With only a few days left in 2005, it's time to look back at the past
year. 2005 was a great year for some fighters, and a year others would
like to forget. For some fighters it was a year that had its ups and downs.
Here's a look at some fighters who will always remember 2005, and some who
will try and forget the past year. Here's also a look at some who had both
their ups and downs in 2005.
Those who will remember 2005...
1- 
Ricky Hatton- Hatton had a year that he will never forget. He stayed
unbeaten and shocked pound for pounder Kostya Tszyu in June, becoming the
world super lightweight champ. He then capped the year by adding the WBA
belt with a KO of Carlos Maussa. Hatton added to world title belts,
including the distinction of knocking off the recognized 140 pound champion.
2- Diego Corrales/Jose Luis Castillo- One of the most memorable things of
2005 was the two Corrales-Castillo fights, especially the first one. These
two fighters will forever be linked to this year, and will forever remember
2005.
3- Antonio Tarver- Tarver started the year by avenging his loss to Glen
Johnson. He capped the year by winning his rubber match with Roy Jones Jr.
Just to add icing on the cake, Tarver landed a role as Mason Dixon in the
upcoming Rocky 6 movie. Certainly a year that the Magic Man will remember.
4- Jermain Taylor- Two wins over Bernard Hopkins makes for a pretty
memorable year. Taylor went from prospect to undisputed middleweight
champion in 2005.
5- Floyd Mayweather Jr.- Floyd continued his dominant reign with his biggest
win coming over Arturo Gatti. Mayweather was one of the few pound for
pounders that didn't slip up in 2005.
6- Jeff Lacy- Lacy continued his reign as IBF super middleweight champion
with three dominant defenses against Rubin Williams, Robin Reid, and Scott
Pemberton. The Lacy train kept rolling in '05, and he has big plans for '06
with a scheduled bout up coming with Joe Calzaghe.
7- Zab Judah- Judah has had a long road since losing to Kostya Tszyu, but he
finally made it back when he avenged a loss and knocked out Cory Spinks in
February to win the undisputed welterweight title. Judah also added an easy
victory over Cosme Rivera. A memorable 2005 for Judah, the question will be
is Floyd Mayweather in Zab's plans for '06.
8- Antonio Margarito- Margarito got some much deserved recognition earlier
in the year when he destroyed Kermit Cintron on ESPN's first PPV event.
Margarito continued to show he's a force in 2005.
9- Zahir Raheem- Raheem shocked the world, and many Los Angeles boxing fans
when he upset Erik Morales earlier this year. A win that surely made 2005 a
memorable one for the former Olympian.
10- Roman Karmazin- Karmazin made 2005 memorable when he shocked Kassim Ouma
for the IBF junior middleweight crown. He also rose up in '05 and showed
that he's a player in the division.
11- Israel Vazquez- Vazquez closed the year in grand fashion with a TKO win
over rival Oscar Larios. The win made Vazquez the undisputed super
bantamweight champion.
12- Rafael Marquez- Marquez continued to be the top dawg amongst the little
guys. He continued his reign as bantamweight champion with wins over Silence
Mabuza and Ricardo Vargas.
13- Lamon Brewster- Brewster emerged as one of the top heavyweight titlists
in 2005 with impressive wins over Andrew Golota and Luan Krasniqi. With
Jessie Reid now in his corner, Brewster was one of the few heavyweights who
had a nice 2005.
14- Martin Castillo- Castillo also continued his title reign in the 115
pound division. Castillo added a victory over former titlist Eric Morel. A
memorable year Castillo in his first full year as a champion.
15- Humberto Soto- Soto shocked a lot of people when he upset phenom Rocky
Juarez to win the WBC featherweight title. A title belt and a huge upset
make 2005 a memorable year for Soto.
16- Jorge Barrios- Barrios shocked a lot of people by the way he destroyed
big time prospect Mike Anchondo to win the WBO junior lightweight title. He
followed that up with with a promotional deal with Golden Boy and two more
wins in his homeland of Argentina.
Those who would like to forget 2005...
1-
Bernard Hopkins- Two back to back losses for B-Hop. Enough said. But, the
way Hopkins lost the fights makes 2005 a year that he would like to forget.
2- Kostya Tszyu- Kostya saw his reign as junior welterweight champion end at
the hands of Ricky
Hatton. Something that Tszyu would like to forget ever happened.
3- Johnny Tapia- Tapia was knocked out by a body shot by a guy named Sandro
Marcos, who had a record of 24-13. For anyone who saw the fight, a sad sight
to see for this once exciting, great champion. In Tapia's other two fights
he managed to eke out wins against the likes of Frankie Archuleta and Nicky
Bentz.
4- Roy Jones Jr.- If 2004 wasn't bad enough for Roy, he added to it in 05.
He lost again to Antonio Tarver, and looked overmatched in doing so. Like
'04, 2005 is a year that Roy and his supporters would like to forget.
5- Chris Byrd- A frustrating year for the IBF champ. Byrd expressed
frustrations with his promoter Don King, frustration with not being able to
set up heavyweight unification fights, and had fights fall through
everywhere he turned. His only fight of '05 was a snoozer against DaVarryl
Williamson.
6- Cory Spinks- Spinks was knocked out by Zab Judah early in the year,
losing his welterweight title. Then he fell off the map, not fighting again
for the rest of the year. 2004 was a year to remember for Spinks, but 2005
was one to forget.
