A Look at Boxing in 2010: Analysis and Predictions

2009 was a great year for boxing. Manny Pacquiao made history by becoming a champion in seven weight divisions. Floyd Mayweather vs. Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto made back-to-back million sale pay-per-view fights. Showtime made an unprecedented tournament featuring some of the best Super Middleweights of the world. All this and more went down in 2009.

2010 will be an even bigger year for boxing. Therefore, let’s take a quick look at some matches already scheduled for the upcoming year.

Shane Mosley vs. Andre Berto

Next year will kick off with a great match-up between Shane Mosley and Andre Berto. It is the classic young undefeated fighter against the savvy veteran. This bout has early fight of the year candidate written all over it.

Let’s hope it lives up to the hype.

Prediction: Will we see the birth of a new star or the continuing dominance of the future hall of famer?

I’m following my heart on this one (not always wise) and picking Berto to start the boxing year with a huge upset. Wouldn’t it be ironic if Mosley were to lose though? I mean he fought roughly a year ago against an opponent many didn’t give him a chance against. Even more ironic is if Berto won.

Why?

Well he would be in the similar position Mosley was in 2009. You never know.

The World Boxing Tournament

The first fight of Group Stage One will take place on March 6, 2010. This bout will feature Arthur Abraham vs. Andre Dirrell.

Abraham is riding in with three points, while Dirrell is trying to get his first points. Dirrell proved in his fight with Carl Froch that he has great boxing skills but his lack of experience cost him dearly. Abraham is the complete opposite of Dirrell by coming in with a demolition of Jermain Taylor and the leading favorite to win this tournament.

Prediction: Abraham will start off slow as always and let Dirrell gain some points and confidence. Dirrell will also frustrate Abraham at certain points in the fight. With that said, Abraham will loosen himself up and roll into a unanimous decision or late knockout. However, Dirrell is a very live underdog in this fight.

In April, we will get the final two matches of Group Stage Two. Carl Froch will square off against Mikkel Kessler and Andre Ward against Jermain Taylor.

Both matches are very interesting to analyze.

Kessler is coming off a loss, while Froch is riding with a win against Dirrell. Although Kessler is the overall better boxer, how much will the loss against Ward affect Kessler? For that reason Froch has a very good chance at upsetting Kessler.

On the other side, Ward was the biggest surprise by beating one of the tourneys favorite to win; Kessler. Jermain on the other hand was brutally knocked out by Arthur Abraham. Many expected, myself included, that he would drop from the tournament. Taylor is a fighter and refuses to go down; it may be a bad idea.

However, Ward is not a huge puncher like Abraham, which may favor Taylor.

Predictions: Unless Kessler is still suffering from his defeat at the hands of Ward, look for Kessler to outbox Froch whose style is made for him.

Taylor will give Ward a more competitive fight than Kessler. However, it will not be enough and Ward should either knock him out late or win a decision by wide margins.

Israel Vasquez vs. Rafael Marquez IV

I love their trilogy and I consider it one of the best in modern boxing history. However, I am not that excited to see them go at it again.

Not because it won’t be a good fight, but because of their health.

Vasquez required nearly a year to recover from an eye injury and did not look too good in his returning bout. Marquez on the other hand easily defeated his opponent but left lingering questions about what he has left in the tank.

As a result, they have dropped from many P4P lists due to their inactivity.

But you can’t blame them for seeking a fourth fight; fighting each other is the best payday for both of them.

Prediction: It will be an even match like all their other fights. However, Marquez looks like the fresher fighter and should beat Vasquez in a split decision.

Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao

For now I am going to refrain from any analysis or predictions. I know it sounds lame but I want to dedicate a whole article to this fight. I mean that is the least it deserves since it will be the biggest fight of the decade!

Feel free to leave a comment if you disagree with any prediction.

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