We hand out awards to the best and most memorable fights and fighters to grace the HBO airwaves during a year packed with knockout moments and breakout stars.

It is an unfortunate truth that in 2010, more headlines were devoted to a fight that didn't happen, Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather, than to any single fight that did take place.

But don't let that detract from the fights we did see. HBO and HBO Pay-Per-View delivered live boxing on 23 Saturday nights in 2010, and many of those fight cards gave us moments we'll never forget. (Unless you were a fighter on the receiving end of one of 2010's many spectacular knockout punches, in which case you probably don't remember a thing.)

With the year drawing to a close, HBO.com has named award-winners in 10 categories. Read on to find out who was the HBO Fighter of the Year, what was the HBO Fight of the Year, and more:

FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: SERGIO MARTINEZ

Twice in 2010 "Maravilla" fought elite opponents on HBO, and twice he exceeded almost everyone's expectations. In April he became the first to defeat Kelly Pavlik at middleweight, claiming the lineal 160-pound championship in the process. And in November Martinez avenged his disputed 2009 decision loss to Paul Williams with a knockout for the ages, unleashing a perfect left hand in the second round to transport "The Punisher" to dreamland. A virtual unknown two years ago, Martinez is now in the hunt for the pound-for-pound title and has become one of the most buzzed-about battlers in the game.

FIGHT OF THE YEAR: JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ KO 9 MICHAEL KATSIDIS

Who would have imagined, back when he was a cautious, technically precise counterpuncher, that Marquez would one day be the knockout victor in the Fight of the Year two years in a row? His first brawl with Juan Diaz was the consensus choice for '09, and Marquez did it again in November '10 with a dramatic off-the-canvas stoppage of all-action warrior Katsidis to retain the world lightweight title. Marquez was in control the first two rounds, but when the Aussie struck with a thunderous left hook to drop Marquez in the third, the tenor of the fight changed. Marquez was still light years ahead in terms of skill, but every powerpunch from Katsidis threatened to erase the Mexican's lead. Finally, in the ninth, Marquez's precision punching overwhelmed the challenger, and referee Kenny Bayless called a halt at the 2:14 mark with the brave Katsidis still on his feet.

KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR: SERGIO MARTINEZ KO 2 PAUL WILLIAMS

One moment, two guys are slugging it out in a continuation of a fantastic 12-round brawl from a year earlier. The next moment, one of them is on the canvas, motionless, eyes wide open, stretched out like a piece of roadkill. It truly was a case of "blink and you miss it"-and unfortunately for Williams, he blinked and got drilled with a perfectly thrown, perfectly short counter left hand just a minute into the second round of his rematch with Martinez. Williams had never been badly hurt in a fight before and was thought to have a first-rate chin, and maybe he still does. This was the kind of punch that renders the supposed impenetrability of a chin meaningless, not unlike when Tommy Hearns iced Roberto Duran nearly 30 years earlier. You simply won't see a better knockout in a more meaningful fight than this one delivered by the middleweight champion. (Though it should be said, we came close repeatedly in 2010, with Devon Alexander-Juan Urango, Dmitry Pirog-Daniel Jacobs, and Lucian Bute-Edison Miranda all warranting honorable mention.)

ROUND OF THE YEAR: FLOYD MAYWEATHER-SHANE MOSLEY, ROUND 2

Maybe it wasn't the most action-packed round of the year from bell to bell. But no three minutes were more bursting with drama than the second round of Mayweather-Mosley, and no moment forced people to leap off their living room furniture like Mosley hurting Mayweather and seemingly being just a clean punch or two away from knocking out boxing's most controversial superstar. Early in the round, a hard right hand landed for Mosley, and Mayweather -- who had never before been badly hurt in 40 pro fights -- held on for survival, his body going momentarily rigid. A few seconds later, "Money" smiled, seemingly recovered. But then he tried to throw a left hook that fell short and "Sugar Shane" shot another powerful right hand over the top. The blow landed high on Mayweather's head and his knees dipped about 18 inches, a knockdown narrowly avoided. For the majority of the round, the best defensive fighter in the sport, the undefeated Mayweather, looked like he was on the verge of being separated from his senses. It didn't happen, as we all know. But there was no more gripping round all year than the one in which "Mosley KO 2 Mayweather" appeared to be in play.

