I know it’s simply a case of bad luck, with Andre Berto suffering a fight-postponing injury before his upcoming rematch against Victor Ortiz.

But coupled with the never-ending saga that is the Mayweather-Pacquiao melodrama, the postponement of this fight is truly disappointing.

That means there isn’t really a significant boxing match until February 25, when Marcos Maidana travels to St. Louis, Missouri to take on Devon Alexander. That fight promises to be a dandy but that’s still nearly a month away.

Back to Berto-Ortiz II

If and when they do in fact meet again, it will be interesting to see if Berto’s biceps injury adversely affects his chances against Ortiz. I predict a Berto victory, but in a fight that is close to a "pick ‘em," the injury could be an x-factor that tips the outcome in Ortiz’s favor.

Should each fighter decide to go a different direction when Berto heals up, they both loom as potential opponents for the aforementioned chumps, I mean, champs named Mayweather and Pacquiao, respectively.

I obviously do not believe that Mayweather or Pacquiao are chumps, nor do I blame Berto and Ortiz for not fighting in a week. But can’t I just be a little mad?

"Boxing, you really make it hard sometimes."

Early on it appeared that Floyd "Money" Mayweather was willing to not live up to his nickname by focusing on what many view as an excessive call for performance-enhancement drug (PED) testing for his potential superfight with Manny Pacquiao.

And some countered that Pacquiao was ducking Mayweather, the PED test or both.

The latest culprit in this seemingly never-ending, shameful blame game is now the venerable Bob Arum, who coined the legendary, yet infamous, quote below.

"Yesterday I was lying; today I am telling the truth."

Who do you blame most for this superfight that never was?

The year may have changed, by my prediction largely remains the same.

Berto still has the faster hands, better conditioning, better footwork, is slightly harder to hit and may have a slightly better chin.

Ortiz, on the other hand, has faced stiffer competition (add Floyd Mayweather to his solid resume of opponents) and has more power.

What has changed in 2012, is that the rematch will be in the "Ortiz-friendly" city of Las Vegas, Nevada (the fight took place at Foxwoods in Connecticut last year). I have also changed how I perceive both men’s ring generalship as well as size/strength gap.

In terms of the former, it appears that Ortiz is only effective fighting on his front foot while Berto appears to be the better ring general-with the ability to fight going forward or going back. Additionally, it is now very clear to me that Ortiz is the naturally bigger and stronger man.

However, I still believe that Berto has what it takes to defeat Ortiz this time around. He would also be wise to thank Floyd Mayweather for sucker punching, ahem, softening up Ortiz.

You had Floyd Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz, Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez III, and Miguel Cotto vs Antonio Margarito II all taking place during the second half of the year.

Although each of the aforementioned fights had memorable outcomes: Mayweather’s "sucker punch" KO; Pacquiao "winning" another close, somewhat controversial decision, and Cotto exacting his bloody revenge, none of these fights produced memorable action or virtuoso performances.

But the fighter (of the year) and fight (of the year) made this year "all good," when it was all said and done. Please hold your applause and comments to the end.

2011 Fighter of the Year

When Showtime announced its groundbreaking Super Six semi-round robin tournament aimed at determining the best super middleweight in the world, I knew I’d inevitably declare its winner as the fighter of the year. Sure, the tournament was not without it’s shortcomings, from fighters dropping out (namely Andre Dirrell, Mikkel Kessler and Jermain Taylor) to some being excluded for contractual reasons (Lucian Bute).

But it did provide a substantial enough canvas for the fighter of the year Andre Ward to paint masterpieces at the expense of Kessler, Allan Green, Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch.

Not only did Ward win, he mad it look easy. And he made my fighter of the year selection very easy as well.

2011 Fight of the Year

Now this decision was not as easy as the Ward selection. For me, it comes down to two fights*: Andre Berto vs. Victor Ortiz and Alfred Angulo vs. James Kirkland.

Should I go with Berto-Ortiz, that featured both men being dropped, getting up, dropping the other man, and battling and surviving 12 action-packed rounds? Or should I anoint Angulo-Kirkland for its early, massive knockdown by Angulo and Kirkland’s inhuman recovery and eventual destruction of "El Perro" inside the distance.

Berto-Ortiz and Angulo-Kirkland are what boxing used to be all about. Both fights featured two young fighters in their prime being matched early in their careers. They put themselves in harms way to leave their mark in the ring as well as with the fans. And they both weren’t on PPV!

My choice for the fight of the year is Andre Berto vs. Victor Ortiz because both men took the other’s best shots and lived to see the bell with the fight hanging in the balance.

Happy New Year fight fans and freaks!

*There are countless other less glamorous gems but my selection only includes major title fights covered on this blog in 2011.

It’s just that these two men, thanks largely to Showtime Championship Boxing’s unprecedented "Super Six" tournament, have clearly faced the best 168-pound boxers in the world.

When the dust settles, I am pretty sure that the more complete boxer will emerge victorious in this super middleweight unification bout. And that boxer is Andre Ward.

The fight will not be a Ward blowout victory by any stretch of the imagination, but I expect him to befuddle Froch the same way he befuddled Mikkel Kessler and Arthur Abraham. Like those two men, Froch is going to find out that Ward is very difficult to hit cleanly, takes a good punch, and has enough snap on his punches to keep him honest.

I also think that Ward, who is arguably one of the smartest boxers I have recently seen both inside and outside of the ring, will be very well-prepared for anything that Froch brings to the table in two weeks. His ring intelligence, buoyed by his highly-decorated amateur career, will be a bundle for a fighter as unrefined (technically) as Froch to deal with.

Look for a hotly-contested, but unanimous decision victory for Andre Ward over Carl Froch on Saturday, December 17. It’ll be a nice bout to end the superfight calendar year.