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For Paul R. Jones: With awards season in full swing and 2024 in the rearview mirror, I’m counting down Boxing’s 5 most daring performances of 2024 and handing out the hardware to honor the fighters who got us here.
(⚠️WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS GRAPHIC BOXING IMAGES THAT SOME READERS MAY FIND DISTURBING. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.)
No. 5. MOST TASTEFUL PERFORMANCE
Photo © DAZN at X
NOMINATED: BEKTEMIR MELIKUZIEV
• Date: April 20, 2024
• Place: Barclays Center (Brooklyn, New York)
ranked contestant, BEKTEMIR MELIKUZIEVand undefeated challenger, PIERRE HUBERT ON WEDNESDAY, he faced April at HANEY v. GARCIA write-off card for the WBA Intercontinental Super Middleweight Title. What followed was a bloody mess, due in part to MELIKUZIEV and DIBOMBE suffering deep lacerations to their respective eyes, which were caused by accidental headbutts and elbows exchanged at close range. While DIBOMBE suffered a manageable cut in the first round, MELIKUZIEV’s gruesome cut in the 5th stanza, courtesy of a nasty clash of heads with DIBOMBE, was much worse, leaving the self-proclaimed “BULLY” bleeding profusely of his eyelid for the rest of the fight. Fortunately for MELIKUZIEV, he racked up enough early rounds and was comfortably ahead on the cards when the fight was stopped in the eighth round by the ringside doctor due to an accidental headbutt. And it was no surprise when MELIKUZIEV was awarded a technical unanimous decision victory over DIBOMBE when the final scorecards were read.
No. 4. MOST TASTEFUL PERFORMANCE
Photo © The World Boxing Association/@wbaboxingofficial
NOMINATED: JONO CARROLL
• Date: July 24, 2024
• Location: IBA Colosseum (Serpukhov, RUS)
In an entertaining fight facing a heavy underdog, JONO CARROLLagainst the former Olympic gold medalist, ALBERT BATIRGAZIEVfor the WBA (Interim) Super Featherweight title, CARROLL got off to a hot start in the first quarter of the fight, even buzzing BATYRGAZIEV in the third round. However, for the rest of the fight, BATYRGAZIEV took a systematic beating on CARROLL, hitting CARROLL to the head and body, and finally ending the Irishman’s night in the 9th round with wild shots to the body.
After the fight, CARROLL said, “I’m going to have to go back to modeling for a while.” That’s an understatement considering the boxing makeover BATYRGAZIEV gave CARROL. Because of CARROLL’s bravery, and his ability to persevere despite having both eyes nearly swollen shut, the likes of which we haven’t seen since GUERRERO vs. BERTO in 2012, CARROLL earned the #4 spot on our list.
Photo © Jae C. Hong/AP
No. 3. COURAGEOUS PERFORMANCE
Photo © NETFLIX
🥉3rd PLACE: AMANDA SERRANO
• Date: NOVEMBER 24, 2024
• Place: AT&T STADIUM (ARLINGTON, TX)
Our third ranked, AMANDA SERRANOpushed him to the limit TAYLOR VS. SERRANO – II (Women’s Boxing Consensus Fight of the Year), fight KATIE TAYLOR with a nasty gash over his right eye for the last 3 rounds. Although SERRANO battled TAYLOR throughout his 10 punches, it was SERRANO’s ability to step up his performance in the clutch that stood out, with the Boricua legend landing 285 of his 734 punches thrown (39%, per COMPUBOX) then getting headbutted by TAYLOR in round 8. And with 4 world titles in game, and despite battling constant blood in his eye during the championship rounds, SERRANO once again proved his mettle by a short hair in a controversial decision loss to TAYLOR (Scorecards: 95 -94 (three times)), a fight that many believed SERRANO won.
no 2. THE MOST TASTEFUL PERFORMANCE
Photo © Esther Lin/PBC
🥈SUB-CHAMPION: SEBASTIAN FUNDORA
• Date: March 30, 2024
• Venue: T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas, NV)
Registration at number 2 on our countdown is a latecomer, SEBASTIÁ FUNDORAwho beat the former WBO world champion, TIM TSZYU, by split decision in March, serving as one half of the bloodiest battle of 2024, TSZYU vs. FOUNDER.
Photo © Esther Lin/PBC
Despite suffering nasty cuts and bleeding that covered his face and body, and at times blurred his vision, including FUNDORA’s nose and mouth leaking like a faucet, “THE TOWERING INFERNO” managed firing over 700 of the 1100 combined shots exchanged in this bout. . Equally important, FUNDORA’s historic victory, in which he defeated TSZYU by split decision to become a unified (WBC/WBO) super welterweight champion of the world, helped produce an instant contender for the FIGHT OF THE L ‘ANY that deserved a second. final place A clash that had fans clamoring for a rematch of this “bloody” affair.
no 1. THE MOST TASTEFUL PERFORMANCE
Photo © @MIKAELALAUREN76/Instagram
🏆WINNER: MIKAELA LAUREN
• Date: November 30, 2024
• Place: Hotel InterContinental (Vienna, AUST)
Finally, the most daring performance of 2024 was from the former World Champion, MIKAEL LAURENfrom Sweden In a November championship bout against the incumbent, MICHAEL KOTASKOVLAUREN, 48, proved she really is ‘a warrior’, fighting until the final bell despite suffering from horrific facial swelling. LAUREN’s swelling stemmed from a crack in her skull, which was the result of a handful of accidental headbutts delivered as early as the first round.
To make matters worse, young KOTASKOVA hit LAUREN with the cumulative effects of KOTASKOVA’s punches and inadvertent headbutts, leaving LAUREN’s face virtually unrecognizable after the bout, looking like a character out of central casting from the movie, The Elephant Man.
Although LAUREN joked after the fight that she “looks like a Freak Show”, her courage is undeniable as she took on an undefeated, world-class contender 13 years her junior, at an age in which more people are more concerned. their 401K than they are in the leather trade. And it is for these reasons, in addition to the significant physical cost suffered by MIKAELA LAUREN that she tops the list with the THE SHARPEST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR!
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About the author:
Paul R. Jones! He is a longtime boxing writer and front-line photographer for Boxing News 24. Scientist by day and writer by night, he covers the humor, absurdity and absurdity of the sport of boxing. His articles, photographs and commentary have appeared in many online outlets (such as Boxing News 24/7, Round by Round Boxing, Boxing Insider and Medium.com), as well as in print and academic journals.
Email or tip him at [email protected].
