Fights That Boxing Purists Desperately Want to See Made
There are two types of boxing fans in the world. There are the mainstream fans of the sport, a category that encompasses a wide spectrum but ultimately the great majority of fight fans, and there are the boxing purists.
Boxing purists are rare, even among those who cover the sport. HBO’s Max Kellerman is one such rarity. Kellerman loves watching the subtle craft employed by Guillermo Rigondeaux just as much as he loves the blood and guts warrior types who the mainstream fans cling to with every fiber of their beings. But for Kellerman and other boxing purists, the art of boxing in any of its various forms is enough to warrant our attention.
Here are 10 fights the boxing purists out there would love to see made in the near future.
Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Vasyl Lomachenko
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The Fight: Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Vasyl Lomachenko
Why it’d be awesome: Rigondeaux, the lineal junior featherweight champion, and Lomachenko, the WBO featherweight titleholder, are two of the most accomplished amateur fighters in history. Rigondeaux is a southpaw with perhaps the best boxing skills in the game. He’s also a tremendous puncher. Lomachenko is a naturally larger and aggressive offensive fighter who knows how to throw every punch in the book.
Chance of happening: While the fight was rumored to be close to happening over the summer, I’m skeptical Lomachenko’s promoter, Top Rank, would allow its fighter in the ring with the same guy who derailed the career of one of its other stars, Nonito Donaire. That isn’t to say Lomachenko would be a sure-fire underdog. Rather, Rigondeaux is just too high of a risk at this point in Lomachenko’s blossoming career as a big-money boxing star.
Adonis Stevenson vs. Sergey Kovalev
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The Fight: Adonis Stevenson vs. Sergey Kovalev
Why it’d be awesome: Stevenson is the lineal light heavyweight champion. Kovalev is a unified titleholder who might be the scariest fighter in all of boxing. Both fighters are great knockout punchers. Would Stevenson’s box-and-bomb from a distance approach outlast Kovalev’s stalking aggression? The fight would almost certainly end in a knockout.
Chance of happening: There’s close to a 0 percent chance we’ll see Stevenson and Kovalev inside a boxing ring together anytime soon. Stevenson is managed by Al Haymon and part of his Premier Boxing Champions series. Kovalev is promoted by Kathy Duva and one of HBO’s lead stars. Such is the politics of boxing.
Kell Brook vs. Amir Khan
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The Fight: Kell Brook vs. Amir Khan
Why it’d be awesome: Brook and Khan are the two best welterweights from the UK. Brook has long arms and decent power and is an accurate puncher. Khan has absurdly fast hands and is never in a bad fight. The bout would be huge on the other side of the pond and something that would attract eyeballs from everywhere else in the world, too.
Chance of happening: I’d guess this one happens in 2016. While Khan has busied himself with chasing more lucrative fights against cash cows Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, the truth of the matter is there is no more natural a promotion for either man than Brook-Khan.
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Erislandy Lara vs. Demetrius Andrade
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The Fight: Erislandy Lara vs. Demetrius Andrade
Why it’d be awesome: Lara and Andrade are the two best junior middleweights who are currently active in the division. Floyd Mayweather, the lineal champion, and Canelo Alvarez, a perennial contender, are currently campaigning in other weight classes. That leaves Lara and Andrade left to duke it out for 154-pound supremacy. Lara is a southpaw stylist with sharp power. Andrade is a long-armed boxer-puncher who is adept at making infight adjustments.
Chance of happening: While the two have traded barbs through the media in the past, a fight between the fighters seems like a long shot at the present. Andrade is currently embattled in legal turmoil with his promoter and Roc Nation Sports. Moreover, Andrade was recently stripped of his WBO junior middleweight title bout for inactivity leaving him with little-to-no bargaining power.
Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter
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The Fight: Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter
Why it’d be awesome: Two of the PBC’s best welterweights, Thurman and Porter represent an interesting stylistic matchup. Thurman is a boxer-puncher with excellent power. Porter is an aggressive mauler who likes to make fights rough and ugly. Both are young, hungry fighters who are fighting in their primes.
