Fighter of the Year
Claressa Shields
On an all-female card at a sold-out O2 arena in London, Claressa Shields evaded the bombs of her English nemesis, Savannah Marshall, outsmarting and outfighting her over 10 exciting rounds to avenge her lone amateur loss. Over two million viewers watched live in the UK as she won by unanimous decision; the climax of an event that was screened in over 150 counties, globally. Shields took Marshall’s “0,” as well as her WBO belt, becoming “undisputed” champion for the third time in her career. The American had already established herself as the true Lineal Champion at 160lb via her victory over Christina Hammer in 2019, but this dominant display in England, reasserted her absolute authority over the middleweight division.
Shields’ beginning and finish to the year, was also admirable. In February she trounced top-five-ranked middleweight, 21-0-1, Emma Kozin, in Cardiff, UK, and since the September Marshall battle, she has continued to call out the best fighters at 154lb:
“I want to fight any of the 154 champs! Terri Harper, Natasha Jonas, Mary Spencer! Whoever!”
The self-proclaimed GWOAT remains ready to step in the ring at 154lb or 160lb, against whoever the latest threat may be. At the close of 2022 and entering 2023, she is the P4P No.1, boxing’s only reigning two-weight Lineal Champion, and is our 2022 Fighter of the Year.
Honourable mentions: Katie Taylor, Alycia Baumgardner, Amanda Serrano.
Fight of the Year
Katie Taylor SD-10 Amanda Serrano. April 30, 2022.
So many times boxing fans are left disappointed when a hotly anticipated super fight fails to live up to expectations; not on April 30, 2022. In front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden - the first occasion a female bout has headlined at MSG in its 143-year history - two of the sport’s elite pound-for-pound pugilists, put on a terrific display of guts, resilience, punching power and skill, in what was a truly thrilling clash; a fight that has left its mark on boxing history forever. Amanda Serrano, whose optimum fighting weight is 126lb, was up two weight classes, chasing greatness, challenging Lineal World Champion, Katie Taylor. The unbeaten Irish hero and five-time amateur world champion had triumphed on the big stage many times before, however, the magnitude and global significance of this professional fight was unprecedented.
In the opening three rounds, the quality of both women showed, but Taylor’s edge in hand-speed and darting footwork was seemingly giving her the advantage over Puerto Rico’s heavy-handed southpaw. Taylor held her feet more in round four and Serrano’s harder shots began connecting more solidly. The “Real Deal” came out fast for the fifth, keeping Taylor pinned in the corner under barrages of punches to head and body. Katie returned fire, but as the action moved to the centre of the ring, Serrano sustained the pressure, hurting her rival with multiple ripping punches to the head, bloodying her face, leaving her teetering on the verge of being knocked down when the bell rang to end the round. The critics that questioned whether Serrano had the power to hurt the best at 135lb had been silenced. Taylor’s courage to survive the round was remarkable. Serrano hunted down Taylor in the sixth, although couldn’t quite tag the bloody-nosed Irishwoman quite as cleanly again. Taylor’s senses seemed to have cleared by the end of the seventh, and appearing more weary of her opponent’s punch power, she managed to keep away from any more hurtful shots for the next two rounds. A reenergised Taylor had perhaps her best round in the ninth, and the 10th finished with both combatants firing ferociously right to the final bell. One judge gave it 96-94 to Serrano, and two gave it to Taylor (96-93, 97-93) - the result itself will not be the lasting memory; more importantly, on the biggest stage of all, Serrano’s and Taylor’s professionalism, skills and sportsmanship - both inside and outside of the ropes - showcased women’s boxing and boxing as a sport, in the most magnificent possible way.
Honourable mention: Shields/Marshall.
KO of the Year
Savannah Marshall KO-3 Femke Hermans. April 2, 2022.
Savannah Marshall has developed a reputation as a big puncher, but in early 2022, she had yet to put it to the test against a legitimate world class 160-pounder. Femke Hermans - a former WBO super middleweight titlist - had been the distance with Claressa Shields, pushed Elin Cederroos to the wire and had never been stopped; she wasn’t just durable, she was ready to expose any chinks in her adversary’s armour. Round one immediately proved Hermans had not come to lie down; she demonstrated quick hands, good footwork and awkward head movement, in what was a competitive, evenly fought opener. Mid-way through round two, she snapped a fast right hand to Marshall’s jaw; Marshall responded instantly with her own. The “Silent Assassin” pressed forward aggressively but her Belgian opponent was slippery, light footed, looking composed. In the third round, the fight appeared well balanced and both exuded confidence; the final punch was to take everyone by surprise. With mere seconds left in the round, Marshall thudded in a hard jab, then followed up with a swinging left hook to the jaw, dropping Hermans limply, flat on her back, with not a hope of beating the count. The most outstanding KO punch of the year? Without hesitation, and further enhanced by the fact that just eight months later, Hermans went onto hand the dangerous Canadian junior middleweight, Mary Spencer, the first loss of her career.
