What Top Fighter of the Year Candidates Must Do to Be 2016's Best Boxer
While it is still way too early to seriously handicap the race for 2016 Fighter of the Year, it's also accurate to say that this year the FOY honors have a certain inevitability. If Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward end up fighting, the winner is the year's top boxer.
That fight is indeed on the schedule at Boxrec for November. But in the event that it doesn't come to pass, there should be a number of other worthy candidates.
Any of the fighters on this list will be worth considering it they can accomplish what's outlined in the following slides.
Carl Frampton: Defeat Leo Santa Cruz for the Featherweight Title
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Carl Frampton already won one of 2016's biggest fights when he defeated fellow unbeaten champion Scott Quigg to unify the WBA and IBF super bantamweight titles.
In July, Frampton faces another unbeaten young champion when he jumps up to featherweight to challenge WBA champion Leo Santa Cruz.
It's hard to even view Frampton as the favorite against Santa Cruz. But he could win the fight.
If he does, it will give him two major world-championship victories with the year barely more than half over. It might not make Frampton the clear-cut Fighter of the Year, but it would get him on most short lists.
Jezreel Corrales: Beat Another Top Super Featherweight in a High-Profile Fight
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Panama's Jezreel Corrales already secured himself likely Upset of the Year honors in April when he stunned longtime, undefeated WBA super featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama via Round 2 KO. Uchiyama went into that bout universally recognized as the best in the world at 130 pounds.
Corrales was a relative unknown prior to this bout, but if he can beat another top 130-pound fighter before the end of 2016, he'll actually have one of the year's best resumes.
He should make this fight for North America against a top super featherweight, like Francisco Vargas.
Vasyl Lomachenko: Beat Orlando Salido by Stoppage
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In June, Vasyl Lomachenko moved up to 130 pounds and became a two-division world champion in just his seventh professional fight by defeating veteran champion Roman Martinez, via Round 5 KO.
It was a brutally efficient performance by Lomachenko. Martinez might not be a pound-for-pound elite, but he's been one of the top fighters in the division for years.
He was also 1-0-1 in 2015 against Orlando Salido, the man who handed a loss to Lomachenko in Lomachenko's second professional fight.
Lomachenko's work against Martinez established him at the elite level at 130 pounds. If he can similarly dominate against Salido later in 2016, he will be a short-list name on many Fighter of the Year ballots.
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Terence Crawford: Unify the Belts and Beat a Welterweight Contender
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Terence Crawford's February stoppage of Hank Lundy was a decent win. But the fight that would make the 2014 Fighter of the Year a potential two-time winner is on deck for later this month, when the WBO super lightweight champion faces WBC champ Viktor Postol.
The winner of that bout is going to be the unquestioned king at 140 pounds, and if Postol can pull it off, he'll actually be in the conversation for Fighter of the Year, as well.
But it's hard to see Crawford winning this one and then going on to beat a welterweight contender later in the year. It could be enough to make him FOY for the second time in three years.
Keith Thurman: Collect Another Belt and Look Good Doing It
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Keith Thurman picked up the biggest win of his career in June, outboxing the rugged Shawn Porter to retain his WBA welterweight title. It gave the undefeated Thurman his first victory over a top, prime contender.
It's easy to be cynical of the chances that Thurman will be able to put together another major welterweight title fight before the end of this year. He's more likely to end his 2016 campaign with a relatively easy night of work against a fringe contender.
But if, instead, Thurman were inclined to follow his win over Porter by adding Danny Garcia's belt to the collection, or by making a run at a top 147-pound star outside of the Premier Boxing Champions series, like Kell Brook or Timothy Bradley, then he will have a fair claim on Fighter of the Year status.
Jermall Charlo: Beat Another Top Fighter at 154 or 160 Pounds
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By defeating Austin Trout in a competitive unanimous decision earlier this year, Jermall Charlo demonstrated that he's a top fighter at 154 pounds. Trout had a decisive victory over Miguel Cotto and fought even terms with Canelo Alvarez.
So it's a resume line that puts Charlo in very good company.
Charlo could jump to major-star status if he follows that impressive win with another high-profile challenge. Charlo is a big junior middleweight and could potentially make major fights for himself at either 154 or 160 pounds.
Sergey Kovalev: Beat Isaac Chillemba and Andre Ward
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Sergey Kovalev recorded a brutal Round 7 stoppage of former champion Jean Pascal last January. He faces contender Isaac Chilemba this month in Russia.
It is a fight that he is almost certain to win, most likely by stoppage.
But in November, the unified light heavyweight champion should face by far the biggest challenge of his career, when he faces undefeated former super middleweight champion Andre Ward.
Ward is one of the most talented pound-for-pound fighters of recent years. If Kovalev can defeat him, he'll deserve to be Fighter of the Year.
Andre Ward: Beat Alexander Bland and Sergey Kovalev
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Andre Ward is a former Olympic gold medalist who hasn't lost a fight since before middle school. From 2009 through 2011, he established one of the great resumes in super middleweight history, beating a laundry list of top contenders and titleholders with startling ease.
Since then, his career has been stalled by promotional disputes and inactivity. But 2016 is the year he is finally making a push to return his name to the sport's spotlight.
Ward easily defeated light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera in March. In August, he's got what should be no more than a tune-up fight before facing light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev in November.
Kovalev is currently the biggest monster out there. He's an undefeated unified light heavyweight champion with a methodical, brutally effective style of attacking opponents and breaking them down.
If there is a fighter out there who looks to have the physical gifts and boxing intelligence to tame Kovalev, it's definitely Ward. If he does it, he'll deserve to be the Fighter of the Year.
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