Final pound-for-pound rankings of the year for 2013

12/26/201312/26/2013 James Slater

floyd780 2013 was a very good year for boxing by and large, and the elite operators of the last 12 months really had a chance to show their class. The mythical but always interesting/debatable/essential pound-for-pound rankings saw some old stars remain where they were, whilst some new stars burst into the charts.

Guys like Mayweather, Klitschko and Ward continued to enjoy lofty positions P-4-P, while gifted boxers Guillermo Rigondeaux, Mikey Garcia and Danny Garcia proved their worth in bringing some new blood into the rankings of many boxing publications.

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Vitali Klitschko is all but retired – where does “Dr. Iron Fist” rank amongst the all-time heavyweight greats?

12/24/201312/23/2013 James Slater

vitali4 (2) As fans know, Vitali Klitschko recently vacated his WBC heavyweight title and declared how he “cannot imagine” a ring return “as things stand now.” So, it seems there is a good chance that at age 42, the elder Klitschko brother has fought his last fight in the ring and can now retire from boxing, his contributions to the sport in the history books.

And Vitali achieved a lot in his 17-year pro career (that included a near four-year inactive period from 2004 to 2008), including winning both the WBO and the WBC crowns. As tough as nails and in possession of one of heavyweight boxing’s most reliable chins, Vitali punched his way to a fine 45-2(41) ledger. The two losses came about due to injury, and what’s more, Vitali was winning both bouts on the scorecards before a shoulder injury forced his retirement against Chris Byrd and before a savagely cut eye forced his retirement against Lennox Lewis.

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Gutsy Stuey Hall joins Froch, Quigg and Burns as British world champions with thrilling year-end classic Vs. Malinga

12/22/2013 James Slater

You could argue Great Britain saved the best for last in terms of terrific action fights staged in 2013. Last night in Leeds, 33-year-old Darlington man Stuey Hall battled his way to the IBF bantamweight title in an incredibly exciting and at times brutal encounter with South African southpaw Vusi Malinga.

Hall, an unlikely world title challenger, fought through the pain and hindrance of a badly busted up left eye to out-point 34-year-old Malinga in a fight that could be argued as the best to have taken place in the UK this year. After decking his man in the 3rd, Hall had to dig deep to see it through to the end. The two warriors went toe-to-toe and inflicted as much hurt as they could on each other. The heart and courage shown by both was truly remarkable.

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2013 Year End Awards: Fighter of the year, KO of the year, Fight of the year, Upset of the year

12/20/2013 James Slater

002 Mayweather vs Canelo IMG_9443 It’s that time of the year again: when fight fans take a look back at what went down in the fistic calendar. 2013 was, in many years one of the best for boxing in a long time. We saw some great action fights, we saw some superb displays of The Sweet Science, we saw a number of electrifying KO’s and we saw our share of controversy.

That said, this writer now gives his picks for the recipients of the following awards:

Fighter of the year. Fight of the year. KO of the year. Upset of the year.

See what you think:

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Vitali Klitschko may have vacated the WBC crown, but it could soon be back in the Klitschko family…

12/18/2013 James Slater

Wladimir aims to become undisputed heavyweight king

wladimir67 As fight fans have almost certainly read by now, Vitali Klitschko has vacated the WBC heavyweight title due to his political ambitions and has been declared The Champion Emeritus by the governing body. This news excited fans who crave a competitive heavyweight title fight, as they can now look forward to seeing two young studs battling for the vacated green belt.

There has already been talk of how Bermane Stiverne, the WBC number-one contender, could face either unbeaten banger Deontay Wilder for the vacant belt, or maybe Stiverne could face the experienced Chris Arreola for Vitali’s old crown. However, those fans who feel the WBC belt will be the property of one of these guys for long had better think again – because Wladimir, Vitali’s baby brother, has announced it is his intention to add his sibling’s old belt to his Ring Magazine, IBF, WBO, IBO and WBA crowns.

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Maidana punishes Broner – a hype job exposed, or can Broner bounce back?

