|
 Floyd “Money” Mayweather has retired for the second time, taking his undefeated record and a good part of the sport’s wind with him. Let’s be honest, most of the people who watched boxing last year watched only one fight, and they were disappointed. They’d spent five years watching Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao carefully dance around a fight; in the ring they wanted something more than dancing. The world wanted a spectacle to take their breath away. Instead everyone slowly released the breath they’d been holding ever since the first negotiations were announced in 2009. With this fight went a great deal of the sport’s mainstream attention, at least until a new compelling rivalry develops. That era is over. The bubble has burst. Even if Mayweather returns from retirement for a still very lucrative rematch, it’ll never hold the same place in history. We’re no longer transitioning into a new generation of fighters; it’s already here. Al Haymon has changed the game by bringing his ever-increasing stable of managed fighters onto network and cable television, in an attempt to grow boxing’s viewer base, earn advertiser support, and force HBO and other competitors out of the game. HBO meanwhile continues to grow their newest crop of elite talents, searching for the next Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao while building to landmark matchups that justify a PPV tag with it. Time will tell which business model proves more successful, or whether the two business models can coexist in the current boxing landscape. In any case, it’s now up to the younger fighters to make names for themselves and become legends that rival or surpass the accomplishments of Mayweather and Pacquiao. The talent-loaded welterweight division has a vacant crown at the top, and plenty of young untested fighters ready to compete for it. The winner of Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley’s third fight may have the best claim on the title, but that will surely be disputed by the winner of Keith Thurman vs Shawn Porter, two top American welterweights that have already fought the best of the rest. At middleweight a clash is brewing between Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, two fighters looking to seize the pay-per-view mantle for themselves, and at light heavyweight a similar confrontation looms between Andre “SOG” Ward and Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev. For the first time a new king rules the heavyweight division, though it’s uncertain how long The Gypsy King Tyson Fury will last, especially if Deontay Wilder has any say about it. The future is uncertain, and that’s always an exciting time to be a boxing fan. While the mainstream media takes a break from boxing, we’ll get to see the development of the next Mayweather or Pacquiao.  ============================================= 2015 Year End Awards 2015’s Fighter of the Year: Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26 KO)  This year the award for Fighter of the Year was, in my opinion, wide open. Plenty of fighters had good but not exceptional years, and I’ll be mentioning the others I considered soon enough, but only one fighter’s accomplishments truly defined 2015. Floyd Mayweather broke the bank of boxing with one fight, pulling at least $125 million (estimated to be closer to $180 million)i in a fight where each minute of action earned him more than most boxers would earn in a lifetime. That’s a history-making moment for our sport, the likes of which we probably can’t expect again this decade, and it caps the historic career of a man who called himself “Money” and proceeded to redefine how boxers are paid in the modern era. Ten years ago it would have been hard to believe that Mayweather, a defensively gifted fighter known as “Pretty Boy Floyd” for his relatively untouched appearance, would ever be making $40 million per fight. Despite proving himself at the lightweight division against monsters like Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo, Mayweather had a reputation of being a safety-first fighter that would potshot and cruise to decisions if he could. Though the public’s opinion of him didn’t change much after a mega-fight with De La Hoya, in which Mayweather outboxed and outfoxed the starfighter, their awareness of him certainly did. After helping to break the revenue record for the first time, Mayweather quickly retired rather than stick around overlong in a talent-stacked welterweight division. We all know the rest. Mayweather returned in search of bigger and better, continued ducking and dodging his way to decision victories against star boxers past their primes, negotiated bigger and better purses for himself, and played up his villain character as much as possible. An entire career of minimizing risk and maximizing profits was encapsulated in the one Manny Pacquiao fight, itself on a level far and above that of Mayweather and De La Hoya. It was a marvelous accomplishment for Mayweather to bet on himself and keep doubling up the bet. It’s a rare feat for any fighter to retire undefeated, let alone retire with all true threats conquered and only distant challenges remaining. Floyd Mayweather did everything he needed to do in this sport. It just remains to be seen whether he wants to try for another double-up.  Honorable Mentions:
2015’s Fight of the Year: Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura - WBC super featherweight (130 lb) title fight  It’s always great when a pay-per-view undercard delivers, and there’s no question this bout made a great appetizer for Canelo-Cotto. Undefeated Francisco Vargas started this fight aggressive, but quickly found an opponent in Takashi Miura who only took a backwards step to set up for two forward steps. Vargas caught Miura early and nearly put the man out, pouncing on him for the kill. Somehow the blows only seemed to energize the Japanese titleholder, who responded with fierce combos. Vargas’ footwork and technique may have been the difference against other fighters, but Miura's hard-charging and reckless style forced him to keep it a brawl. Vargas instead tried countering Miura on the way in with power shots, as Miura ripped out hooks to the head and body. Both fighters loaded up on every shot they threw, especially in the phonebooth exchanges that erupted in rounds 3 and 4. Miura got the better of both exchanges, cutting Vargas in the third round and sending him stunned to the canvas near the end of the fourth round. A sustained attack from Miura worsened Vargas’ cut and the Mexican fighter was forced to fight more defensively in the middle rounds. But Vargas hung in like a true professional, and after surviving blistering eighth round in which both men rallied in strong fashion, Vargas came out of his corner with a fire inside him for the ninth round, putting Miura down once in no time and then flurrying to stop his dazed opponent through sheer activity. Honorable Mention: Orlando Salido and Roman Martinez put on two fantastic fights in the super featherweight (130 lb) division. Featuring four knockdowns and a roller coaster of swings in momentum, together they’re my honorable mention for FOTY. Hopefully we’ll get to see these guys put on a third fight sometime. Knockout of the Year: Saul “Canelo” Alvarez KO3 James Kirkland  My favorite knockouts are ones that come at the highest level of the sport, and in my view you couldn’t do better for that than Canelo Alvarez’ right hand bombs on James Kirkland. The first came in the first round, with Canelo jabbing and looking for a solid right hook to land on Kirkland. After a few failed attempts, a left hook put Kirkland out of position and left him wide open for a clean right hook, sending Kirkland slumping down to the canvas along the ropes. After a rallied effort in round 2, Kirkland again suffered a knockdown at the hands of a right uppercut. Canelo timed the punch so that it would land exactly when Kirkland came too close. It was the beginning of the end for Kirkland; Canelo proceeded to nearly knock his head off with a monster right hook, sealing the deal for good. Honorable Mention: There’s no way I can do all the knockouts of the year justice, so instead I’ll list Gorilla Productions’ Top 30 Knockouts of 2015 as my honorable mention and let the knockouts speak for themselves. Event of the Year: Floyd “Money” Mayweather vs Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao  What else could it be? There was really only one fight that captured the public’s eye this year. Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather knew what parts they had to play in the fight, and neither guy went off script, to the disappointment of all spectating. Manny Pacquiao rushed in on an ever-elusive Floyd, who was reluctant to do more than potshot Manny on his way around the ring. When Manny did trap Floyd in flurries, it seemed that Manny was indeed more successful at hitting Mayweather than many of his former foes. But for whatever reason (Manny would later claim a shoulder injury hampered his ability to fight), Manny couldn’t execute those flurries very often. Scoring round-by-round, there’s an argument to be made that Manny Pacquiao won at least four of the first eight rounds, and I think when people rewatch this fight they’ll see it as pretty competitive throughout. That doesn’t necessarily mean people will think it’s competitive enough to pay for again. Honorable Mention: Saul Alvarez vs Miguel Cotto turned out to be a success by all accounts in a PPV season that had yet to see one. Alvarez proved his talent by outboxing and outfighting Cotto to earn one of the most prestigious honors in boxing: the lineal middleweight title. Upset of the Year: Tyson Fury UD12 Wladimir Klitschko  I’ll be honest, I never thought this was much of an upset. Tyson Fury’s been doing work at the light heavyweight division for years, and beat some very good fighters along the way to get to the title. He’s as big as Klitschko and knows how to use his size. I’m just disappointed I didn’t put money on Fury when I had the chance. In a heavyweight title match that was more tense than it was exciting, millions of viewers watched the crown gradually change hands as it slowly became apparent first that Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury was competing with Klitschko and then that Fury was actually beating him. The UK challenger was the first true big man Klitschko had faced in a while, and it was obvious Klitschko did not know how to approach a fighter he didn’t have a huge size advantage against. Fury fought carefully from the outside, doing exactly what he needed to do to lift the championship from Klitschko, whose near-decade winning streak has finally been dismantled. Honorable Mention: Viktor Postol was expected to give Matthysse a hard time, but nobody expected him to knock Lucas out. Postol took the blueprint that Garcia established and continued with it, frustrating Matthysse on the outside with sharp counters until he finally convinced the Argentine fighter to surrender. I was lucky enough to see this upset in person, and it’s still hard for me to believe Matthysse lost like that. Robbery of the Year: Vyacheslav Glazkov UD12 Steve Cunningham  It wasn’t a barnburner or anything, but the U.S.S. Cunningham put on a better fight than the judges gave him credit for here. In a pretty tepid fight overall, Glazkov followed Cunningham around the ring, taking his time to land single shots while Cunningham responded from distance. While Glazkov was competitive throughout and even had a great showing later in the fight, Cunningham controlled the pace of most of it, outworking and outlanding Glazkov. The judges disagreed however, scoring this vight to Glazkov by as wide as 8 rounds to 4. The decision was so egregious that, as I write this, Glazkov has just lost a world title fight due to a torn ACL, so karma came back to him on this one. From Zero to Hero: Most Improved: Danny Jacobs  It may not exactly be fair to call Jacobs a “zero,” but the cancer survivor had been away from any serious relevance at middleweight (160 lb) since the surprise upset knockout loss he suffered to Dmitry Pirog. Jacobs has slowly been getting himself ready for the elite level and finally took the step this year against former middleweight titleholder, undefeated Peter Quillin. Jacobs knocked Quillin out in one round, making a clear statement about where he belongs in the middleweight division: in contention along with Triple G. From Hero to Zero: Biggest Downslide: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.  For some reason the spoiled, self-entitled son of the great boxing legend Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. has managed to attract a devoted fanbase to his fights, despite being a pale, undedicated shadow of his father. Julio Jr. split last year with his longtime promoter Top Rank and joined up with Al Haymon, taking on light heavyweight contender Andrzej Fonfara and discovering quickly the beast of a division that was light heavyweight. Chavez Jr. got battered over nine rounds and officially quit on his stool rather than go another. This quitter’s move was arguably the most shameful example of quitting in all of 2015. Chavez’ follow-up fight against a smaller Marcos Reyes didn’t win him any new fans either. The Andre A-Ward for Inactivity Mikey Garcia  A fighter who once seemed like the next great up-and-comer, Mikey Garcia spent 2015 completely out of the ring presumably wrapped up in promotional disputes with Top Rank. A technical prodigy in the ring, Mikey is trained by his brother Roberto Garcia and is probably the best active fighter in the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy, so it’s a shame to see him sidelined by arbitration. In a lot of ways his situation is similar to Andre Ward’s in 2014: both fighters wanted a break from their promoters and stayed out of the ring until the issue could be settled. Ward ended up signing with Roc Nation, but from what I’ve heard Mikey may re-sign with Top Rank. Let’s hope he gets back to the ring soon. L Dumbest Businessman Award Guillermo Rigondeaux  This guy may be a great fighter, but he’s a horrible businessman. After a 2013 in which Rigondeaux fought once, rumors abounded of Rigondeaux signing with either Roc Nation or Al Haymon. Neither promotion materialized because of Rigondeaux’s current outfit, a group called Caribe Promotions that appears to have blocked El Chacal from moving out of their influence. Rigondeaux parted with his longtime manager Gary Hyde and fought just twice in 2014, once in Japan in an unheralded fight and once in the Mandalay Bay on the undercard of Cotto-Canelo. What should have been a showcase opportunity for a fighter desperate for a television audience was instead a typical tentative snoozer from Rigo. No wonder this guy has trouble getting fights, they’re boring enough to tune people out, not draw them in.
