seven. Need we say more?
2. TIE: Andre Ward – I knew he was going to beat Kessler, but how dominant he was going to be I couldn't have predicted that. Using swift footwork and skillful angles, Ward boxed Kessler into frustration and made him the dominant American favorite, and one of the favorites to win the whole thing. Your final fight in the Super Six will be Ward/Abraham. Mark it.
2. TIE: Lucian Bute – I tried figuring out who was more impressive, Ward or Bute, and frankly I came to an impasse. Like Ward, I knew he was going to beat Andrade, but again, how dominant he was going to be I couldn't have predicted that. I anticipated an easy decision, but I did not anticipate two clean, crisp, on-the-button punches to put down the granite-chinned Andrade. Did Librado Andrade deserve the rematch after the abysmal 12th round in the first fight? Absolutely. Moral of the story: Be careful what you wish for.
4. Yuri Foreman – As much grief as people give this kid for being uber-technical, after his third round with Daniel Santos he kicked it up a notch a la Emeril Lagasse (BAM!) and showed that he can come after a fighter with aggression. Combine that with an exceptional back-story, and you have a fighter who may have a short reign as middleweight champion, but a fun one.
5. Ali Funeka – Et tu, Canada? If Paulie Malignaggi wasn't fighting in a few weeks, I'd say these two should commiserate together over a beer and a Brooklyn style pizza pie. Ali Funeka handily won his fight against Joan Guzman (AKA Mini-May), yet got chopped and screwed by a majority draw. These judges made Gale Van Hoy look... well, I won't say competent. Maybe "not retarded" is what I'm looking for. Point being, even if Canada doesn't recognize the win, we at 411mania.com do.
Joseph Roche
5. Yuri Foreman - I don't think that Daniel Santos brought much in the way of competition for Foreman, but that doesn't take away from the historic accomplishment that he achieved on the Pacman-Cotto undercard. He was on the biggest stage, and he delivered. I had my doubts, and was on the record as saying there was no way he'd beat Santos, and boy was I wrong. I don't think the fight was very good but Foreman was the best that I'd ever seen him and he deserves credit for his performance.
4. Lucian Bute - I have trouble ranking Bute much higher on the list because I didn't think what he did was that surprising. I had predicted a victory for Bute, and before the fight began I made a wager that it wouldn't go past the 8th round and that's exactly what happened. I know there was controversy in his first fight with Andrade but Bute was easily the best fighter the first time around, and he was the better fighter this time. It was still an impressive showing, and Bute has a very real position as the top super middleweight in the world right now but it wasn't enough to bypass my top 3.
3. Chad Dawson - My how quickly we forget. Chad Dawson had one asterisk on his unblemished resume and it was a controversial to some victory over Glen Johnson. So Dawson and Johnson meet for the second time and not only does Dawson answer his critics but he handily defeats Glen Johnson over the course of 12 rounds in a fight that many people struggled to find more then one or two rounds to give "The Road Warrior." Sure there are questions about how good Johnson is at his age, but those questions only came up after Dawson handed him his lunch. It was Mayweather-esque performance where Dawson was simply superior in every facet of the game and couldn't have possibly lost that fight. I think I was more impressed with Dawson then others and that might be due to the fact that I was there.
2. Manny Pacquiao - Some controversy in not slotting him higher but he beat a guy that he was supposed to beat. Was it an all time impressive performance? Yes, but not an upset.
1. Andre Ward - Virtually untested Ward goes into the ring with the man considered the best super middleweight in the world and essentially beats the bag out of him. Mikkel Kessler wanted no part of Andre Ward, and he essentially handed over his super middleweight world championship without putting up much of a fight. This was an old fashioned beat down and an upset to boot so for that reason Andre Ward gets my top nod of the month.
Ali Shakoor
1. Pacman- His best performance in a legendary career. Nobody can dispute his greatness now.
2. Andre Ward- He fought the fight of his career, and in front of his hometown. Considering all of the various pressures and the quality of opponent, it was a star making performance.
3. Lucian Bute- Awesome performance. Nobody had ever hurt Andrade like that, not even close. Just a beautiful performance of speed and clean punching.
4. Ali Funeka- He was dominant over an undefeated fighter, should have won a lightweight belt, and was robbed in the worst decision I remember seeing in recent years. Something has to be done about this corruption.
5. Koki Kameda- In one of the biggest fights in the history of Japan, this undefeated flyweight beat the tough, rugged Daisuke Naito. Naito was a very good champion, but Kameda outboxed him to take the strap. Kameda is only 23.
Matt Knowles
1. Manny Pacquiao: Another big fight, another world championship, another chapter in the ongoing PacMan history book. The showdown with Money Mayweather may determine the best fighter of the new millenium.
2. Andre Ward: Oakland's newest sports star shook-up the Super Six tourney by thoroughly dominating Mikkel Kessler. Jermain Taylor is in some serious trouble!
3. Lucian Bute: Canada's favorite son got his vindication by destroying Librade Andrade inside the distance. Anyone interested in a Bute-Dawson showdown next year?
4. David Haye: Great Britian's finest trash-talker backed up his words as he dethoned Valuev to claim a slice of the heavyweight pie.
