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It's time again to vote
for the Briscoe Awards! 2019 was another good
year for Philly boxing. Not only was there the usual loaded
schedule of local fights, world championship boxing came to
Philadelphia as well. In 2019, Tevin Farmer continued his reign as
IBF junior lightweight champ and Julian Williams won the
unified (IBF & WBA) junior middleweight championship.
However, Farmer and Williams weren't the only stories during the year.
LOCAL ACTIVITY
A total of fifteen boxing shows (with 129 total bouts) took
place within the Philadelphia city limits. Kings Promotions
(Marshall Kauffman) staged the most shows, with six dates.
Top Rank and Hard Hitting Promotions were second with three
shows each. Raging Babe staged two shows and Matchroom
Boxing did one. It should be noted that Raging Babe and
Peltz Boxing assisted heavily with the Top Rank and
Matchroom events.
VENUES
The 2300 Arena was the busiest boxing venue in 2019, with
eight shows (five by Kings Promotions, two by Raging Babe and one by
Top Rank). The Liacouras Center hosted three (big) shows
(two by Top Rank and one by Matchroom Boxing). The Met
(Metropolitan Opera House) returned as a boxing venue after
a 64-year hiatus from the sport. Hard Hitting Promotions
partnered with Live Nation to make that happen and suddenly,
Philly had a new gorgeous venue for fights. The Met hosted
three shows during the year. The Sugar
House (now called Rivers Casino) offered one show (by
Kings Promotions). Just outside the city limits, The Parx Casino in
Bensalem, PA held three shows (by Joe Hand Promotions).
Other non-Philadelphia locales that
helped contribute to the Philly fight scene included the
Sands Event Center, in Bethlehem, PA, with two shows (Kings
Promotions), the PAL Center in Hockessin, DE, three shows (Dee
Lee Promotions), and of course various Atlantic City
properties including The Showboat (two shows by Rising Star
Promotions and one by Marty Shuler Promotions), Ocean Resort
Casino (one show by Golden Boy) and Boardwalk Hall
(one show by Salita Promotions).
THE BIG PLATFORM
The 2019 national / international platform was led by Tevin
Farmer who defended his IBF junior lightweight championship
twice and inched closer to a big match with one of the top
fighters in the world. Julian Williams shook up the junior middleweight
division by scoring a big upset over Jarrett Hurd in May to
take his IBF & WBA titles. It was a remarkable
performance. For this tremendous performance, Julian
Williams will take home the Briscoe Award for the "2019
Performance of the Year". Both Farmer and Williams are "2019 Philly
Fighter of the Year" nominees - and both have won the
award in the past (Farmer for 2018 and Williams for 2015).
On the Williams-Hurd card, Stephen Fulton pitched a
shutout against Paulus Ambunda to claim the IBO junior
featherweight belt, a minor world title. More importantly,
Fulton leaped onto the national stage and showed everyone
what he was capable of. For this performance, Fulton will
take home the Briscoe Awards as the "2019 Breakout Fighter
of the Year". Danny Garcia rebounded from his 2018
loss to Shawn Porter with a stay busy KO of Adrian Granados.
Bryant Jennings had a tough year, losing to Oscar Rivas
(TKO12) in
January and Joe Joyce (L12) in July. In March, Gabriel Rosado
fought another thriller back home in Philly against Maciej
Sulecki. It was a typical Rosado performance - exciting,
bloody, and breathtaking. Once again, King Gabriel came up just a
little short, losing the 10-round decision. However, it
proved once again that there is more to consider than a
boxer's record. Rosado is must see - win, lose or draw. He
followed it up with a stay busy win in December.
Jesse Hart
moved up to light heavyweight and won a comfortable decision
over gate-keeper Sullivan Barrera. Joey Dawejko split two
ten rounders, but the one he lost in January against Sergey
Kuzmin was called a robbery by many. Joey remained in the
hunt for a big bout. Jason Sosa fought three times. He won
against Moises Degadillo and Lydell Rhodes (in a KO of the
Year nominee), but lost a title challenge by KO against
Miguel Berchelt. Hank Lundy was upset in a local showdown
against Avery Sparrow in an Upset of the Year nominee), but bounced back with a stay busy win
(W8 Robert Frankel). Sparrow failed to capitalize on his big
win over Lundy. First a Golden Boy fight in CA was cancelled
when he was arrested for a domestic charge one day before
the fight. A few months later, he got another chance with
Golden Boy, but pulled out of the fight due to weight
issues.
