While every year boxing fans argue over what round was the best or who had the best fight or knockout, boxing fans should be more than satisfied with how great 2012 was. Boxing has welcomed new boxing superstars with Adrien Broner, Brandon Rios, Canelo Alvarez and Danny Garcia. While many still had hope for a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight, 2012 ended any hope of it happening. As with most years, boxing has lost some great ones, Emanuel Steward, Bert Sugar and Carmen Basilio to name a few. Boxing also said farewell to Larry Merchant covering fights for HBO while Showtime possibly had better network fights than HBO this year. Drug testing became a hot topic in the boxing world and watching some of our favorite fighters get stopped or knocked out was common. (I’m looking at you Hatton and Pacquiao) In the end, 2012 was a very good year and here is a list of the 12 biggest stories of 2012.
12. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr tests positive for weed–
The talk leading up to the Martinez-Chavez Jr fight was how Chavez Jr had been protected, he had not fought anyone of substance, he was living off his fathers name and for the most part, it was all true. However, Arum and Top Rank finally figured it was time to see if Chavez Jr were all those things he was called or if he could actually hang with the best in his division. Enter Sergio Martinez, many fans felt Martinez was just the right age to succumb to the pressure and power of the younger Chavez Jr, however after 11 rounds of dominating his younger foe, Martinez was on his way to a one sided beat down. Then came the final round- Chavez Jr found some of his fathers heart and almost beat the p4p Martinez as he dropped the Argentinean twice in the final round; Martinez would make it to the final bell and win by unanimous decision but the final bell had fans calling for a rematch no matter how one sided the previous 11 rounds had been.
While the fight itself didn’t quite live up to the hype, the 12th round made up for it. However even with the drama of the final round very few expected what came next. Chavez Jr. tested positive for marijuana.
Perhaps the positive test was masking something more serious Chavez was doing but the fact that Chavez Jr tested positive for weed was just simply unprofessional. Chavez Jr has already been caught for using a diuretic in Nevada, he is now looking at a lengthly suspension in Nevada. While Chavez Jr can and most likely will fight in Mexico where US suspensions hold no ground add the fact that Chavez also seemed to blame everyone but himself proves his unwillingness to take anything he does seriously only further proves he is far from being loved and adored even a hair as much as his father.
11. Timothy Bradley MIA–
! While Timothy Bradley has not been a house hold name many felt that even in a loss to Manny Pacquiao would raise his stock if he made it a competitive fight. A win and one would assume that Bradley could pretty much pick his opponents from here on out. No one could have expected Bradley to win a controversial decision then go into hiding. The decision was a bit hard to swallow but for Bradley to stay fairly silent since the fight seems as if he felt he lost as well. Perhaps just as Bradley stayed silent after his refusal to fight Amir Khan the previous year, he knows what he is doing. However, while he may know his next move, Marquez has knocked out Pacquiao, Brandon Rios and Adrien Broner are the next big names in boxing and even Lamont Peterson and a drug suspension is getting back in the ring all while Bradley continues to sit idly by as everyone moves on.
10. Freddie Roach losing his golden touch–
There was a time when Roach and a majority of his fighters seemed to be untouchable, from Pacquiao to Khan to Chavez Jr, Roach had his fighters clicking on all cylinders but like all good things, they come to an end. While Roach has lost fights before this past year, his string of losses had not been as consistent. One could argue that his losses started with the shocking Khan loss in December of 2011 to Lamont Peterson. From that loss Roach only had Chavez Jr. win once in April then subsequently lost to Sergio Martinez. Amir Khan coming off his loss to Peterson was then stopped by Danny Garcia in June. Khan then parted ways with the hall of fame trainer. If matters couldn’t get worse, Roach’s prized pupil Manny Pacquiao lost a surprising split decision to Timothy Bradley in June and then was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez. If you add his help with the US Olympic Mens boxing team and their pathetic no medal showing, Roach is probably very happy to see 2012 be done. If there was a bright spot, it would be his boxing hall of fame induction but sadly that induction came a day after Pacquiao was beat by Bradley.
