Beltway Boxing 2018 -- Boxer Of The Year!

We now come to our final award for 2018 -- Boxer Of The Year!  In 2018, we had a number of Beltway Boxers who had great years.  However, two in particular had exceptional years that we could not separate them and had to give this award to both of them.  One boxer, in a very short time, moved into world championship status and opened up opportunities for even bigger bouts down the road.  The other moved into elite status as one of the best and most talked about boxers in the sport and continued his domination of this award as he becomes the first to win it three times.

The 2018 Beltway Boxers Of The Year are:

"The Heavy Hitting Diva" Franchon Crews Dezurn (4-1, one KO), super middleweight, Baltimore, MD


And 

"Swift" Jarrett Hurd (23-0, 16 KO's) junior middleweight, Accokeek, MD

Ever since Crews Dezurn turned pro in November of 2016, she has been fighting for respect.  Despite her many, many amateur achievements, the "Heavy Hitting Diva" from Baltimore was looking for quality opportunities in the pro ranks.  She performed well in her pro debut against two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Claressa Shields but lost by unanimous decision. We weren’t sure that Crews Dezurn would get another opportunity like that again.

Are we happy we were wrong.  After three solid performances against unheralded opposition, including a six-round unanimous decision win over Tiffany Woodard on January 12th in Verona, NY, Crews Dezurn would meet Maricela “La Diva” Cornejo on September 13th in Las Vegas for the vacant WBC Super Middleweight title on national television (ESPN).  In the first 10-rounder for Crews Dezurn, she would win a majority decision to earn her first world title in just her fifth pro bout.

Respect may not be completely there for Crews Dezurn, but it’s coming.  She has verbally agreed to a major unification bout in the spring and for the first time, she has been named one of the best pro boxers in the Beltway.

In winning this award for the third consecutive year, Hurd amazingly continued to build on his previous successes.  On April 7th, Hurd would become a three-belt world champion, successfully defending his IBF Super Welterweight title and earning the WBA and IBO belts in a thrilling 12-round split decision over Erislandy Lara in Las Vegas.  Hurd would gut out the win by knocking down Lara with 37 seconds left in the fight.  ESPN and The Sporting News recently chose the bout as its Bout of the Year.  Hurd would defend all three titles on December 1st in Los Angeles and knock out Jason Welborn in the fourth round.

As a result, Hurd would gain a lot of trappings that come with being a world champion -- He was lauded by the Prince George’s County Council, he got to cast his fist at the International Boxing Hall Of Fame, he led a community Back To School Drive, he was named the year’s Outstanding Boxer by the Washington, DC Boxing Hall Of Fame, spoke to a number of schools and was a guest of the Washington Pro Football team.  Hurd’s quality wins in the ring led to quality events outside the ring.  Going into 2019, Hurd is truly among the best in the boxing game.

Side note: Both Crews Dezurn and Hurd would win their titles in 2018 in the same location in Las Vegas, The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order):

Gervonta "Tank" Davis (20-0, 19 KO's), super featherweight, Baltimore, MD

Davis only appeared once in 2018 but it was a big performance, especially when Davis’s last outing -- his eighth-round knockout over Francisco Fonseca in August of 2017 -- was very underwhelming and he lost his IBF Super Featherweight title on the scales.  Davis returned to elite status with a third-round decimation of Jesus Cuellar to win the WBA Super version of the Super Featherweight title on April 21st in Brooklyn, NY.  Davis is slated to defend his title on February 9th against Abner Mares in Carson, CA.

Mykal "The Professor" Fox (19-0, five KO's), welterweight, Forestville, MD

Fox was one of the busiest boxers in the area in 2018, competing four times against increasingly tougher competition.  On February 13th, Fox won an eight-round unanimous decision over Ricardo Garcia in Bethlehem, PA.  Then on May 11th in Philadelphia, PA, Fox would win another eight-round unanimous decision over Anthony Mercado.  Fox would compete on national television (CBS Sports Network) in his next outing in a definitive crossroads bout against former WBO Super Lightweight champion DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley on August 18th in Hanover, MD.  Fox, who is literally half Corley’s age, would win a 10-round unanimous decision.  Fox would complete his year with a second-round TKO of Gonzalo Carlos Dallera on December 8th in Bowie, MD.  Fox has started to push the next gear on his career and looks to have a very exciting 2019.

Alexandru "Spartan" Marin (17-0, 11 KO's), super flyweight, Bethesda, MD

The native of Iasu, Romania would win two regional titles in 2018.  Marin captured the vacant IBO Inter-Continental Super Flyweight title with a blistering second-round TKO over Michael Ruiz, Jr. on April 14th in Norfolk, VA.  Then, in his biggest bout as a pro to date, Marin would overcome a cut over his right eye to win a 10-round split decision over Bruno Escalante to earn the IBF Inter-Continental Super Flyweight crown on September 8th in Inglewood, CA.  Marin is currently ranked third by the IBF and 12th by the WBO.  2019 could be an even bigger year for the “Spartan.”

(Photo by Daniel Cork)

Demond "D' Best At It" Nicholson (20-3-1, 19 KO's), super middleweight, Laurel, MD

Nicholson had a very challenging, yet very productive 2018 with three big contests.  The year got off to a tough start as Nicholson suffered a seventh-round knockout loss to Jesse Hart on April 28th in Philadelphia, PA.  To his credit, Nicholson regrouped very nicely and on August 18th at Live! Casino in Hanover, MD, Nicholson scored one of the best Beltway knockouts of the year stopping Isaac Rodrigues in the sixth round to win the vacant WBC USNBC Super Middleweight championship, showing a lot of guts along the way.  Nicholson would defend his title with a second-round knockout of Fernando Castaneda on December 8th in Bowie, MD.  Nicholson has worked hard to get back to the verge of contender status and it will be interesting to see his advancement in 2019.

Lamont Roach, Jr. (18-0-1, seven KO's), super featherweight, Upper Marlboro, MD

Roach would compete three times in 2018 and in each bout he was either going after or defending a regional title.  On April 19th in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Roach would battle Orlando Cruz to a 10-round draw for the vacant WBO International Super Featherweight title.  Roach would get another opportunity at that title against Deivi Julio Bassa on July 20th in Cancun, Mexico.  Roach would leave no doubt in that encounter, stopping Bassa in the sixth round to win the title.

Roach would defend his title on December 15th in Madison Square Garden in New York, winning a 10-round unanimous decision over Alberto Mercado.  As of December, Roach is ranked fifth in the world by the WBO and on the verge of bigger things in the coming year.

"Mr." Gary Russell, Jr. (29-1, 17 KO's), featherweight, Capitol Heights, MD

Russell made his annual boxing appearance on May 19th and successfully defended his WBC Featherweight championship in a outstanding bout against Joseph Diaz at MGM National Harbor Casino in Oxon Hill, MD.  The bout solidified Russell as the best featherweight in the world.  We can only hope that Russell will be more active and move toward unifying the featherweight division.

Previous Beltway Boxers of the Year:

2006: Eric Aiken

2007: Darnell Wilson

2008: Lamont Peterson/Joshua Snyder

2009: Fernando Guerrero

2010: Tim Coleman

2011: Lamont Peterson

2012: Tony Jeter

2013: Phil Jackson Benson/Tori Nelson

2014: Tori Nelson

2015: Antoine Douglas/Gary Russell, Jr.

2016: Gervonta Davis/Jarrett Hurd

2017: Jarrett Hurd

That completes our look at Beltway Boxing 2018!  Thank you to everyone who has supported BATB throughout the years.  We look forward to continued coverage of "The Best Boxing In The World!"