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2015
WORLD BOXING FEDERATION AWARDS |
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Fighter Of The Year |
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Alexander Brand (Colombia)
WBF World
Super Middleweight
Champion
Previous Winners:
2014: Isaac
Rodrigues
(Brazil)
2013: Danie Venter
(South Africa)
2012: Marco Antonio
Rubio (Mexico)
2011: Michael Grant
(USA)
2010: Evander
Holyfield (USA)
2009: William Gare
(South Africa) |
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The reigning WBF world
super middleweight
champion from Colombia
was a somewhat logical
choice for the Fighter
of the Year 2015 award.
He not just more or less
played with ex-WBF
champion Bernard Donfack
to dethrone him in
August by a landslide
points decision, he even
dared – while waiting
for his first defense to
be fixed – to jump up a
division to light heavy
and take on unbeaten
16-0 Medzhid Bektemirov
and finished the
Russians undefeated run
in the USA as a pastime.
At 38 years of age and
with just a sole defeat
(a split decision to
Badou Jack) in 26 pro
fights since 2009,
Alexander Brand was
better than ever last
year and there seems no
stopping him yet. |
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Female Fighter Of
The Year |
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Nicole Wesner (Germany)
WBF World
Lightweight
Champion
Previous Winners:
2014: Eva Voraberger (Austria)
2013: Christina
Hammer (Germany)
2012: Holly Holm
(USA)
2011: Christina
Hammer (Germany)
2010: Ramona Kühne
(Germany)
2009: Natascha
Ragosina (Russia) |
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Nicole Wesner, the WBF
Womens world lightweight
champion, had an
excellent 2015, winning
twice to go to 11-0 (5).
However, it certainly
wasn’t her rather easy
win over Monica Gentili
(KO 2) last June which
netted her the Female
Fighter of the Year
award, although she was
probably more satisfied
with this win than her
title defense against
Irma Balijagic Adler
three months later. But
when it comes to drama,
her WBF title clash with
Adler stands out with
the best. More than
once, Nicole was on the
very verge of getting
knocked out in this
all-out punch-up. But
just when you thought
one more flyby punch
from Adler was all it
needed, Wesner dug down
deeper than deep and
from somewhere got the
courage, spirit and
physical means to stay
in the fight and come
back – and win a narrow
10-round decision. Great
stuff for the fans and a
Fighter of the Year
trophy for Nicole for
her pains. |
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Fight Of The Year |
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Jan Zaveck vs. Sasha
Yengoyan
World
Super Welterweight
Championship
(11.4
/ Maribor)
Previous Winners:
2014:
Rafik
Harutjunjan vs. Ilya
Prymak
2013:
Laszlo Toth vs.
Giorgi Ungiadze
2012: Juan José
Montes vs. Oscar
Ibarra I
2011: Ali Funeka vs.
Zolani Marali I
2010: Evander
Holyfield vs.
Francois Botha
2009: Kreshnik Qato
vs.
Fabio Liggieri |
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In many ways, Zaveck vs
Yengoyan for the WBF
world super welterweight
title on April 11 in
Maribor, Slovenia, was
not the most spectacular
prizefight you are ever
going to see. But in
equally as many ways, it
epitomized all that is
good about the great
sport of boxing, and
that alone justifies its
selection as Fight of
the Year 2015. Consider:
Yengoyan entered the
ring a highly solid
31-1-1 (21) and in many
experts’ books a
favorite to retain his
WBF world belt.
Challenger Zaveck was
34-3 (19) and a former
IBF champion, plus had
5.000 fans behind him.
And what was a fantastic
match on paper turned
out to be similarly
fantastic in the ring.
Zaveck began by showing
of great skills and
winning the first part
of the fight, despite
bleeding profusely from
a cut suffered in the
very first round. As the
fight progressed,
Yengoyan, who also bled
from a cut since round
five, came on better and
better and the two
warriors made things
harder for each other
with each passing round.
At the end, nobody left
the venue disappointed,
except for Yengoyan and
his team of course, as
the older Zaveck
celebrated his last big
performance as the new
WBF world champion.