12/15/201312/15/2013 James Slater

There is nothing quite as satisfying in the sport of boxing as seeing a brash loudmouth silenced, especially when the big mouth is closed by a humble, likeable warrior like Marcos Maidana. And last night in San Antonio, boxing’s biggest mouth was well and firmly shut tight as “El Chino” dropped would be superstar Adrien Broner twice, frequently hurt and wobbled him and at times came close to running Broner clean out of the ring.

Coming into the fight, Broner, a talented boxer that had yet to pass a genuine acid test, was expected by most to win yet he was well beaten by the stronger, more experienced and harder hitting Argentine slugger. Maidana can now enjoy some big paydays as the defending WBA welterweight champion, yet most of the headlines pertaining to last night’s fight have been written about Broner; such is the appeal of the story of the arrogant, some say genuinely nasty fighter having been exposed and humbled.

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Remembering thrilling warrior Ezra Sellers – the former IBO cruiserweight champ passes away at age 45

12/14/201312/12/2013 James Slater

EZRA EZRA In sad news, it has been reported (though not widely) how always-exciting cruiserweight warrior Ezra Sellers passed away earlier today due to heart problems that only recently surfaced. The 45-year-old who lived in Pensacola, Florida was a humble fighter who let his fists do the talking and fellow fighters such as Roy Jones Junior and Al “Ice” Cole have expressed their sadness at Ezra’s unexpected passing.

Turning pro as a heavyweight after a brief amateur career, Sellers was matched with a 5-0 Bruce Seldon in August of 1989. The future WBA heavyweight champ was a little too much for the green Sellers, stopping him inside two-rounds in Atlantic City. After taking some time to take stock, Ezra, as determined as ever, return to the ring in 1992, winning three fights by quick KO before being TKO’d in the 4th-round by a little-known fighter named Ed Thompson in ‘93.

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Boxing legend Mike Tyson banned from entering UK – London book signing scrapped

12/10/201312/10/2013 James Slater

tyson5754434 U.K fight fans who were looking forward to meeting heavyweight legend Mike Tyson this week in London will be disappointed by the news that Tyson has been banned from entering the UK due to a change in UK immigration law.

According to a news story in today’s Independent newspaper, Tyson has had to scrap his planned book signing at Waterstones book store and will instead appear in Paris, France to fulfill his UK media obligations.

Tyson was to have appeared in London this week to meet with the press and then with the public for the book signing. But now plans to promote his book “Undisputed Truth” have had to be changed.

“There was a change in the UK immigration law in December of 2012 of which we were unaware,” a spokesman for HarperCollins told The Independent. “For this reason Mike has had to change location to Paris to salvage his press obligations for the UK.”

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Thrill-a-minute slugger James Kirkland is BACK!

12/08/201312/08/2013 James Slater

kirkland644 After having endured 21-months of frustration and inactivity (both at least partly brought on by himself), always-exciting southpaw slugger James Kirkland returned to doing what he does best last night in Atlantic City: giving fans of a slugfest just what they want. In brutalizing a brave and previously unbeaten Glen Tapia, Kirkland came back in a quite roaring fashion.

All over Tapia from the opening bell like the proverbial cheap suit, Kirkland gave fans a sizzling value for money performance. Kirkland threw everything at Tapia and expended a ton of energy in doing so. Tapia? he showed a ton of heart in taking all that came his way. In the end though, Kirkland, as he did in that other thriller with Alfredo Angulo, broke Tapia’s heart. Pounding his man in a corner in the 6th-round of a fight of the year candidate, Kirkland would not be denied and referee Steve Smoger had no choice but to dive in.

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De La Hoya, Trinidad and Calzaghe all headed into The Hall of Fame – all three greats fully deserving of the honour

12/05/201312/04/2013 James Slater

de la hoya464588 The list of the next great fighters (and writers, promoters, photographers, etc) set to enter The Hall of Fame has been announced. To the dismay of absolutely nobody, ring greats Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad and Joe Calzaghe head the newest inductees.

The special Hall of Fame weekend will take place next June and all three retired greats are sure to be there to make speeches and meet and greet the fans. Also to be inducted are: Barry Hearn, promoter, Richard Steele, referee, Graham Houston, writer, and Neil Leifer, photographer. Also to be inducted are: George Chaney, Charles Ledoux and Mike O’Dowd in the old-timers category, and Tom Allen in the pioneers category.

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