Okay, now it's time to get into the fighters who have had some serious accomplishments over the past year. Shawn Porter deserved the number 10 spot on this list for embodying everything a modern boxer should be...at least attitude-wise. From here on in, though, the fighters on this list will be gauged not only by attitude, but by skill and accomplishment, as well. Which brings us to the number 9 spot....awarded to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.
Just who is this Thai fighter who even hard core fans hadn't heard of a mere year ago? Oh, just a vet of over forty fights - with just four losses - and a mutli-time world titlist, is all. Don't be discouraged for not being overly aware of Rungvisai until last winter, though. Smaller weight fighters have only recently started getting the kind of attention they deserve. And besides, a lot of Rungvisai's wins were against less than stellar talent. According to BoxRec, after all, three of the man's last four opponents have been fighters making their ring debut.
Strange at that may seem, though, Rungvisai shocked the world last March when he went up against the legendary Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez. That moment of shock didn't arrive when Rungvisai was awarded a controversial decision win against an all time great, however. It happened a half an hour or so earlier, when the rugged hitter put the great Chocolatito on the mat. If memory serves me correctly, those of us on press row at Madison Square Garden that night were hit by quite the thunderbolt when that unexpected moment arrived.
In fairness, though, Rungvisai's decision victory that night understandably struck people as a bit unfair. Early knockdown or not, fans curled their brows at the judges' decision. Chocolatito sure hadn't checked out after that knockdown. He had come back and, according to many, gave at least as good as he got. There was no such controversy to be found after the rematch between Rungvisai and Chocolatito, however. Rungvisai beat the hell out his man this past September, thoroughly besting Chocolatito and earning his spot on this list in the process.
Knocking out a legend has a way of leaving it's mark.
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