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Female Fight Of The
Year |
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Gabisile Tshabalala vs.
Unathi Myekeni
World
Super Bantamweight
Championship
(28.8
/ Secunda)
Previous Winners:
2014: Rola El Halabi
vs. Victoria
Cisneros
2013: Raja Amasheh
vs. Eva Voraberger
2012: Holly Holm vs.
Anne Sophie Mathis
II
2011: Christina
Hammer vs. Maria
Lindberg
2010: Myriam Lamare
vs.
Lucia Morelli
2009: Myriam Lamare vs. Ann
Marie Saccurato |
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In arguably the best
female fight seen in
South Africa in many,
many years, compatriots
Tshabalala and Myekeni
went to war for the
vacant WBF women’s world
super bantamweight title
on the evening of August
28 in Secunda. They gave
their all in a match
that had spectators
standing on their seats
and TV commentators
agreeing that this was
an incredibly exciting,
thrilling and worthy
world championship. Both
fighters went toe-to-toe
from the first bell and
Tshabalala built an
early lead. The final
three rounds were all
Myekeni who pummeled
Tshabalala, and had the
fight gone one more
round, in all likelihood
would have stopped the
eventual new champ. It
was a highly memorable
fight which epitomized
all that is good about
women’s boxing and
surely a good choice for
our Female Fight of the
Year. |
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Newcomer Of The Year |
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Frans Ramabola
(South Africa)
International
Super Welterweight
Champion
Previous Winners:
2014: Zhang Junlong
(China)
2013: Timy Shala
(Austria)
2012: Timur Akhundov
(Ukraine)
2011: Nadjib
Mohammedi (France)
2010: Yvan Mendy
(France)
2009: Goran Delic
(Bosnia &
Hercegovina) |
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Frans Ramabola was the
one fighter in South
Africa who shone last
year as a hotter
newcomer than most
others. His exciting
attacking and aggressive
style made him a
favorite with fans and
on TV and he moved his
record to 6-0 (2) when
winning the WBF
International super
welterweight title in
fine style in Polokwane
last October. His two
previous fights of 2015
were also both for
titles of sorts, so
Ramabola graduated from
a 4/6-round novice to a
championship caliber
12-round fighter by the
end of the year. It’s
certainly not just the
WBF who predicts even
greater things from
Ramabola in 2016. |
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Female Newcomer Of
The Year |
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Dan Bi Kim (South
Korea)
Intercontinental
Light Flyweight
Champion
Previous Winners:
2014: Melanie
Zwecker (Germany)
2013: Natalia
Smirnova (Russia)
2012: Raja Amasheh
(Germany)
2011: Zita Zatyko
(Hungary) |
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Wait a minute – can
someone who turned pro
way back in 2006 and
over the course of a
17-fight career which
netted her a few titles
of sorts really become
Newcomer of the Year?
Yes, we think Dan Bi Kim
can! For starters, she’s
still only 24 years
young. Also consider
that the Korean hit a
bad streak, scoring just
two wins since the
summer of 2010. Now
she’s no more sweating
down to strawweight nor
is she taking on bigger
girls at flyweight, but
instead Kim has made
light flyweight her home
in 2015 and the rewards
have been three straight
W’s including the WBF
Intercontinental title,
which put her in line
for a shot at world
champion Anne Sophie Da
Costa in 2016. Yes,
maybe the term
“Againcomer” would suit
her better, but those
credentials were
sufficient to win Dan Bi
Kim, 12-3-2 (4), the
Female Newcomer of the
Year 2015 award. |
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Promoter Of The Year |
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Mbali Zantsi (South
Africa)
Previous Winners:
2014: Dexter T. Tan
(Philippines)
2013: Oliver Heib &
Bernhard Notar
(Germany)
2012: Oswaldo Kuchle
& Hector Garcia
(Mex.)