Championship boxing came to Philly again this year,
with four world title bouts staged in the city - Tevin
Farmer W12 Jono Carroll (a "Philly Fight of the Year"
nominee), Katie Taylor TKO9 Rose Volante,
Oleksandr Gvozdyk TKO5 Doudou Ngumba, and Artur Beterbiev
TKO10 Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
The rest of the 2019
boxing action belonged to the local Philly-area fighters on the
rise, and that's where the Briscoe Awards enter the picture.
THE BRISCOE AWARDS
This year the Briscoe Awards will be handled a little
differently. As I continue to recuperate from ankle surgery
- and prepare for a second surgery on my other ankle -
we will not hold one single big Briscoe Awards event.
Instead, we will bring the Briscoe Awards to the fighters
and present various awards at different,
smaller pop-up events during the spring. We will also produce a
"2019 Briscoe Awards Yearbook" full of 2019 stories, photos, lists,
ads and sponsorships. The regular Briscoe Awards event will
return in the future, once I recover from by ankle issues.
So, review the nominees
below and make your voice heard today by voting!
You may vote for the various awards described in this
story by visiting
www.BriscoeAwards.com. Look for the "VOTE"
button (in the center of the page) or the "VOTE" tab
(at the top / far right). You may also click one of the
"VOTE" links throughout this article.
Voting
opens today (February 03, 2020). Please only vote once in
each category.
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2019
PHILLY FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
TEVIN FARMER –
The American Idol, last year's winner of this award, made another
strong campaign in 2019. Farmer defended his IBF junior
lightweight title twice during the year (2-0). First he
brought his title home for a competitive title defense
against Irishman Jono Carroll at the Liacouras Center in
March. Farmer won a comfortable decision, but Carroll came
to fight and gave Farmer some problems. In July, Farmer won
another decision over Frenchman Guillaume Frenois in Texas.
These two victories kept Farmer streaking toward a big
fight. Tevin lost his title in January of 2020, but
this nomination is based on his activity in 2019. So he
should not be penalized for his recent defeat.
JULIAN WILLIAMS –
Julian Williams was left for dead by many after losing his first
shot at the junior middleweight title - a fifth round KO
loss at
the hands of Jermall Charlo in 2016. Williams bounced back
with four wins over the following two years, but when he challenged
Jarrett Hurd on May 11, 2019, he was considered a big
underdog. However, Williams seized the opportunity and
fought a perfect fight against the bigger champ. Williams
boxed, punched and controlled the action all night long,
dropping Hurd in round two and winning the unanimous
decision to gain the IBF and WBA titles. His perfect
performance proved that Julian Williams still had plenty of
fight left in him, and suddenly he was THE man at 154
pounds. Williams only fought once in 2019, but he made it
count. It was one for the ages. Williams lost his title in
January of 2020, but this nomination is based on his
activity in 2019. So Julian should not be penalized for his
recent defeat.
Place your
VOTE for Philly Fighter of the Year and
4 other
categories!
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2018
PHILLY FIGHT OF THE YEAR
There were many good fights in the city of Philadelphia last year, but
these four were the best. Two of them were BIG fights and
two were local pairings scheduled for six rounds.
RASHEED JOHNSON W6 VINCENT FLOYD
March 01, 2019 – 2300 Arena
Kings Promotions
It was just a six-rounder, but the nip and tuck battle
between rising Philly fighters Rasheed Johnson and Vincent
Floyd was a terrific, entertaining squeaker that could
have gone either way. Johnson jumped out to an early lead
before Floyd made his run in the middle rounds. However
down the stretch, Johnson rallied and did enough to claim
the points victory by a narrow margin. This was a very good
local fight between two rising young fighters. Later in their
careers, it might be good to see them do it again.
MACIEJ SULECKI W10 GABRIEL ROSADO
March 15, 2019 - Liacouras Center
Matchroom Boxing
Forget Rocky vs. Apollo Creed. Sulecki and Rosado put on a
show for Philadelphia fans that was one of the best bouts in
recent memory. The fight started like it was going to be a blowout. Sulecki dropped Rosado in the opening round and
then again in the
eighth. However, Rosado was born to fight and stormed back
to put Sulecki on the canvas twice in round nine. If there
was a few more seconds left on the clock, Rosado would have
won the fight right then and there - and another chance to fight for a world
title. But Sulecki survived
Rosado's onslaught and lasted through
the final round to take the decision. However, this was classic
Rosado and a classic Philly fight.
