A new year is upon us and as
the calendar turns, we look forward to a fresh slate of fights on the horizon.
Already the schedule is being set for the spring and winter months of 2014. But
what are the best fights that can be made realistically? Let's face it; with the
current divide existing in the marketplace, who you are aligned with from either
a promotional or network perspective (maxboxing/schaefer-sees-no-thaw-cold-war)
will have a huge bearing on your options.
Well, here’s one scribe’s
opinion of 14 fights he'd like to see over the next 12 months. My criteria are
very simple: Will the fight be entertaining and will it provide memorable
moments? That's it. I don't particularly care about how “important” a fight is,
if it involves marquee names or what it means to pound-for-pound rankings. And
these match-ups can at least be theoretically made as they wouldn't require
Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank Promotions to come together and cut a deal
or have any entanglements involving HBO and Showtime.
Here's hoping a few of these
can come to fruition…
1.
Adonis Stevenson vs. Sergey Kovalev: It's interesting. As I
posed the challenge, “Name three fights you'd like to see in the upcoming year”
on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon, this particular hook-up was overwhelmingly the
most named fight. It's easy to see why. You have two exciting, crowd-pleasing
bangers (both of whom make strong arguments for “2013 Fighter of the Year”
honors) who have been getting consistent HBO exposure recently. One way or the
other, you expect to see offensive fireworks with these two. And this fight
would have a home (Montreal, where Stevenson is now a draw), should fetch a
sizable audience on television and figures to be exciting. This isn't Tim
Bradley-Devon Alexander, an ill-conceived “big” fight from the moment it was
signed a few years ago.
2.
Manny Pacquiao vs. Ruslan Provodnikov: Yes, I know both fighters
have stated their friendship and their relationships with trainer Freddie Roach
as being problematic but here's the question: As Top Rank plans another
Pacquiao pay-per-view coming off the heels of the disappointing numbers from
the event in Macau (where Pacquiao's bout versus Brandon Rios did around
475,000 buys), can you give me another dance partner - among the realistic
names - that interests you? Provodnikov is a fighter on the upswing with heavy
hands who will continually pressure the “Pac-Man” and you figure, unlike Rios, he
will let his hands go.
3.
Omar Figueroa vs. John Molina: This is an old-fashioned
donnybrook in which the leather will fly. Just a fun fight and there's
absolutely nothing wrong with that. Neither man will have problems finding each
other and getting their punches off.
4.
Danny Garcia vs. Keith Thurman: OK, admittedly, I don't
think there's much of a chance of this happening, at least in the early part of
2014, but these two are both under the Golden Boy banner and advised by Al
Haymon. Garcia is looking to move up to welterweight after a strong run at 140.
Logic says “Swift” will look for perhaps an easier bout for his debut at 147 but
tell me this isn't an intriguing pairing. Garcia has shown a solid, all-around
skill-set with a strong left hook and “One Time” has honed his game and has
become one of the sport’s most dangerous and exciting power-punchers.
5.
Marcos Maidana vs. Lucas Matthysse: If I'm not mistaken, I
think I've yearned for this fight in the past and well, nothing has changed. I
don't care if “The Machine” lost his last outing. He's still a guy who has
provided us with some memorable moments inside the ring and we've learned that
losses do not have to be the death knell of a career. Most likely, Maidana is looking
for bigger fish to fry- namely Floyd Mayweather. But this is a fight that
whenever you make it, will have great anticipation for it. If it never happens,
cry for me, Argentina.
6.
Scott Quigg vs. Carl Frampton: I've said in the past,
Quigg vs. Frampton has the potential to be the U.K. version of Marco Antonio Barrera-Erik
Morales. If that's the case, need I say more? Quigg now has a WBA junior
featherweight belt and Frampton himself is on the verge of a title shot. Both
are building sizable followings in England and it just looks like their
respective styles would mesh very well in the ring together. Like the classic
Mexican rivalry, you could see this becoming a multi-fight series in the
upcoming years.
7.
Carl Froch vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.: Larry Merchant has said for
awhile that the best, pure slugfest and business proposition that can be made
at 168 is this fight right here. And Froch, who struggled for long stretches
before scoring a controversial stoppage of George Groves on November 23rd,
is now a legitimate star and would bring a large throng of fans to wherever he
fights. If Chavez Jr. can take care of business against Bryan Vera on March 1st,
the stage would be set for a bout seeing both men hurling leather at each other
all night.
8.