5. Chad Dawson: The light heavyweight champ earned another big win, albeit in boring fashion, against Glen Johnson. Now, it's time for Bad Chad to take on some younger, faster opponents.
Ramon Aranda
1. Manny Pacquiao - Beautiful performance by an all time great.
2. Andre Ward - Upset Kessler and made it look easy. He has arrived.
3. Lucian Bute -looked like a world beater in destroying Librado Andrade
4. Chad Dawson -exercised his Glen Johnson demons by outclassing him in the rematch
5. Ali Funeka -despite getting shafted worse than a pornstar, he proved he's a major threat to anyone at lightweight.
- - - - -
Here are the results of the November poll….
Koki Kameda takes the honorable mention nod for his title-winning effort….
Yuri Foreman and Ali Funeka tied for 5th place for their 12-round performances…
Chad Dawson grabs the clean-up spot for dominating Glen Johnson….
Lucian Bute ranks #3 for his sensational KO win over Librado Andrade….
the runner-up spot goes to Ande Ward for his thrashing of WBA champ Mikkel Kessler….
and the 411mania Prizefighter of the month for November '09 is the one, the only, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao for earning a world title in his 7th weight class by stopping WBO welterweight champ Miguel Cotto in round 12
- - - - -
Here are the new year-to-date standings…as you can see, Pacquiao's two PFOTM accolades have put him in the lead for the Prizefighter of the Year award!
1st place: 30 points - Manny Pacquiao
2nd place (tie): 21 points – Arthur Abraham
2nd place(tie): 21 points - Andre Ward
15 points – Floyd Mayweather
15 points – Miguel Cotto
15 points – Eddie Chambers
15 points – Juan Urango
12 points – Vitali Klitschko
12 points - Wladimir Klitschko
12 points – Kermit Cintron
12 points – Joseph Agbeko
12 points – Timothy Bradley
12 points: Yonnhy Perez 9 points - Lucian Bute
9 points - Chad Dawson
9 points – Chris John
9 points – Amir Khan
9 points – Juan Manuel Lopez
9 points – Roy Jones Jr.
9 points – Yonnhy Perez
9 points – Tomasz Adamek
6 points – Michael Katsidis
6 points – Derric Rossy
6 points – Andre Berto
6 points – Paulie Malignaggi
6 points – Yuriorkis Gamboa
4 points – Robert Guerrero 3 points – David Diaz
3 points - Yuri Foreman
3 points - Ali Funeka
3 points – Joshua Clottey
3 points – Toshiaki Nishioka
3 points – Devon Alexander
3 points – Carl Froch
1 point – Mikkel Kessler
1 point – Alfonso Gomez
1 point – Marcos Maidana
1 point – Jorge Arce
1 point – Miguel Vasquez
1 point - Koki Kameda
Looking forward to the fight: the best offensive boxer (Pacquiao) vs the best defensive pugilist (Mayweather).
Two years ago, i would favor Mayweather with a UD victory . . however, now, with momentum on Pac’s side (KO or TKOs in his last 4 fights against bigger opponents), i now look forward to him winning either by split decision or by KO.
Keys will be: (1)Power shots from awkward angles (not the straight line shots that defensive specialists pick on) . . both right and left hand i.e. Mayweather has never been dazed with his excellent defense, however, it only takes a couple of good power shots (Pac will get his moments) and we may finally know the extent of Floyd’s brilliance or his downfall; (2) Pac Monster has already been in wars that will serve him well when the going gets tough e.g. future hall of famers Barrera, Marquez, Morales, Cotto (including common opponents Hatton and Oscar . . both of which were blasted by Pac! Interestingly, Hatton gave a couple of difficult rounds against Mayweather and past-prime Oscar almost having a win. Granted that Mayweather easily beat Marquez – the betting odds were correct "4:1 favorite" from the slow moving/bulk up Mexican fighter who was unsuccessful moving up two weight classes); (3) Mayweather camp potentially under-estimate the Pac-man (e.g. one dimensional fighter, no skills, has been beaten/ko'd, can be cut, pick your potential excuses, etc) – they will get a suprise. The hubris of “0″ defeat may prove an illusion. Just like we see in basketball, football, some teams go "0 losses" during elimination and then meeting up with a team with a few defeats early on but won the last 4 games. "Boom" - the team with immaculate record during elimination got beat on the play-offs or finals against a hungry/focused/determined foe with momentum on his side.
Its good to have strong views from either side. That will ensure this fight will be a tremendous commercial success.
Will Mayweather's defensive wizardry be too much for the Pac Man? Will Floyd be able to glide/move, use effectively his height/reach advantage and hit his accurate pot shots all night? or Will Pac Monster and his current momentum (with the eye for history) be the blitzkreig that smashes the aura of Floyd's invincibility? and will Pac with his power shots in awkward angles together with right timing get to sneak past Money may's defense and create a KO? That will be answered, hopefully (i.e. since this fight has not yet been finalized) March 13th! Lets get this on . .
Posted By: hanson (Guest) on December 06, 2009 at 12:27 AM
how is mayweather not even on your guys list, your stupid and you suck
i wish i had abs
Posted By: Guest#4008 (Guest) on December 06, 2009 at 12:20 PM
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