"It is a great honor to be voted by the BWAA as fighter of the year. To be recognized by this organization is special and I truly appreciate it," Mayweather said in a statement given to ESPN.com. "I also want to congratulate the other winners and also recognize my fellow nominees, whose achievements in the ring this past year afforded them nominations too."
Mayweather (45-0, 26 KOs), who turns 37 on Feb. 24, was as dominant as ever last year, easily outpointing interim titlist Robert Guerrero to retain his welterweight world title in May and doing the same against Canelo Alvarez in a junior middleweight unification fight in September. The Mayweather-Alvarez fight also shattered numerous financial records, including domestic pay-per-view revenue ($150 million) and live gate ($20 million).
"I have dedicated my whole career to being the best and because of that I have been on top for 17 years," Mayweather said. "Hard work and dedication got me there and awards like these help keep me there too. On behalf of myself and the entire Money Team, I thank you so very much."
The Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier Fight of the Year award went to the brutal slugfest between Timothy Bradley Jr. and Ruslan Provodnikov, who slugged it out in a dramatic battle on March 16 in Carson, Calif. Bradley was nearly knocked out in the first and second rounds and was knocked down in the final seconds of a fight, but he also dished out a lot of punishment in a fight that featured tremendous ebb and flow. Bradley won a close unanimous decision to retain his welterweight world title.
Stung by criticism that he was a boring fighter, Bradley said afterward that he had purposely tried to engage Provodnikov, a noted brawler, because he wanted to prove that he could be exciting.
"It's unbelievable. I can't even imagine, Timothy Bradley in a fight of the year," Bradley said after ESPN.com had informed him that he had won. "It takes two people willing to engage in that type of action so I gotta give major props to Ruslan Provodnikov for bringing the best out of me. We put it all on the line. We put our lives on the line. I hope that all the fans really appreciated that night.
"I have talked to so many different people who say it was the best fight they have seen in a long time or that it is the best fight they have ever seen, and I'm a part of it. Who would think Timothy Bradley would be in a fight of the year and win the fight of the year? It's a huge accomplishment."
Freddie Roach won his sixth Eddie Futch Trainer of the Year award, a BWAA record, thanks in large part to his work with Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto and Provodnikov.
Pacquiao rebounded to dominate Brandon Rios in November for a lopsided decision victory after having been knocked out in his previous fight in 2012. Working with Cotto for the first time, Roach had him well-prepared for his crushing third-round knockout of Delvin Rodriguez in October as Cotto shook off a two-fight losing streak and looked as good as he had in ages. Later in October, Provodnikov knocked out Mike Alvarado in the 10th round in Alvarado's hometown of Denver to win a junior welterweight world title. Although Roach was not in the corner on fight night because of another obligation, he trained Provodnikov for the bout.
"It's nice to be back in the mix. We had a bad year (in 2012) and we had a much better year (in 2013)," Roach told ESPN.com. "No. 6? I love being recognized for what we do but without the fighters I wouldn't be here."
Roach also won the award -- which is named for the late Hall of Famer Futch, Roach's mentor and trainer during his boxing career -- in 2003, 2006 and 2008-2010.
The Cus D'Amato Manager of the Year went to Al Haymon, whose list of clients is long and impressive, including Mayweather, junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia, welterweight titleholders Marcos Maidana and Shawn Porter, former welterweight titlists Adrien Broner and Devon Alexander, interim welterweight titlist Keith Thurman, junior welterweight contender Lucas Matthysse, junior featherweight titlist Leo Santa Cruz and top heavyweight prospect Deontay Wilder. All of them have earned career-high purses under the powerful Haymon's guidance.
Other awards:
The Barney Nagler Long and Meritorious Service award to boxing was a tie between Top Rank publicist Lee Samuels and famed broadcaster Colonel Bob Sheridan.
The Sam Taub award for excellence in broadcast journalism went to former two-division titleholder Paulie Malignaggi, who is still an active fighter but has blossomed in his role as a color analyst on Showtime and Fox Sports 1 boxing telecasts.
The Marvin Kohn Good Guy award will be collected by ring announcer Jimmy Lennon, who was also inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in June.
Former welterweight titleholder Paul Williams, whose career end abruptly when he was paralyzed from the waist down in a motorcycle crash in 2012, has kept an inspiring upbeat attitude and was voted winner of the Bill Crawford award for courage in overcoming adversity.
In previously announced awards, this writer was voted winner of the 2013 Nat Fleischer award for excellence in boxing journalism, a career achievement award that can only won once and is voted on by past winners, and Sandy Grady was selected as the A.J. Liebling award winner for outstanding boxing writing.
Winners will be honored at the BWAA annual awards banquet, which will take place in May or June at a site to be determined.
No comments:
Post a Comment