By: Antoine Johnson
The year of 2013 has belonged to the sport of Boxing and it isn’t even close. We got huge sparks from the NFL with the Super Bowl, and the NBA has been pretty predictable, as the expected teams are where people thought they should be at this point and time of the playoffs. But fireworks have been flying in the sport of Boxing all year, and they will continue to all year.
The year of 2013 has belonged to the sport of Boxing and it isn’t even close. We got huge sparks from the NFL with the Super Bowl, and the NBA has been pretty predictable, as the expected teams are where people thought they should be at this point and time of the playoffs. But fireworks have been flying in the sport of Boxing all year, and they will continue to all year.
First and foremost, a September bout between Floyd Mayweather and the young phenom Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is bound to happen, depending on which title Floyd is set to defend. The Pound-For-Pound king Money Mayweather is the WBC Welterweight and Junior Middleweight champion of the world. And if he doesn’t defend his WBC Junior Middleweight (154lb) title, he will more than likely be stripped of that title. Arguments have been made that the Mayweather camp is leery of fighting Alvarez at 154 primarily because overnight, Alvarez goes from 154 at the weigh-in to up to 170 on fight night overnight. Floyd on the other hand, never has a problem with making the weight requirement. He has only fought at 154 twice (De La Hoya and Cotto), and against Oscar De La Hoya, he came in at 150. That proves that despite the fact that Floyd is the best P4P fighter in the world, he doesn’t necessarily go up in weight that will make him uncomfortable with himself. So going into a fight with Alvarez, who is naturally built bigger than Floyd, will more than likely happen at 154, whether the “Money Team” likes it or not.
Alvarez doesn’t fight at 147, so convincing his camp to meet at a catch weight probably won’t happen. We all think Floyd can beat Alvarez anyway. It’ll just be a tougher fight for Money Mayweather, and with 5 fights remaining on his contract, don’t be surprised if we see a rematch between the two somewhere down the line. And if the two can not come to an agreement, a fight that makes just as much sense as Mayweather for Canelo Alvarez would be Miguel Cotto, as Cotto is eyeing a return to the ring in September as well.
As for the Junior Welterweight (140) class, hard hitting Lucas Matthysse is finally getting the recognition he deserves after an outstanding win against Lamont Peterson on May 18th. WBC Junior Welterweight champion Danny Garcia (26-0) is set to defend the green belt later this year, and he has been rumored to have his eyes set on moving up to the welterweight (147) division soon. If he somehow dodges his mandatory opponent, Matthysse, the whispers that he fears Matthysse’s power (32 out of 34 wins by KO) will become screams. And moving up to 147 won’t be as polite for him either, as he’ll be in Floyd Mayweather’s backyard.
It’ll be interesting to see if Garcia dodges Matthysse, primarily because he’s his mandatory, as well as for the fact that they are both promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, ran by Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer. The duo of DLH and Schaefer are always looking for the biggest fight at Golden Boy that’ll generate the most revenue. And there is no fight at 140 that’ll be bigger than a bout between Matthysse and Garcia.
A fight that has not been set yet, but would make the most sense in the final quarter of the year would be a bout between Amir Khan and Devon Alexander. Khan (31-3) has his eyes set on moving up to 147 and becoming a possible opponent to Floyd Mayweather somewhere in between the remaining 5 fights on his contract. If he does, he’d have to get pass Alexander (26-1) first, as they are both looking forward to that paycheck against Money Mayweather.
Sparks flew on May 25th in a Super Middleweight bout between Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler, as Froch got his revenge after suffering defeat to Kessler in 2010. Froch proved to the world why he was once the WBC champ, and with not many opponents lined up, a rematch between Froch and the #2 P4P fighter in the world Andre Ward (26-0) makes all the more sense, as Ward said in a recent interview with www.Fighthype.com that he wants to fight twice this year, preferably once in August or September and again in December. A couple of names that came up was Gennady Golovkin and Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. But being that Golovkin (26-0) campaigns at 160, we’ll more than likely see a bout between he and Peter Quillin (28-0) before we see Golovkin vs. Ward. It will all depend on how well Golovkin does in his June 29th showdown with Mathew Macklin.
