Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is ESPN’s Fighter of the Year according to boxing scribe Dan Rafael, and he’s a worthy choice. Alvarez made a boatload of money beating two big-name opponents, knockout artist James Kirkland and future Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto, and becoming arguably the biggest pay-per-view attraction in the sport.
Alvarez won the WBC middleweight title by beating Cotto, and is lined up for a unification showdown in 2016 with Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. Alvarez should not have won Fighter of the Year, however. The reason is no knock on Canelo—others simply had better years.
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Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez
Gonzalez has made himself a name fighter in the flyweight division, something that only happens for truly special talents. “Chocolatito” has found a home on Golovkin’s undercards, and his resume in 2015 is impressive. He’s 3-0 with three knockouts, and his battle with Brian Viloria was one of the best fights of the year.
Gonzalez is the new pick for many boxing insiders as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world now that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is “retired.” The fact that anyone is talking about a flyweight, and making dream matchups with him involved, speaks to the type of year he had.
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Gennady “GGG” Golovkin
Gonzalez’s new pay-per-view buddy should be the 2015 Fighter of the Year. Golovkin fought three times, and won all three by knockout, extending his KO streak to 21 fights, and his title defense streak to 15, five away from Bernard Hopkins’ record.
Golovkin also added to his belt collection when he knocked out David Lemieux and won his IBF strap. On top of those accomplishments, Golovkin fought the best competition of his career. Lemieux was considered the most dangerous opponent he had ever fought, and Martin Murray should have arguably been undefeated heading into the Golovkin bout.
Some will consider his still-questionable level of competition a black mark on his resume, but the fact is Golovkin sought bigger fights and was rebuffed. Money-wise, Golovkin made a career-high $2 million for facing Lemieux, and made $800,000 by NOT fighting Cotto.
Hard to say he’s not the Fighter of the Year.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Mayweather’s year was really something. He went 2-0, but didn’t do much entertaining in the ring. He made more than $300 million for a single fight, but he did that largely by price gouging the pay-per-view, charging fight fans $100 for the HD broadcast of his bout vs. Manny Pacquiao. Millions of casual fans tuned in to that fight, and it may take boxing years to draw them back in.
Mayweather’s year was a phenomenal success, but only for himself. Boxing suffered, and fans were forced to pony up for a dull affair that became a disgrace when Pacquiao revealed he had fought with a torn rotator cuff, and injured his shoulder two weeks before fight night. Because he did nothing to further the sport of which he was king, and “ended” his career by fighting a woefully overmatched Andre Berto, he gets dinged.
Mayweather gets an A+ for making money, but his year was nothing compared to Alvarez’s.
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