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2012
WORLD BOXING FEDERATION AWARDS |
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Fighter Of The Year |
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Marco Antonio Rubio
(Mexico)
WBF World Super
Middleweight
Champion
Previous Winners:
2011: Michael Grant
(USA)
2010: Evander
Holyfield (USA)
2009: William Gare
(South Africa)
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Although his
opponents in his two
WBF World Super
Middleweight title
fights last year
went into the fight
as underdogs, still
the quality of those
two championship
matches and the pure
stature of the man
himself coupled with
his previous two
outings of 2012,
leave only one
choice: Marco
Antonio Rubio is the
WBF’s Fighter of the
Year 2012! The year
began, however, with
Rubio being
outscored by Julio
Cesar Chavez Jr. in
the USA in February.
From then on,
however, it was
Rock’n’Roll: First,
he thrashed unbeaten
Jorge Cota into
submission in seven
rounds in June, then
he was crowned WBF
World Champion when
ex-champ Carlos
Manuel Baldomir of
Argentina retired
after just four
rounds in September
and finally, only
two days before
Christmas, Rubio
went to war with
countryman Michel
Rosales, knocking
him out in the
eleventh in a WBF
title defence. Rubio
is a man of
extraordinary
character both in
and out of the ring,
where he does lots
of social and
charity work. Ain’t
nobody more
deserving of this
award than this true
fighter, who belongs
to the world’s best
with an outstanding
record of 56-6-1 and
an astonishing 49
KO’s. |
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Female Fighter Of
The Year |
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Holly Holm (USA)
WBF Womens World
Welterweight & Light
Welterweight
Champion
Previous Winners:
2011: Christina
Hammer (Germany)
2010: Ramona Kühne
(Germany)
2009: Natascha
Ragosina (Russia)
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Who else? First,
Holly reverses her
only loss in the
last eight years,
outpointing French
WBF Women’s World
Welterweight
Champion Anne Sophie
Mathis last June to
clinch her first
World Boxing
Federation title,
then moved down a
division to add the
vacant WBF Women’s
World Light
Welterweight crown
to her collection by
dominating
Australia’s Diana
Prazak in December.
And what a company
‘The Preacher’s
Daughter’ kept,
because Mathis had
not lost since her
second pro fight way
back in 1995 and
Prazak was 11-1 with
her only loss
occurring in her pro
debut, plus had
female boxing
all-time great Lucia
Rijker in her
corner. Can’t ask
for more from Holm,
as no female boxer
on the planet had
better achievements
in 2012. And we are
proud about the
foremost women boxer
being proud to wear
WBF belts! |
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Fight Of The Year |
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Juan Jose Montes vs
Oscar Ibarra I
WBF World Super
Flyweight
Championship
(Feb. 25, 2012
in Guadalajara,
Mexico)
Previous Winners:
2011: Ali Funeka vs
Zolani Marali I
2010: Evander
Holyfield vs
Francois Botha
2009: Kreshnik Qato
vs Fabio Liggieri
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We said it in our
fight report: This
one may well be the
WBF Fight of the
Year for 2012 – and
it is!
Ibarra got off to
the better start and
landed some huge
right hands in the
first round, but
“Goofy” Montes took
back control in the
second by driving
his opponent to the
ropes and firing
relentlessly with
both hands.
Ibarra didn’t
just receive, but
landed some shots of
his own and the
capacity crowd was
on its feet watching
what was turning out
to be an outright
war. This trend
continued
throughout, Montes
on the offensive but
Ibarra always active
and dangerous with
his right hand. In
the fourth he cut
Montes over the
right eye, and in
the tenth over the
left, and with a
bloody nose to boot
it was evident that
Ibarra had his share
of success. But
Montes continued to
charge relentlessly,
and showed
extraordinary
courage and
determination from
start to finish.
After twelve
pulsating rounds of
boxing, the crowd
had hardly used
their chairs and
gave the two
warriors a
two-minute standing
ovation. While
Montes got the
unanimous decision
(and repeated it in
a rematch seven
months later, which
did not reach the
heights of this
original encounter),
both fighters
deserve big credit
for putting on one
of the best WBF
fights in recent
memory. |
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Female Fight Of The
Year |
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Holly Holm vs. Anne
Sophie Mathis II
WBF World
Welterweight
Championship
(June
15, 2012 in
Albuquerque, N.
M., USA)
Previous Winners:
2011: Christina
Hammer vs Maria
Lindberg
2010: Myriam Lamare
vs Lucia Morelli
2009: Myriam Lamare vs Ann
Marie Saccurato
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Consider this: Aside
from an early-career
cut-eye stoppage,
Holm had not lost in
a career spanning
more than 10 years –
that is, until
Mathis came along in
2011 and spoiled the
party by stunningly
knocking Holly out
in seven rounds in
front of her
Albuquerque home
fans. And aside from
her second pro fight
ages ago, Mathis
hadn’t lost either
and based on her
brutal win over Holm
came into the WBF
Female Fight of the
Year the consensous
# 1 in womens
boxing. All kudos to
Holm for immediately
getting back in with
her conquerer – and
coming through with
flying colours.
