1. Manny Pacquiao versus Jeff Horn
Australia’s Jeff Horn was meant to be a soft touch for Manny Pacquiao. The Filipino senator’s world tour was derailed at the first stop when school teacher Horn managed to outwork, and outmuscle him at times, to scrape a decision.
2. David Haye versus Tony Bellew
Bellew has once been a light-heavyweight. He performed well to win a world title at cruiserweight but the leap to heavyweight looked too far and David Haye seemed too big a puncher. But Bellew boxed with him and when Haye’s Achilles tendon snapped, Bellew set about him, forcing a stoppage defeat.
3. Miguel Cotto versus Sadam Ali
The stage was set for Miguel Cotto to end his career in style at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. But Sadam Ali did not come to lose. He managed to rock Cotto early on and when the great Puerto Rican suffered an arm injury, Ali closed out the fight to win a tight but unanimous decision.
4. Roman Gonzalez versus Sor Rungvisai
Roman Gonzalez or “Chocolatito” was viewed as one of the best fighters in the world pound-for-pound. But the strong Thai took a contentious decision over Gonzalez in New York in March, winning the WBC super-flyweight title and then knocked him out in a rematch in September to prove it was no fluke.
5. Yuriorkis Gamboa versus Robinson Castellanos
Mexico’s Robinson Castellanos had a 23-12 record when he boxed Gamboa. He was meant to be a straightforward opponent for the talented Cuban. But Castellanos declined to read the script and forced Gamboa to retire on his stool on a quiet Friday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Comment below to let us know what’s shocked you most this year
