By David Martinez / dmboxing.com
I have assembled my personal choices in boxing for the past year, 2018, in six major categories. Picks are solely my opinion, and I sincerely respect and welcome the opinions of others – thank you!
FIGHTER OF THE YEAR:
Oleksandr Usyk (16-0 / 12 by KO) IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO Cruiserweight Champion
1-27-18 / vs. Mairis Briedis (26-0) / MD 12
7-21-18 / vs. Murat Gassiev (23-0) / UD 12
11-10-18 / vs. Tony Bellew (30-2-1) / KO 8
*** Runner Up’s:
Vasiliy Lomachenko (12-1 / 9 by KO) WBA/WBO Lightweight Champion
5-12-18 / vs. Jorge Linares / TKO 10
12-8-18 / vs. Jose Pedraza / UD 12
Naoya Inque (17-0 / 15 by KO) WBA Bantamweight Champion
5-25-18 / vs. James McDonnell / KO 1
10-1-18 / vs. Juan Carlos Payano / KO 1
FIGHT OF THE YEAR:
12-3-18 / Murat Gassiev vs. Yuniel Dorticos / TKO 12
*** Runner Up’s:
11-3-18 / Miguel Berchelt vs. Miguel Roman / KO 9
9-14-18 / Jose Carlos Ramirez vs. Antonio Orozco / UD 12
ROUND OF THE YEAR:
6-30-18 / Alex Saucedo vs. Lenny Zappavigna / Round 4
*** Runner Up’s:
12-1-18 / Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury / Round 12
4-7-18 / Jarrett Hurd vs. Esislandy Lara / Round 12
KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR:
3-24-18 / Dillian Whyte vs. Lucus Browne / Round 6
*** Runner Up’s:
10-7-18 / Naoya Inoue vs. Juan Carlos Payano / Round 1
12-8-18 / Teofino Lopez vs. Mason Menard / Round 1
UPSET OF THE YEAR:
8-5-18 / Eleider Alvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev / KO 7
*** Runner Up’s:
3-17-18 / Antonio Lozada vs. Felix Verdejo / KO 10
4-15-18 / Christofer Rosales vs. Daigo Higa / TKO 9
PROSPECT OF THE YEAR:
Teofimo Lopez (11-0 / 9 by KO)
*** Runner Up’s:
Murodjon Akhmadaliev (5-0 / 4 by KO)
Giovanni Cabrera-Mioletti (14-0 / 5 by KO)