By Adam Norman

Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao failed to come off, Wladimir Klitschko v David Haye did but failed to live up to the hype, Amir Khan and Carl Froch lost their world titles, but there was plenty of excitement to be had both domestically and internationally this year.

Mayweather appeared just once inside the ropes, which resulted in a controversial knockout victory over Victor Ortiz, while Pacquiao made Shane Mosley look the old man he is before being gifted a decision against bitter rival Juan Manuel Marquez, who was once again aggrieved by the result of the third fight in their trilogy.

Haye barely won a round against Klitschko - but had a broken little toe ready as an excuse - while Khan complained bitterly against the decision to give Lamont Peterson the win in their Washington showdown, despite most observers feeling the American just about deserved it.

Andre Ward emerged as one of the most talented fighters in any weight class with an impressive Super Six final success against Froch, while there were also defeats for world title challengers Matthew Hatton and Ryan Rhodes, who both lost to Saul Alvarez, and Matthew Macklin and Martin Murray, who were both unfortunate to lose on points to Felix Sturm.

However, Britain still have two world champions as we head into 2012 - Nathan Cleverly became the fully-fledged WBO light heavyweight champion while Ricky Burns defended his WBO super-featherweight belt twice before stepping up to win the interim lightweight strap.

The feud between James DeGale and George Groves dominated the domestic scene - the two former amateur rivals clashing in May with the latter winning by the narrowest of margins in a fight that never really took off. The pair look certain to meet again somehwere down the road.

Fighter of the Year: Andre Ward

It's fair to say Ward was the find of the inaugural World Super Six Classic tournament - to give it it's full title - with his crowning glory coming against Froch in Atlantic City.

The former Olympic gold medallist entered the event - which hoped to find the best super-middleweight in the world - over two years ago as something of an unknown with the only 'name' on his CV being former middleweight contender Edison Miranda.

That he had hardly lost a round in a 20-fight career went rather unnoticed with bigger and better-known names such as Jermain Taylor, Mikkel Kessler and Froch entering the six-man round robin contest.

But after dominating former Kessler in his opening match-up, Ward cruised through to the final as the likes of Taylor fell by the wayside. Still he hadn't gained full recognition - the quietly focused 'Son of God' lacking the charisma of say a Mayweather or Pacquiao.

But Ward lets his fists do the talking against Froch and, allied to blinding foot speed and reflexes, now finds himself in the top five in pound-for-pound lists.

International Fight of the Year: Ortiz v Berto

It was Berto's sixth and toughest defence of the WBC welterweight title against a 24-year-old who had lost his only previous world title fight against Marcos Maidana almost two years earlier.

That fight proved 'Vicious Victor' had the punch power, if not the heart, to trouble the best welterweights around and so it proved as the wild and woolly southpaw took on the undefeated champion.

Berto, far from orthodox himself, was happy to trade punches from the start and it quickly started to resemble the Maidana war, only this time Ortiz was willing to see it through.

The champion was on the back foot from the opening round, caught by a big right hook in the corner and when Ortiz followed up Berto took an eight count.

But it was never going to be all one-way traffic and Ortiz was down in the second when it was Berto's turn to land flush with a big right, although again Ortiz appeared more stunned than hurt.

The fight continued to go the way of Ortiz, who was more often than not the aggressor, until the sixth round when he was caught again with a straight right hand to the face.

With 30 seconds left in the round it was a question of whether he would see the bell with Berto raining down on him, with another huge combination stunning Ortiz on the ropes.

But with the seconds ticking down, an exhausted Berto was caught by a short left hand which was followed up with a bigger left that floored the older man. It was Berto who was saved by the bell!

The next three rounds passed uneventfully with the pair increasingly wary until the 10th, when Ortiz was docked a point for an illegal punch. That appeared to inspire the challenger who finished strongly and rightfully claimed a unanimous decision.

Domestic Fight of the Year: Cleverly v Bellew

Somebody's '0' had to go but few expected Bellew to give WBO light-heavyeight champion Cleverly such a difficult night.

