There were a number of reasons why 2015 marked a highly
enthralling year in boxing. Floyd Mayweather finished his glistening career
with a momentous victory over arch-rival Manny Pacquiao and a signature win
over Andre Berto. Tyson Fury overcame all the odds with an astonishingly
comfortable win over future Hall of Famer Wladimir Klitschko in Germany to
become the Lineal, WBA (Super), IBF, IBO, WBO and The Ring Magazine
Heavyweight champion. In the latest chapter of the storied Puerto Rico-Mexican
rivalry, Canelo Alvarez unanimously outpointed four-weight division champion
Miguel Cotto to claim the Lineal, Ring and WBC Middleweight belts. And the year
concluded with Anthony Joshua overcoming the spirited effort of Dillian Whyte
in a pulsating encounter to become the British and Commonwealth Heavyweight
champion - and settling their bitter rivalry for now at least.
This year has already started with explosive wins for Heavyweights David Haye (his first fight in over three years) and Deontay Wilder, defeating Mark De Mori and Artur Szpilka respectively in the weekend. Here are three big fights scheduled to take place over the next couple
of months:
Danny Garcia vs Robert Guerrero
- 23rd January 2016
This fight takes place at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California and will be Danny Garcia's second at welterweight following his stoppage victory over Paulie Malignaggi last August. Despite boasting a 31-fight unbeaten record with 18 of those wins coming by way of knockout - and holding impressive wins over former world champions Erik Morales, Zab Judah, Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson (as well as a fabulous unanimous points victory over the hard-hitting Argentinian Lucas Matthysse), the native Philadelphian still remains somewhat of a chasm in terms of support in the U.S. - perhaps, and rather unfairly, due to his reserved personality and, with all the greatest respect, solid but not exceptional boxing style.
Garcia comes up against Robert Guerrero who at 32-years old, and
having recently come off a very disappointing and lacklustre loss to WBA
Welterweight champion Keith Thurman surely cannot afford another loss. One gets the impression that Guerrero's career as a top-end fighter at
147 pounds has gradually declined since losing overwhelmingly to Floyd
Mayweather in May 2012. Inactivity in the ring (Guerrero has only fought four
times since the Mayweather fight) as well as uninspiring wins over Yoshihiro
Kamegai and Aaron Martinez has made 'The Ghost' an almost forgotten force in the
division.
A Guerrero loss will surely bring an end to the Californian's
time as a 'top rank' fighter- a win for Garcia will open up possible fights
with Shawn Porter, Kell Brook, Thurman or a rematch with previous nemesis
Amir Khan.
Prediction - Garcia win on points
Sergey Kovalev vs Jean Pascal
rematch - 30th January 2016
Towards the end of this month, Kovalev will be
defending his WBA (Super), IBF and WBO Light Heavyweight titles against
former WBC Light-Heavyweight champion Jean Pascal, in a rematch at
the Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec. The first fight which took place in the same
venue last March arguably represented Kovalev's toughest test since becoming
world champion in the summer of 2013. Despite taking control of the fight in
the early rounds and knocking down Pascal in front of his home crowd in the
fourth, Pascal fought valiantly in rounds five and six utilising his quicker
hands to come on-top in exchanges. Kovalev reasserted control from then on
however, and after a minor wobble in the seventh round, followed by a major
wobble in the eighth, referee Luis Pabon stopped the fight - Pascal had
taken too much punishment.
It is almost common acceptance in the boxing world that after
Middleweight kingpin Gennady Golovkin, there is no other pugilist as
frighteningly menacing in the ring as Kovalev. The Russian's 86 percent
knockout rate, stopping 25 of his 27 victims in the process, is the second
highest in boxing - only Golovkin at 91 per cent stands higher. In his 2011
bout against Roman Simakov, Kovalev knocked down his fellow compatriot in the
sixth round. The bout was brought to an end one round later and Kovalev
was awarded a TKO victory. Sadly, Simakov was taken to the hospital, where he
lapsed into a coma and died three days later. Kovalev's dominant win over ring
legend Bernard Hopkins in August 2014 also showed that he has the
capability to win bouts by boxing intelligently.
It is really hard to look beyond a Kovalev win via stoppage in
this forthcoming rematch. Kovalev followed the win in the first contest
with another TKO victory over Frenchman Nadjib Mohammedi in Round 3. Pascal, on
the other hand, is now training with legendary boxing trainer Freddie
Roach having moved on from his idol, the boxing great Roy Jones Jr. It will be
very interesting to find out how Roach will look to take advantage of Pascal's
hand-speed and greater athleticism against such a ferocious puncher in Kovalev. The
former's last outing was a controversial and insipid performance against the
underrated Cuban Yunieski Gonzalez, winning unanimously in a 10-round fight.
A win for Kovalev, and lucrative bouts with Andre Ward, and a long and
eagerly-anticipated clash against the other Light-Heavyweight titlist Adonis
Stevenson beckons in the summer.
Prediction - Kovalev TKO win
(Round 7)
Carl Frampton vs Scott Quigg - IBF
and WBA Super Bantamweight titles - 27th February 2016
Arguably the pick of the three fights of early 2016 is this
domestic clash in the Manchester Arena between two of Britain's current twelve
world champions. The IBF Super-Bantamweight Champion Carl Frampton of Belfast
comes up against Manchester's Scott Quigg who holds the WBA title in the 122-pound
division. Both fighters have yet to taste defeat and their wins over
former IBF champion Kiko Martinez represent career highs to date for Frampton
and Quigg.
This fight is a compliment to the upward trajectory of the
previously understated Quigg, whom prior to his fantastic win over Martinez in
July had been overlooked as a true
champion due to the nature in which he became world champion -
assuming the vacant WBA title without a fight and his two draws against
journeyman Rendall Munroe and Yoandris Salinas. Conversely, Frampton's record
is unblemished, holding two wins over Martinez and winning the IBF strap with a
convincing win over the latter in their second fight.
After continuous trading of insults on social media between
Quigg and Frampton and months of negotiations between the fighters promoters
Barry McGuigan and Eddie Hearn, the mega fight was confirmed on 2nd November
2015 and the winner will not only unify the Super-Bantamweight division,
but also set up exciting fights against conceivably the most
technically-accomplished fighter in the sport, Guillermo Rigondeaux;
four-weight world champion Nonito Donaire or even a domestic bout with
Doncaster's Gavin McDonnell, who recently relinquished his European title in
order to challenge for world honours.
Quigg, the bigger of the two, is a harder puncher and must use
his bigger frame and higher work rate to out-power and out-hustle the slicker
Frampton if he is to emerge victorious. Alternatively, for Frampton to win,
surely staying in the centre of the ring and avoid getting involved in a brawl surely stands as his best chance of being successful that night. Irrespective
of the outcome, this fight promises to be one of the spectacles of 2016.
Prediction - Frampton win on points
With these three fights taking place over the next couple of months, as well as other compelling fights that have been more-or-less agreed such as Fury and Klitschko's rematch later this year; the outspoken Adrien Broner confirming his fight with Ashley Theophane for the former's WBC Super-Lightweight championship; and eight-weight division titlist Manny Pacquiao completing his trilogy with Timothy Bradley in his farewell fight in April - 2016 promises to be another mouth-watering year in boxing.
