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HBO Boxing Insider 2017
Year-End Picks:
Favorite Moments
By Nat Gottlieb
Let’s close out the year with one of our top contributing
writers Nat Gottlieb’s picks of favorite moments. Gottlieb
dished out his picks for HBO and Pound4Pound is proud to
post them here for our faithful readers.
Check out these moments as seen through the eyes of sports
writer and novelist Nathan Gottlieb:
Fight Of The Year: Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko
Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko did more for the
heavyweight division in their one grueling battle than any
other pair of heavyweights have done in years. A dethroned,
aging champion in Klitschko, and a young, undefeated
thoroughbred in Joshua, put on a show for the ages. Knocked
down in round five, Klitschko rose to his feet and returned
the favor by dropping Joshua in round six. Somehow the young
champ weathered the storm. After trading leather over the
course of the next five rounds, Joshua knocked Klitschko
down twice in round 11 to earn a TKO victory. That was the
bitter end for the longtime champion Klitschko and signaled
the beginning of what could be a long reign for the
28-year-old Brit.
Fighter Of The Year: Andre Ward
It’s hard to give a fighter the year’s best honor when he
fought just once in 2017, but in this case Andre Ward is the
exception to the rule. With his convincing and devastating
dismantling of former champ Sergey Kovalev. Ward proved he
should be sitting atop the light heavyweight division as
well as the list of pound-for-pound fighters. After Ward
defeated Kovalev in their first meeting in 2016 by a razor
thin unanimous decision, many felt the Russian power puncher
was robbed. In the rematch this June, Ward answered any
questions lingering from their first fight with a systematic
beatdown of Kovalev, stopping him in the eighth round.
Round Of The Year: Salido vs. Roman, Round 8
The nod here goes to the eighth round of the Miguel Roman
vs. Orlando Salido war on December 9. Relying on years of
experience and sheer guts, Salido somehow managed to take
Roman into the latter rounds after being knocked down in the
fourth round. Then in the 8th came a round for the ages. A
stinging left hook from Roman put Salido down hard. Although
the aged veteran got to his feet, it seemed there was no way
he would make it to the end of the round. But in what turned
out to be the final blaze of glory for the 37-year-old,
former two-time featherweight champion, Salido turned the
tables on Roman and beat him from pillar-to-post for the
remainder of the round. As the bell sounded, the Las Vegas
crowd rose to its feet and roared with appreciation for the
gutsy display of fighting from both men.
KO Of The Year: Lemieux TKO Stevens
Apparently, Curtis Stevens did not get the memo about never
trading hooks with David Lemieux. In the third round Stevens
connected on a left hook, but Lemieux countered with an
overhand right and then followed it right up with a short,
but powerful left hook that crumbled Stevens to the canvas
flat on his back. Stevens remained unconscious for a long
stretch before being removed from the ring on a stretcher
and taken to a hospital. It was one of the most brutal
knockouts of the year.
Blow Of The Year: Sor Rungvisai’s right hook on Chocolatito
Call it boxing’s version of the shot heard around the world.
For years Roman Gonzalez was considered the best in the
game. But then last March, Thailand’s Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
won a tight majority decision over him. Six months later in
the rematch, Sor Rungvisai stunned the boxing world in the
4th round by landing a monstrous right hook that dropped
Gonzales. Somehow Gonzalez managed to get back up. Still
wobbly, the Mexican briefly tried to trade punches with the
Thai until a right hook by Sor Rungvisai put him down for
good. That first knockdown blow changed the landscape of
boxing.
Breakthrough Fighter Of The Year: Miguel Berchelt
Most boxing fans had probably never heard of the
hard-punching super featherweight Miguel Berchelt. With no
big names on his resume, Berchelt was flying under the
radar. That all changed when he stepped into the ring with
then undefeated champion Francisco Vargas last January. It
looked like a war for the first six rounds, but Berchelt’s
heavy blows eventually wore down the champion and the fight
changed into a beat down, culminating with an 11th round KO.
Following up that eye-opening fight, Berchelt took on former
super featherweight champion, Takashi Miura, in July. This
time Berchelt dominated his opponent over 12 rounds to win a
unanimous decision by a wide margin. Although a fractured
right thumb on his right hand put Berchelt on ice for the
remainder of the year, boxing fans will be eager to see the
budding star in 2018.
Best Corner: Abel Sanchez and Tom Loeffler
The team of trainer Abel Sanchez and promoter Tom Loeffler
of K2 Promotions combined for two of the most thrilling
fights of the year. Sanchez and Loeffler got their
undefeated boxer Gennady Golovkin ready for two supreme
tests in 2017. In March, Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs put on a
sensational show before a packed house at Madison Square
Garden in which GGG won a close but unanimous decision. The
same team matched up Golovkin and Mexican superstar Canelo
Alvarez in Las Vegas in September. It was one of the most
anticipated bouts in years, and although it ended in a
controversial draw, it didn’t disappoint for excitement.
Loeffler also promoted two more great fights in 2017. In
April, he put on the heavyweight battle between longtime
former reigning champion, Wladimir Klitschko and rising star
Anthony Joshua at London’s Wembley Stadium. It was a
fantastic fight with a spectacular finish, as the American
slugger knocked down Klitschko twice in the 11th round to
earn a TKO victory. Loeffler capped his year in September
when he promoted the eagerly-awaited rematch of Roman
Gonzalez and Thailand’s Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. It too
proved to a terrific fight, with the Thai boxer knocking out
the former best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Favorite Moment:
The fight between superstars Gennady Golovkin and Canelo
Alvarez was the crowning achievement of HBO’s year. HBO’s
ongoing coverage leading up to the fight was spectacular and
captured the imagination of boxing fans around the world.
The fight itself proved to be everything it promised to be.
It was as well done of an event as there was in boxing, an
elite moment.
We hope you enjoyed Gottlieb’s 2017 picks. To check out
Gottlieb’s series of mystery novels log on to
www.nathangottlieb.com
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