Mikey Garcia vs. Yuriorkis Gamboa: Garcia is one of the best
fighters in the sport, period. For all his physical talents and potential, quite
frankly, Gamboa has been a bit of a disappointment as a pro. Yeah, he's had
some accomplishments but really, he's just another casualty of 50 Cent's
misguided foray into boxing .This would be a put-up or shut-up fight for the
Cuban. For Garcia, who's actually spoken seriously about moving up in weight to
face Pacquiao sooner rather than later, it would be an interesting contest
against a gifted if underachieving foe. Looking at the landscape around 130,
you don't see all that many other options that might hold boxing fans’ interest
like this bout.
9.
Evgeny Gradovich vs. Nonito Donaire: Let's see just how much the
“Filipino Flash” has left and how much he really wants to fight. Gradovich, the
“Mexican Russian” (or is it the “Russian Mexican”?) is a guy who may not be the
most naturally gifted prizefighter in the world but he is persistent and
steady. He will be coming all night long and will continually press Donaire. If
Donaire doesn't have the stomach for this game anymore, Gradovich will be the
guy to find that out.
10.
Josesito Lopez vs. Jesus Soto Karass: No, this isn't the biggest
fight or a main course but as an undercard attraction, it would be perfect
as an appetizer. Lopez recently got back on the winning track but looked a bit
slow off the trigger against Mike Arnaoutis and Karass was stopped versus
Thurman in San Antonio. Lopez and Karass have a lot of wear and tear but they
also have a history of being really honest fighters who lay it all on the line
and are consistently in good scraps. Well, this is your classic “Loser Leaves Town”
fight. The winner stays in the mix for meaningful fights; the defeated goes off
into the sunset.
11.
Adrien Broner vs. Andre Berto: Yes, I'm absolutely calling
for the “Bizarro Haymon Bowl.” Hey, say what you want about how flawed Berto
is; those shortcomings have put him in a lot of memorable bouts. Coming off his
thrashing at the hands of Maidana, Broner has to show the boxing world he isn't
“Berto Redux.” Tell me this wouldn't be a back-and-forth affair.
12.
Juan Estrada vs. Giovani Segura: Hey, can't ignore the
little guys and both Estrada and Segura have solid résumés. Many of these
match-ups below the bantamweight limit are almost guaranteed to provide nonstop
action. Estrada is a young fighter who has steadily improved and had a banner
2013 with solid victories over Brian Viloria and Milan Melindo while Segura has
rebounded from his loss to Edgar Sosa with big wins over the undefeated
Jonathan Gonzalez and Hernan “Tyson” Marquez in his usual sledgehammer style.
13.
Roman Gonzalez vs. Kazuto Ioka: In theory, this should be an
easy fight to make given both hold versions of the WBA 108-pound title and
Gonzalez has fought before in Japan but for some reason, this fight has never
come to fruition. Ioka has just 13 bouts under his belt but he's shown he's a
world-class operator and someone who can really attack the body. “Chocolatito”
is one of the game’s most accomplished champions and has one of the highest KO
percentages of any pro with 31 stoppages in 37 outings.
14.
Deontay Wilder vs. Dereck Chisora: Is Wilder, the latest “American
Hope,” the goods? Sure the “Bronze Bomber” is 30-0 with 30 knockouts to his
credit but to say he's been matched softer than Charmin would be to insult Mr.
Whipple. Yes, we know Wilder has a cannon of a right hand but we need to find
out more about him. How would he fare against a solid and durable heavyweight
who’s experienced and won't be intimidated by his mere presence? Well, isn't
that Chisora, who has faced the likes of Vitali Klitschko, Tyson Fury, Robert
Helenius, Malik Scott and David Haye? He's been active the past year with four
fights (winning all four) and has never been shy about accepting a challenge.
What happens the first time Wilder strikes Chisora on the chops and he doesn't
go anywhere? That's what we'd all like to find out.
CHRISTMAS FLURRIES
Here's the latest (and year-end)
episode of “The Next Round”: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/leaveitintheringradio/2013/12/24/maxboxing-live-the-next-round-episode-463...With
Miguel Cotto stating his intentions of fighting on June 7th at the
Garden (hopefully against middleweight champion Sergio Martinez), Golden Boy
CEO Richard Schaefer said (via email) that a decision on who Saul Alvarez could
come the first week of the new year...Jon Kitna is back with the Cowboys? Who
was next on their list, Danny White?...Will anyone actually miss Candlestick
Park?...Has anyone actually seen “Grudge Match” and is it decent?...
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