Winner
Lucas Matthysse vs. John Molina
2014 was a year packed full of great all action fights but none was better than the April bout between junior welterweight sluggers Lucas Matthysse and John Molina. Matthysse was coming off a close loss to Danny Garcia while Molina wasn't even a full year removed from his career saving stoppage of Mickey Bey. When this fight was made many people it would be very exciting for a few rounds until Matthysse's superior power and class would show and he would be too much for Molina. Instead what happened was that Matthysse got dropped in the 2nd round and again in the 5th round and it looked like Molina may pull off the upset. However Matthysse never stopped throwing bombs and he was able to floor Molina three times, in the 8th, 10th, and finally stopping him in the 11th round. Not many people expected this fight to last 11 rounds considering Molina has been known to have a weak chin. Even less people expected that Molina would be able to go toe to toe for that long and even have Matthysse in some bad shape. The reason this fight had to win is pretty simple, it was a bloody, knockdown filled massacre. These two prizefighters could have done battle in a coat closet because neither one ever took a step back. It was a battle of wills, get hit and hit back even harder and it was a fight no fan who saw it will ever forget. While there were plenty of slugfests in 2014 the fight between Matthysse and Molina also brought the drama. Matthysse getting dropped twice early shocked fans and had some wondering if he was a shot fighter. Yet he was able to come back and put a real hurting on the tougher than the rest Molina who eventually just got worn down but never quit. This was the type of fight that hardcore boxing fans love and talk about forever and also a fight that had the power to turn casual fans into full fledged boxing junkies.
Runner-Up
Orlando Salido vs. Terdsak Kokietgym
When the lightweight title fight was made between Orlando Salido and Terdsak Kokietgym it didn't exactly have boxing fans salivating. Fans new that Salido usually made good, exciting fights but most had never seen or even heard of Kokietgym who had been fighting a string of tomato cans and average fighters at best. Most expected the veteran Salido to simply walk throught Kokietgym and luckily for the boxing world most people were wrong. The action in this fight was nonstop from the opening bell and both fighters tasted the canvas in the very 1st round. In fact there were a total of seven knockdowns in this fight with Salido getting dropped in the 1st, 2nd, and 5th and Kokietgym going down in the 1st, 4th, 7th, and finally the 11th when Salido caught him with a gorgeous four punch combination that ended the fight then and there. There is just something special about a fight that everyone expects to be one sided but instead ends up being legendary. Both Salido and Kokietgym showed a ton of heart and took a tremendous amount of punishment but neither one ever stopped coming forward and throwing homerun punches. This fight may have been edged slightly by the bout between Lucas Matthysse and John Molina but only by a hair. The winner of the 2014 Fight of the Year may have had the harder punches but the runner-up certainly had the more frantic action throughout. It seemed like the punching never let up and it was so back and forth it was hard to tell who would come out ahead. This fight may have been hard to find on television since it aired on a Spanish language channel but every fan who found it was certainly glad they did and will definitely be tuning in the next time either one of these warriors gets in the ring.
Honorable Mention
Robert Guerrero vs. Yoshihiro Kamegai
The honorable mention for 2014 Fight of the Year has something in common with the runner-up in that no one really expected it to be so good. It did turn out to be a fairly one sided fight but it was probably the best damn one sided fight this year. This fight was Robert Guerrero's fight time in the ring in over a year following his loss to Floyd Mayweather so most people just expected to see a tune up fight. Guerrero's opponent was Yoshihiro Kamegai who had only fought in the U.S. a handful of times and had never faced anyone nearly as good as Guerrero. Well Kamegai didn't come just to survive for 12 rounds and he went right at Guerrero who was more than happy to oblige him. The fighters literally stood on top of each other for 12 brutal rounds and while there weren't any knockdowns and the outcome never seemed in question the action was still intense. The two prizefighters combined to throw nearly 2,000 punches and both of their faces showed the damage from those punches. In the 6th round Guerrero was cut by a clash of heads and the rest of the fight was painted in blood red. Perhaps even more impressive than the nonstop action was the heart displayed by both fighters but especially Kamegai who dispiste being down on the cards never stopped throwing haymakers. It was one of those fights that make you respect a well known fighter even more and makes you become a fan of a fighter you had never seen before just because of the grit and guts displayed in the ring.
In the Running
Terence Crawford vs. Yuriorkis Gamboa
The lightweight title fight between Terence Crawford and Yuriorkis Gamboa seemed to have it all. It had two undefeated pugilists putting their perfect records on the line, it had Crawford who wound up being the 2014 Fighter of the Year, and the 9th round of this fight was the honorable mention for Round of the Year. Both Crawford and Gamboa are typically thought of as slick boxers so this fight was a huge surprise when it turned out to be more of a slugfest than chess match. Gamboa's blazing had speed really bothered Crawford early who seemed to have no answer for the first 4 rounds. However in the middle part of the fight Crawford turned southpaw and began to take over. Crawford dropped Gamboa four times, once in the 5th, once in the 8th, and twice in the 9th the second of which forced the referee to stop the fight. However in that 9th round Gamboa actually had Crawford badly hurt but Crawford showed that when he is hurt he is at his most dangerous and ended the fight. What made this fight so exciting, along with the blistering action, was the exuberant crowd in Omaha, Nebraska. Fans were rooting hard for their hometown hero Crawford and it mad the atmosphere and the fight that much better.