Froch thinks he and Ward should rematch in Froch’s hometown of England, rather than Ward’s stomping ground of Oakland, California, for the simple fact that it might be the biggest payday of both of their careers. And with Ward desperately searching for an opponent, I don’t see why he shouldn’t give Froch a rematch and build his brand by going abroad.
One of the most obnoxious, but talented fighters in the sport, Adrien Broner (26-0) has moved up two weight classes, from lightweight to welterweight, skipping Junior Welterweight to challenge Paulie Malignaggi (32-4) for his WBA Welterweight title. This will be a huge test for Broner, given the fact that he skipped arguably the toughest weight class in the sport (Garcia, Matthysse, Peterson, Khan, etc.) to face an unorthodox-styled fighter like Malignaggi. Broner hasn’t faced a jabber like Malignaggi in his career, so it’ll be an interesting fight come June 22nd, and a career-defining moment for both guys.
Broner has (or had) the opportunity to take over the sport of Boxing, as veterans like Mayweather, Pacquiao and Marquez are on their way out soon. And with Broner’s skills, he can keep that 0 of his for quite a while. But the problem with Broner is he claims that he is the next Floyd Mayweather, but the things he does outside of the ring are things we’ve never seen Money Mayweather do.
Floyd doesn’t drink alcohol, but Adrien Broner constantly posts photos of him drinking at parties. Floyd campaigned at Super Featherweight (130lb), Lightweight (135), Junior Welterweight (140), Welter (147) and Light Middleweight (154), proving why he is the best Pound-for-Pound boxer that the sport has seen since Sugar Ray Robinson. Broner, on the other hand starter at Super Featherweight, but he skipped his way up to 147, something Floyd did not do, as he beat the WBC champ at each level while moving up weight classes. The most significant distinction between the two is that despite Floyd’s bad blood in the past with HBO, he was always cordial in his post-fight speeches to Larry Merchant, Max Kellerman and crew. Broner on the other hand creates a bad image of himself in his post-fight speeches, as he tries to be cocky by having a member of his camp bush his hair, and displays minimal admiration to the fans, viewers and interviewers. So despite Broner’s unworldly talent, labeling himself as the next Floyd Mayweather is an inaccurate comparison to give to himself. And if he gets past Malignaggi as well as beat other quality opponents at the welterweight level, don’t be surprised if he and Floyd fight each other. Because despite their close friendship, we all know that Floyd would take Broner to school for a check as big as the one that’ll generate in a fight between them two.
Boxing is back at its pinnacle with so many great fighters in different weight classes. We mentioned so many great upcoming fights and left out the Pacquiao-Rios showdown in November and the Bradley-Marquez fight September scheduled fight. We are fortunate to have a year full of exciting fights with hopes of it continuing into 2014. And the fact that the majority of the fighters mentioned are young and some not even in their prime yet, it is safe to say that boxing is back and it is here to stay.
Alvarez doesn’t fight at 147, so convincing his camp to meet at a catch weight probably won’t happen. We all think Floyd can beat Alvarez anyway. It’ll just be a tougher fight for Money Mayweather, and with 5 fights remaining on his contract, don’t be surprised if we see a rematch between the two somewhere down the line. And if the two can not come to an agreement, a fight that makes just as much sense as Mayweather for Canelo Alvarez would be Miguel Cotto, as Cotto is eyeing a return to the ring in September as well.
As for the Junior Welterweight (140) class, hard hitting Lucas Matthysse is finally getting the recognition he deserves after an outstanding win against Lamont Peterson on May 18th. WBC Junior Welterweight champion Danny Garcia (26-0) is set to defend the green belt later this year, and he has been rumored to have his eyes set on moving up to the welterweight (147) division soon. If he somehow dodges his mandatory opponent, Matthysse, the whispers that he fears Matthysse’s power (32 out of 34 wins by KO) will become screams. And moving up to 147 won’t be as polite for him either, as he’ll be in Floyd Mayweather’s backyard.
It’ll be interesting to see if Garcia dodges Matthysse, primarily because he’s his mandatory, as well as for the fact that they are both promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, ran by Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer. The duo of DLH and Schaefer are always looking for the biggest fight at Golden Boy that’ll generate the most revenue. And there is no fight at 140 that’ll be bigger than a bout between Matthysse and Garcia.
