RealSport’s Boxing Awards 2017: Top 10 fighters of the year

by Lance Morris
Here are our top ten fighters of 2017, taking into account their quality of opponent(s) and the level of expectations they had from fight fans going into the year. Honourable mentions to George Groves, Jorg
e Linares, Chris Eubank Jr., Badou Jack and Caleb Truax…

Enjoy!

10 Errol Spence Jr.

The prospect everyone had been talking about showed he was the real deal in 2017. It was only the one win, but a class performance against Kell Brook where he ultimately took control of the fight before Brook had to retire because of an eye injury. Spence showed patience, speed, power and most importantly maturity that night. He looks good enough to take on anyone at 147lbs!

9 Keith Thurman

Only the one win, but it was a big one. A unification fight against Danny Garcia was billed as a potential ‘fight of the year’ candidate. Turns out Thurman was a level above his very talented opponent. He out-boxed Garcia on the way to a relatively comfortable decision win, and cemented himself as the best welterweight in the division as of right now.

8 Jeff Horn

Difficult one to ignore, as Horn’s upset win over Manny Pacquiao was clearly one of the biggest wins in recent history. However, many ringside observers thought that ‘Pac-Man’ was robbed of a victory Down Under. What can’t be denied is how gutsy a performance Horn gave against all the odds, roughing up the Filipino legend and fighting back after he looked on the verge of being knocked out.

7 Terence Crawford

What can he not do? Whether he’s defensive, offensive, orthodox or southpaw, Crawford finds a way to dismantle opponents and make it look easy.

His stoppage win over Felix Diaz, though commanding, didn’t contribute that much to his inclusion on this list. His third round knockout of fellow world champion Julius Indongo, however? That was enough. Indongo was a scarily awkward proposition, undefeated and coming off classy wins against Troyanovsky and Ricky Burns. Crawford ended that run with a killer body shot, proving once again that good fighters were not going to get close to competing with him.

6 Mikey Garcia

An almost forgotten man in the sport, after his long contractual layoff, Garcia proved in 2017 that he should be placed amongst the elite. A devastating knockout of previously undefeated Dejan Zlaticanin was followed by a supremely dominant shutout of Adrien Broner. Neither opponent were the test Garcia needs to form his legacy, but in 2017 Garcia proved he was not only back, but better than ever.

5 Andre Ward

A controversial decision win over Sergey Kovalev in 2016 meant the rematch was necessary for Ward’s legacy, and despite some added controversy in the rematch, he cemented his place among the greats.

Ward has never attracted a large crowd, being a quiet guy with a defensive style of boxing. However, when you just focus on what he can do in the ring, Ward is masterful. He stepped up a division, went after the most-feared fighter in it, and made him keel over and quit. He rode off into the sunset of retirement an undefeated champion.

4 Anthony Joshua

The future of the heavyweight division as many pundits labelled him in 2016. This was the year the future became the present, as ‘AJ’ won a dramatic fight over future Hall of Famer Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium.

The fight demonstrated the best and worst of Joshua, as he proved his sheer power was too much but also had his immaturity as a professional fighter exposed. After knocking down the Ukrainian in the 5th round, Joshua quickly ran himself out of gas, and was downed too in the next round. Then he showed some nous to store up some energy, and leaped on Klitschko in the 11th, finishing him off and winning my choice for ‘fight of the year’.

His win over Carlos Takam was far harder than expected, but Takam showed immense toughness to keep going, and harder tests are likely needed to keep Joshua motivated. Joshua-Wilder next summer, for the divisions mantle… hopefully.

3 Gennady Golovkin

This was not Golovkin’s smoothest year, but his placement on this list demonstrates why he’s viewed as one of the best talents to grace the ring in the 21st century. His two fights, Danny Jacobs and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, were both close, but most ring observers thought he won both. When you consider the calibre of his opponents too, seen as the best in the middleweight division, you can’t take him off this list.

The ‘mega-fight’ with Canelo is the one people will remember from this year when looking back, and for good reason. It was a clash of the two best middleweights of their generation, and although it was not an all-out war, it was a highly entertaining clash. It ended in a controversial draw, with most journalists and fans believing that Golovkin did enough to edge the fight on points. Golovkin was on a destructive KO run until 2017 where he failed to knockout either opponent, he was made to look human, but that’s ok. We now know Golovkin can take it to top-level opponents, and that’s more important than a knockout streak.

2 Vasyl Lomachenko

After every fight it becomes harder to find a more talented boxer in the sport right now, than ‘Vasyl NoMas-Chenko’. In all three fights he fought and won in 2017, he made his opponent or the corner representing them throw in the towel and quit. That is a hard thing to do in a sport that is based on pride and an image of strength.

We could break down the Sosa, Marriaga and Rigondeaux fights but there really is no need, in many ways they were all the same. Lomachenko used his incredible combination of power and boxing skills, notably his footwork, to dominate his opponents and break their will mentally. He made them believe it was simply impossible to beat, or even hurt him.

The Rigondeaux fight seemed unfair because of the Cuban’s need to step up two weight classes, but in reality it was the skill and speed of Lomachenko which beat him. The Ukranian is still only 29, but now in his prime and settled as a pro he needs more major fights this upcoming year. Crawford, Garcia, Linares? Make it happen for the fans!

1 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai

Probably the least heard of name on this list at the start of 2017, my Fighter Of The Year is Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. He shocked the boxing world back in March, defeating Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez by majority decision. Gonzalez, previously the undisputed king and pound-for-pound star at super flyweight, was dropped in the opening round but the two battled it out in a slug-fest to a tight decision, which the judges controversially gave to Rungvisai.

As a result of the entertainment and controversy of the first fight, a rematch was made, with Rungisvai leaving no doubt this time. With a devastating series of blows, Rungisvai knocked out the man who many viewed as the best in the sport at the start of 2017. He’s now scheduled to fight Juan Francisco Estrada in a title defence that also has the potential to be an all-action fight.

Who was your fighter of 2017? Let me know in the comments below…

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Tags

ANTHONY JOSHUA, GENNADY GOLOVKIN, KEITH THURMAN, VASYL LOMACHENKO
Lance Morris
WRITTEN BY
Lance Morris
Full-Time student, currently studying Political Science at the University Of Birmingham. Fell in love with boxing watching Pacquiao-Marquez and old Muhammed Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard fights. Also a passionate Watford FC and Carolina Panthers fan.

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