By Paul R. Jones!: Each year, East Side Boxing (ESB) announces the winners of our coveted ESBY awards.
And despite a year that was far from normal (e.g., Omicron tightening its grip, political unrest), we stayed true to our mission by recognizing boxing’s top fighters, fights, and knockouts of 2021.
So, dear readers, here is our list of winners and nominees for our 2021 ESBYS:
FIGHTER OF THE YEAR, MALE
🏆 WINNER
SAÚL ‘CANELO’ ÁLVAREZ
Winning ESB’s FIGHTER OF THE YEAR honors is no easy feat. Pulling it off twice over the past three years (2021, 2019) is the stuff of boxing legends. CANELO ÁLVAREZ did just that based on his stoppages of two unbeaten champs, Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant, and an over-matched mandatory, Avni Yildirim, in in 2021. ÁLVAREZ’s strength of schedule, activity level, and consecutive closeout performances made him a lock for this award, further showcasing why the Mexican badass is a surefire Hall of Famer.
NOMINEE
Oleksandr Usyk
NOMINEE
Josh Taylor
NOMINEE
Nonito Donaire
NOMINEE
Stephen Fulton Jr.
FIGHTER OF THE YEAR, FEMALE
🏆 WINNER
KATIE TAYLOR
KATIE TAYLOR, like Canelo Álvarez, is a two-time winner of ESB’s FIGHTER OF THE YEAR award (2018, 2021). Three defenses of her undisputed women’s lightweight title in 2021 were enough to distance TAYLOR from Claressa Shields in our voting, albeit by a razor-thin margin given the historical significance of Shields’s win over Marie-Eve Dicaire.
NOMINEE
Claressa Shields
NOMINEE
Amanda Serrano
NOMINEE
Jessica McCaskill
NOMINEE
Mikaela Mayer
FIGHT OF THE YEAR, MALE
🏆 WINNER
TYSON FURY KO11 DEONTAY WILDER
I thought I knew what the FIGHT OF THE YEAR was after watching Juan Francisco Estrada and Chocolatito González put on a record-setting performance in March. Some, including Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, even called Estrada vs. González-II, “The best fight I have ever seen!!”
But, boy, were we wrong. Fury vs. Wilder-III hit different.
With high stakes, five knockdowns, and a close fight on the scorecards going into the championship rounds, TYSON FURY and DEONTAY WILDER gave fans an instant classic. Bottom line. Fury vs. Wilder-III was too compelling to be denied top honors as the FIGHT OF THE YEAR.
NOMINEE
Juan Francisco Estrada SD12 Román ‘Chocolatito’ González
NOMINEE
Stephen Fulton Jr. MD12 Brandon Figueroa
NOMINEE
Josh Taylor UD12 José Carlos Ramírez
NOMINEE
Brandon Glanton SD10 Efetobor Apochi
FIGHT OF THE YEAR, FEMALE
🏆 WINNER
MIKAELA MAYER UD10 MAIVA HAMADOUCHE
Despite the abysmal scores turned in by the ringside judges overseeing MIKAELA MAYER’s 10-round UD win over MAIVA HAMADOUCHE, there was no denying that this fight was one of the year’s best irrespective of gender. Mayer and Hamadouche fought at a high level throughout, in nip-and-tuck affair, with WBO and IBF junior lightweight titles hanging in the balance. In fact, this unification fight might be one of the best that I’ve seen over the last decade, despite the inflated margin of victory attributed to Mayer. This fight easily earned our top spot as the FIGHT OF THE YEAR in Women’s Boxing.
NOMINEE
Shannon Courtenay UD10 Ebanie Bridges
NOMINEE
Katie Taylor UD10 Natasha Jonas
NOMINEE
Amanda Serrano TKO9 Daniela Romina Bermudez
KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR, MALE
🏆 WINNER
ÓSCAR VALDEZ KTFO10 MIGUEL BERCHELT
Although the 2021 crop of KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR candidates were admittedly weaker than in previous years, ÓSCAR VALDEZ’s flatline KTFO of former world champ MIGUEL BERCHELT was one of the best knockouts of the decade. The reigning WBC World Champ, VALDEZ, stiffened the oft-avoided knockout artist, BERCHELT, with a chilling left-hand finisher that registered as one of the year’s biggest surprises, and earned our nod for KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR.