9. Top Rank and Goldenboy go head to head in Las Vegas–
There is no secret that Top Rank and GBP are not too fond of one another and so it should be no surprise that the two juggernaut promotional companies would host fights in the same town. That day came this past September when Top Rank had Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. face Sergio Martinez at the Thomas & Mack center in Las Vegas while Goldenboy was down the road the same night with their rising superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez facing the exciting Josesito Lopez. While both companies had the right weekend to host two big fights in the same city, it should never happen. Boxing has enough issues already with Showtime and HBO having fight cards the same night and now it has moved to pulling their loyal fan base to choose between two big fights in the same town. It’s just wrong. Sadly the hardcore boxing fan will not stop watching or paying for the fights because this is the sport many of us choose to love. Promotional teams may not care about the fans and that’s sad, sometimes being a boxing fan is just plain hard.
8. Nevada Courts allow Floyd Mayweather to fight before doing jail time–
Now, I or anyone should never try and stop anyone for trying to make a clean living but for what Mayweather was facing and how it seemed to be handled in Nevada seems a bit odd. Mayweather, I do not believe is a bad guy, just a individual that has had his fair share of run ins with the law. Mayweather was facing battery charges and was allowed to have a suspended sentence in order to fight. If this was an unfortunate incident and Mayweather’s first brush with the law it could be one thing but it was not and if that was your “average joe” being charged with the same crime I highly doubt the justice system would be as understanding. In the end, Mayweather paid his debt by spending 90 days behind bars, but it is still a head scratcher that he was able to get his sentence postponed just for a fight that was 90 plus days away. I guess money does talk…
7. PACQUIAO goes down…..and so does the Mayweather-Pacquiao chatter–
There was a time not too long ago when a Pacquiao-Mayweather match up was the rage of the boxing world, hell even non boxing fans were asking and expecting the match up of the current p4p best boxers in the world to fight. Many felt that with both fighters being on the end tail of their career they would finally get in the ring sometime in 2013. However, while Mayweather has never had a fight in his career that deserved a rematch (other than Castillo) Pacquiao has had a foe in his career that he could never seem to shake. Juan Manuel Marquez. Marquez known as a boxing technician had faced Pacquiao 3 previous times that never really seemed to go his way. That all changed this past December as Marquez not only beat Pacquiao, he knocked Pacquiao out cold. It was a fight that many have called not only the fight of 2012 but the knockout of 2012. Along with the massive knockout not only did the dream match up fade but also Pacquiao’s p4p status. In boxing you can never say never with match ups (anyone remember Jones Jr-Hopkins 2?) but a Mayweather-Pacquiao match up now is very very far from what it was 2-3 years ago and it will never be what it should have been.
6. Fighters weight issues–
Now boxers failing to make weight is not a new thing but in 2012 big fights with big names being overweight seemed to be common place. Adrien Broner and Brandon Rios were two fighters this past year who failed to make weight. While Rios and Broner moved up in weight class after the fact, it does not mean that giving up money should be the answer. Big name fighters such as Rios and Broner know far in advance who they are fighting and at what weight, yet they still come in over. Broner’s fight with Vicente Escobedo almost did not happen because of the weight issue. Broner not only failed to make weight on Friday but then also failed the agreed upon weight the following day. Its unprofessional and should be treated with a punishment that fighters are scared to be issued with. However weight issues is just one of many things that boxing needs to work on in 2013 and beyond
5. 50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather create “The Money Team”
Even when Floyd Mayweather is behind bars he seems to make some noise… and what noise it was, 50 Cent announcing he and Mayweather were creating their own boxing promotional team. From the beginning many wondered how powerful TMT would be, with fighters such as Andre Dirrell and Yourioris Gamboa already being signed, TMT seemed poised to be a major player in the boxing game. Then Mayweather got out of jail and that was all she wrote. TMT never got off the ground. It seemed as though 50 had got a bit ahead of himself, he and Mayweather not only failed to actually be an official promotional company, 50 and Mayweather were no longer good friends as they displayed on HBO 24/7. 50 Cent is now promoting on his own under the name, SMS Promotions and Mayweather is doing Mayweather, whatever that may be. While it may have seemed too good to be true, it was a very intriguing collaboration, as 50 is a heavyweight in the rap game and has proven to be a fairly savvy businessman, while Mayweather had the star power to carry the TMT team as De La Hoya did with Goldenboy promotions, TMT could have been a nice third powerhouse promotional company.