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2016 04:08
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 6, 2024 14:02 |
|
|
 Champions and Titleholders in Boxing The following list comprises all current lineal champions, as recognized by Ring Magazine: Strawweight (105 lb: Vacant Junior flyweight (108 lb): Donnie Nietes (PHI) as of May 10, 2014 Flyweight (112 lb): Román González (NCA) as of April 8, 2013 Junior bantamweight (115 lb): Vacant Bantamweight (118 lb): Vacant Junior Featherweight (122 lb): Guillermo Rigondeaux (CUB) as of April 13, 2013 Featherweight (126 lb): Vacant Junior Lightweight (130 lb): Vacant Lightweight (135 lb): Vacant Junior Welterweight (140 lb): Vacant Welterweight (147 lb): Vacant Junior Middleweight (154 lb): Vacant Middleweight (160 lb): Saúl Álvarez (MEX) as of November 21, 2015 Super middleweight (168 lb): Vacant Light Heavyweight (175 lb): Vacant Cruiserweight (200 lb): Vacant Heavyweight (201+ lb): Tyson Fury (UK) as of November 28, 2015 As you can see, there aren’t a lot of current champions right now, in part due to the shuffling around of many fighters across weight classes. Andre Ward moved up to light heavyweight, Terence Crawford moved up to jr. welterweight, and Floyd Mayweather retired. A lot of these divisions are wide open for hungry contenders to take hold of. If there are so few champions in the sport, why do so many fighters call themselves world champions? In the sport of boxing there are four competitive sanctioning bodies, or entities that provide a recognized world title and ranking for every division. Fighters need to pay fees to compete for these titles, but once they have won they become a “world champion” of the WBC or whatever other organization they won. These fighters should be thought of as titleholders; they hold a small claim on a prize in the division, if not necessarily the authority to call themselves the de-facto best in their weight class. A lineal champion, on the other hand, is a fighter who either made it to the top of his division and then beat the consensus best contender, or who fought and beat the previous lineal champion. It’s “the man who beat the man” who can call himself the champion of a division. When a lineal champion retires or vacates their division, the title becomes up for grabs and it’s up to the two consensus best (or perhaps the first and third best) to fight each other for the title. Boxing’s Pound-For-Pound Best  In boxing, fighters are “pound for pound” among the best if they compare favorably in talent, accomplishment, and style not only to fighters in their weight class but also fighters beyond those weight classes. A pound-for-pound fighter should be competitive against all fighters in their division and ideally in their neighboring divisions. Better yet if the fighter has dominated a few weight classes before moving up. Fighters at the top of the pound-for-pound list are considered among the best in the world, and it’s a rare privilege when two boxers in the top 10 of the sport manage to fight each other. The following ratings represent my own ratings and biases. I’m an American and not the most hardcore of boxing fans, so I miss a lot of great fights and great fighters that take place outside of America. That means I haven’t followed most fighters at bantamweight or lower. My ratings are based primarily on a fighter’s record in both the short term and long term, followed by a fighter’s apparent technical ability, and finally excitement or style considerations. Honorable Mentions: Marcos Maidana is still a top fighter in my eyes as soon as he returns in shape. I also think Lucas Matthysse could return to relevance or at least be a good opponent. The jury is still out on Chris Algieri, but he could someday make these ranks. Miguel Cotto’s renaissance didn’t survive Canelo Alvarez, but he’s always one or two wins away from relevance. Juan Manuel Marquez says he wants a world title shot at welterweight, but has been out of the ring for so long it’s looking less and less likely. Mikey Garcia has been out of the ring for a very long time and I have no idea what his future plans are. Bernard Hopkins wants one more fight and it wouldn’t be the first time for him to surprise the world with a big upset. Deontay Wilder is right there at the top of the heavyweight division and could give Tyson Fury or anyone else an early night. The Ring has a guy named Shinsuke Yamanaka ranked in their top 10, but I don’t know anything about him so I can’t honestly rate him. Leo Santa Cruz nearly made my list, I guess I just never rated Mares that highly. I do think he’s a great fighter with a lot of potential. Pound For Pound List  20. Viktor “The Iceman” Postol (28-0, 12 KO) - jr. welterweight (140 lb) WBC titleholder The last spot on these lists is always really hard because of the fighters that get bumped off. This was a toss-up between Viktor Postol and Leo Santa Cruz for me. In the end I decided on Postol because his win over Matthysse is more impressive to me than Santa Cruz beating Mares. Postol is a supremely sharp outside fighter whose power has perhaps been underestimated, and I don’t see too many jr. welterweights lining up to fight him any time soon. Next Opponent: None yet. We should be hearing something about Postol soon, I’d imagine. Matthysse doesn’t appear to want to fight him and Crawford is scheduled, so it may just be a stay-busy fight for Postol.  