I've decided to give everyone an update on the voting for the Boxing Along The Beltway Year-End Excellence Awards. Maybe if you see the current totals, this will get more people voting.
Remember, all the information for the awards can be found in the November 2006 archives in the November 20th posting. Action from the Pikesville card on December 7 and the two cards in DC and in Fairfax on December 9 CAN be considered in your voting. Please send your ballot to beltwayboxing@hotmail.com. The deadline is Friday, December 29.
Rookie of the Year: Andrew "Doo Man" Farmer is leading the voting with 16 votes. Second is Juan Carlos Robles with six votes and Jessie "The Beast" Nicklow has two votes.
Prospect of the Year: Farmer is also leading this category with 17 votes. In second place is Nicklow with three votes followed by Tim Coleman with two.
Performance of the Year: This is a close race with three performances tied for first. Eric Aiken's April 1 defeat of Tim Austin, Aiken's IBF title victory of Valdemir Pereira on May 13 and Emmanuel Nwodo's USBA Cruiserweight title victory over Chris Thomas on July 1 each have three votes.
Card of the Year: There is a possible runaway in this category as the August 19 boxing card at the ABC Sports Complex in Springfield, VA has 15 votes. That card featured Andrew Farmer vs. Grant Messer and Jaime Palma vs. Randy Dobbs. In second is the October 7 Patriot Center card that had Jimmy Lange taking on Thomas Wilt. That card has seven votes.
Promoter/Matchmaker of the Year: The man who promoted the August 19 card -- Scott Farmer -- is leading in this category with 15 votes. The Major League Boxing team of Joe Hensley and Nick Tiberi are second with eight votes. Jake Smith and Josh Hall of Baltimore Pro Boxing have three votes.
Rising Contender of the Year: Andrew Farmer -- a write-in candidate -- is leading in this category with 15 votes. Jimmy Lange is second with five votes and Tony "The Tiger" Thompson has four votes.
Knockout of the Year: Farmer's first round knockout of Grant Messer on August 19 is leading this category with 15 votes. Lange's 10th round TKO of Thomas Wilt is second with three.
Bout of the Year: There is a tie for first in this category between two bouts that appeared on the same card. The Juan Carlos Robles bout with Derek Amos and the Lange-Wilt matchup from October 7 at the Patriot Center are leading with six votes each.
Beltway Boxer of the Year: Andrew Farmer is surprisingly ahead in this category -- again as a write-in candidate -- with 15 votes. Tony Thompson has seven votes.
If you have problems with the way the voting is going, you can change it. VOTE!!! Don't forget to include your "Unofficial Official" award that you will create and honor. Once again, send your ballot to beltwayboxing@hotmail.com. The deadline is Friday, December 29!
About Me
- Gary Digital Williams
- BATB is "The place to go if you want to know about any upcoming show or results, from amateur to the pros, in Virginia, Maryland and the District." -- Thom Loverro, The Washington Times. I've covered the Boxing scene in the Washington, DC/Baltimore area for 36 years. I was inducted into the Washington, DC Boxing Hall of Fame in November, 2009. I am also a feature writer for Fightnews.com. I was the play-by-play announcer on the TV series "Boxing Spotlight" which highlighted pro boxing along the Beltway. I have also appeared on numerous radio stations across the country talking about the sport. You can hear my audio commentaries, interviews and play-by-play calls by downloading the free Boxing Along The Beltway Podcast Network on Spreaker.com, IHeartradio.com, Stitcher.com,Tunein.com, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts and Spotify! I'm also proud to say that I am in my 26th year serving as the public address announcer for Coppin State University Eagles Men's and Women's Basketball! I also cover boxing and the Washington pro football team for the Washington Informer Newspaper!