TEVIN FARMER W12 JONO CARROLL
March 15, 2019 – Liacouras Center
Matchroom Boxing
Farmer defended his world championship for the third time against
the visiting Carroll, who was determined to take Tevin's
belt back to Ireland. The fight went the full twelve rounds
and Carroll gave Farmer serious problems with his relentless
charges and constant punching. But Farmer was far more
skilled and had extra gas in the tank as the fight went into
the final rounds. Carroll was tough, but Farmer was world
class, and won the unanimous decision by surprisingly wide
scores. This was a big night and a big fight for Philly
boxing.
PAUL KROLL W6 SHINARD BUNCH
August 10, 2019 – Liacouras Center
Top Rank / Peltz Boxing
These rising, undefeated welterweights put on a fantastic display of
speed and grit in this battle for local bragging rights.
Kroll started fast, but Bunch came on in the middle of the
fight. However, Kroll rallied to hurt Bunch in the fourth and
took control of the spirited bout. Kroll was stronger down
the stretch and took the unanimous decision. It's not every
day that two promising boxers clash so early in their
careers. This was a memorable fight and it
would be nice to see these two rematch later in their
careers.
Place your
VOTE for Philly Fight of the Year and
4 other
categories!
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2019
KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR
The KOs kept coming in 2019
and the four best of the year were:
BRIAN HOWARD KO1 GARRETT WILSON
March 01, 2019 – Parx Casino / Bensalem, PA
Joe Hand Promotions
Paybacks are a bitch! After winning two "Knockout of the
Year" Briscoe Awards, Garrett Wilson fell victim to fellow
Philadelphian Brian Howard in 2019 in one of the best KOs of
2019. It wasn't the biggest shock that the aging Wilson
lost to the upstart Howard. But a first round knockout?
Forget it. Wilson has always been as sturdy as he was
dangerous. But Howard didn't get the memo. He stepped out
against Wilson and began dishing out punishment from the
opening bell. A big right early in the fight sent Wilson
crashing to the canvas. He got up, but Howard jumped right on
him. Another right sent the Ultimate Warrior down again, this
time for the full ten count.
JOSHAFAT ORTIZ KO1 JAMES THOMAS
March 30, 2019 – 2300 Arena / Philadelphia
Top Rank / Peltz Boxing
On the undercard of a WBC light heavyweight world title
fight, few paid attention to this match between two young
fighters. Going in, Reading's Ortiz was just 5-0 3 KOs, and
his foe James Thomas was 6-4, 6 KOs. It didn't take long for
Ortiz to prove that he was the better fighter. Ortiz slammed
Thomas with a left uppercut that put Thomas down for the
full count of ten. It was a classic one-punch knockout.
JASON SOSA TKO6 LYDELL RHODES
August 10, 2020 – The Liacouras Center / Philadelphia
Top Rank / Peltz Boxing
After fighting close for the first two rounds, Jason Sosa
opened up on Rhodes to the head and body. Sosa was
especially effective with hard uppercuts that had Rhodes
cringing. In the fifth, Sosa sent Rhodes crashing to the
floor with a potent left hook to the head. Rhodes survived
but went down again before the round ended. In the seventh
round, Sosa closed the show, blasting Rhodes with a right
hand that put him on the canvas for the third time. It was a
powerful performance by Sosa.
STEPHEN FULTON KO6 ISAAC AVELAR
August 24, 2020 – Bert Ogden Arena / Edinburg, TX
Sampson Boxing / TGB Promotions / PBC
Not known for knockout power, Stephen Fulton made an
exception on this night. After looking sharp and controlling
the action for the first four rounds, Fulton went for the
kill in round five. He battered Avelar, but the tough
Mexican survived. In the sixth round, Fulton cracked Avelar
with a perfect left hook to the body. The shot crumbled
Avelar to the canvas where he took the full ten count. It
was a perfect Philly left hook by one of the city's best
young fighters.
Place your
VOTE for Knockout of the Year and
4 other
categories!
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2019
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
The 2019 crop of
first-year pros included two fighters from Philly
and two from Jersey.