19. Amir “King” Khan (31-3, 19 KO) - welterweight (147 lb) At this point in Khan’s career I have no idea where to rate him or place him compared to anyone else. I still feel that he has not made his mark at welterweight like other fighters have. His signature wins at the weight (Collazo, Alexander) aren’t exactly top contenders, and he struggled against Chris Algieri in a fight that was supposed to be easy work for him. At this point Khan seems to do more talking than fighting, though he’s at least retained his signature speed even at welterweight. He’s years overdue for a significant bout at welterweight, perhaps against fellow UK welterweight Kell Brook or American titleholder Keith Thurman. Next Opponent: None yet. Pacquiao didn’t want Khan for an opponent, so now Khan’s options are looking like the winner of Garcia-Guerrero, Kell Brook (not likely for his next match), or a domestic stay-busy fight. My bet is on a stay-busy fight while Khan sets something up for May or June.  18. Kell “Special K” Brook (35-0, 24 KO) - welterweight (147 lb) IBF titleholder I had to rate him next to Amir Khan. In my mind there is not much separating them. Kell Brook won against Shawn Porter who beat Devon Alexander before Khan did, but apart from that Brook’s record is paper-thin compared to Khan’s. Brook’s got that great combination of boxing technique and punching power that make him entertaining to watch and dangerous to fight against. I think he’s accurate enough to land against Khan and powerful enough to stun or knock Khan out, so I have him ranked higher on this list. Regardless, I think Brook has been too complacent in 2015 and I hope he steps his game up in this new year. Next Opponent: None yet. Brook continues to call out Amir Khan but it’s anybody’s guess as to who he will actually fight yet.  17. Adonis “Superman” Stevenson (27-1, 22 KO) - light heavyweight (175 lb) WBC titleholder Two years ago the budding rivalry between Adonis Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev was bright and exciting. But those dreams were dashed when Al Haymon took Stevenson from HBO to Showtime and ostensibly ended hopes of seeing him fight with HBO-contracted Kovalev. Unfortunately for Stevenson, the rivalry has lost some of its luster as Stevenson treads water in the light heavyweight division. Stevenson reportedly refused big fights with Bernard Hopkins, Jean Pascal and Sergey Kovalev, all matches that could have kept him relevant in the sport. Even with his big left hand power, Stevenson’s only getting older and his athletic prime won’t last forever. Next Opponent: None yet. Supposedly there are once again talks for Stevenson-Kovalev in the summer, but don’t hold your breath on it. Nothing’s come of similar noises before except grandstanding.  16. Danny “Swift” Garcia (31-0, 18 KO) - welterweight (147 lb) Controversy continued to follow Danny Garcia into 2015 as he took on Lamont Peterson in a close affair in which many observers felt Peterson was the sharper fighter. I personally view Danny as a fighter who may not be exceptionally gifted but has enough all-around skill and knows how to get the win in fights. I still remember the Matthysse fight was the one where Danny won me over. At only 27 years old, he still has a lot of time to develop… and if he doesn’t, there are plenty of capable welterweights around ready to scalp his zero. Next Opponent: Robert Guerrero on January 23rd, broadcast on FOX. This is a somewhat uninspiring fight in terms of relevance, as Guerrero appears to be on the decline, but it could end up being a great action fight where both men could get some good licks.  15. Danny “Miracle Man” Jacobs (31-1, 28 KO) - middleweight (160 lb) WBA titleholder Once one of Golden Boy Promotions’ hottest young prospects, Danny Jacobs’ career was derailed first by a surprise KO loss to Dmitry Pirog and then by bone cancer. After successful treatment, Jacobs returned to the ring and brought his impressive knockout power back with him. Knocking out Peter Quillin in thorough fashion bumps him up into p4p consideration, and he’s also emerged as an exciting opponent for Alvarez or Golovkin, should they dare to risk his speed and power. Next Opponent: None yet. I imagine he’ll want to defend the title he won from Quillin at least once before chasing down the likes of Golovkin or Alvarez. He’s also a Haymon fighter, so negotiations with other top middleweights could prove difficult or impossible.  14. Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko (64-4, 53 KO) - heavyweight (200+ lb) One loss doesn’t bump the decade-long world champion from my pound-for-pound list, especially not when that loss will soon be contested in a rematch. Wladimir Klitschko is getting up there in years, but he’s still as big and powerful as ever, and he showed that to Tyson Fury a few times and especially in those later rounds. The big weakness for Klitschko has always been his chin, which he protected in the past by keeping opponents at distance with jabs and crosses and then clinching them on the inside. Against Fury, Wladimir will need to exploit his natural punching power and risk taking a punch to land a coupe. He’ll have to play the inside fighter for the first time in years. Next Opponent: It’s not official yet, but supposedly Klitschko intends to execute his mandatory rematch clause with Tyson Fury. We’ll see when that actually comes off.  13. Vasyl “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko (5-1, 3 KO) - featherweight (126 lb) WBO titleholder While Lomachenko’s best win in the pros (Gary Russell Jr.) may not hold up as well as some of the other one-win rankings I’ve placed under him, his amatuer experience of 396 victories, with just 1 defeat (avenged several times over), and with 2 separate gold medal placings at the Olympic Games, can’t be ignored or forgotten about. The ambidextrous southpaw seems to know where to be at all times, maintaining perfect distance with which to slip punches while launching his own blinding shots. Despite one loss against a grossly overweight Orlando Salido, Lomachenko’s talent looks to translate well to the pro ranks. Hopefully this 27-year-old pro has some time in his career to make a real legacy for himself in the lower divisions. Next Opponent: None yet. There’s no clear opponent for him out there either, as Leo Santa Cruz is on team Haymon along with most of the other recognizable names at featherweight. Either someone needs to move up or Lomachenko does.  12. Terence “Bud” Crawford (27-0, 19 KO) - jr. welterweight (140 lb) WBO titleholder In the wake of Floyd Mayweather, Terence Crawford may just be the next great American fighter to take the mantle. It’s too early to tell, of course, but like Mayweather, Crawford is fast and accurate, has great reflexes, and can box in either direction. Crawford’s technique is top rate, and he’s one of the unique fighters that can switch-hit, fighting out of either an orthodox or southpaw stance as the mood takes him. After conquering the lightweight division, Crawford has moved up to the jr. welterweight division to hopefully track down fights with Lucas Matthysse, Viktor Postol, or Ruslan Provodnikov. Eventually we may even see this beast in the welterweight division, where the big dogs roam. Next Opponent: Hank Lundy on February 27th, on HBO. Lundy is no stranger to losses and has never really broken out as a top talent, but he’s a good test for Crawford who is still relatively new in the 140 lb division.  