NOMINEE
Gabriel Rosado KTFO3 Bektemir Melikuziev
NOMINEE
Brandun Lee KTFO3 Samuel Teah
NOMINEE
Joshua Buatsi KTFO4 Daniel Dos Santos
NOMINEE
Efe Ajagba KTFO3 Brian Howard
KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR, FEMALE
🏆 WINNER
ALYCIA BAUMGARDNER TKO4 TERRI HARPER
ALYCIA BAUMGARDNER’s knockout of former world champion, TERRI HARPER, was elegant in its simplicity: a well-timed right hand from BAUMGARDNER that left Harper out cold on her feet via delayed reaction. Not only was BAUMGARDNER’s win one of women’s boxing biggest upsets, but it was a shoo-in for our KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR.
NOMINEE
Sandy Ryan KO4 Leksandra Vujovic
NOMINEE
Amanda Serrano TKO9 Daniela Romina Bermudez
UPSET OF THE YEAR
🏆 WINNER
GEORGE KAMBOSOS SD12 TEÓFIMO LÓPEZ
Despite being undefeated, and earning his way into position as a mandatory challenger for TEÓFIMO LÓPEZ’s IBF strap, few oddsmakers gave 10-to-1 underdog, GEORGE KAMBOSOS, a snowball’s chance of beating LÓPEZ. But the brash Aussie talked the talk and walked the walk, lumping up and bloodying LÓPEZ en route to a split decision win in November. KAMBOSOS ability to silence his critics, knock off a rising pound-for-pound star, and scoop up the WBA, IBF, WBO, and WBC (Franchise) World Titles in the Big Apple were enough to sway our voting in his favor for UPSET OF THE YEAR.
NOMINEE
KIKO MARTINEZ TKO6 KID GALAHAD
NOMINEE
MAURICIO LARA TKO9 JOSH WARRINGTON
NOMINEE
SANDOR MARTIN MD10 MIKEY GARCIA
NOMINEE
YORDENIS UGÁS UD12 MANNY PACQUIAO
PROSPECT OF THE YEAR
🏆 WINNER
JARED “BIG BABY” ANDERSON
At 11-0 with 11 knockouts, JARED ANDERSON is rapidly becoming one of boxing’s preeminent knockout artists. With TNT in both hands, the 22-year-old ANDERSON laid waste to four opponents sporting a combined 60-4-3 record going into their bouts with “BIG BABY” in 2021. Given ANDERSON’s activity level and knack for producing highlight-reel knockouts, he’s our pick for PROSPECT OF THE YEAR.
NOMINEE
Brandun Lee
NOMINEE
Xander Zayas
NOMINEE
Fabio Wardley
NOMINEE
Alen Babic
BREAKOUT FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
🏆 WINNER
JARON “BOOTS” ENNIS
JARON ENNIS, one of boxing most talented fighters in years, made a smooth transition from blue-chip prospect to ESB’s BREAKOUT FGHTER OF THE YEAR. ENNIS displayed all the attributes a five-tool fighter, including a rare blend of ring IQ, speed, timing and precision, strength, and defense. Knocking out former world champ, Sergey Lipinets, and world title challenger, Thomas Dulorme, in 2021 made ENNIS an easy choice for this award.
NOMINEE
Janibek Alimkhanuly
NOMINEE
David Morrell
NOMINEE
Conor Benn
NOMINEE
Radzhab Butaev
MOST IMPROVED FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
🏆 WINNER
STEPHEN FULTON JR.
STEPHEN FULTON JR. came back from a COVID-19 diagnosis in 202O to have one his best campaigns yet in 2021. FULTON JR. out-dueled two undefeated young fighters in ’21 (Angelo Leo, Brandon Figueroa) to claim dibs on our MOST IMPROVED FIGHTER OF THE YEAR award.
NOMINEE
Conor Benn
NOMINEE
Jerry Forrest
NOMINEE
Ra’eese Aleem
NOMINEE
Luis Alberto Lopez
COMEBACK FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Photo © TOM HOGAN-HOGANPHOTOS/ GOLDEN BOY
🏆 WINNER
ROGER GUTIÉRREZ
The hard-nosed Venezuelan, ROGER GUTIÉRREZ, suffered a tough personal loss and even contemplated retirement back in 2018, before being talked out of it by those in his inner circle. All of these setbacks led to GUTIÉRREZ spending over a year out of the ring. However, 2021 saw GUTIÉRREZ run it back with one-time conqueror, Rene Alvarado, avenging his loss in the rematch and proving it was no fluke in the rubber match. These accomplishments earned GUTIÉRREZ our vote for COMEBACK FIGHTER OF THE YEAR.
NOMINEE
Andre Dirrell
NOMINEE
Andy Ruiz Jr.
