TKO/KO of the Year
Gabriela Fundora TKO-7 Gabriela Alaniz (November 2, 2024)
Gabriela Alaniz was rough & tough and had clinched the lineal flyweight crown from Marlen Esparza in April, avenging her bitterly fought majority decision loss just nine months earlier. Although Gabriela Fundora had KO’d 34-year-old veteran, Arely Mucino last year, Alaniz, age 28, was in form and seemingly too fresh and resilient to be fazed by the 5’9” American’s vaunted punch power.
Fundora was ahead on the scorecards (58-56 x2, 59-55) after six rounds, but the ending was nonetheless spectacular. A hard straight left hand connected to Alaniz’s head with 54 seconds left in round seven, followed by another a second later, sending the Argentinean to the seat of her pants. She jumped back up but looked shaken. With 30 seconds left in the round an even more violent left hand to the chin sent Alaniz twisted and crashing to the canvas. She groggily stood up before referee, Robert Hoyle, finished his ten count, but was in no position to continue.
Fundora is the youngest lineal champion in women’s boxing.
Trainer of the Year
Freddy Fundora
In 2024, Gabriela Fundora added three more wins to her perfect record, the last of which was a TKO to win the lineal flyweight world championship. Her brother, Sebastian, had an equally successful year, becoming the first person to defeat the highly regarded Tim Tzsyu, also winning the WBO/WBC belts.
Both Fundoras are trained by their father, Freddy Fundora.
Asked whether it is easy to take emotion out of a fight involving Sebastian and if a trainer who was not a family member would be more suitable, Freddy responded:
“It’s easy for me, I’ve always been his manager since he was born. I bought him diapers, I bought him baby food, so I’ve always been his manager, we don’t need strangers in our team.”
(Tris Dixon, Boxing Scene. March 30, 2024)
Freddy grew up in Los Angelos and had a brief professional career before training as an underwater welder, then moving with his wife to Florida. Their six children soon developed a keen interest in boxing, leading them to settle in Coachella Valley, where they became dedicated members of Lee Espinoza’s Boxing Gym.
Speaking in 2017 to the Desert Sun, Freddy said:
“We do a lot of bonding. To be honest, there’s very little screaming. I do get mad at them from time to time, as every parent does, but just one look and they know what I’m thinking. There’s a real connection there that we have through this sport.”
“The thing about this sport is you get out of it what you put in it. There’s no such thing as luck right here; you work for it. You reap what you sow. My kids are learning those lessons.”
The hard work has paid off. The Fundoras are reaping the rewards.
Fight of the Year
Katie Taylor UD-10 Amanda Serrano
(AT & T Stadium, Arlington. November 15, 2024)
The first fight in 2022 had the drama of a blood-splattered Taylor teetering on the edge of defeat in round five, with the split decision result going in favour of the Irishwoman. The rematch on November 15th was unanimous for Taylor (95-94 x3) and although neither combatant looked close to a KO win, it was just as fiercely contested, with the punch output even higher: a staggering combined 1263 punches thrown compared to 999 the first time round! Both looked sharp from the opening bell, but round one finished with Serrano stunning Taylor into the ropes via a hard left hand to the chin. An accidental head clash from Taylor in round four split open the skin above Serrano’s right eye, and from that point onwards the blood flowed. By round six, another clash had the cut flapping open. Serrano was unperturbed. Taylor continually impressed with flashing hand speed, yet Serrano was always returning fire with thudding shots of her own. Both were relentless.
Netflix commentator, Roy Jones Junior felt Taylor’s point deduction in round eight (for headbutting) was unfair:
“I don’t see how you blame her, or how you take a point for a headbutt there.”
Ultimately, it was inconsequential as Taylor won unanimously on the cards - however, had Serrano been given the verdict there would have been few complaints. An epic, razor close high-level mix of artistic brutality, between two Hall of Fame-bound P4P-elite rivals, before the biggest ever TV audience (averaging 74 million viewers globally) for a women’s boxing match. All things considered, Taylor/Serrano 2 may not merely have been the Fight of the Year, it could credibly be called the greatest fight in the history of women’s boxing.
Fighter of the Year
Katie Taylor
The No.1 P4P fighter in the world had just one fight this year, but what a fight it was. At the age of 38 and on the back of consecutive hard distance fights with Chantelle Cameron, there was no respite for Taylor, who pulled out yet another tremendous, gritty performance to gain her second victory over Serrano.
Honourable mentions: Gabriela Fundora, Amanda Serrano.
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Adam McMeeking
Editor, LinealBoxingChampion.com
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Ratings panellists who voted:
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 IWBH
Adam McMeeking