11. Keith “One Time” Thurman (26-0, 22 KO) - welterweight (147 lb) WBA titleholder In the talent-heavy welterweight division Keith Thurman has yet to distinguish himself as among the best, instead of the rest, but 2015 saw him prepare to make that jump. Thurman opened the PBC network TV series with a strong showing against Robert Guerrero, winning one of the division’s competitively contested world title belts in the process, and followed it by beating up Collazo and forcing the veteran fighter to quit. Thurman is a natural welterweight with the natural power that comes with it, and plenty of time to grow into a fuller frame. It’s only a matter of time until he gets a crack at another big name and sends them packing. Next Opponent: Shawn Porter on March 12th, supposedly. The fight isn’t signed yet the last I heard but it sounds like discussions have been pretty serious.  10. Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury (25-0, 18 KO) - heavyweight (200+) WBA & WBO unified titleholder, lineal world champion Tyson Fury pulled off an incredible feat in dethroning Wladimir Klitschko and is now permanently among the other heavyweight champions of history, including Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Lennox Lewis. And this is a guy who most of us knew for the longest time as that goofy dude who uppercutted himself in the face. Whether or not Fury even gets to hold onto all of his titles is debatable, as Klitschko has a mandatory clause he may execute which would prevent Fury from taking mandatory defenses. If he does survive the rematch, we’ll get to see what Tyson Fury is really made of, if and when he calls out fellow unbeaten heavyweight Deontay Wilder. Next Opponent: None yet. Chances are it will be a Klitschko rematch though.  9. Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux (16-0, 10 KO) - super bantamweight (122 lb) WBA & WBO unified titleholder, lineal world champion I’ve never been a huge fan of Guillermo Rigondeaux’s fighting style. In my opinion he’s just too tentative with his punches. When a fighter has such obvious skill in throwing accurate punches, I want to see more of it. Unfortunately fans probably won’t see much more of Rigondeaux, as he stunk up the show in an abysmal bout on the Canelo-Cotto undercard. Simply put, all the skill in the world doesn’t matter if you can’t put it on display in an appealing light. Rigondeaux isn’t getting any younger in this sport and his opportunities to make a true legacy for himself as a professional fighter are dwindling. I really don’t know what he could even do to turn it around at this point. Next Opponent: None yet. Rigondeaux has struggled to get big fights but could be up to fight the winner of Carl Frampton vs Scott Quigg, or perhaps Lomachenko if a TV charrier will pick it up.  8. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (46-1, 32 KO) - middleweight (160 lb) WBC titleholder, lineal world champion While comparisons to Manny Pacquiao earlier in his career may have been off-base, Saul Alvarez has nevertheless proven his quality time and time again, facing one of the toughest stretches of fighters of any active boxer. Austin Trout, Floyd Mayweather, Alfredo Angulo, Erislandy Lara, James Kirkland and Miguel Cotto all are or were dangerous fighters when Canelo fought them, and the young Mexican only came out with one clear loss (and some less-than-clear victories, to be fair). Canelo is a fighter that constantly wants to challenge the best out there. Hopefully that trend continues as he acclimates himself to his new middleweight title and the 160 lb division, where Gennady Golovkin waits patiently for him. Next Opponent: None yet, although it will be on the weekend of May 7th. Supposedly there are talks for a Golovkin clash later in the year.  7. Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KO) - light heavyweight (175 lb) IBF, WBA, & WBO unified titleholder Krusher keeps on krushing. After the brief interruption of his KO streak by savvy legend Bernard Hopkins, who survived Kovalev to lose a decision, the Russian bruiser resumed his practice of ending fights within the distance for 2015, first having a scrap with Jean Pascal before closing the show in the eighth round, and then running through Nadjib Mohammedi in a blow-out fight to close out the year. Kovalev has apparently given up on fighting Adonis Stevenson and has moved onto a bigger and better name, unbeaten Andre Ward who has supposedly agreed to a deal in which he and Kovalev fight each other in late 2016. That fight would be a master class in boxing technique, a master technician in Andre Ward against a devastating power puncher in Sergey Kovalev. Next Opponent: Jean Pascal on January 30th on HBO. The first fight was entertaining and made money so naturally we’re doing the rematch. Kovalev should be the heavy favorite to end this by stoppage.  6. Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (34-0, 31 KO) - middleweight (160 lb) WBA & IBF unified titleholder The Big Dog, Triple G rules his middleweight division with an iron fist (or two). A three-fight knockout streak kept Golovkin’s run alive as he tore Martin Murray, Willie Monroe Jr. and titleholder David Lemieux, bringing his name to ever-growing levels of exposure. The Kazakh fighter may be all smiles and Borat English outside of the ring, but inside of it he’s a demon. Golovkin has all but admitted to letting outmatched opponents fight on for a little while just so the fight doesn’t end so quickly and his fans don’t leave disappointed. Golovkin is this era’s Mike Tyson, and we’re still waiting for someone to Buster Douglas him out. In the meantime though, expect more promotion behind Triple G as he angles for a fight that takes him from boxing star to superstar. Next Opponent: None yet. Billy Joe Saunders is a possible opponent, as he has another title for Golovkin to unify, but chances are the two sides will disagree about the money split.  5. Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley Jr. (33-1-1, 13 KO) - welterweight (147 lb) WBO titleholder Everyone here knows how big of a Tim Bradley fan I am. In my opinion he’s our generation’s Bernard Hopkins or Marvin Hagler: a gritty, well-rounded fighter who has been overshadowed by the flashier boxers in his generation even as he has matched their accomplishments. Bradley’s record is littered with tough fights against tough fighters, many of whom were undefeated when they fought Tim. In all those fights, Bradley has only lost to Manny Pacquiao, and it’s a loss he could soon avenge. If the “Desert Storm” has one weakness, it may be his proclivity for brawling despite his lack of real KO power, but that just shows the kind of heart Tim has, and nobody can dispute his tested iron chin. Bradley may spend the rest of his career fighting for respect, but when all’s said and done, I think he’ll be remembered as a throwback fighter who took on all comers and always dug down deep to find a way to win. Next Opponent: Manny Pacquiao on April 9th, on HBO PPV. Officially the record between Tim and Manny is 1-1, though most fans had Pacquiao winning the first fight too. With Teddy Atlas in his corner, Bradley will need all the motivation he can get to win this fight clearly and cleanly.  4. Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KO) - welterweight (147 lb) After a long, accomplished career defined as much by the great rivals Manny fought as the fighter himself, The Pac Man is finally ready to retire... wait, haven’t we heard this story before? It feels like every year the Filipino congressman, with aspiring political ambitions, threatens to leave the sport for good. But then he gets in the ring and puts in a sensational performance and the fans are reminded of why he’s still a top talent in the sport. The fiery Filipino warrior may be a few years removed from a proper knockout finish, but there’s no denying his fierce power and speed, factors that even hampered Floyd Mayweather’s ability to engage with him. Retirement looms in Manny’s near-future, but so does the siren’s call of a rematch fight against Mayweather and the chance at redemption against the greatest fighter of his generation. Next Opponent: Timothy Bradley on April 9th, on HBO PPV. Manny fights to stay relevant in this fight; if he can beat Tim Bradley after two years of these guys shifting around he’ll look like a very viable comeback fight for Floyd.  3. Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (28-0, 15 KO) - light heavyweight (175 lb) It’s impossible to deny the talent of Andre Ward, but his recent accomplishments leave much to be desired. With a long layoff that saw Ward miss the entire year of 2014, there’s not much going on in his career that rates against what other fighters are currently doing in the sport. Paul Smith was completely outmatched against a returning Ward, who then had to cancel out of a scheduled appearance on the Canelo-Cotto undercard. So that one return showcase fight has been all of Ward’s activity for the last two years. Supposedly Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev have contracted to make a Fall 2016 match happen, but until then Ward needs someone to fight. There are plenty of true names at 175; Ward just needs to attract one of them for a spring showdown. Until that happens, it gets harder and harder to justify even a top fighter like Ward in the pound-for-pound ratings, where other hungry fighters scramble for recognition. Next Opponent: None yet. Ward has a March 26th scheduled date for the Oracle, but the opponent he fights probably won’t be anything special. Maybe Bernard Hopkins will want a piece of S.O.G.?  2. Roman “Chocolatitio” Gonzalez (44-0, 38 KO) - flyweight (112 lb) WBC titleholder, lineal world champion For the guy who writes the boxing threads around here I’m actually not that super hardcore of a fan. I don’t watch every single fight from every country or even every fight in my own country. So when I heard about Roman Gonzalez I didn’t rate him; he wasn’t a fighter I had ever seen and I was too lazy to go track his fights down. Having had the chance to see him on HBO, I’m a believer. The flyweight division and below are almost completely unknown to American fans, but there are plenty of great quick fighters down there. Gonzalez has prevailed against them all, cleaning through two divisions on his way to flyweight, usually in knockout fashion. Gonzalez’ accuracy and hand-speed is backed up with constant activity and movement. He simply never allows his opponent to get set or get comfortable. With an energetic style and a great career at the young age of 28, expect a lot of attention on Gonzalez’ future as he approaches breaking Floyd Mayweather’s undefeated record. Next Opponent: None yet. Possibly Giovanni Segura for a March fight, but nothing has been signed yet to my knowledge.  1. Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26 KO) - welterweight (147 lb) lineal world champion Look, I’m of the mindset that Mayweather’s not permanently retired. I think he’ll come back. There’s just too much action in the sport for him to stay away. The dude is a gambler who loves betting on himself. He’ll be looking at what’s happening at middleweight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin, the winner of which would be a hugely lucrative opponent for him to return against. He’ll also be looking at Manny Pacquiao, who hasn’t yet retired and who has suggested he’d stick around for one more fight with Floyd. Finally, he’ll be thinking about the marketing potential behind trying to round off that record into an even 50-0. To be honest, even if he doesn’t retire, I don’t feel comfortable ranking anyone else in the #1 spot just yet. Floyd not only earned this spot but put in work to separate himself from everyone else competing for it. I’m waiting to see another fighter pull off a great accomplishment worthy of putting them squarely in this spot. If a year later there’s no sign of Floyd coming back, I’ll reevaluate leaving this spot vacant. Next Opponent: None yet. Floyd is retired, but this isn’t the first time he’s retired, and if he unretires it wouldn’t be for the first time either. The Ninth Layer fucked around with this message at 04:17 on Jan 18, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2016 04:08
|
|
|
