Aussie’s gutsy effort in instant classic; champ ends rival in brutal beat down: Boxing Year in Review

Aussie’s gutsy effort in instant classic; champ ends rival in brutal beat down: Boxing Year in Review

We’ve had an exhilarating 12 months of Australian pugilism which has delivered world title

belts, unforgettable fights, brilliant shows, bewildering knockouts and at least one

superhuman performance.

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FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

If you suffer the sort of disfiguring facial injury more common in the Industrial Revolution than the boxing ring and still dethrone the star world champion of your division then you get Fighter of the Year. 27 year old southpaw Jai Opetaia was a significant underdog against IBF Cruiserweight World Champion and former Latvian police officer Mairis Briedis in July on the Gold Coast but anyone who lent the Australian an ear in the weeks before the fight was acutely aware of the lengths he was willing to go to in search of his maiden world title. Opetaia made a believer of me a fortnight out from the fight when sparring with world-ranked Kiwi David Light was followed by his most passionate ever interview, where the most repeated phrase was “it’s my f…king time!”

Nobody could have known the underdog would need to overcome such gruesome injuries on his way to glory but coming five years to the day after Jeff Horn’s heroics against Manny Pacquiao there was a sense of destiny about the fight. The Australian boxed brilliantly through the first half, and busted Briedis’ nose, before the champion evolved the contest into a bloody brawl. With his jaw inconveniently dangling from his face, and his trainer trying to hide his repulsion, Opetaia climbed from his stool for the final round, reached into a masochistic chamber of his soul, and produced some of the most memorable imagery in the proud history of the sport in this country, plus perhaps the least coherent ring interview.

Jai Opetaia overcame Mairis Briedis in an instant classic. (Photo by Peter Wallis/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

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A notable mention in the Fighter of the Year category must go to Australia’s English-based bantamweight Ebanie Bridges who used 2022 to prove to the boxing world that she is far more than a social media sensation. The ever-improving former maths teacher and ring girl relieved the division’s longest reigning belt-holder Maria Cecilia Roman of her IBF title in a relentless effort in March, before blasting bitter rival Shannon O’Connell out of her way in December, in the biggest female bout in Australian history.

Big years also for new IBF Super Bantamweight World Champion Cherneka Johnson, Stevie Spark who went 4-0 across a frantic 12 months, Irish-Aussie Dennis Hogan who got himself an IBO belt, the destructive Liam Wilson who beat two world-ranked opponents, twins Jason and Andrew Moloney who each won three fights to set up a big 2023 and imminent world title challenger Tim Tszyu who was the A-side headliner in his entertaining US debut.

Internationally Dmitry Bivol was the standout boxer of 2022 with comprehensive victories over Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez, while we Australians were twice blessed to behold the brilliance of notable mention Devin Haney against former unified champion George Kambosos and Naoya Inoue was simply scary on his way to accruing all the belts at bantamweight.

WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol shocked the world when he beat Mexican boxing legend Canelo Alvarez at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 7. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

FIGHT OF THE YEAR

Mairis Briedis v Jai Opetaia will be talked about as long as humans walk the earth so it is the Fight of the Year but 2022 produced a high quality field of memorable bouts.

The rematch between Conor Wallace and Leti Leti, in Brisbane in November, was even

better than last year’s original with Wallace climbing off the canvas to stop his former

conqueror in six crazy rounds.

Professional debutants Shanell Dargan and Ashleigh Sims collided spectacularly during eight

minutes of pure madness on a No Limit show in one of the most entertaining female fights

ever seen on Australian shores, while Dargan was at it again against the classy Ayisha Abied

on ‘Super Saturday’.

Opetaia v Briedis: Full fight highlights | 08:47

Meantime Paul Fleming and Jackson England produced a thing of beauty when they went 10

rounds in March, Justis Huni and Kiki Leutele contested a memorable heavyweight war in

November, super featherweight Liam Wilson overcame the heavy-handed Matias Rueda on

his way to a world title shot, Tim Tszyu alerted America to his ominous presence by climbing

off the canvas to batter the classy Terrell Gausha in Minneapolis, Nikita Tszyu was half of a

six round classic against Ben Horn who was also involved in a relentless four rounder with

Campbell Somerville, Jasmine Parr and Nicila Costello left everything in the ring in their

rematch, heavyweights George Peterson and Gary Phillips combined for a memorable draw,

plus there was Joel Taylor v Ty Telford, Hass Hamdan v Trent Girdham and probably another

dozen barnburners that should be on this list!

Across the globe the best fight I saw in 2022 was the inconceivable Leigh Wood v Michael

Conlan bout, where Wood was down on the cards in round 12 and knocked Conlan out of

the ring to win. What?!

ROUND OF THE YEAR

There are too many great rounds to choose from but the sixth and final round of Nikita

Tszyu v Ben Horn got the entire Hordern Pavilion audience on its feet and the whole

country talking.

Internationally the insane seventh round of Sebastian Fundora v Erickson Lubin was the

standout, with ‘The Towering Inferno’ breaking Lubin’s face before hitting the canvas

himself on the way to his brutal stoppage win.

KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR

This one’s easy. ‘The Headsplitter’ Issac Hardman and fellow good bloke Beau Hartas were

jarringly friendly towards each other before their fight on the Briedis v Opetaia card but in

the opening round Hardman dug into the most despicable corners of hell to locate a right

hand that rattled Hartas’ ancestors. Thankfully the Canberran and his epic facial hair soon

fully recovered from what is from memory the biggest knockout I’ve ever seen in Australia.

Issac Hardman delivered one of the biggest knockouts ever seen in Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Renold Quinlan (v Jack Bowen), Lucas Browne (v Junior Fa) and Liam Paro (v Brock Jarvis)

also deserve mentions in the category.

Overseas Caleb Plant’s one punch demolition of Anthony Dirrell wins Knockout of the Year

in a photo finish from Leigh Wood’s last round eviction of Michael Conlan.

UPSET OF THE YEAR

This was a hotly contested category in 2022 but the Upset of the Year came from veteran

warhorse Renold Quinlan and the unbelievable right hand that stopped the unbeaten run of

talented prospect Jack Bowen, and came on a surreal night in Brisbane also featuring Lachie

Higgins’ stoppage of raging favourite Benjamin Hussain.

Having lost nine of his past 11 bouts Quinlan was a despised betting outsider and despite a

fiery attitude to the contest he was taking plenty of shots from the big-punching Bowen

through the opening four rounds before producing a miraculous fifth round assault about

which he is still grinning.

‘UPSET of the year’ Quinlan shocks Bowen | 01:23

43 year old former champ Lucas Browne was given precious little chance of beating Kiwi

heavyweight Junior Fa but you cannot write off anyone with a right hand that could knock

an elephant cold and Big Daddy showed that on his day he remains well placed to render

anyone or anything unconscious.

Elsewhere ‘Django’ Opelu stunned the previously undefeated Hemi Ahio in Melbourne.

And globally the most significant Upset of the Year by quite some margin came in Dmitry

Bivol v Canelo Alvarez.

PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

See above regarding Jai Opetaia winning a world title with his face hanging off in the global

Performance of the Year but there were several other magnificent displays over the past 12

months.

A rejuvenated Liam Wilson produced “the left hook from hell” in his rematch with the

world-ranked Joe Noynay, who had knocked him out in 2021, and weighed-in comically

heavy in Brisbane in March.

In an all-Aussie showdown during a stacked October southpaw sensation Liam Paroshowed

he is a legitimate world title contender with his stunning first round stoppage of the brave

Brock Jarvis.

Also Stevie Sparktravelled to Montana Love’s backyard in Cleveland and boxed so well that

Love’s brain exploded, Ebanie Bridges went to yet another level in Leeds against Aussie

veteran Shannon O’Connell, Michael Zerafa ended a nasty war of words with a nastier left

hook against Issac Hardman, Tim Tszyu overcame a troubled preparation to impress the US

audience and break down Terrell Gausha, Joel Taylor arrived in a big way against Michael

Hall, Sam Goodman was at his very best when he faced Juan Miguel Elorde, Jason Moloney

destroyed Aston Palicte and again this list could go on and on so apologies to those that

haven’t been mentioned.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 03: Liam Wilson celebrates winning against Joe NoyNay during their bout at Nissan Arena on March 03, 2022 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

DEBUTANT OF THE YEAR

We’re living in the golden era of Australian boxing and it is no shock that a bumper crop of

emerging talent was harvested in 2022, so for the purposes of this piece I’ve put in place a

Debutant of the Year category rather than the standard Prospect of the Year.

Paulo Aokuso is on top of an exciting list of debutants from 2022, largely due to the calibre

of his three opponents, who met him with a combined record of 76-23-2.

Tokyo Olympian Aokuso is progressing with the velocity of a man who has somewhere he

needs to be, not unlike No Limit stablemate Nikita Tszyu who went 4-0 in 2022 and saved his

best for last as he went full ‘Butcher’ on the tough Darkon Dryden in Newcastle.

And few fighters globally had a busier 2022 than Skye Nicolson who went 5-0 in fights in San Diego, Leeds, New York, Cardiff and Brisbane and made a fan of everyone who saw her in action.

The UK’s Olympic gold medallist Galal Yafai passed a trio of 10 round tests in his first year as a professional and is a blue chip prospect, while heavyweight Frazer Clarke and ‘Sweet’

Carline Dubois also had impressive debut years.

SEE YOU AT THE FIGHTS

2022 has been an exceptional year for boxing and from a commentary perspective Briedis v

Opetaia was an honour and Tszyu v Gausha a privilege, but 2023 already looks set to eclipse

its predecessor with the Jermell Charlo v Tim Tszyu ‘undisputed’ fight frustratingly delayed

but still in the planning and the Emanuel Navarrete v Liam Wilson world title bout locked in

for what could prove to be the greatest year in the history of the sport in this country.

Enjoy your break if you have one! I’m Ben Damon, and I’ll see you at the fights.