Showing amazing
mental strength,
Holm boxed more this
time and won the
early rounds, before
the physically
strong Mathis closed
the gap in the
middle rounds. In
the final third of
the bout, it looked
like the French lady
might repeat her
feat from the first
fight, but Holm
stood her ground,
countered
effectively and
finally won an
exciting unanimous
decision in 2012’s
most important
female fight. |
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Newcomer Of The Year |
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Timur Akhundov (Ukraine)
Intercontinental
Featherweight
Champion
Previous Winners:
2011: Nadjib
Mohammedi (France)
2010: Yvan Mendy
(France)
2009: Goran Delic
(Bosnia &
Hercegovina)
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It is not that he
came from nowhere,
but few people knew
about Timur Akhundov
before he won the
WBF Intercontinental
Featherweight title
in March, stopping
Hungary’s Arpad Vass
in just three
rounds. The
28-year-old
Ukrainian followed
that up with a
defence in July
outscoring Leonus
Marie Francoise of,
yes, France to set
up a possible world
title shot for this
year. Timur closed
out last year with a
record of 14-2-1 (5)
and has not lost
since 2008. If he
keeps progressing as
he did last year,
then this will
certainly not be the
last WBF award of
his career. |
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Female Newcomer Of
The Year |
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Raja Amasheh (Germany)
Intercontinental
Flyweight
Champion
Previous Winners:
2011: Zita Zatyko
(Hungary)
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Okay, maybe at age
30, she can not
exactly be termed a
newcomer, but then
again, who dares to
ask the age of a
classy women? Raja
turned pro with a
draw in 2008
(against a 6-0
opponent no less!)
and has not looked
back since. She
reached the
highlight of her
unbeaten career so
far last year by
clinching the WBF
Womens
Intercontinental
Flyweight title –
her first title ever
– with a shutout
over experienced
Fleis Djendji in
October, which was
preceded by a
warm-up 6-round
shutout over
Erzsebet Hassza the
previous May. Now
Amasheh stands at
14-0-1 (3) and on
the threshold of
bigger titles. A
worthy newcomer to
all intends and
purposes. |
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Promoter Of The Year |
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Oswaldo Kuchle &
Hector Garcia
(Mex.)
Previous Winners:
2011: Damian Michael
(South Africa)
2010: Ylli Ndroqi
(Albania)
2009: Ulf Steinforth
(Germany)
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What a year 2012 was
for the WBF in
Mexico – owed in
large parts to
promoters Hector
Garcia and Oswaldo
Kuchle, who as
partners and
co-promoters of four
WBF world title
bouts last year
share the WBF
Promoter of the Year
award. But it
doesn’t stop here,
mind you. Garcia’s
HG Boxing staged on
their own a further
five WBF world
championship bouts,
while Kuchle’s
Promociones Del
Pueblo promoted
another three WBF
world titles
themselves as well
as an additional two
with a different
partner. So all in
all, the duo of
Garcia and Kuchle
were behind a
staggering 14 WBF
title bouts in 2012
alone. With that
kind of numbers
nobody is more
deserving to be
named Promoter of
the Year. Nothing
more to say...except
maybe, keep it up,
Hector and Oswaldo! |
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Presidents Special
Service Award |
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DOG Eventboxing
(Germany)
Previous Winners:
2011: Dr. Humbert
Furgoni (France)
2010: John Sheppard
(England)
2009: Anila Qato
(Albania)
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Trainer Of The Year |
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Alan Toweel (South
Africa)
Previous Winners:
2011: Dirk Dzemski
(Germany)
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His masterpiece came
late in 2012, only
in early December to
be precise, but when
it came it was
enough to earn Alan
Toweel the WBF’s
Trainer of the Year
award. The South
African coach, of
the famous Toweel
fighting family,
operates his own gym
in Johannesburg and
has produced many
champions and top
class fighters in
his career. Among
them is a certain
Zolani Marali, who
had lost three of
his last four, with
the last setback
being a hotly
disputed split
decision defeat to
countryman Ali
Funeka in a cracker
for the vacant WBF
world
lightwelterweight
title in 2011. When
the rematch happened
13 months later, the
35-year-old southpaw
Marali, dubbed
“Untouchable”,
followed Toweel’s
gameplan to
perfection. Toweel’s
expert coaching was
a major factor in
Marali, 22-5 (13),
gaining revange and
with it the WBF
world crown by
unanimous decision –
as well as his
trainer this award. |
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Referee Of The Year |
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Tonio Tiberi
(Luxembourg)
Previous Winners:
2011: Juan José
Ramirez (Mexico)
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