UPSET OF THE YEAR: JASON LITZAU W 10 CELESTINO CABALLERO

It wasn't just that everybody was picking Caballero to win. It was that they feared this was such a mismatch that Litzau was going to get seriously hurt. In most places, you couldn't even find odds on the fight, but one venue that did post odds, as reported on air by Larry Merchant, set them at 13-1 in Caballero's favor. Litzau, however, was having none of that. Caballero, a career-long junior featherweight and featherweight, struggled to make the junior lightweight limit, and whether he was out of shape, unmotivated, or just not as good as advertised, Litzau took advantage and fought the fight of his life. Caballero had been creeping toward pound-for-pound lists while Litzau was one loss away from clubfighter status. After Litzau won a well-deserved split decision, the Minnesotan was suddenly a contender, while Caballero was the one facing career turmoil.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: BRANDON RIOS

We're defining Rookie of the Year as the most impressive fighter who'd never competed on HBO prior to 2010, and say what you will about his personal behavior in infamously mocking Freddie Roach in November, but inside the ring, Rios was a revelation in 2010. Almost everyone was picking speedier boxer-puncher Anthony Peterson to beat "Bam Bam" when they met at the Palms in Las Vegas in September, but Rios used toughness and pugilistic know-how to dominate, pressuring Peterson until he fouled out on low blows in the seventh, which nearly everyone interpreted as an intentional move to avoid additional punishment. Rios might not be the Humanitarian of the Year, but as a fighter, he's for real.

GUTSIEST EFFORT OF THE YEAR: AMIR KHAN (vs. MARCOS MAIDANA)

There comes a moment in almost every fighter's career where all physical wherewithal has been sapped from him and everything hinges on willpower. If he is a true fighter, if he simply refuses to lose, then maybe he can manage the crisis. But if there's even the slightest give in his fighting heart, then it's all over. During the 10th round of his fight against heavy-handed knockout artist Maidana, the 24-year-old Khan found himself in precisely that sort of peril. He was hurt. His legs were gone. But he had a lead on the scorecards. He could still win the fight; he just had to dig deep within, stand up to the punishment coming his way, make it to the bell -- and then hope to recover enough so that the last six minutes wouldn't follow the same pattern. It was a daunting task, but Khan had the guts, determination, and will to win required to pull it off. Question his chin if you want. After that 10th round against Maidana, we can no longer question his heart.

WEIRDEST ENDING OF THE YEAR: PAUL WILLIAMS TECH. WIN 4 KERMIT CINTRON

For three rounds, we waited for elite junior middleweights Williams and Cintron to stop feeling each other out and start feeling each other's power. In the fourth round, they finally started accommodating our wishes. Both men were landing powershots; it was bombs-away ... for all of about 10 seconds. Then they tangled awkwardly in a clinch, Cintron lost his balance, and he toppled headfirst out of the ring, landed on a ringside table, and rolled to the floor. And to make matters worse for Cintron, he took a loss by technical decision because California rules dictate that the judges score the partial fourth round and the bout goes to the cards. And just to make the scene extra surreal, while the official announcement of the result was made, a seemingly uninjured Cintron was being carried by stretcher to an ambulance. Boxing continually finds ways to show us things we've never seen before -- for better or for worse.

POSITIVE TREND OF THE YEAR: STADIUM FIGHTS

Every year, the boxing rumor mill blows up with talk of one promoter or another staging a fight in a massive football or baseball stadium, the way they used to so often in the days of Jack Dempsey or Joe Louis. In 2010, it actually happened. Promoter Top Rank staged three separate stadium fight cards, two featuring Manny Pacquiao at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas and one headlined by Miguel Cotto at the new Yankees Stadium in the Bronx. The fact that HBO's cameras were there, whereas staying at home and watching on television wasn't an option back in the Dempsey days, may have played a role in the ticket sales being solid rather than staggering. Still, the three cards combined drew well over 100,000 fans, and the stadium settings generated the kind of buzz we don't see every day. It's a trend we'd like to see more of-especially if someone can put together the sort of superstar-vs.-superstar matchup that can put 70,000 butts in seats.

BOXING AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR: MANNY PACQUIAO

Though it was a rare year in which Pacquiao didn't really enter into the Fighter of the Year conversation because his level of opposition was a notch below what we've grown used to, he still served as the ideal representative for the sport. He became a congressman in his native Philippines and fought for the rights of his countrymen. He remained as media-accessible as ever, accommodating the 24/7 cameras, 60 Minutes, and all corners of the talk-show circuit. He drew two crowds in the neighborhood of 40,000 fans to Cowboys Stadium and turned in performances that were impossible to criticize. Day after day, week after week, Pacquiao served as the face of boxing and kept a smile on that face at every turn. He might just be as admirable a person as he is a fighter, and that's really saying something.