Honourable mention: Mary Spencer KO-1 Beatriz Aguilar.
Trainer of the Year
Gerald Tucker and John David Jackson
In January 2022, Claressa Shields was deep in training in Las Vegas, preparing for her upcoming fight with Ema Kozin. The year ahead would present her with challenges of a nature that not even “The GWOAT” had yet encountered as a professional. Kozin was undefeated and the February 4th bout was to be staged in Cardiff; a UK-professional-debut for Shields, her first time fighting outside of America as a pro. and first fight back at middleweight since dropping to 154lb in 2020. Despite Kozin being a good fighter in her own right, the fight was essentially billed as a prelude for the epic all-women’s boxing event that was to come, which would be headlined by Shields/Marshall. Marshall was taller than Shields, had inflicted her solitary boxing loss and carried one-punch fight-ending KO power. In addition to these challenges, Shields/Marshall was planned to take place on foreign soil for the American; in London.
So, long before the Marshall showdown, Shields was strengthening her team, leaving no stone unturned. At the Mayweather gym in Las Vegas, in January, Shields explained why she recruited Gerald Tucker, to join long-time-coach, John David Jackson:
“I just wanted some new eyes in my camp. I’ve always wanted two different coaches with two different styles in my corner. He fits into my team perfectly.
“Gerald works with Floyd Mayweather, so he brings a different kind of boxing conditioning. He does the pads differently than how I’ve ever done them. We’re able to add some things and my coaches are totally in sync.”
Her promoter, Dmitriy Salita added:
“From her work in the gym, to adding Gerald Tucker to her already excellent corner, which includes one of the best trainers in the sport in John David Jackson, I really think this is one of the best training camps of her career.”
(NYFights.com)
After trainer, Roger Mayweather passed away in 2020, Floyd Mayweather enlisted former professional boxer, Gerald Tucker, to be part of his corner-team. Tucker had been a successful amateur boxer, winning a string of titles and was picked as an Olympic alternate in 1996, going on to have a 7-0-1 record as a professional. Since then, the man from Cincinnati, Ohio, has rapidly built a respected career as a coach, training the likes of Gervonta Davis, Adrien Broner, James Kirkland and Jamel Herring, before joining Team Shields.
John David Jackson, a former two-weight world titlist, who fought in the Ring’s Fight of the Year in 1994, has worked with Shields since 2018, and brings a wealth of experience to the team, having trained pound-for-pound stars such as Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley and more recently, Sergey Kovalev.
The Gerald/Jackson combination has kept Shields unbeaten. Her victory over Kozin was flawless, winning every round on all three scorecards, and when entering the lion’s den against Marshall, she not only won emphatically, her sharp defensive skills prevented the KO-artist, Marshall, from hurting her significantly at any point in the bout. Shields looked borderline unbeatable prior to 2022; now with Gerald and Jackson in her camp, the problem for her opposition just got even harder.
Adam McMeeking
Editor for LinealBoxingChampion.com
@LinealBoxChamp
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Members of our ratings panel who voted in this year’s End of Year Awards:
David Avila: 2019 Inductee IWBHF. Journalist at The Sweet Science. California, USA. @AvilaBoxing
Daniel Yanofsky: Boxing journalist for The Sporting News. New York, USA. @DanYanofsky
Ireneusz Fryszkowski: Boxing Journalist. Poland. @RingBlogpl
Julian Haramoure: Boxing journalist, including articles for Argentina Amateur Deporte and ElRoundFinal.com. Argentina. @JulianFunky
Yuriko Miyata: Boxing journalist, including articles for The Ring and ThePrizeFighters.com. Japan. @Yuriyuri0803
GM Ross: Boxing journalist. Host of Pugilistically Inclined podcast. Canada. @CanadianBoxiana
Blanca Gutierrez: Creator of Beautiful Brawlers. 2019 Inductee IWBHF. 2018 Inductee WCBHOF. USA. @bbrawlersboxing
Adam McMeeking: Member of the International Boxing Research Organization, and Editor of LinealBoxingChampion.com. United Kingdom. @TripleJabBoxing
@LinealBoxChamp