The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of February 21
It was an interesting, to say the least, week in the sweet science.
We have three big fight cards to talk about this coming weekend, headlined by Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg's unification showdown in the latest high-stakes battle for Britain.
We'll also take a look at Terence Crawford's title defense against Hank Lundy, Leo Santa Cruz's waste fight against Kiko Martinez and Felix Verdejo's continued progress toward what his people hope will be boxing stardom.
Oh, and we'll also look at the continued saga of a man named Manny Pacquiao.
These are the hottest boxing storylines for the week.
The Elephant in the Room
1 of 6
It'd be pretty disingenuous to purport to give you the hottest storylines in the sweet science and ignore the recent firestorm of controversy that surrounded Pacquiao and his controversial and dehumanizing comments disparaging gay people worldwide.
By now you've probably seen or heard them, and we see no particular reason to give them space here, but, suffice it to say, Pacquiao's words were extraordinarily hurtful to a significant number of people and have resulted in significant consequences.
Nike, which had an endorsement deal with the Filipino for the last eight years, dropped him, calling his remarks "abhorrent," per Darren Rovell of ESPN.
The criticism didn't end there.
Even Pacquiao's longtime promoter, Bob Arum, piled on, emphatically stating that he disagreed with the fighter's views, which he called "diametrically opposed" to what he believes (per the Associated Press) and classified to Rovell as "hate speech" in the United States.
Pacquiao is currently running for a senate seat in his native Philippines, where mainstream views on gay rights are substantially different than in the United States. The dehumanizing (literally) nature of his comments, however, is what made this a story.
And it's what led many new people to now question the Pac Man's overall legacy, so much of which was built on his jovial personality and good nature. Something that seems in question (at least in many eyes) as a result of his actions this past week.
That's about the last thing the Filipino needs as he prepares for a rubber match with Timothy Bradley April 9 in Las Vegas on HBO pay-per-view.
The Battle for Britain
2 of 6
Frampton and Quigg will do battle Saturday night at the Manchester Arena in England with the unified IBF and WBA Super Bantamweight Championships on the line. Those titles are nice, but a far more significant prize will be available for the victor.
Bragging rights.
Frampton and Quigg don't seem terribly fond of each other, if the large amount of trash talk before and after this fight was made serve as any indication, so you should be able to kick back and enjoy a pretty exciting fight come this weekend.
The promotion has been heated and downright nasty at times.
Just this past week, Frampton outright questioned his foe's intelligence outside of the ring, which he said impacts his smarts inside of it, per Sky Sports News HQ (via Dev Trehan of Sky Sports).
Ouch.
Quigg had earlier described Frampton as his "enemy," per Sky Sports News HQ.
That's just a small sample (there's so much more) of the harsh rhetoric that has boiled over after a few years of negotiations that seemed to be going nowhere but finally resulted in a highly anticipated clash.
These guys don't like each other, and they're fighting for a pretty hefty prize.
Expect fireworks.
Can Terence Crawford Avoid a Letdown?
3 of 6
Crawford faces Lundy Saturday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden with his WBO Junior Welterweight Championship on the line.
This is clearly not the fight that many fans (or the fighter) were hoping for coming off a year that saw the Omaha, Nebraska, native fight only twice, neither time against foes that sparked tremendous interest among the fans.
That said, don't sleep on Lundy.
The 32-year-old Philadelphian has five losses on his ledger, but he's been in every single one of those fights and developed a reputation for being a tough, rugged SOB who has a lot of dog in him.
Crawford can't sleep on him, or else the champion, who has been pegged by most everyone as a future (if not current) pound-for-pound star, could be in for a tough night at the office.
Lundy was the fifth choice on Top Rank's list for a Crawford opponent, per Dan Rafael of ESPN.com
Fellow 140-pound titlist Viktor Postol, along with former champions Lucas Matthysse, Ruslan Provodnikov and Mauricio Herrera each declined the opportunity, most claiming they couldn't be ready for a late-February fight.
That's a lot of significant names that didn't want the assignment, but Crawford can only focus on the man in the ring, not the ones who refused.
He can't afford a letdown.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Why Is Leo Santa Cruz Stepping Back?
4 of 6
Santa Cruz turned back the toughest challenge of his carer last August when he took down longtime rival Abner Mares in an action fight on Premier Boxing Champions on ESPN.
The fight seemed to mark a turning point for the exciting Mexican champion, who, despite a high-octane style and huge potential, had been matched very softly in his previous three outings.
How do you cash in on that type of success after answering a good many of your critics?
Not by facing Martinez.
Martinez is a decent fighter, but he's got a couple of problems. He's not a featherweight, and he's recently been totally outclassed by two of the best fighters a weight class below in Frampton and Quigg, the latter knocking him out in the second round last year.
He rebounded from that crushing defeat by knocking off a triad of no names in his native Spain, which, apparently is good enough to secure a title shot against Santa Cruz.
Make no mistake, this fight is not one anyone wanted to see. Nobody was clamoring for it, there was no demand and there's really not much point.
Santa Cruz gains nothing here but a paycheck and another notch on his ledger.
Will Felix Verdejo's Star Continue to Rise?
5 of 6
Verdejo has a lot of things going for him as a fighter.
He's super skilled, has a high-level promoter at his back and has already developed a significant following among New York City's large and boxing-rabid Puerto Rican population. That checks off three of the boxes on your make-a-superstar list, which makes it unsurprising that many feel that's exactly what he'll become.
Verdejo will fight for the sixth time in NYC Saturday night in the main support bout for Crawford vs. Lundy.
His opponent will be fellow unbeaten William Silva.
Silva has spent the majority of his career fighting in his native Brazil, which makes him something of a wild card, but it doesn't appear he'll have the skill necessary to upset the quick-striking Verdejo.
Make no mistake, anything can and often does happen, but this looks like a showcase fight for the 22-year-old Puerto Rican as he continues building his star in what will be a crucial market for him as he develops further.
Is Algieri the Right Fight for Errol Spence?
6 of 6
Jake Donovan of Boxing Scene reports that a Premier Boxing Champions card at the Barclays Center headlined by a welterweight showdown between super prospect Errol Spence and Chris Algieri could be in the works.
The only potential snag could be that the New York Islanders could be in line to host an NHL playoff game on that same day. But that's not yet definitive.
Spence vs. Algieri is a fight that's been talked about for a few months now.
And it makes a ton of sense.
Spence is a blue-chip prospect's blue-chip prospect. He comes with a tremendous amount of hype and has the type of hand speed and power that could truly make him an elite force going forward.
A step-up fight seems to be the right direction for his career at this point.
Algieri is a highly underrated fighter. People forget how tough this guy is (remember when he outboxed Provodnikov with literally one eye open?) and he looked much improved (even in a losing effort) against Amir Khan, which was his first fight under the tutelage of John David Jackson.
This is a good crossroads fight.
Both men need the win—Spence to show he's legit, and Algieri to prove he can still fight at a top level.
Sounds good to me.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
