The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of October 27
There was not much to report in the way of fights, but there was plenty of news in the boxing world this past week that will shape the landscape going forward.
Gennady Golovkin has seen his star rise faster than anyone in the sport of late, but can the middleweight champion become the successor to Floyd Mayweather, and is he already on the path?
Speaking of GGG, his next fight has been finalized for early next year, and will this one prove more challenging than the last?
Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado are set to settle the score, but will the third time around be as exciting as the first two?
Speaking of settling the score, Amir Khan has finally signed on for a bout with Devon Alexander in December, but was it worth the wait for the Brit? And is it too high-risk and low-reward at this point?
We answer these questions and more in this week's edition of the hottest storylines in boxing.
Will Golovkin Steal the Throne from Mayweather?
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There’s no denying that Golovkin—the undefeated middleweight champion who has knocked out his last 18 foes—has become one of boxing’s biggest stars in a very short period of time.
But is he on the cusp of becoming the No. 1 attraction in the sport?
His last bout, a second-round knockout of veteran contender Marco Antonio Rubio, drew a record crowd at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, and was viewed by 1.3 million people on HBO.
Fans are drawn to Golovkin because he gives them what they want to see.
He attacks with ruthless ferocity, quickly breaking down opponents and stopping them in no-nonsense fashion.
Golovkin’s style and power make every second of his fights must-see television. You don’t want to blink or leave the room, because you might miss the big shot, such as the blindside punch that felled and stopped former middleweight champion Daniel Geale in July.
Mayweather has been the gold standard in boxing excellence for the better part of the past decade. His fights are events, generally sucking in all the air from the room and leaving very little for everyone else.
GGG, for all his other fine qualities, hasn’t yet shown that he can be a big, transcending draw on pay-per-view in the way Mayweather has, but he clearly has the pound-for-pound king trumped in excitement and potential.
Mayweather’s show has gotten a bit stagnant of late—the result of running short on quality foes and performances that haven’t quite lived up to his lofty standard.
The Maidana rematch was a dud in every sense of the word.
From the decision to pursue a rematch, to the promotion and the fight itself, everything just seemed off. It seemed a half-step slow, and it was wholly devoid of any real excitement.
Contrast that to Golovkin, who will face Martin Murray in February and has potential fights with Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez on tap for later in 2015.
Would you rather pay money to watch Golovkin vs. Canelo or Mayweather vs. Amir Khan, his most likely next foe?
If you picked the former, then you prove the point.
Golovkin is on the ascent, and he has Mayweather’s star power in his sights.
Can Martin Murray Challenge Golovkin?
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Murray knows something about being a big underdog and outperforming expectations.
The 32-year-old Brit was chosen as a “safe” opponent for Sergio Martinez’s homecoming middleweight championship defense in Argentina in April 2013, and he came extremely close to sending thousands of Argentine fans home unhappy in the rain.
Murray dropped Martinez in Round 8, and he had a real chance at pulling the upset in the closing rounds of the fight.
Martinez was able to eke it out, and Murray has been plugging away in search of a second bite at the apple ever since.
And now he’ll get it, but it’s a mighty big apple.
By defeating Domenico Spada in an ugly fight on Saturday night in Monte Carlo, Murray, per ESPN.com's Dan Rafael, moves on to face Golovkin for the Kazakh's middleweight titles on February 21 in Monte Carlo.
The fight will be carried by HBO.
Murray is definitely a step in the right direction for Golovkin.
The Brit is a very talented boxer. He’s mentally and physically tough and possibly the most avoided fighter among the second tier of the middleweight division.
Nobody is saying that he has the goods to stop the GGG train—he might, but it’s one thing to say and another to do in the ring—but he’s not a pushover.
Given his reputation, it’s easy to expect that Golovkin will just blow his way through another quality opponent, but this fight has some potential to be interesting.
But Murray will need to be sharp and on his game. He'll have to find some way to avoid the Kazakh’s absolutely devastating power.
Will Rios vs. Alvarado 3 Deliver?
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Rios and Alvarado are set to do it again.
According to Steve Kim of BoxingScene.com, the pair will renew acquaintances and settle their rivalry in a rubber match, likely on January 31 in Denver.
The bout was originally proposed for late December, but Alvarado’s lingering legal problems forced it to be pushed back.
Rios, a crude but tough slugger, took the first bout of the series, coming from behind to stop Alvarado in Round 7 of a back-and-forth war viewed by many fans as the 2012 fight of the year.
Alvarado, who can box as well as punch, adapted his style the second time around, engaging less and outworking Rios down the stretch for a decision victory.
Their third contest comes with high stakes for both men.
Each man is badly in need of a victory after less-than-impressive showings in their last fight.
Rios secured an ugly disqualification win over Diego Chaves in a fight he was on his way to losing in August, and Alvarado was handled pretty easily by Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez in May.
That makes this a crossroads fight, and with their history of producing some fireworks, you can expect both men to come out firing in the Mile High City.
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Is Stiverne or Wilder the Heir Apparent?
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Cliff Rold of BoxingScene.com reports that the long, winding negotiations between WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne and mandatory challenger Deontay Wilder appear close to reaching an amicable conclusion.
That should be welcome news for boxing fans eager to see whether one of the two men has the goods to make an actual challenge for the real heavyweight championship.
No disrespect to the WBC, Stiverne or Wilder, but the heavyweight champion is and remains Wladimir Klitschko. Everyone else is just playing for second place and a shot at the real crown.
Still, Stiverne vs. Wilder is an intriguing fight, and it will go a long way to shaking out the men from the boys in the land of the heavyweights.
Stiverne blew out the tough-but-limited Chris Arreola in his last fight to secure the green belt—coming on the heels of breaking his nose and decisioning him the first time—and he packs quite a punch with 21 stoppages among his 24 wins.
Wilder has been in the ring with 32 men, and every single one of them has gone down inside the distance. But his level of competition has been, let’s say, subpar.
So we don’t really know yet how he’ll react against a fighter who can punch back and isn’t afraid of what he’s throwing at them.
Stiverne is definitely that, and this fight, while not for the real title, will establish the top contender for Klitschko and the legitimate crown.
Was It Worth It for Amir Khan?
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Khan will face Devon Alexander on Dec. 13 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, ending a year of fruitless pursuits with the exact fight he was supposed to have last year at this time.
But, now, there is more to lose and less to gain.
The former junior welterweight champion was widely expected to challenge Alexander for a welterweight title last December at the Barclays Center, but he elected not to accept the fight and instead pursue a shot at Mayweather.
He was the runaway winner of a poll conducted on the pound-for-pound king’s website but still lost out on the fight to Maidana, a foe he once vanquished.
Khan instead received Luis Collazo as a consolation prize, dominating the former welterweight champion on the undercard.
He lobbied extensively for Mayweather again after the fight, but his observance of Ramadan over the summer made training for a September fight impossible.
And that’s all led him to here, a fight he could have had last year, without the belt on the line that would have made him more attractive for Mayweather this past May.
Luckily for Khan, a year of questionable decisions shouldn’t bite him too hard—a lucrative all-Brit showdown with Kell Brook could be in the offing for sometime next year.
And then there’s always Mayweather.
Money needs something to do next year, and there probably aren’t any better options.
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