Round of the Year 2022 Winner: Viktor Faust vs Iago Kiladze, Round One

2021 winner: Teofimo vs. Kambosos Jnr., Round One

This year’s winner of the round of the year is a sloppy one. The first round in this bout saw both heavyweights hit the deck in a wildly fun first round that shows that both fighters have a limited ceiling in terms of their pro trajectory, but sure can be entertaining with their flaws. 

The fight will probably serve as a cautionary tale for both, as the reason it was so good, we because of the flaws of each man in the bout. Faust has only fought once since this fight on January 1st, 2022, and that was in Germany, Iago Kiladze has not fought since.

It is hard to see either with a world-level trajectory as they both were far too emotional making the bout a car crash of a first round you couldn’t help, but watch.

The bout saw both men hit the canvas, moving away from technical boxing and looking to load up on big punches. The limits of their defense allowed big shots to land on both sides. 

Sometimes awards aren’t pretty, but in a year, in which it was easier to talk about the fights we didn’t get than the ones we did, Faust vs. Kiladze was the most memorable round of the whole year.

Honorable Mentions

Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano, Round Five – Rarely do big fights have a moment that matches the excitement of the build-up to a big fight. When Serrano put Taylor on the ropes it was one thing, when Katie Taylor willingly embraced it and fought back, that is when this fight became legendary the best fight of the year, needs to be mentioned.

Jose Valenzuela vs. Edwin De Los Santos, Round Two – Two knockdowns in a fight with high drama that saw one of the bigger upsets of the year occur as De Los Santos was dropped, but rallied back to hurt Valenzuela badly in the same round. The type of fight that makes people start shadowboxing themselves while watching. 

Leigh Wood vs. Michael Conlan, Round 12 – A thrilling conclusion to a fight that had a lot of drama, and concluded in a dramatic fashion with a fighter being knocked out of the ring. 

Souleymane Cissohko vs. Roberto Valenzuela Jr., Round Four – A fight that wasn’t all that great, but saw both fighters hit the canvas in round four, which provided heightened drama. It looked like business was about to pick up, but the talent of Cissohko allowed him to not get into a great fight, but rather a learning lesson.

Kendo Castaneda vs Joseph Fernandez, round nine – The semi-finals of ProBox TV’s Last Chance Tournament, at 140 lbs., put forth an amazing ninth round as Kendo Castaneda and Joseph Fernandez laid it all on the line in the ninth round. 

Sam Gilley vs Drew Brown, Round eight – One of the best club fights I have ever seen. Taking place on the now defunct MTK boxing shows, Gilley and Brown might not go beyond the domestic level, but on this night, and in this round they were legends. This round is everything you could hope for between two evenly-matched fighters.

Mauricio Lara vs. Emilio Sanchez, Round three – Lara has a KO win over Warrington but is a very vulnerable guy in the sport, and Emilio Sanchez was on his last legs as a pro. Sanchez nearly had Lara out and rallied late in the round to get a stoppage win. 

Tyler Denny vs. Bradley Rea, Round nine – The fight was all Denny until Bradley Rea landed a devastating body shot that had Denny in trouble in the round. It was the type of drama that makes us watch the fights on Saturday nights.