The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of January 5
Let's start the new year off on the right foot.
Canelo Alvarez isn't too pleased at the pace of negotiations with middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, but is the Mexican warrior miscalculating if he thinks he can publicly pressure his way into a fight?
Guillermo Rigondeaux retained his featherweight championship in Japan last week, but it was anything if not dramatic. Did the undefeated champion prove to be human after all?
If you're in New York City this week and want to check out some boxing, Jay Z's Roc Nation Sports will be putting on its first card from the Theater at Madison Square Garden. What can we expect from this inaugural effort?
Finally, we take a look at the latest disappointing opponent for Leo Santa Cruz and Naoya Inoue's quest for recognition.
These are the hottest boxing storylines for the first full week of 2015.
Should Canelo Alvarez Relax a Bit?
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Canelo is obviously not thrilled that it’s taking Cotto so long to finalize the contracts for their widely anticipated showdown on May 2, but the Mexican sensation should cool the jets and relax, even if just a little bit.
It’s a miscalculation to believe that goading Cotto will force the Puerto Rican legend’s hand, but Canelo is certainly trying. On Jan. 1, he said, per Lem Satterfield of The Ring:
"A Puerto Rican never ducked a Mexican fighter. Nor did a Mexican ever duck a Puerto Rican fighter. This is a classic fight for the fans. I talked with my promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, and he confirmed to me that I’m fighting on May 2, 2015.
Miguel Cotto is at the top of my list, and I had a lot of options. But I’m considerate of all the fans in the world. I know the fans want me to fight someone big like Miguel Cotto, especially the fans in Puerto Rico.
"
Cotto is a smooth, world-class operator. He’s a ferocious warrior once the bell rings, but outside of the ring, few things really get under his skin. It’s just not in his makeup.
Calling him out?
It's not going to work.
The middleweight champion is reportedly weighing his options, which are thought to include a potential rematch with pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, but a resolution is expected next week if you believe members of his inner circle.
All this said, it would still be quite surprising to see Cotto pass up the opportunity to fight Canelo on Cinco de Mayo weekend. Barring Mayweather and his team presenting some ridiculous financial terms—Cotto adviser Gaby Penagaricano dismissed the rumored $40 million purse offer as false—it still seems likely Cotto and Canelo will mix it up later in the year.
But Canelo should save his breath. It might work in the court of public opinion, but it’s not going to get the contracts signed any quicker.
Is Rigo Human After All?
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Rigondeaux brought the fans to their feet on New Year’s Eve in Osaka, Japan, but it probably wasn’t for the reason you’re thinking.
The 34-year-old junior featherweight champion was felled twice in Round 7 against unknown but freakishly tall challenger Hisashi Amagasa before rallying to stop him on his stool between Rounds 11 and 12.
Rigondeaux had controlled the previous six-plus rounds before the knockdowns, using his right jab and continuously moving to prevent the challenger from getting into scoring range. He didn’t suffer any lingering effects from tasting the canvas, dropping his man in Round 10 and causing severe swelling around his right eye that ultimately ended the fight.
Amagasa certainly gave a good account of himself, and he might have done more than that in the end.
Rigo has long been known as a tremendous technical boxer whose control of the defensive part of the game ranks among the best in the sport. But you can hurt him. Amagasa did, and he did it by being aggressive and attacking.
The knockdowns were the third and fourth of his career—Nonito Donaire and Ricardo Cordoba also achieved the feat—and raised some interesting questions about what could happen in potential bouts with punchers like Nicholas Walters or Vasyl Lomachenko, should he move up in weight.
Rigo has been calling out fellow 122-pound titlist Leo Santa Cruz for quite a while now, and while that fight seems highly unlikely given the risk/reward factor, the Mexican’s high-octane, high-volume style could present an interesting stylistic challenge.
Particularly if he lands clean on the not-so-invulnerable two-time Olympic gold medalist.
What Can We Expect from Roc Nation's First Boxing Card?
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Rap mogul Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports will hold its first boxing card on Friday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The main event will feature undefeated rising welterweight prospect, and WBC Youth 147-pound champion, Dusty Hernandez-Harrison in a scheduled 10-round bout against Long Island native Tommy Rainone.
Hernandez-Harrison, 20, is a tall, rangy fighter with a solid jab who isn’t afraid to mix it up. He’s impressed in his two previous appearances in the Big Apple and recently signed a promotional deal with Roc Nation.
Rainone isn't well-known outside of New York boxing circles, and he’s not a world-beater, but he comes to fight and has never been knocked down or out. He's not going to just roll over.
This has the potential to be a pretty entertaining scrap.
Also on the card will be middleweight Tureano Johnson, whom you might know from his questionable loss to Curtis Stevens last April, and undefeated super middleweight prospect Jerry Odom, in separate bouts.
Overall, it's a solid first effort that should provide some bang for your buck.
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Will the Pressure Mount on Leo Santa Cruz?
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Hopefully, this is the last time we say this for a while...
Leo, stop fighting scrubs!
The 26-year-old junior featherweight champion is hands down one of the most exciting young fighters in the sport. He never leaves you feeling cheated and seems to genuinely enjoy mixing it up with the guy standing in front of him.
Throwing tons of punches in bunches, taking whatever comes back and smiling the whole time—that’s Leo Santa Cruz.
And that’s why it’s frustrating to see him fighting opponents who are clearly a few steps beneath him.
Santa Cruz will defend his 122-pound title for the fourth time against Jesus Ruiz (33-5-5, 22 KO) in the main support bout of Bermane Stiverne vs. Deontay Wilder on Jan. 17 on Showtime.
Who is Ruiz?
He hasn’t lost a fight in almost three years, beating low-level opposition, but he also sports losses to guys who entered the ring with records of 6-4 and 27-39-2, so you shouldn’t expect a whole lot.
Santa Cruz has said that he wants big fights next, mentioning Rigondeaux, Scott Quigg, Carl Frampton and Abner Mares, so let’s not completely overreact to another mismatch in January.
That said, this is likely his last final free pass for a while.
You can’t continuously fight low-level opponents with the vague promise that the next one will be the big fight forever.
It’s time for him to step up in class, or else the questions will only get harder and harder.
Is Naoya Inoue the Best Fighter You've Probably Never Seen?
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How could we all miss the boat on this one?
Inoue wasn’t named the Fighter of the Year by ESPN.com or Bleacher Report, but that’s our fault, not his.
The 21-year-old Japanese prodigy capped a historic year on Dec. 30, stopping longtime junior bantamweight titlist Omar Narvaez after Round 2 to win his second world title in as many weight classes in the last eight months.
That would be impressive under normal circumstances. But when you consider that Inoue stopped Narvaez—whose only previous loss came when he moved up in weight to challenge Nonito Donaire—in just his eighth professional fight, you have something truly historic.
The win capped off a year that saw Inoue take down highly regarded Mexican junior flyweight champion Adrian Hernandez in April and make a successful defense in September.
Inoue has frightening power for a man his size, with seven knockouts in his eight wins. With two world titles already under his belt, you’re going to need to know about him in the coming months and years.
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