2011: Damian Michael
(South Africa)
2010: Ylli Ndroqi
(Albania)
2009: Ulf Steinforth
(Germany) |
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They call her, pun
intended, the “Don
Queen” of boxing. She is
young, hard-working, and
the first female boxing
promoter in South
African history. In
fact, a newspaper
summarized a recent
feature about Mbali
Zantsi by stating that
“in boxing circles, her
name is synonymous with
excellence” and the WBF
can now attest to that.
Zantsi’s Showtime Boxing
Promotions had two shows
in the space of four
months when SABC
television returned to
the screens in South
Africa with boxing. Her
two shows featured a
total of four WBF
championship fights,
including three
women’s
titles. It is the first
time in the history of
the WBF Annual Awards
that a woman wins the
Promoter of the Year
category, but in this
case, it is highly
deserving and
appropriate that this
young lady, who has done
so much for women’s
boxing in South Africa,
is taking home the
honors.
And her approach
certainly did not harm
her chances, as Zantsi
stated in an interview
that her ambition is to
“create more role models
and bread winners,
empower our youth to be
able to carry their own
families.” A worthy
award winner, in and out
of boxing. |
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Presidents Special
Service Award |
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Dr. Adam Balogh
(Germany)
Previous Winners:
2014: André Martin
(France)
2013: Jennifer
Salinas (Bolivia)
2012:
Oliver Heib &
Bernhard Notar
(Ger.)
2011: Dr. Humbert
Furgoni (France)
2010: John Sheppard
(England)
2009: Anila Qato
(Albania) |
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We all agree that the
medical men in boxing
are pivotal for the game
and of huge importance.
However, next to nobody
knows their names or
faces, although without
them professional boxing
would cease to exist.
One man who is of
tremendous importance to
the World Boxing
Federation, but always
carries a dignified low
profile is our Medical
Advisor Dr. Adam Balogh.
He sets up and updates
our General Medical
Guidelines, he looks
into all medical issues
and gives highly
educated expertise, he
deals with doping
issues, and the list
goes on and on. And he
does it all without
fanfare in the large
shadows of the
backgrounds. Simply put,
the WBF owes a great
deal of gratitude to Dr.
Balogh and so his
contribution, which we
would not want to miss
for anything, is rightly
acknowledged now with
the Presidents Special
Service Award 2015. |
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Trainer Of The Year |
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Artur Grigorian
(Germany)
Previous Winners:
2014: Ulysses
Pereira (Brazil)
2013: Juan Carlos
Contreras (Mexico)
2012:
Alan Toweel
(South Africa)
2011: Dirk Dzemski
(Germany) |
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He was a great champion
himself. “King” Artur
Grigorian held the WBO
lightweight title from
1996 to 2003, making an
astonishing 17
successful defenses.
Since some years he is
firmly on the way to
become as successful as
a trainer. This was
highly evident when he
trained and coached WBF
world welterweight
champion Rafik
Harutjunjan in his first
defense of his crown.
The Dutchman turned in a
truly impressive
performance last October
in Amsterdam, when he
won a unanimous 12-round
decision against
challenger Kelvin Dotel.
Without sacrificing his
all-action, fan-friendly
style, Grigorian
succeeded in making
Harutjunjan a better
boxer. Rest assured, he
will not remain the last
world champion that has
“King” Artur in his
corner, the WBF’s 2015
Trainer of the Year. |
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Referee Of The Year |
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Bertrand
Chagnoux (France)
Previous Winners:
2014: Brahim Ait
Aadi (Belgium)
2013: Edward
Marshall (South
Africa)
2012:
Tonio Tiberi
(Luxembourg)
2011: Juan
José Ramirez
(Mexico) |
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A good referee is a
referee you do not
notice, the saying goes.
Bertrand Chagnoux is not
noticed much, but his
presence in the ring is
felt nevertheless. He
goes about his business
in a quiet, although
firm manner. He simply
does his job and he does
it well. He has not yet
refereed the really big
fights, but you can be
confident that (a) it is
just a matter of time
and (b) that he will not
fail at the highest
level. Going by
performance rather than
achievement, we couldn’t
find a better WBF
Referee of the Year for
2015 than Bertrand
Chagnoux. |
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