Chance of happening: I’d call this fight a sure thing if I had as much confidence in Haymon and company’s willingness and ability to make the best fights possible as I'd like to have. But PBC has been a mixed bag so far, so it’s possible the brain trust over there misses out on a golden opportunity. Still, it seems fairly likely the fight will happen sometime relatively soon.
Timothy Bradley vs. Sadam Ali
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The Fight: Timothy Bradley vs. Sadam Ali
Why it’d be awesome: Bradley is a veteran of pound-for-pound lists and for good reason. He’s a tough, strong-willed fighter with an iron chin who is darn good at just about everything a boxer needs to be good at. Ali is an up-and-coming welterweight who boxes on his toes and breaks down his opponents with good footwork and steady punching power.
Chance of happening: According to the LA Times’ Lance Pugmire, the mandatory challenger to Bradley’s WBO welterweight title is Ali. That’s the good news. The bad news is that according to the very same report, Bradley would prefer to face Brandon Rios next instead. Regardless, the two appear to be on a collision course for next year.
Canelo Alvarez vs. Miguel Cotto
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The Fight: Canelo Alvarez vs. Miguel Cotto
Why it’d be awesome: Is there any more intriguing fight right now in boxing? Alvarez is the younger, naturally larger fighter who appears to be boxing’s next big thing. Cotto is an established star, one who somehow looks better than ever fighting as the lineal middleweight champion. Any way you slice it, a fight between the two men would be explosive.
Chance of happening: According to ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael, this one is all but signed, sealed and delivered for November 21 in Las Vegas. Boxing fans: rejoice.
Naoya Inoue vs. Roman Gonzalez
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The Fight: Naoya Inoue vs. Roman Gonzalez
Why it’d be awesome: If you don’t pay attention to the fighters competing in and around the flyweight division, you are doing yourself a great disservice. Inoue and Gonzalez are two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. Both are highly skilled action fighters who annihilate their opponents with high punch outputs and undeterred aggression. Forget Mayweather-Pacquiao, with both men near their primes, this would be the premier superfight of the era.
Chance of happening: With HBO’s newfound interest in Gonzalez, I’d guess this one gets made sometime in 2016. BoxingJunkie.com’s Mike Coppinger recently reported Gonzalez has Inoue on his radar as a potential fight, and a bout between the two would feature incredible action.
Andre Ward vs. Gennady Golovkin
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The Fight: Andre Ward vs. Gennady Golovkin
Why it’d be awesome: Ward, the lineal champion at super middleweight, and Golovkin, the scariest middleweight titleholder since Marvin Hagler, seem destined for a bout against each other. Ward is a fantastic boxer and tremendously strong fighter in close, too. Golovkin is the top aggressive stalker in boxing today. Could Ward keep the mauling Golovkin at bay, or would Golovkin simply overwhelm him?
Chance of happening: While fans love to debate this one endlessly on Twitter, I’d guess this fight isn’t made anytime soon. Golovkin seems content to wait for his shot at the lineal middleweight championship. Ward would probably be wise to move up to light heavyweight in the near future for big money bouts against the likes of Sergey Kovalev and Jean Pascal.
Terence Crawford vs. Lucas Matthysse
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The Fight: Terence Crawford vs. Lucas Matthysse
Why it’d be awesome: I’ve heard pretty compelling arguments sitting ringside at fights that Crawford is the best boxer in the world right now. The former lightweight champion is now a titleholder at junior welterweight, and he appears to improve in each and every outing. The accomplished Matthysse would be an excellent measuring stick for Crawford. If he’s not the real deal, Matthysse will annihilate him. Even if he is, Crawford would still be in for a tough fight.
Chance of happening: With both fighters under HBO’s banner and the promoters of each man, Top Rank and Golden Boy, playing nice these days, I’d venture to predict that Crawford-Matthysse is one of HBO’s big promotions during the first half of next year.
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