Kakutougi's Pick Your Best Of 2021 In Boxing

[K1power]

You guys know the drill. 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 2021.

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

Let's kick this off!

[K1power]

I'm finally doing these in time for once!

- Fight(s) Of The Year

I'd probably have to go with Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk. It's the one big boxing fight this year I actually tuned in live for and that entertained me from start to finish. Looking forward to their rematch, which will probably happen next year.

I feel like a lot of people will mention Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder III, but since I've only seen clips of that fight I can't just put it on my list based off that.

- Upset(s) Of The Year

George Kambosos Jr. defeating Teofimo Lopez. Some fightfans might have been predicting this outcome, but I sure couldn't have. A quick turnaround of the situation for Lopez, losing all the belts he won by defeating Lomachenko.

Also wanted to mention Yordenis Ugas defeating Manny Pacquiao, effectively retiring him.

- Fighter(s) Of The Year

Oleksandr Usyk - Coming in from competing at a lower weightclass, clearly being the smaller man and still being able to take care of business against Anthony Joshua speaks volumes about his skill level.

- Breakout Fighter(s) Of The Year

George Kambosos Jr. At least for more of a casual boxing fan like myself, upsetting Teofimo Lopez definitely put him on my radar.

I also wanted to mention Yoshiki Takei, who's really been taking care of business so far. Hasn't had a huge fight yet, but he's definitely climbing the ladder.

- Knockout(s) Of The Year





- Comeback(s) Of The Year

Vasyl Lomachenko. After his surprise loss to Teofimo Lopez in October of 2020, Lomachenko came back strong with a stoppage victory over Masayoshi Nakatani and a decision over Richard Commey.

- Controversy(s) Of The Year

For me it's once again the circus fights. YouTubers fighting (non-boxers!) in high profile boxing events, Vitor Belfort fighting 59 year old Evander Holyfield and so on.

Just to clarify, I don't mind Anderson Silva or Frank Mir in boxing, because as far as I'm concerned they're in more appropriate matchups. I don't mind crossover fights at all, but matchmaking is everything.

There are probably bigger issues in the sport of boxing, but this is what annoys me.

Oh, also this lol:



- Story(s) Of The Year

Aside from COVID still affecting everything, for me it was probably the story about Gaku Takahashi being badly beaten and hospitalized after a car crash. For those who missed it, you can read the full story here. Unfortunately there has been very little in terms of health updates, but I hope he's doing better now.

So what are your boxing picks?

[K1power]

CBS | Best of Boxing 2021