The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of December 27
It may be the last week of 2015, but boxing has no offseason!
We take a look at Manny Pacquiao's continued indecision on who will be his next and reportedly final opponent, per Dan Rafael of ESPN.com.
Adrien Broner claims he received an interesting phone call from a high-ranking member of the Pacquiao camp, so could that be the holdup?
We discuss.
Speaking of Broner, what the heck was he thinking with his latest gun-related social media post?
Finally, we close out this year's hottest boxing storylines by taking a look at Naoya Inoue's title defense Tuesday night, a pending rematch between Ruslan Provodnikov and Mauricio Herrera and what questions we have for boxing in 2016.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Is Adrien Broner Really in the Running to Face Manny Pacquiao?
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Pacquiao was supposed to announce his choice of opponent for his next and final bout, scheduled for April 9, a couple of weeks ago.
Longtime rival and WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley was considered the likely choice, but former 140-pound titlist Amir Khan and current WBO junior welterweight champion/rising pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford were also in the running.
Pacquiao delayed his decision, without explanation, and it's possible we now know why.
FightHype.com posted a video (Warning: strong language) earlier last week in which Broner claimed that Pacquiao's senior adviser Michael Koncz had called him to discuss the possibility of being the man standing across the ring from Pac-Man in early April. Steve Kim of Boxing Scene later confirmed with Koncz that the call and discussion were genuine.
Koncz wasn't happy that Broner had gone public with the information, but the fact that the call and conversation took place is intriguing.
Broner has tremendous physical tools and is gifted with great speed, but he's come short in the biggest challenges of his career, largely due to his mental makeup, which, to be fair, hasn't always placed commitment to boxing above other distractions.
Pacquiao, in facing Broner, could be looking to settle some sort of proxy score with Floyd Mayweather Jr., who beat him convincingly and, despite recent snafus, has been a mentor to the younger fighter from Cincinnati throughout his young career.
So, is this for real?
It certainly sounds it.
While We're on Broner, What the Hell Was He Thinking?
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Broner hasn't exactly been a model citizen during his time as a premier attraction in the boxing world.
He's a talented fighter, as we've gone over before, but his failings come in the mental game, particularly commitment, common sense and self control.
Broner had a noticeable and disturbing failure in the latter two categories last week, again.
TMZ reports that Broner posted a troubling video to his official Instagram account, in which the fighter brandishes a handgun and assault rifle. The post was coupled with a definitely NSFW rant about his personal problems and how he feels like nobody is helping him cope with them.
This isn't the first time Broner has posted something relating to guns that (being nice) wasn't smart. He pulled something similar over the summer, despite his constant protests that he was a changed man, and it didn't go over well.
It certainly didn't help that the ill-timed post came just days after the tragic shooting at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, which claimed the lives of nine people.
Broner, who has recently feuded in public with his mentor Mayweather, clearly still has a bunch of growing up to do; otherwise, boxing could well be the least of his problems.
Anyone Realize Naoya Inoue Fights This Week?
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Significant boxing isn't over just yet in 2015.
Inoue, the 22-year-old Japanese prodigy, defends his WBO Junior Bantamweight Championship Tuesday night in Tokyo against mandatory challenger Warlito Parrenas of the Philippines.
You never really want to say never in the boxing game, since things always seem to happen when you do, but this looks to be an easy win on the path toward bigger fights for the undefeated champion, who has just eight pro fights but two world titles.
Parrenas is a solid fighter, but nothing in his pedigree says he's ready for the level of challenge he'll face Tuesday. It'll be a stunning upset if he finds a way to knock off the reigning and rising champion.
Inoue has made one hell of a mark in his young career, winning world titles from Adrian Hernandez and long-reigning champ Omar Narvaez. He's one of the fighters frequently mentioned as a possible future foil for pound-for-pound king Roman Gonzalez, and that potential fight just leaves us all salivating.
It would be the biggest fight in the lower weight classes in years, and it can't come soon enough.
Provo and Herrera Playing Two?
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Provodnikov is a freak of nature.
He's probably never going to be on the pound-for-pound list, but he's made of titanium, able to dish out and absorb freakish and, at times, disturbing amounts of punishment in the ring. Just look at his war with Lucas Matthysse, one of the hardest punchers in the game and how The Siberian Rocky never flinched in front of that assault.
Herrera is a tricky fighter that nobody really wants to face.
He doesn't have a pretty record (five losses), but that doesn't account for the fact that he was absolutely robbed in decision losses to Danny Garcia (home cooking) and Jose Benavidez (plain incompetence). Ironically, Herrera has been screwed by bad judging on both networks.
Provodnikov and Herrera met once before, with El Maestro taking a controversial decision in the main event of a 2011 Friday Night Fights card.
Dan Rafael of ESPN.com reports that Banner Promotions (Provo) and Golden Boy Promotions (Herrera) have agreed to stage a rematch, pending approval and a date from HBO. The promoters are targeting a date in either March or April.
That's a good crossroads fight for both men.
What Can We Expect in 2016?
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We can all agree that 2015 was an interesting year for the sweet science.
We finally saw the end of the Mayweather-Pacquiao saga, and then we saw boxing's elusive pound-for-pound king ride off into the sunset in what he says will be his final retirement.
That remains to be seen, but boxing does have plenty of questions that will need answers in the new year.
Will Floyd stay away, and if he does, how will boxing adapt to losing its controversial but highly marketable and attention-grabbing star?
Who will emerge to step into Mayweather's large and difficult-to-fill shoes?
Will Pacquiao really call it quits after his April fight against a yet undetermined foe?
What about Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez? Will they fight, and who will emerge as boxing's next breakout star?
Can Roman Gonzalez and Terence Crawford consolidate their positions as pound-for-pound stars?
What will 2016 look like for the much-maligned Premier Boxing Champions, which has a bevy of talented fighters in virtually every division but has been criticized for soft matches in its inaugural year?
Lots of questions, few answers—welcome to boxing in 2016!
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