The Liverpudlian had been operating at a lower level than the champ but his relentless calls for a scrap were finally answered after their first intended clash earlier in the year was scuppered when late replacement Bellew failed to make the weight.

There were no such problems in October, though, and Bellew was as good as his word as he asked Cleverly questions no one else had posed him before.

To the champion's credit he took the belts to Bellew's home town and matched his intensity to make for an enthralling match-up that delivered in every way.

And while Cleverly landed with the quality shots, Bellew had plenty of success of his own and surprisingly rallied late on to leave the result open to question. But whlie one judge scored it a draw, the other two were probably right in giving it to the champion, leaving a tearful Bellew wondering where to go next.

Comeback of the Year: Erik Morales

Many questioned the motives behind last year's ring return of 'El Terrible', after previously announcing his retirement in 2007 following defeat to David Diaz - his fifth loss in six fights.

But return he did, and after two wins he took on ex-Amir Khan victim Marcos Maidana for the WBA light-welterweight title. It looked a mismatch on paper, with Morales - now 34 - taking on the big-punching Argentine at a weight 18lb above the super-bantamweight division where he made his name.

Not so. Despite a difficult start, Morales showed all his ring smarts and renowned heart to get back into the fight, only for Maidana to win a majority decision.

Nonetheless, it confirmed Morales was back and still a force in the fight game - and his chance would come later in the year when Timothy Bradley was stripped of the WBC title for not fighting Amir Khan.

Knockout of the Year: Donaire v Montiel

A knockout in all but name. Former flyweight champion Donaire had had only one fight up at bantamweight before he was matched with WBC and WBO champion Montiel.

Mexican Montiel had a stellar career at fly and super-flyweight before taking his power to bantamweight where four of his title defences had ended early.

So it was a hotly-anticipated match-up at the Mandalay Bay in February, one that was not expected to go the distance.

The pair stayed out of range in a cagey opening, each wary of the other's power. But when Montiel opened up with a right hook in the second round, Donaire caught him with a wicked left that detonated on Montiel's chin, sending convulsions through his body.

He somehow made it to his feet, but why the referee allowed the fight to continue only he knows. Thankfully he stepped in two punches later realising Montiel was in no position to defend himself.

Upset of the Year: Salido v Lopez

Puerto Rican 'Juanma' had successfully made the transition from super-bantamweight to featherweight in 2010, and was making his third defence of the WBO title against Salido, who was considered little more than a stepping stone to a unification fight.

However, Salido's style proved all wrong for Lopez, who entered the ring with a perfect 30-0 record with all but two of those wins coming by stoppage.

Lopez was put on his backside in the fifth round by a big right hook, a punch that registered on several occasions throughout the fight. And while the cards had the fight level after seven rounds, it was Salido who looked to hold the upper hand.

The end came in the eighth - Lopez was repeatedly tagged by the rangy Mexican, who went in for the kill with his man on ropes, duly forcing the stoppage with the champion taking far too much punishment.

Mismatch of the Year: A Klitschko v Any Opponent

No discerning review can be allowed to pass without mentioning the continued dominance of the heavyweight division by Klitschko brothers.

Elder sibling Vitali defended his WBC belt twice during the 12 months while Wladimir had just one outing, the much touted unification fight against David Haye.

The paucity of emerging talent in the sport's weakest division was mostly to blame for the brothers' inactivity, while injury and illness ruled Wladimir out of fights with Dereck Chisora and, latterly, Jean-Marc Mormeck.

However, neither fighter was expected to put up much of a show against the Ukrainian giant, who put Haye in his place with a dominant performance that made the trash-talking Brit look a little silly.

Haye revealed his broken pinky post-fight as proof that he was not fully-fit, but no-one bought it - Klitschko was simply too big and too good.

Vitali wasn't threatened in the slightest by Cuban hope Odlanier Solis, whose knee gave way in the first round leaving him unable to continue, while former light-heavyweight champion Tomasz Adamek went 10 rounds without laying a glove on the veteran.

Adam Norman covers boxing for PA Sport.