The highs

            Canelo! 20-year-old Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (35-0, 26 KOs) (R) gave a much needed boost to the Mexican Boxing Scene in 2010. The young welterweight from Jalisco, Mexico, fought five times in 2010 going 5-0 with four of those wins coming by way of knockout. Alvarez’ traditional style of Mexican fighting has helped him build a tremendous following in his native Mexico where ratings for his televised fights there are through the roof.

            Under the guidance of Oscar De La Hoya (whose Golden Boy Promotions represents Alvarez) Canelo has showed major cross-over appeal which became evident on September 18, 2010 when nearly 14,000 boxing enthusiasts packed L.A.’s Staples Center to see him register the biggest win of his career by defeating former champion Carlos Baldomir in six rounds. In the span of just five short years, Alvarez has already captured the imagination of boxing fans on both sides of the border, many of whom are dreaming of the day when he could stand face-to-face with boxing’s best fighter Manny Pacquiao. Alvarez’ next fight is tentatively scheduled for March 5th 2011 and will take place in the Los Angeles area.

            ‘Dinamita’not done: At the end of 2009, many fans, bloggers, and writers all came to the same conclusion regarding the career of Juan Manuel Marquez: Dinamita was done! That assessment was based on Marquez’ September 2009 welterweight fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. In that fight, Marquez climbed up two weight-classes only to lose a lopsided decision.

            Marquez rebounded quite nicely in 2010, and did so by returning to the lightweight division. He defeated Juan Diaz in an entertaining rematch in July, and went toe-to-toe with slugger Michael Katsidis before defeating him in a thrilling candidate for Fight of the Year. As in the previous year, Marquez remains the lineal lightweight champion and will seek a move up to Jr. Welterweight in 2011. Up next for Marquez, a fight with fellow Mexican legend Erik Morales is said to be in the works and could come into fruition in spring 2011.

The Lows

            Mayweather’s Madness: The super fight between Manny Pacquiao, and Floyd Mayweather Jr. did not happen this year, and it probably won’t happen in 2011, either. The reason this time around has nothing to do with blood testing, and everything to do with Mayweather’s inability to refrain from getting in trouble with the law. The trouble started on September 10, 2010 when Mayweather was taken into custody by authorities in Las Vegas, and booked on charges of domestic violence, coercion, and robbery. Two months later on Nov. 15, Mayweather allegedly poked a security guard in the facial area numerous times in an argument over parking tickets. Mayweather is scheduled to appear in court on Jan 24. If convicted of all crimes, Mayweather could serve up to 34 years in prison.

            Valero: Throughout the course of an eight year career, Edwin Valero had become one of the most dynamic figures in the sport. Seen as a mini-version of Mike Tyson, Valero had amassed a record of 27-0, with all 27 wins coming by knockout. He instilled fear in fighters, with some of the biggest names such as Juan Manuel Marquez opting not to face him. On Feb. of this year, Valero gave the most complete and most impressive performance of his career by defeating Tijuana’s Antonio DeMarco in nine rounds to retain his World Boxing Council lightweight title.

            Despite all of his achievements inside of the ring, Valero could not control his demons outside of it; Valero had a history of drug and alcohol abuse. On April 19, 2010 just one day after being taken into custody for the murder of his wife, Edwin Valero hung himself in a Venezuelan jail cell. Shortly after his death, Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum revealed that had he lived, Valero would have been a future opponent of Manny Pacquiao.

 The Awards:

            2010 Fighter of the Year: Sergio ‘Maravilla’ Martinez — In La Prensa San Diego’s Fall Boxing Preview, I stated that Sergio Martinez would secure fighter of the year honors if he defeated Paul Williams. Well, not only did Martinez win, but he crushed Williams with a spectacular second round Knockout. Add his impressive unanimous decision victory over Kelly Pavlik this past April, and you have your 2010 Fighter of the year.

           Prospect of the year: Chris “S.D. Kid” Martin– While many outlets are picking Saul “Canelo” Alvarez as their prospect of the year, we’re picking someone a little closer to home. San Diego bantamweight Chris Martin (21-0, 6 KOs) had an exceptional year winning all five of his bouts in 2010. Among the most impressive, was his August 6 beating of former San Diegan Chris Avalos in a bout that was televised on premium cable network Showtime. In that fight, Martin displayed excellent speed, movement, and skill, landing his combinations at will. Martin would go on to win via split decision (although it should have been scored as a unanimous decision). The fight with Avalos opened up a lot of eyes within the boxing community, as Avalos was seen as the heavy favorite going into the bout. Locally, Martin has developed a loyal following. His devoted legion of fans jam-packs the Four-Points Sheraton whenever he fights. Over the past 2 years, Martin has become a fixture at the Four-points fighting a total of seven times, his most recent bout there came on December 17 where he defeated Colombian Yogli Herrera by unanimous decision. Outside of the ring, the devoted 24-year-old father of two moonlights as a corrections officer at a local prison.