Boxing: 5 Fighters to Watch in 2015
The main boxing headline every year is whether this is finally the year Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will square off in the ring. Rumors always surface. The talks heat up. As usual, the superfight we come to anticipate never happens.
The social media war between the two has heated up within the past year, with Pacquiao firing the latest salvo. However, boxing fans have become apathetic with the war of words that never brings about any action.
In anticipation for another year without a Mayweather-Pacquiao superfight, the remaining is a list of fighters fans should be watching in 2015.
These boxers could be potential opponents for either of the top two juggernauts in the sport or a fighter who brings more excitement than the newest season of Game of Thrones.
Not every boxing fan will agree with the list that is compiled, so feel free to bring your torches, pitchforks and battle cries to the comment section below.
Honorable Mentions
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Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs)
Cotto's career has been resurgent since training with Freddie Roach. He destroyed Sergio Martinez last year to win his third title in a different weight class.
A fight with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez looms on the horizon for Cotto that could be set up for May 2. A win against Canelo would set up a superfight with Gennady "GGG" Golovkin. That's a fight that could easily halt a binge-watching session of House of Cards.
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs)
Despite his loss against Mayweather, Canelo is still an icon among Mexican boxing fans. He carries the pride of his countrymen as he traditionally fights on the holidays revered by Mexicans.
Canelo hopes to continue that tradition by fighting on May 2, the weekend of Cinco De Mayo, against Miguel Cotto. Golden Boy Promotions' Oscar De La Hoya states that it could be the fight that reinvigorates the boxing rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico, as per The Ring's Lem Satterfield.
Guillermo Rigondeaux (15-0, 10 KOs)
Freddie Roach called this two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist "one of the greatest talents I've ever seen," according to ESPN.com's Igor Guryashkin.
Rigondeaux is coming off a victory against Hisashi Amagasa, in which Amgasa retired after the 11th round. According to ESPN.com's Dan Rafael, Top Rank did not renew his contract because of his "cautious technical style that led to boring fights." This is the performance that changes that perception.
5. Terence Crawford
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Record: 25-0, 17 KOs
Terence Crawford was named ESPN's 2014 Fighter of the Year by Dan Rafael.
Crawford began his 2014 fighting campaign by going to Glasgow, Scotland, in March to take the World Boxing Organization lightweight title from Ricky Burns on Burns' home turf.
He followed that up by returning to Omaha to successfully defend his title against previously undefeated Cuban superstar Yuriorkis Gamboa with an impressive ninth-round TKO last July. And this past November, Crawford came out with an unanimous decision over Ray Beltran.
The Omaha native has finally arrived on the scene and is poised for bigger fights. He is talking about moving up to 140, and Bob Arum mentioned that he could be facing off against Chris Algieri or Ruslan Provodnikov for the WBO Junior Welterweight title, as per BoxingInsider.com's Chris Morris.
4. Amir Khan
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Record: 30-3, 19 KOs
After his loss against Danny Garcia in 2012, Amir Khan switched trainers from Freddie Roach to Virgil Hunter. Since then, he has been on a four-fight win streak.
Khan inserted himself into the Floyd Mayweather sweepstakes with a dominant performance over Devon Alexander last month in Las Vegas.
Per ESPN.com's Brian Campbell, Khan stated, "I just fought a three-time world champion and proved myself to be a force at 147 pounds. I think I'm getting better with age. I'm better than I was at 26 and now just starting to hit my peak at 28. I work very hard and put on one of my best performances."
He has even taken his goal of beating Mayweather in 2015 to the social media airwaves.
If boxing fans do not get their superfight, a Mayweather-Khan showdown would not be a bad consolation prize.
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3. Gennady Golovkin
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Record: 31-0, 28 KOs
"I like fight," said Gennady "GGG" Golovkin.
FightNights.com called it the best boxing quote of 2014. If you watch a GGG match, there is no doubt that this guy likes to fight. He is one of the most exciting boxers out there.
Blink and you'll probably miss a GGG 10-punch combination.
Golovkin also has a Pacquiao-like charisma. He's a likable guy and always has a smile on his face. Even if he does beat you to a bloody pulp, it's hard to find a reason to hate him afterwards.
GGG fights Martin Murray in Monaco on Feb. 21, and the winner becomes the mandatory challenger to Cotto's belt. Other names popping up on the radar include Andre Ward and Carl Froch.
The time is now to get GGG a big-name fight.
2. Manny Pacquiao
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Record: 57-5-2, 38 KOs
If you've made it this far, it really shouldn't come as a shock as to who the next two fighters are.
Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao is the antithesis of Floyd Mayweather. He is boxing's proverbial good guy. Manny doesn't talk too much trash, his opponents like him and he's just an overall nice person. There really aren't many bad things to say about him as a person.
The big question mark is whether the Juan Manuel Marquez knockout affected his psyche. Pacquiao has not lost since that night, but he does seem less aggressive than the Manny we saw tearing it up through the ranks a few years ago.
Is it that knockout that has made him throttle back? Or is it just the wars he's been in are finally catching up to him?
Either way, Pacquiao demonstrated that he still has that flash in his win over Chris Algieri this past November in Macau.
Pacquiao has stepped it up in the social media wars with Floyd Mayweather and even subtly called him out in a Foot Locker commercial. However, The Washington Post's Des Bieler makes a great point:
"Pacquiao would be best served by discontinuing his public calls for the fight. Instead, if he began acting like someone who had some other options ahead of him and was willing to walk away, that might make Mayweather, who is sensitive to his place in boxing history, feel some actual pressure to get a deal done.
In the meantime, Mayweather appears perfectly content to tell Pacquiao, 'Sorry, I can't hear you over all this opulent lifestyle I’m enjoying.' A tactic of shaming Mayweather into a fight probably won’t work with someone who provides no evidence of ever experiencing that emotion.
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1. Floyd Mayweather
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Record: 47-0, 26 KOs
Love him or hate him, he is The Ring magazine's top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Floyd Mayweather is boxing's cash cow. Fans either want to see his continued quest to greatness or see him get dropped. The latter has never happened—yet. Maybe it will never happen.
Money May has defeated some top names in his career: Arturo Gatti, Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo and Oscar De La Hoya. However, he hasn't had a knockout victory since his 10th-round knockout of Ricky Hatton in 2007 (that Victor Ortiz knockout, though legal and recorded as such, doesn't count).
Mayweather is a marketing genius. As fans become lulled to sleep with his slick, less than fan-friendly style, Floyd amps up his role as boxing's heel. He shows off his opulence and hangs out with figures sports fans despise, such as Johnny Manziel and Justin Bieber.
Is Mayweather the best ever? He is undefeated and has beaten some legends in the game, but he should beat fighters of higher standard, according to boxing legend Tommy Hearns, per the Manchester Evening News (h/t International Business Times). And if someone knows about fighting legends, it is The Hitman.
A win over Pacquiao could destroy any dispute on whether he is a legend equal to Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson. The only difference between those guys and Mayweather is that they chased after the best, while Money Mayweather is only interested in safely preserving his undefeated record.
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