7- John Ruiz- The heavyweight snooze fest suffered two defeats and on the
second try finally lost his world title. He first lost his belt to James
Toney, but got it back when Toney tested positive for Steroids. He then went
to Germany, and lost to little known 7 foot giant Nicolay Valuev. To top
matters, he also severed ties with his vocal manager Norman Stone.
8- Vivian Harris- Harris lost his WBA junior welterweight title in shocking
fashion when he was knocked out by little known Carlos Maussa. This after he
had called out nearly everyone in the division. A very forgettable 2005 for
Harris.
9- Felix Trinidad Jr.- Tito lost all his come backing momentum when he was
dominated by Winky Wright. Winky made Tito look like an amateur for most of
the fight. After the loss Tito went back into retirement. A year to forget
for Tito.
10- Kassim Ouma- Right after signing a big promotional deal with Golden Boy,
Ouma went out and got shocked by Roman Karmazin, losing his IBF junior
Middleweight title.
11- Kermit Cintron- Cintron saw his phenom status get thwarted when he was
decimated by Antonio Margarito on the ESPN PPV earlier in the year. Cintron
is now slowly starting the climb back. Certainly 2005 is a year that Cintron
would like to erase.
12- Mike Anchondo- The 130 pound phenom came into the year on fire winning
the WBO 130 pound crown. He then gave up the title on the scales going into
his fight with Jorge Barrios, and to top it off looked horrible in getting
destroyed by Barrios.
13- Vernon Forrest- Forrest continued to get nagged by injuries and
continued his turtle like climb back up the rankings. All Forrest was able
to do was muster wins against the likes of Elco Garcia and Sergio Rios. The
Viper's slow progression made 2005 a forgettable year.
14- Juan Manuel Marquez- A frustrating year for one of the sports best
unnoticed stars. Marquez was hoping to land a big money rematch with Manny
Pacquiao, or land a fight with Marco Antonio Barrera. Instead his only fight
of 2005 was with Victor Polo.
15- Carlos Hernandez- 'Famoso' suffered two very controversial decision
losses in 2005. First he lost a questionable split decision to Jesus Chavez.
Then he got flat out robbed losing a decision to Bobby Pacquiao. A tough
year for 'Famoso' in '05.
Those who were both Up and Down in 2005...
1- 
Vitali Klitschko- Klitschko went into the year as heavyweight champion.
He then got saddled with injuries which forced him to postpone his scheduled
fight with Hasim Rahman three times. Rather than rehab again, Klitschko
chose to retire.
2- Erik Morales- 'El Terrible' began the year with a huge victory over Manny
Pacquiao. He then came down when he was shocked by Zahir Raheem in Los
Angeles.
3- James Toney- Toney defeated John Ruiz to become the WBA Heavyweight
champion. For a short period of time Toney had gained another world title.
Shortly thereafter Toney was stripped of the belt when he tested positive
for steroids. Definitely an up and down year for Toney.
4- Rocky Juarez- 2005 started promising for Juarez as he destroyed former
world champion Juan Carlos Ramirez, and finally gained a world title shot.
But, it went down when Juarez was upset by little known Humberto Soto for
the WBC featherweight title.
5- Winky Wright- Winky hit a huge peak when he scored an easy win over Felix
'Tito' Trinidad. But, like in the past Winky could not get a big fight
afterwards. He moved up to middleweight and defeated Sam Soliman in
uneventful fashion.
6- Jesus Chavez- Chavez started strong with a big split decision win over
Carlos Hernandez. He then won a world title, but the competitor he fought to
win the title Levander Johnson, died after the fight. Certainly an up and
down year for the 'Matador.'
7- Brian Viloria- Viloria's year was more of a down to up year. He began the
year with a win over Ruben Contreras, but was mortified to find out that
Contreras had fallen into a coma after the bout, and was fighting for his
life. Thankfully, Contreras survived the ordeal, and Viloria bounced back
winning his first world title with a 1st round KO of Eric Ortiz to win the
WBC flyweight title. Viloria dedicated the fight to Contreras.
8- Fernando Vargas- Vargas started the year with high expectations. He came
in with a new style and a new trainer (Danny Smith). But, he scored two
uneventful wins over Raymond Joval and Javier Castillejo, which kind of
thwarted his expectations. To top it off Vargas and his camp were also
frustrated by the WBC for overlooking them and awarding the WBC 154 lbs.
belt to Ricardo Mayorga. Vargas was originally slated to fight Castillejo
for the same belt. Better things could be in store for Fernando as he has
Shane Mosley lined up for 2006.
9- Shane Mosley- Like Vargas, Shane started the year with high hopes and a
new trainer (John David Jackson). He was hoping to regain his old form, but
instead looked dull with two uneventful wins over David Estrada and Jose
Luis Cruz. Like Vargas, better things could be in store for Shane in 06, as
he has a fight with Vargas lined up.
10- Robert Guerrero- 'The Ghost' was cruising along most of the year with
some impressive wins, moving up the rankings, and gaining exposure. But,
Guerrero ran into a fork in the road when he was upset by Gamaliel Diaz late
in the year.
11- Jose Luis Castillo- Castillo lost an epic battle with Diego Corrales
earlier in the year. In the rematch, Castillo failed to make weight sparking
controversy going into the fight. But, Castillo did cap the year with an
impressive KO win over Corrales in the rematch.
12- Diego Corrales- Certainly an unforgettable year for Chico. His comeback
win over Jose Luis Castillo in the first fight will be remembered for a long
time. But, Castillo took a little downer when he was knocked out by Castillo
in the rematch.
Questions? Comments?
Email
Tom Dickey