SHINARD BUNCH –
Welterweight Shinard Bunch of Trenton, NJ, fought seven
times in 2019, going 5-1, with 4 KOs and 1 NC. His only loss
came against last year's "Rookie of the Year" Paul Kroll.
His bout with Vincent Floyd,
which he was winning, was stopped because of a headbutt, and ruled a No Contest. In general, Bunch was the
busiest of the nominees, showed
much promise throughout his rookie year, and made fans eager
to see him develop as a fighter.
SONNY CONTO –
South Philly heavyweight Sonny "The Bronco" Conto won all
five of his bouts in 2019, four of them by knockout. Conto
was signed by Top Rank right out of the amateurs,
positioning him to move up quickly if he can keep winning. Conto
is enormously popular with a big fan base ready to buy
tickets the moment one of his fights are announced. He's big,
young and can punch with both hands. No wonder he's one of
Philly's rising stars.
RAYMOND FORD –
Featherweight southpaw Raymond Ford of Camden, NJ, went 5-0
with 2 KOs in 2019, and looked like a million bucks doing
it. Signed by Matchroom boxing right out of the amateurs,
Ford made his debut in Philly and has been on the road ever
since. He's already fought at MSG, in the UK, in Phoenix and
in RI. With his promotional ties, Ford will continue to
develop on some of the biggest cards boxing has to offer.
He's a fast, slick and energetic boxer with tons of talent.
TYHLER WILLIAMS –
Philly welterweight southpaw Tyhler Williams went 3-0, 2 KOs
in 2019. He made his debut on March 1st at the Parx with a
second round TKO over Nyrome Lynch of Philadelphia.
Williams then stopped Abdiel Padilla at the Met on
April 26th. Williams closed out his year back at the Parx,
winning a four-round unanimous decision over Philly's Tyree
Arnold. Tyhler is quick and powerful and looks like the
real deal.
Place your
VOTE for Rookie of the Year and
4 other
categories!
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2019
UPSET OF THE YEAR
The year was full of surprises. Here are the three biggest:
AVERY SPARROW W10 HANK LUNDY
March 15, 2019 – The Liacouras Center / Philadelphia
Top Rank / Peltz Boxing
Perennial contender and 37-bout vet Hank Lundy was the solid
favorite against 10-bout pro Avery Sparrow in their
ten-round lightweight bout. Sparrow was a good prospect, but
had yet to fight anyone of Lundy's stature. Regardless of
all that, Sparrow took control, dropping Lundy twice in
round two and winning the testy, high-level face off by
majority decision. In boxing, you just never know, and in
2019 Sparrow proved it.
RAY ROBINSON D10 EGIDIJUS KAVALIAUSKAS
March 30, 2019 – 2300 Arena / Philadelphia
Top Rank
No one gave Ray Robinson a chance against Egidijus
Kavaliauskas in their ten-rounder for the NABF title. In
fact Robinson was a 16-1 betting underdog. But Robinson boxed
smartly from the opening bell and kept the touted puncher at
bay. Ray built his lead and banked round after round. Kavaliauskas got through
to Ray's chin a few times, but Robinson
held strong and kept boxing. It was a masterful
performance by Ray, but unfortunately the official judges let him down. After ten
full rounds, the fight was ruled a majority draw. But we
all know what we saw. This was Robinson's fight all the way.
Even with the official draw decision, Robinson far exceeded all
expectations.
ANTHONY YOUNG TKO3 SADAM ALI
May 04, 2019 – T-Mobile Arena / Las Vegas
Golden Boy Promotions / Matchroom Boxing
Anthony "Juice" Young had never fought a fighter with the
credentials of Sadam Ali before. Ali was a former champion
with a 27-2 record. Young, then 20-2, was brought in as an
opponent for the still viable Ali, just a couple fights
past his title reign. However, Juice proved to
be a spoiler. In a real shocker, Young battered and
stopped Ali in just three rounds. What an upset!
Place your
VOTE
for Upset of the Year and 4 other categories!
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2019
PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
There were a number of fine performances during the year,
but one out-shined the rest. Therefore, no vote is needed
in this category.