4. USA Mens Olympics boxing team fails to bring home a medal–
USA Mens Olympics boxing has had fighter with names such as Cassius Clay, Ray Leonard, Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather and Andre Ward. USA boxing in the past almost always had a few medalist, however since the Sydney Olympics, boxing has seen it’s dominance disappear. 2004 was the last Gold medalist and 2008 US boxing brought only one medal back from the games. While Olympic boxing has went through it’s own changes, US boxing also switched up it’s training and trainers. Freddie Roach was brought in to help out the team and while the US had high hopes with the only three time olympian Rau’shee Warren, US came back empty handed. While the inaugural women’s team brought back two medals including a gold, many were disappointed how bad the mens side had shown. To add further insult to the poor showing, Showtime broadcasted a number of the 2012 team’s first “official” fight, this past fall. While there is nothing wrong with the support the fighters are getting, this was a team that did not deserve hype. Here’s to 2016.
3. Paul Williams paralyzed–
In sports, injuries happen. Torn ACL, broken arm, pulled hamstring, but few injuries if any compares to losing your ability to walk. Bones and muscles heal, ligaments can get repaired but being paralyzed is unfortunately something that science has not been able to fix. Paul Williams had just signed a contract to fight the hot Mexican fighter Canelo Alvarez on Mexican Independence weekend when he crashed his motorcycle that sent him into the air and landing head first into the ground. While boxing is just a sport and few will argue life is more important with or without the ability to walk, for boxing fans, the Williams tragedy is a hard pill to swallow. A fighter that was known for his high work rate, willingness to face all fighters and the uncanny ability at 6’1 to fight anywhere from 147lb to 160lb is almost unmatched. However even though boxing has lost the fighter Paul Williams the world has gained the man Paul Williams. Williams was adored and loved by many as a fighter but now he is giving the people more to love and appreciate with his will to face his new challenge head on. Hakuna Matata.
2. VADA catching PED users/cheaters–
It’s been said that cheaters never win and if that is the case then VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association) should be a welcomed site in professional sports. However, after VADA caught not just one but three different fighters with PEDs in their system, VADA was not congratulated with a pat on the back or a vote of confidence by the boxing world. Instead they were criticized for their handling of the the situations, failing to inform certain individuals of the positive drug tests and basically for not allowing fights to go on which in turn cost certain promotional companies a good amount of money.
However, what has seemed to be lost in the whole conversation is the health of the two individuals that step inside the ring; health has taken a back seat to how many zero’s are at the end of the check and going into 2013, it doesn’t seem to be as if it is going to change. VADA for all their hard work and damn good testing seems to be blackballed in boxing. VADA should be the ONLY administration fighter work with, yet many are opting for USADA.
A company that by comparison does not have the same track record as VADA, yet for some interesting reasons still get to test fighters. While USADA may have best intentions to rid sports of PEDs, they seem to be acting with other intentions and backhanded agreements. All the while, VADA has the right drug testing to catch cheaters, boxing and the promotional organizations are looking the other way, saying the right things yet acting in a completely different way when push comes to shove. Perhaps a death or the Government indicting a fighter or trainer once again for PEDs will get other fighters and their promotional companies to stop just saying but also do the right things.
1.Orlando Cruz comes out–
A couple weeks ago Major League Baseball All-Star outfielder Torii Hunter stated that he would be uncomfortable having a gay teammate. Imagine how Hunter would feel if he had to get in the ring and get his ass kicked by an openly gay man.
Orlando Cruz came out as being gay, the first openly gay active fighter or major athlete for that matter. While there have been athletes that have came out after their playing careers were over, no major male athletes have came out until Cruz. Boxing can be argued as being the toughest sport there is but nothing could be tougher than what Orlando Cruz faced before he came out and nothing could be more satisfying for someone to be open with one’s own sexuality. His personal life choice may not be what Torii Hunter agrees with but Cruz is being true to himself and no matter what anyone else thinks or believes, Cruz is at peace, and that’s something no one can take away from him. Gay, straight or otherwise.