The Neutral Corner

BY MARCUS HENRY

The easy way out would be to say Floyd Mayweather is the fighter of the year. It's easy because all he did was set a new Pay-Per-View record raking in 3.3 million buys in back-to-back fights with Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. All he did, with each victory, was prove that he is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the game. But is that enough? De La Hoya, although the biggest name in the sport, is nowhere close to the fighter Floyd is. The same for Hatton. Hatton is better than De La Hoya at this point, but he is not on Mayweather's level.

In terms of drawing fans to the sport and giving it a shot in the arm, Mayweather deserves kudos for that. HBO's 24/7, coupled with the excellent promoting by De La Hoya's company, Golden Boy Promotions, made Mayweather a household name. He made boxing a sport to be talked about again.

All of that notwithstanding, Mayweather isn't my choice for fighter of the year. That honor goes to Miguel Cotto. His fight against a game Zab Judah, which drew over 19,000 to MSG, and his most recent bout against Shane Mosley showed why he could be the man that takes down Mayweather (assuming the two ever mix it up). So why does Cotto get the nod over Floyd? Cotto's three opponents in 2007, Oktay Urkal, Judah and Mosley, were clearly a cut above Mayweather's counterparts De La Hoya and Hatton.

Kelly Pavlik comes in a close second to Cotto.His wins over Edison Miranda and Jermain Taylor for the WBC and WBO middleweight titles trump anything any other fighter did this year. Except for Cotto.

My choice for Fighter of the Year aside, 2007 was a banner year for boxing. The fights were great, the promoters stepped up their game and HBO did its part with the 24/7 series. Who could forget the Joe Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler tilt? Over 50,000 showed up to Whales for that fight. Juan Diaz, who took out Julio Diaz for the WBA, WBO and IBF Lightweight titles, and Ivan Calderon had great years. The Pavlik-Taylor fight was certainly one of the best bouts of the year. And you can't talk about great fights without mentioning Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Marco Antonio Barrera. I can't wait for Marquez-Pacquiao II in March.

Paul Williams, Antonio Margarito and Kermit Cintron are poised to lead the welterweight division into a golden age. Old pros Vernon Forrest and Roy Jones are still showing the world they still have some gas left in the tank.

I must thank the sport for keeping me on the edge of my seat this year. Hopefully 2008 is just as exciting.