So, anything interesting happen in the fight game this year?
Who's going to be the best of the best?
It’s only been nine months since Premier Boxing Champions debuted on March 7, but it feels like a lifetime of fistic action has been packed into those scant days. Between all the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it knockouts and drawn-out nailbiters, it’s difficult to pick just one fighter, moment or punch that embodies everything great about the sport in that time.
Which is where you and your click-happy little fingers come in. Below, we’re looking for your votes for Fight of the Year, Rising Star of the Year, Knockout of the Year, Round of the Year and Fighter of the Year.
So take a little trip down your boxing memory lane, from the roller-coaster ride of Edwin Rodriguez vs Michael Seals to the all-out brawl of Leo Santa Cruz vs Abner Mares to brilliant up-and-comers such as Julian Williams and Errol Spence Jr. to unforgettable rounds, such as Andrzej Fonfara and Nathan Cleverly pummeling each other in the seventh.
You make your picks, and the results will air December 19 on NBCSN during the Best of PBC 2015 broadcast.
We’ll also be busy making our selections. Which is tough, because it’s like trying to pick a favorite child. (It’s totally Stephen, but we hate to admit it.)
Come on back to see where we landed with our editor’s picks:
• Monday, December 21: Round of the Year
• Tuesday, December 22, Rising Star of the Year
• Wednesday, December 23, Knockout of the Year
• Thursday, December 24, Fight of the Year
• And on Friday, December 25, your gift under the tree is our Fighter of the Year.
Speaking of which, let’s take a look at the candidates:
Jermall Charlo: In three fights since March, Charlo beat Michael Finney, won a 154-pound world title over Cornelius Bundrage and defended it against Wilky Campfort. Not a bad eight-month stretch.
Leo Santa Cruz: In the signature win of his career, Santa Cruz pulled out a tough majority decision over Abner Mares on August 29 in front of a wild Los Angeles crowd in what was a Fight of the Year candidate.
Danny Garcia: He dispatched Lamont Peterson in April and made his 147-pound debut against Pauilie Malignaggi in August to keep his unbeaten record intact and announce himself as a force to be reckoned with in a stacked division.
Daniel Jacobs: How do you follow up a late stoppage of Caleb Truax and a second-round TKO over Sergio Mora? Just by winning the defining fight of your career in dramatic fashion, is all. Jacobs ran the table in 2015, culminating in a stunning first-round TKO of Peter Quillin for Brooklyn supremacy this month.
Shawn Porter: Speaking of signature wins, Porter got his in June over Adrien Broner in a masterful 12-round performance. He also notched a brutal fifth-round knockout of Erick Bone in March.
Keith Thurman: Thurman headlined the inaugural Premier Boxing Champions event in March with a win over Robert Guerrero, knocking "The Ghost” down for the first time in his career. He backed it up with a stalwart effort over Luis Collazo in July, when he was able to gut out some serious punishment and come back and stop the former world champ in the seventh.
Deontay Wilder: The Bronze Bomber picked up a heavyweight title in January by beating Bermane Stiverne and defended it twice over the course of the year. First he took out Eric Molina, who couldn’t get out of the ninth, then he beat tough-as-nails Johann Duhaupas, who finally succumbed in the 11th.