JULIAN WILLIAMS - WINNER
W12 Jarrett Hurd / May 11, 2019 / EagleBank Arena in Fairfax,
VA
West Philly's Julian "J-Rock" Williams scored a sizable
upset (5-1 odds) to take the IBF and WBA junior middleweight
titles from Jarrett Hurd. It was a brilliant and determined
performance by Williams. Many thought Hurd would be too big
and too strong for Williams - especially after his loss to
Jermall Charlo in 2016. But Julian left no room for doubt
in his title-winning effort. He out-boxed, out-muscled and
out-punched the betting favorite using a flawless fight plan
designed by trainer Stephen Edwards. Williams showed
just how good a fighter he is and turned in a career-best
performance. The scope of this effort was so big that
no voting is necessary in this category. Williams wins this Briscoe Award
uncontested. The 2019 runners up for this award include:
Steven Ortiz' dominant victory over Jeremy Cuevas (W8);
Gabriel Rosado's losing but breath-taking rollercoaster
performance against Maciej Sulecki; and Stephen Fulton's
shutout against Paulus Ambunda to win the IBO belt.
Congratulations J-Rock!
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2019
PROSPECT OF THE YEAR
The rising fighter with 15 pro bouts or less that made the
biggest impression and promised the most for the future was:
STEVEN ORTIZ - WINNER
Lightweight Steven Ortiz fought twice in 2019, winning both
bouts by eight-round decision. His unanimous decision victory over
Jeremy Cuevas to re-open the Met as a boxing venue was a dominant and impressive performance. Ortiz
dropped Cuevas with a killer left hook in round two and then
did it with a right hand in round seven. In this battle of
undefeated prospects, there was no question that Ortiz was
the better man. In his other 2019 fight, it was Ortiz who
hit the canvas, but he managed to get up and win his fight
against Alejandro Salinas at the Parx Casino. It was a
difficult fight, but Ortiz shined through with his fine
skills and newly proven resiliency. The other promising prospects
and runners up were Paul Kroll and Donald Smith. But this
was Steven Ortiz' year, no voting necessary. Congratulations
Steven Ortiz!
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2019
BREAKOUT FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
A number of fighters made their mark in 2019, but one broke
through like no other during the year.
STEPHEN FULTON - WINNER
In 2019, Stephen Fulton sent the message that he was ready
to take on the world. He fought three times (3-0, 2 KOs).
First in January, he knocked off Marlon Olea (14-3) in
Brooklyn by TKO in five rounds. Four months later, Fulton defeated
experienced Paulus Ambunda (27-2, 11 KOs), to win the IBO
junior featherweight title. It was a tremendous performance.
Fulton won every round and scored a knockdown in round
eight. Stephen painted a masterpiece that night, out-fighting,
out-classing and overwhelming a very good opponent. This
was Fulton's breakthrough moment, but his year wasn't
finished yet. In August, Fulton dominated another tough foe,
then undefeated Isaac Avelar (16-0, 10 KOs). In fact this
was the sixth unbeaten boxer that Fulton defeated during his
career. In the
fight, Fulton cut Avelar in round three and gained
confidence as the fight progressed. Finally in the sixth,
Fulton hammered home a perfect left hook to Avelar's body
that put the Mexican down for the count. This was a great
year for Fulton, 17-0, 7 KOs, and the "Breakout" award goes
to him uncontested. The runner up for this award was Anthony
Young who vaulted onto the world stage with his upset
stoppage of Sadam Ali. Congratulations "Cool Boy Steph"!
_____________________________________________________________
2019
THE ONE TO WATCH
One fighter earned some
deserved attention with a surprise victory that put him on
the map to fight fans outside the Philly-area.
ANTHONY YOUNG - WINNER
Anthony "Juice" Young burst onto the world stage
with a massive upset of "World Kid" Sadam Ali on May 4,
2019. Young was selected as merely an opponent to aid in
Ali's continued comeback. But Young rocked the boat and
destroyed Ali by third round TKO. It was a huge upset by
Young and the ultimate statement that it was finally time to pay
attention to the 23-bout pro. The win earned Young the WBC (USNBC)
Silver title belt. Earlier in the year, Young also stopped
Juan Rodriguez Jr. in six rounds. This too was a very solid
victory for Young, and set the stage for his big bout with
Ali. All in all, it was a good and truly attention-getting
year for Juice. The Briscoe Awards noticed too, and he wins
this award without a vote. Congratulations Juice!
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MORE AWARDS / WINNERS
STILL TO BE NAMED
2019 AMATEUR OF THE YEAR
WINNER: STILL TO BE DETERMINED
2019 PHOTO OF THE YEAR
WINNER: STILL TO BE DETERMINED
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