NOMINEE
Karl Dargan
NOMINEE
Steve Geffrard
TRAINER OF THE YEAR
🏆 WINNER
EDDY REYNOSO
EDDY REYNOSO had a monster year in 2021. Under his stewardship, CANELO ÁLVAREZ, was the consensus FIGHTER OF THE YEAR, ÓSCAR VALDEZ landed the KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR, ANDY RUIZ JR. got back on track, and RYAN GARCÍA notched his biggest victory to date. REYNOSO is undoubtedly the TRAINER OF THE YEAR.
NOMINEE
Anatoly ‘Papachenko’ Lomachenko
NOMINEE
Derek “Bozy” Ennis Sr.
NOMINEE
SugarHill Steward
NOMINEE
Ben Davison
PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
🏆 WINNER
PREMIER BOXING CHAMPIONS (PBC)
PBC cranked out more compelling cards in 2021 than any other promoter, earning them our vote for PROMOTER OF THE YEAR.
NOMINEE
TOP RANK
NOMINEE
Matchroom Boxing
NOMINEE
Golden Boy Promotions
NOMINEE
Ring City USA
GUTSIEST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
🏆 WINNER
EBANIE BRIDGES
EBANIE BRIDGES fought valiantly against Shannon Courtenay, though she came up short in her bid for a vacant WBA World Bantamweight title. BRIDGES’ epic battle with Courtenay left the Australian with a gruesome eye injury, which BRIDGES “couldn’t see [out of] AT ALL rounds 9-10.” Despite looking more like a James Bond villain after sustaining the injury than her “Blonde Bomber” moniker, BRIDGES gutted it out and finished like a champ. Her effort earned our admiration and vote for the GUTSIEST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR.
NOMINEE
TEÓFIMO LÓPEZ
(lost his titles to George Kambosos, but saw the final bell despite sustaining deep cuts, swelling, and excess air in his chest that could have killed him, per a report from ESPN’s Mark Kriegel)
NOMINEE
Axel Aragon Vega
(was on pace to become boxing’s shortest world champ before breaking his hand versus Hiroto Kyoguchi)
NOMINEE
Christopher Pearson
(was ultimately stopped by Carlos Gongora, but fought valiantly with a badly swollen eye before the KO)
NOMINEE
Demond Nicholson
(survived 4 knockdowns to finish an 8 rounder vs. Edgar Berlanga, and broke Berlanga’s streak of consecutive 1st round knockouts)
WORST DECISION OF THE YEAR 🏆 WINNER
GABRIEL MAESTRE UD12 MYKAL FOX
We saved the worst for last. And this one was a bonafide ROBBERY, no cap.
MYKAL FOX dropped GABRIEL MAESTRE early, and owned the former Olympian for the remainder of the fight. This was easy work for FOX. But leave it to judges DAVID SINGH, JOHN MARIANO, and GLORIA MARTINEZ RIZZO to give the Marylander the shaft with the laughable scorecards of 114-113, 115-112, and 117-110 (respectively) in favor of MAESTRE. MAESTRE’s ‘win’ cost FOX a rightfully-earned Interim WBA Welterweight World title, easily qualifying this bout as the WORST DECISION OF THE YEAR.
NOMINEE
Juan Francisco Estrada SD12 Román ‘Chocolatito’ González
NOMINEE
Jermell Charlo SDRAW12 Brian Castaño
NOMINEE
David Adeleye DEC6 Kamil Sokołowski
NOMINEE
Campbell Hatton PTS6 Sonni Martinez
Did We Get It Right?
Don’t forget to let us know by leaving a comment below and ‘liking’ and retweeting this article on social media.
It would mean a lot to us.
Finally, I wish you all a Happy New Year and all the best in 2022!
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About the Author: Paul R. Jones! is a boxing writer and ringside photographer for East Side Boxing. A scientist by day and boxing writer by night, Paul covers the humorous, offbeat, and absurd from the sport of boxing. You can keep up with more of what Paul is thinking about on Twitter @boxingepicenter. You can also e-mail him at prjones1@hotmail.com.
More from Paul:
Which Fighters, Fights, And Knockouts Were Truly the Best Of 2020? East Side Boxing Hands Out Its 2020 Awards!
The “ESBYS”: Handing Out East Side Boxing’s 2019 AWARDS – Winners and Nominees!
EAST SIDE BOXING’s 2018 AWARDS: Complete List of Winners, Nominees, More!
ESB Best of 2017! Lomachenko, Crawford, Joshua, More!
ESB Best of 2016! Frampton, Thurman, Álvarez, More!
The Year in Review: Six Notable Fights in 2014 – Part I — Pacquiao, Hopkins, Froch, More!
