Which Fighter Performed the Worst Under the Brightest Lights in 2010?
It’s impossible to always live up to expectations, and the bigger and better you are, the higher the bar is going to be set up. Some boxers – and some people – react best under these circumstances, while others stumble along and fail to live up to the hype. In 2010, there were several big name boxers who disappointed in a major way, coming up short when the expectations were the highest. Check it out here.
Biggest Boxing Disappointment in 2010: Chad Dawson
Chad Dawson was a top 5 pound for pound fighter in most people’s eyes not too long ago, a top 10 fighter at the least. But his 2010 was a terrible one. First, he fought only one time, showing a terrible level of inactivity, particularly for a young champion supposedly in his prime. The one bout he had was a showdown against Jean Pascal, and he suffered the first loss of his career. Losing in and of itself isn’t that bad, it was the performance that he gave in that fight which was the most disappointing.
He never seemed in the bout, never got his offense going, and failed to capitalize on opportunities which were there. Coupled with the fact that it was his only chance to make an impression in 2010, and that he was supposed to be the Next Big American Boxing Star, and he’s the most disappointing boxer of the year.
Runner-Up: Arthur Abraham
Arthur Abraham entered 2010 as the co-favorite to win the Super Six Tournament, along with Andre Ward. Two fights later he has an ugly DQ on his record, in a fight that he was being outclassed in, and a no-show performance for another loss. The loss to Andre Dirrell came after a clearly late and illegal blow knocked Dirrell unconscious. While he was coming on late, he probably lost at least 7 of the first 10 rounds, and would have needed to (legally) knock Dirrell out to get the W.
It was a big mistake in a big moment, and one he needed to atone for. Instead, he hardly showed up for his fight against Carl Froch. Froch outmaneuvered him for the duration of the bout, perhaps not losing a single round over the contest. Many were favoring Abraham to beat Froch in that bout and revive his standing in the field, but instead he limps into the semi-finals and has a match-up against Andre Ward that suddenly would be a major upset if he managed to win. Quite a fall for the tournament co-favorite from 12 months ago.
Right after those two would come Celestino Caballero, who suffered a loss to Jason Litzau in the upset of the year, although he did have a solid showing in his first fight at featherweight earlier in 2010. Maybe the real disappointment in 2010 wasn’t a fighter, it was a fight, and it was one that never happened… Pacquiao vs. Mayweather.
Thanks for checking out this installment and be sure to check out the complete list and collection of the ProBoxing-Fans.com 2010 boxing awards!