A fight that has not been set yet, but would make the most sense in the final quarter of the year would be a bout between Amir Khan and Devon Alexander. Khan (31-3) has his eyes set on moving up to 147 and becoming a possible opponent to Floyd Mayweather somewhere in between the remaining 5 fights on his contract. If he does, he’d have to get pass Alexander (26-1) first, as they are both looking forward to that paycheck against Money Mayweather.
Sparks flew on May 25th in a Super Middleweight bout between Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler, as Froch got his revenge after suffering defeat to Kessler in 2010. Froch proved to the world why he was once the WBC champ, and with not many opponents lined up, a rematch between Froch and the #2 P4P fighter in the world Andre Ward (26-0) makes all the more sense, as Ward said in a recent interview with www.Fighthype.com that he wants to fight twice this year, preferably once in August or September and again in December. A couple of names that came up was Gennady Golovkin and Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. But being that Golovkin (26-0) campaigns at 160, we’ll more than likely see a bout between he and Peter Quillin (28-0) before we see Golovkin vs. Ward. It will all depend on how well Golovkin does in his June 29th showdown with Mathew Macklin.
Froch thinks he and Ward should rematch in Froch’s hometown of England, rather than Ward’s stomping ground of Oakland, California, for the simple fact that it might be the biggest payday of both of their careers. And with Ward desperately searching for an opponent, I don’t see why he shouldn’t give Froch a rematch and build his brand by going abroad.
One of the most obnoxious, but talented fighters in the sport, Adrien Broner (26-0) has moved up two weight classes, from lightweight to welterweight, skipping Junior Welterweight to challenge Paulie Malignaggi (32-4) for his WBA Welterweight title. This will be a huge test for Broner, given the fact that he skipped arguably the toughest weight class in the sport (Garcia, Matthysse, Peterson, Khan, etc.) to face an unorthodox-styled fighter like Malignaggi. Broner hasn’t faced a jabber like Malignaggi in his career, so it’ll be an interesting fight come June 22nd, and a career-defining moment for both guys.
Broner has (or had) the opportunity to take over the sport of Boxing, as veterans like Mayweather, Pacquiao and Marquez are on their way out soon. And with Broner’s skills, he can keep that 0 of his for quite a while. But the problem with Broner is he claims that he is the next Floyd Mayweather, but the things he does outside of the ring are things we’ve never seen Money Mayweather do.
Floyd doesn’t drink alcohol, but Adrien Broner constantly posts photos of him drinking at parties. Floyd campaigned at Super Featherweight (130lb), Lightweight (135), Junior Welterweight (140), Welter (147) and Light Middleweight (154), proving why he is the best Pound-for-Pound boxer that the sport has seen since Sugar Ray Robinson. Broner, on the other hand starter at Super Featherweight, but he skipped his way up to 147, something Floyd did not do, as he beat the WBC champ at each level while moving up weight classes. The most significant distinction between the two is that despite Floyd’s bad blood in the past with HBO, he was always cordial in his post-fight speeches to Larry Merchant, Max Kellerman and crew. Broner on the other hand creates a bad image of himself in his post-fight speeches, as he tries to be cocky by having a member of his camp bush his hair, and displays minimal admiration to the fans, viewers and interviewers. So despite Broner’s unworldly talent, labeling himself as the next Floyd Mayweather is an inaccurate comparison to give to himself. And if he gets past Malignaggi as well as beat other quality opponents at the welterweight level, don’t be surprised if he and Floyd fight each other. Because despite their close friendship, we all know that Floyd would take Broner to school for a check as big as the one that’ll generate in a fight between them two.
Boxing is back at its pinnacle with so many great fighters in different weight classes. We mentioned so many great upcoming fights and left out the Pacquiao-Rios showdown in November and the Bradley-Marquez fight September scheduled fight. We are fortunate to have a year full of exciting fights with hopes of it continuing into 2014. And the fact that the majority of the fighters mentioned are young and some not even in their prime yet, it is safe to say that boxing is back and it is here to stay.
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