5) JERMELL CHARLO KO 1 ERIKSON LUBIN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_8HdD0oKyQ
Erikson Lubin and Jermell Charlo were being earmarked as the two most ferocious contenders the Jr Middleweight division had to offer.
Both combatants came to the ring boasting undefeated records and both were coming off emphatic knockout victories against Charles Hatley and Jorge Cota respectively.
Charlo noticed a tendency Lubin had to lean to his right when he pawed at him with the jab, there is a common phrase we hear ‘no second chances’. Charlo proved that was the case as he unfurled a strong right uppercut that he caught Lubin leaning into.
The fight was waved off inside 141 seconds from the opening bell with Lubin incoherent on the canvas and in desperate trouble struggling to return to his feet.
4) TERENCE CRAWFORD KO 3 JULIUS INDONGO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSXPHMaUluM
There was a lot on the line when Julius Indongo and Terence Crawford collided in August.
There had not been a single undisputed champion for a lengthy 12 year period since Jermain Taylor defended the undisputed middleweight crown against Bernard Hopkins in 2005.
Julius Indongo had built quite a reputation as a formidable adversary and had defeated stellar opponents such as Ricky Burns, but ‘Bud’ who is credited with being at the top of many respected pound-for-pound rankings easily dismissed the challenge posed by the Namibian.
Crawford concluded matters when he sunk an evil left hand into Indongo’s right side which left him down and out for the count, Indongo said afterwards “When he hit me like that, my mind was gone”.
3) ANDRE WARD KO 8 SERGEY KOVALEV
https://youtu.be/TH4fb1BS184?t=30m11s
There was a lot of bad blood going into this highly anticipated rematch in June. Kovalev insinuated he lost because of corrupt judges who were protecting an American hero and 2004 Olympic gold medal winner.
Kovalev vowed to kayo Ward ahead of their rematch and even threatened that he would end his career.
Ward himself wanted to silence the many doubters who questioned if he truly deserved the victory in their 2016 meeting.
Kovalev was a fearsome puncher and nobody throughout his entire career had been able to stand and trade opposite the ferocious Russian and live to tell the tale.
That all changed however on June 17th, when Andre Ward made an almost symbolic statement to stand up to the bully and he did gradually chop his menacing foe down.
2) ANTHONY JOSHUA KO 11 WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO
https://youtu.be/RqcFZqtra3o?t=1h2m13s
The heavyweight division has traditionally been the sport’s glamour division and April 29th seemed to mark the return of the division back into mainstream sport’s entertainment circle.
It was marked as a changing of the guard fight between the rising star and the decorated, seasoned pro.
It was a titanic battle of the ages which saw both men having to dig deep to haul themselves off the canvas after suffering heavy knockdowns.
Anthony Joshua showed his first real glimpses of greatness when he obliterated Klitschko. A dynamite uppercut began the end for Klitschko in round 11 and he demonstrated his killer instincts when he cut the ring off effectively.
‘AJ’ pounded the former 2-time heavyweight kingpin into submission. With this victory, Joshua added the IBO and WBA (Super) titles to his IBF world championship.
1) SRISRAKET SOR RUNGVISAI KO 4 ROMAN GONZALEZ
Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez was widely credited with being the standout pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
The 4-weight world champion Nicaraguan found sizeable acclaim as he punched his way to four world titles with his fan friendly, all offence style of fighting.
However, when he met Srisraket Sor Rungvisai, everything changed and Gonzalez surrendered his WBC super flyweight crown in a gruelling encounter.
He lost a lot of blood during a fight where he was overawed with his bigger opponents advantages in the strength department.
However many believed the result of the first fight was down to a fluke and Gonzalez was going to demonstrate his greatness as an all-time great by recapturing the throne…
The second bout began much like the first and Sor Rungvisai was having sustained success with his pressuring style, the second time around Gonzalez didn’t seem to be demonstrating the same resistance he had put up in the first encounter.
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