Tomasz Adamek vs. Vyacheslav "Czar" Glazkov
Heavyweight fights are always that exciting. The reason for this is that heavyweights are usually so heavy handed that neither fighter wants to open up and trade too much and risk being knocked out. Because of this heavyweight are usually only really exciting when there is a big knockout. That wasn't the case in the fight between Tomasz Adamek and Vyacheslav "Czar" Glazkov though. Glazkov was the young, unbeaten prospect in this fight taking on the tough veteran in Adamek and his youth showed early in the fight. For the first half of the fight Glazkov was too quick for the aging Adamek and it looked like it would be a wash. However in the late rounds Adamek really came on and started landing thunderous short punches on Glazkov. Coming down the stretch it looked like a fight that could go either way and whoever closed the show stronger might win. Adamek had a great 12th round and even seemed to have Glazkov hurt, but the younger fighter remained on his feet and got the victory in a very tough fight.
Luis Rosa vs. Luis Del Valle
It may not have had as much electric action as some of the other fights on this list but the bout between Luis Rosa and Luis Del Valle was definitely fun to watch. If some of the other fights on the list could be described as Nascar fights with blazing action throughout the fight then this one might be described as a demolition derby fight. The entire fight seemed to take place within one square foot. Each fighter planted his head on the others chest and went to work. There was plenty of clinching but that is only because the punches were so brutal they both needed to take breaks. While it was somewhat one sided there was some drama in the 5th round when Rosa got dropped with a short left hook and some more drama in the 7th when Rosa was deducted a point for low blows, still the fight had plenty to like. Most fans ooh and aah at punches to the head and face but this fight was all about the body. Both Rosa and Del Valle tried to kill each others bodies and both were probably pissing blood for a week after the fight. Del Valle showed a ton of heart during the fight but at the end it was Rosa who would come out on top due to his thudding body attack.
Lucas Matthysse vs. John Molina
Runner-Up
Orlando Salido vs. Terdsak Kokietgym
Honorable Mention
Robert Guerrero vs. Yoshihiro Kamegai
In the Running
Terence Crawford vs. Yuriorkis Gamboa
The lightweight title fight between Terence Crawford and Yuriorkis Gamboa seemed to have it all. It had two undefeated pugilists putting their perfect records on the line, it had Crawford who wound up being the 2014 Fighter of the Year, and the 9th round of this fight was the honorable mention for Round of the Year. Both Crawford and Gamboa are typically thought of as slick boxers so this fight was a huge surprise when it turned out to be more of a slugfest than chess match. Gamboa's blazing had speed really bothered Crawford early who seemed to have no answer for the first 4 rounds. However in the middle part of the fight Crawford turned southpaw and began to take over. Crawford dropped Gamboa four times, once in the 5th, once in the 8th, and twice in the 9th the second of which forced the referee to stop the fight. However in that 9th round Gamboa actually had Crawford badly hurt but Crawford showed that when he is hurt he is at his most dangerous and ended the fight. What made this fight so exciting, along with the blistering action, was the exuberant crowd in Omaha, Nebraska. Fans were rooting hard for their hometown hero Crawford and it mad the atmosphere and the fight that much better.
Tomasz Adamek vs. Vyacheslav "Czar" Glazkov
Heavyweight fights are always that exciting. The reason for this is that heavyweights are usually so heavy handed that neither fighter wants to open up and trade too much and risk being knocked out. Because of this heavyweight are usually only really exciting when there is a big knockout. That wasn't the case in the fight between Tomasz Adamek and Vyacheslav "Czar" Glazkov though. Glazkov was the young, unbeaten prospect in this fight taking on the tough veteran in Adamek and his youth showed early in the fight. For the first half of the fight Glazkov was too quick for the aging Adamek and it looked like it would be a wash. However in the late rounds Adamek really came on and started landing thunderous short punches on Glazkov. Coming down the stretch it looked like a fight that could go either way and whoever closed the show stronger might win. Adamek had a great 12th round and even seemed to have Glazkov hurt, but the younger fighter remained on his feet and got the victory in a very tough fight.
Luis Rosa vs. Luis Del Valle
It may not have had as much electric action as some of the other fights on this list but the bout between Luis Rosa and Luis Del Valle was definitely fun to watch. If some of the other fights on the list could be described as Nascar fights with blazing action throughout the fight then this one might be described as a demolition derby fight. The entire fight seemed to take place within one square foot. Each fighter planted his head on the others chest and went to work. There was plenty of clinching but that is only because the punches were so brutal they both needed to take breaks. While it was somewhat one sided there was some drama in the 5th round when Rosa got dropped with a short left hook and some more drama in the 7th when Rosa was deducted a point for low blows, still the fight had plenty to like. Most fans ooh and aah at punches to the head and face but this fight was all about the body. Both Rosa and Del Valle tried to kill each others bodies and both were probably pissing blood for a week after the fight. Del Valle showed a ton of heart during the fight but at the end it was Rosa who would come out on top due to his thudding body attack.
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