Kakutougi's Pick Your Best Of 2020 In Boxing

[K1power]

Due to the pandemic we've had a lot fewer events in 2020. This should make it easier to come up with any picks since there is a lot less to remember and select from.

That said we'll be doing this in similar fashion to previous years.
Before starting off with my own picks I'd like to see what you guys thought of the year.

Here are some categories to help you get started:

- Fight(s) Of The Year

- Upset(s) Of The Year

- Fighter(s) Of The Year

- Breakout Fighter(s) Of The Year

- Knockout(s) Of The Year

- Comeback(s) Of The Year

- Controversy(s) Of The Year

- Event(s) Of The Year

- Story(s) Of The Year

You can name a single favorite, do rankings or just share something that stood out to you in 2020.

We'll be doing this for kickboxing, MMA and boxing.

Let's kick this off!

[K1power]

Best of Boxing in 2020: CBS Sports highlights winners of Fighter, Knockout and Fight of the year

Fighter of the Year
Winner: Teofimo Lopez Jr. -- 1-0 (def. Vasiliy Lomachenko)



Second place: Tyson Fury 1-0 (def. Deontay Wilder)

Others receiving votes: Charlo edged out a crowded field for third place over Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez and Gervonta Davis. Charlo's clear decision win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko during September's loaded Showtime pay-per-view was enough for him to land in third place for the year.


Knockout of the Year
Winner: Alexander Povetkin knocks out Dillian Whyte



Second place: Gervonta Davis knocks out Leo Santa Cruz

Third place: Jose Zepeda knocks out Ivan Baranchyk


Fight of the Year
Winner: Jose Zepeda vs. Ivan Baranchyk



Second place: Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Carlos Cuadras II



Third place: Masayoshi Nakatani vs. Felix Verdejo



Others receiving votes: Teofimo Lopez vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko (October); Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez vs. Kal Yafai (February); Katie Taylor vs. Delfine Persoon II (August); Jermall Charlo vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko (September); Adam Lopez vs. Luis Coria (June)

www.cbssports.com/boxing/news/best-of-boxing-in-2020-cbs-sports-highlights-winners-of-fighter-knockout-and-fight-of-the-year/

[K1power]

It's later than I intended to do this, but here we go:

- Fight(s) Of The Year

Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury II

This was a big fight. The draw in their first meeting left a lot of people unsatisfied
While the rematch didn't end up being very competitive, it was a big show and Fury's performance was great.

Teofimo Lopez vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko

A very competitive and exciting fight. High volume from the first bell to the last.

- Upset(s) Of The Year

Teofimo Lopez vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko

To someone who doesn't closely follow boxing, a fighter like Lomachenko seems a bit like a mythical beast to me. A fighter that doesn't lose nor really ever gets in trouble.
When someone like that actually does lose it always leaves an impression. Lopez put his name in the history books by slaying the beast.

- Fighter(s) Of The Year

Tyson Fury - The way he took out Wilder was just crazy impressive to me.
Teofimo Lopez - If defeating Lomachenko doesn't put you on this list, what will?
Mike Tyson - Coming back to the sport after 15 years at age 54. That in itself is crazy. Looking good in the process against another legend? That's something else entirely.

- Breakout Fighter(s) Of The Year

Since I'm mostly paying attention to boxing's heavyweight division, I'm going with Joe Joyce.
He has no losses and defeated Daniel Dubois, who was my pick in this category last year.
The only downside is that Joyce is 35 already, so if he's making a title run he needs a big fight soon.

- Knockout(s) Of The Year





- Comeback(s) Of The Year

Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr.

While it's a comeback for both fighters and they both looked good, Tyson's comeback is the more impressive one here; he's older, has been away for longer and looked stronger physically.
Furthermore, this wasn't just a one-off for him and he intends to do more fights this year.

In terms of a fighter turning around a fight or coming back out of a career slump no examples come to mind.

- Controversy(s) Of The Year

To me it's the trend of social media influencers getting to fight alongside serious contenders. I'm very much against it. Mike Tyson was defending it as a way to get more eyes on the sport, but I'm not buying that.
It's nothing more than a temporary spike in views. When their YouTube hero isn't fighting, the vast majority of casual viewers will tune out.

- Story(s) Of The Year

Sadly this will be a recurring theme, but the story of the year is pretty much the same one for everything 2020; the influence of COVID-19.
We've had less events/big fights because of it, but I feel like boxing was not affected quite as heavily as kickboxing and MMA. This could just be my perception though. It'll be interesting to see how things develop over 2021.
As far as COVID victims in boxing go; Alexander Povetkin got it late in 2020 and seemingly still suffers from te results.
With the rollout of the vaccines here's hoping things will improve in 2021 and no more careers will be ruined by the virus.

To not end on a negative note I will mention that Mike Tyson's comeback is definitely a story of the year for me;
From the rumors, to the training footage to the actual event; Tyson's comeback got a lot of attention, the PPV did well, he may finally end up keeping some of that money for himself and he intends to do more fights.

This concludes my boxing picks, what are yours?