The World Boxing Association (WBA) chose five bouts as nominees for Fight of the Year 2021. It was a calendar with a lot of action and good fights among which Charlo-Castaño, Estrada-González II, Kambosos-López, Taylor-Ramírez and Gutiérrez Alvarado II opted for the award of the pioneer body.
Jermell Charlo and Brian Castaño fought in an exchange fight last July 17. The bout ended in a draw but had great moments for each and in the end Charlo kept his WBA, IBF and WBC super welterweight belts, while Castaño kept his WBO belt, in the fight held in San Antonio, Texas.
Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman Gonzalez stepped into the ring last March 13, in Dallas, for one of the most impressive fights of 2021 due to the amount of punches they both threw and how the actions unfolded. In the end, Estrada won the WBA super flyweight super championship. A rematch of the third part of this rivalry is scheduled for March 2022.
George Kambosos shocked the world by defeating Teofimo Lopez becoming the undesputed lightweight champion in New York. The Greek-born Australian knocked down the former champion but also survived a knockdown late in the bout to pull off an impressive win.
On the other hand, Josh Taylor’s bout against Jose Carlos Ramirez gave the Scotish a new status in world boxing and became known to the few American audiences who did not yet know him. Taylor defeated the American in a great performance that showed who is the best fighter at 140 lbs. on May 22, in Las Vegas.
Finally, the fight between Venezuelan Roger Gutiérrez and Nicaraguan René Alvarado made the list. It was the second of the trilogy between the two on January 2, 2021 and Gutierrez won the belt from Alvarado with three knockdowns in a close fight that was decided by just one point.
The WBA chose the finalists after an extensive study but wants to consider the opinion of boxing fans through surveys that are being posted on social networks.