Links and Info News and Articles: FightNews - All kinds of boxing news as it comes, with short summaries for each. BoxingScene - Boxing news and occasional views with headlined links leading to stories Bad Left Hook - The best boxing blog around, with news summaries, fight previews and a lot of opinion pieces. FightHype - Some news, a lot of opinion articles and a fair amount of fighter interviews, especially with Floyd Mayweather. MaxBoxing - Mostly articles, usually fairly detailed and well-written Ratings/Rankings: Fight News Rankings - rankings for every division for the four major sanctioning bodies, plus FightNews’ own rankings The Ring Ratigs - The Ring’s own ratings for pound-for-pound and each division Schedule / Upcoming Fights: Bad Left Hook’s boxing schedule - The schedule I use. AFAIK it’s the most up to date anywhere Videos & Misc Links: Premiere Boxing Champions - Al Haymon's Youtube channel does a nice job of featuring full fights from the PBC broadcasts. They also have good highlight videos. Gorilla Porductions - Youtube channel with boxing highlight reels that are so professionally done it's a wonder this guy hasn't been scooped up by HBO yet. Dwyer Sports Betting on Youtube - Gives fight breakdowns and gambling tips. A lot of people don't like Dwyer but I think he's one of the better guys at breaking down a fight. Just take his gambling tips with a grain of salt. Queensberry Rules Radio - Good radio program if listening to guys talk about boxing is your thing. Tha Boxing Voice Radio Show - One of my favorite boxing shows. Good hosts with differing viewpoints and they frequently take callers. BoxingScene's Non Stop Boxing forum - Boxing talk all the time. There are a lot of really dumb opinions here and to me that's part of the charm. How can I watch boxing? For the most part, the biggest fights in boxing are found on the premium channels HBO who still invests a lot of money into fights they think will draw a lot of viewers. As far as cable TV goes, NBC, CBS, and FOX are now in the boxing game under Al Haymon's PBC banner, which means FREE BOXING on network television, and some pretty good fights to boot. ESPN is also getting into the fight game along with Spike and truTV. The best way to watch fights online is probably youtube. Most classic fights and plenty of recent ones can be found uploaded on youtube if you search diligently enough. I’m sure there are plenty of torrent sites that archive boxing videos too. I’m not sure how kosher streaming is to talk about, I’ll simply say that boxing streams are pretty common and easy to find. HBO also has fights on demand, and Al Haymon's PBC broadcasts usually get up on youtube pretty quickly. I’m new to boxing, where’s a good place to start watching? Boxing is definitely a sport that is easier to appreciate with prior knowledge about its active fighters and their situations. Honestly the best way to pick up that knowledge is just to watch a lot of fights! If you see a boxer that has a style you particularly like, you’ll probably also enjoy watching his other fights, and along the way you might run into some other quality boxers he fought whose fights interest you. End-of-the-year lists are great resources for finding good recent classics, and Ring Magazine’s Fights of the Year is a good list of just a few of the hundreds of fantastic fights throughout history. There are plenty of boxers that almost everybody has heard of, like the heavyweights Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, and Mike Tyson, and their fights are worth checking out for any boxing fans. Among other recent fighters I’d recommend watching are Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Pernell Whitaker, Erik Morales, Julio Cesar Chavez, Roy Jones Jr, Marco Antonio Barrera and Kostya Tsyzu. I made a short list of good fights to watch in the previous thread and a few others posted their recommendations as well, so check that out as a good place to get started. How about getting into boxing training, you know anything about that? I just watch the sport, and don’t know much about training, but there’s a really good Boxing training thread over on YLLS maintained by mewse. It’s got a lot of great info for anybody getting started, and there are a bunch of people who post there and here that have a lot of experience with boxing training. The Ninth Layer fucked around with this message at 04:15 on Jan 18, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2016 04:08
|
|
|
brook's actually signed to fight kevin bizier but i wouldn't even bother editing the post for it tbh
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2016 04:38
|
|
|
Also, Marcos Maidana is retired for good and from what I understand is pretty happy to be out of the game. Fantastic thread, excited for boxing in 2016
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2016 04:48
|
|
|
Anyone got some hot takes on Garcia-Guerrero? I kinda think the Ghost could steal some rounds just off activity, Danny's a pretty slow starter for a guy nicknamed "Swift."
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2016 22:48
|
|
|
how much of 2015 did Kell Brook miss because of getting stabbed by a machete? Bad year for british boxers getting weird non-boxing injuries really with Crolla getting brained with a paving slab too I don't know much about crolla other than the accident since it hosed up his world title fight and he's become champion since. How do people rate him?
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2016 00:16
|
|
|
The Ninth Layer posted:Anyone got some hot takes on Garcia-Guerrero? I kinda think the Ghost could steal some rounds just off activity, Danny's a pretty slow starter for a guy nicknamed "Swift." Garcia will win because he is less awful than Guerrero and will fight a rematch with Lamont Peterson in the fall. Angel Garcia will talk some nonsense whenever a mic is put in front of him. Sammy Vasquez jr will stop Aron Martinez but will not fight Errol Spence until 2018.
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2016 01:17
|
|
|
I would be more interested in seeing a fight between Garcia and Guerrero's dads, to be honest. Surprised they haven't cut those guys loose to talk more poo poo, the promotion for this one was a lot less than I was expecting. Probably Haymon trying to keep his product corporate-friendly.
