NABF AWARDS 2009
New York, April 9 – President Joe Dwyer has announced the winners of the NABF’s yearly awards, to be presented at the organization’s annual convention which will take place from June 9-12, 2010, at the Royal Sonesta in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana.
“We had a great year, and all of the recognition accorded to the winners is hard-earned and well-deserved,” said Dwyer, who refers to the NABF as the Triple A of professional boxing.
“As good of a year as we’ve had, we are not going to rest on our laurels,” he continued. “There is a lot of good boxing in store for the future.”
This year’s recipients are:
Fight of the Year
Johnathan Banks TKO 6 Travis “Freight Train” Walker: The hard-punching Walker, 34-4-1 (28 KOS), outweighed Banks, now 24-1 (17 KOS), by 20 pounds when they squared off for the vacant heavyweight title in Germany in March. The fight was filled with many ebbs and flows, but when the dust settled it was Banks whose hand was raised in victory. The bout was promoted by K2 Promotions, as the lead-in to the Wladimir Klitschko-Eddie Chambers world heavyweight title bout.
Fighter of the Year
Wilbert Uicab, 27-5-1 (16 KOS), of Mexico has already made 5 defenses of the NABF flyweight title that he won in January 2009. Although his last bout, against Anthony Villarreal in February 2010, was ruled a no contest because of an accidental clash of heads, it is expected that the always busy Uicab will be back with a vengeance in the very near future.
Most Dramatic Fight
Willie Lee W 10 Alex Bunema: Lee or Bunema are never in dull fights, but their August 2009 thriller for the vacant light middleweight crown exceeded all expectations. Both well-traveled warhorses were hurt and looked as if they could have been stopped on several occasions. In a fight that could have gone either way, the Mississippi-based Lee, now 17-6 (11 KOS), eked out a spilt decision over Bunema, now 31-7-2 (17 KOS), a native of the Congo who fights out of Tennessee.
Prospect of the Year
Vanes Martirosyan: Less than one month after stopping Willie Lee in three rounds to win the vacant NABF light middleweight title, the 23-year-old Martirosyan, a 2004 Olympian, enthusiastically embarked on the biggest challenge of his career. He squared off against the rugged and resilient former world champion Kassim Ouma of Uganda. In a seesaw battle of wills, Martirosyan, now 27-0 (17 KOS), outworked the crafty Ouma, now 26-7-1 16 KOS), and secured his spot as a legitimate top-10 contender.
Female Fighter of the Year
Irma Sanchez: The 22-year-old flyweight from Mexico turned professional in August 2006, but has already won multiple titles, including the vacant NABF crown from Susana Morales in October 2010. Since that sterling victory, she has fought twice more, picking up the WBC female youth title along the way. With a record of 17-3-1 (5 KOS), she is all-action, all the time.
Female Promoter of the Year
Hector Garcia: Having promoted his very first card just four years ago in a venue with a capacity of 100 people, Garcia has moved forward at a breakneck pace. He has made boxing a thriving sport in Guadalajara, Mexico, which was the site of many of the 11 female championship bouts and 40 male title bouts that he has promoted.
Matchmaker of the Year
Bobby Goodman: The Hall of Fame matchmaker has decades of experience in developing future champions. Long considered one of the few matchmakers by which all others should be compared, Goodman works for Square Ring Inc., which promoted numerous NABF contests over the past year
Promoter of the Year
Square Ring, Inc.: With John Wirt as its CEO, Square Ring kept the career of the legendary Roy Jones Jr. alive in 2009. Promoting fights between Jones and Omar Sheika and Jeff Lacy, led to much bigger bouts for Jones against local hero Danny Green in Australia and a long-awaited grudge match against Bernard Hopkins. On the undercard of Jones-Hopkins were two highly competitive NABF title fights, featuring super featherweights Jason Litzau vs. Rocky Juarez and light heavyweights Ismayl Sillakh vs. Daniel Judah.
President’s Award
Gale Van Hoy: One of the original members of the NABF, Van Hoy’s long and meritorious contributions to the organization are tremendous. Each year he runs a memorabilia auction that raises funds for the NABF treasury. Whenever he is asked, and even when he isn’t, Van Hoy is quick to assist in any endeavor that will enhance the reputation of boxing in general, and the NABF in particular.
FEMALE DIVISION:
Irma Sanchez – Fighter of the Year
Hector Garcia – Promoter