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2016 01:21
|
|
|
Jose posted:how much of 2015 did Kell Brook miss because of getting stabbed by a machete? Bad year for british boxers getting weird non-boxing injuries really with Crolla getting brained with a paving slab too can't actually remember just how long brook was out tbh. wasn't ages, but judging by his career trajectory since being back i doubt we've really missed out on any big fights because of it. crolla is pretty average tbh. he's done well to get as far as he has considering he isn't really great at anything and is easy to hit. check out his fight with derry matthews, good fight with a really bad stoppage. The Ninth Layer posted:Anyone got some hot takes on Garcia-Guerrero? I kinda think the Ghost could steal some rounds just off activity, Danny's a pretty slow starter for a guy nicknamed "Swift." guerrero is gonna get robbed. book it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2016 02:31
|
|
|
The Ninth Layer posted:I would be more interested in seeing a fight between Garcia and Guerrero's dads, to be honest. Surprised they haven't cut those guys loose to talk more poo poo, the promotion for this one was a lot less than I was expecting. Probably Haymon trying to keep his product corporate-friendly. That sucks. I had been looking forward to Garcia-Guerrero for years. But re: their sons, Guerrero is tough enough to hang in for 12, and active enough to win rounds. I hope Garcia beats him, because I hate dirty fighters, but honestly I think this will be a fight of the year candidate.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2016 00:22
|
|
|
Garcia losing would volumetrically be this decades best ppfffffttttttttttttt
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2016 00:59
|
|
|
Garcia losing would be about loving time.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2016 01:27
|
|
|
guererro is a loving massive underdog. i will definitely be putting a few dollars on that. in my (very limited) opinion this will be extremely close.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2016 04:52
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/AmirKingKhan Amir khan has clearly had some free time today. Possibly NWS first tweet if your work would get upset at a poorly photoshopped picture of a bare arse Eddie hearn has been getting into it too lol https://twitter.com/EddieHearn
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2016 16:32
|
|
|
Every heavyweight in the world is calling out Charles Martin right now since he picked up a belt in a fluky way against Glazkov. I can see the appeal of challenging a guy who looks like he lucked his way into a belt, but I think Martin is legitimate, looked good in the three rounds he fought and would have beaten glazkov regardless.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2016 05:45
|
|
|
MMM Whatchya Say posted:Every heavyweight in the world is calling out Charles Martin right now since he picked up a belt in a fluky way against Glazkov. I can see the appeal of challenging a guy who looks like he lucked his way into a belt, but I think Martin is legitimate, looked good in the three rounds he fought and would have beaten glazkov regardless. easier than fury and wilder i guess
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2016 05:54
|
|
|
Martin will be lucky to still have that title six months from now. He painted a huge target on his back by winning it. Whether or not he would have beaten Glazkov regardless, the fact is they shouldn't have been fighting for a title in the first place. Amir Khan... smh if what Eddie Hearn said was true. Khan doesn't have five times the name value of Brook, and whatever advantage he does have shrinks every time Brook fights a bum and Khan fights nobody.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2016 06:53
|
|
|
The Ninth Layer posted:Martin will be lucky to still have that title six months from now. He painted a huge target on his back by winning it. Whether or not he would have beaten Glazkov regardless, the fact is they shouldn't have been fighting for a title in the first place. Maybe, I think he's ok in that all the top heavyweights are lining fights up with each other right now. The people going after him are people who are either not that great themselves or unproven. He's been called oh by the likes of Derek Chisora and Jarrell Miller. Honestly, those are ok fights in that they'll test him out a bit without being too threatening. Wouldn't be too surprised to see a top prospect try to snipe out that belt at the end of the year or the start of the next one though. Really depends where martin's ceiling is. E: I think he was supposed to fight breazeale so that might happen as well. If Breazeale wins a belt it would be the saddest thing to happen in boxing though. Jump King fucked around with this message at 11:08 on Jan 23, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2016 11:06
|
|
|
Man, I love watching BoxNation. Bunce is such a hilarious host. See: that time they couldn't sit through the Argentinian national anthem.
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 02:07
|
|
|
so loving future posted:Man, I love watching BoxNation. Bunce is such a hilarious host. See: that time they couldn't sit through the Argentinian national anthem. "This is a good undercard, some of the stinkers we have to put on..." -Bunce 
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 02:14
|
|
|
Good opening heavyweight fight on the PBC undercard on FOX.
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 02:23
|
|
|
Goddamn Mansour hits hard
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 02:26
|
|
|
The Ninth Layer posted:Good opening heavyweight fight on the PBC undercard on FOX. For real. Looking like Mansour's got pretty good chances against somebody way bigger and way younger.
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 02:27
|
|
|
What in the gently caress
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 02:37
|
|
|
sportsgenius86 posted:What in the gently caress
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 02:37
|
|
|
Boooo. Pretty disappointing ending. A broken jaw is a broken jaw though, can't really afford to take even more damage as a boxer.
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 02:47
|
|
|
Whats up with that ring announcer lol. Guy was fumbling through that announcement.
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 02:53
|
|
|
vasquez has great footwork when he's stalking but loses control of the situation as soon as he throws anything.
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 03:05
|
|
|
These commentators are really trying to sell up Vasquez.
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 03:08
|
|
|
The Ninth Layer posted:These commentators are really trying to sell up Vasquez. is it really selling him when they constantly talk about how hosed up his brain is?
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 03:09
|
|
|
They've also pressing him as "the future of welterweight." Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 03:10
|
|
|
jesus christ i hope martinez wakes up soon
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 03:13
|
|
|
what the gently caress
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 03:18
|
|
|
Lol again?
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 03:18
|
|
|
Some unusual corner stoppages this night. Another injury? Can't complain about this fight ending really, it was a lot of Vasquez missing against a shelled Martinez.
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 03:18
|
|
|
hahaha this is great. martinez woud have wanted to have an injury to excuse that entire performance though. he didn't fight at all
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 03:19
|
|
|
Lame stoppage but that fight loving sucked so oh well
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 03:20
|
|
|
I am a fan of Premier Boxing Championship welterweight competitor Keith "Keiff Furman" Thurman. *plays flute solo while sitting in forest*
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 03:28
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 6, 2024 14:02 |
|
|
lol at guerrero's dad
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2016 03:36
|
|