The Biggest Storylines to Follow in Boxing for the Remainder of 2016
Before the end of 2016, boxing fans should be able to enjoy major fights in several different weight classes. Meanwhile, the heavyweight division, the traditional glamour class of the sport, is more exciting than it has been in years.
Young stars like Gilberto Ramirez and Errol Spence Jr. will look to follow up on the outstanding performances they have already put on the books during the first third of the year. Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev should face off in a bout that could leave one of them, or even both, legends of the sport.
As a boxing fan, there's plenty to be optimistic about looking through to the end of 2016. But as always, they'll be room for cynicism, as well.
10. Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter: Clash of Young Lions
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Keith Thurman is the undefeated WBA welterweight champion. He's 26-0 with 22 KOs. He's an intelligent fighter who gives thoughtful interviews.
At 27, he looks posed to be one of the sport's big stars.
But he's also way overdue for fighting a true top contender. In June, he will finally face one, when he meets former IBF champion Shawn Porter in Brooklyn, New York.
Porter lost his belt decisively to Kell Brook in August 2014. But at 28, he's remained at the top of the 147-pound ratings. Both the Transnational Rankings and The Ring have him in their top five.
Ultimately, what fans really want to see is bouts between top fighters in their prime. Thurman vs. Porter delivers that.
9. Terence Crawford vs. Viktor Postol: Unification Fight at Light Welterweight
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Terence Crawford has emerged in the past two years as one of boxing's most exciting new stars. The current WBO super lightweight champion has consistently defeated very good boxers with ease, which is something great fighters do.
Viktor Postol forced himself into the spotlight last October, when he dominated Lucas Matthysse and knocked him out in Round 10. The undefeated Ukrainian is the one fighter at 140 pounds who looks like he could legitimately give Crawford trouble. At 5'11" and with a 73 ½" reach, he's got very good length to match his technical skill.
Last week, Bob Arum told ESPN.com's Dan Rafael that this fight was all but made, with Crawford having signed the contract. He added "everything is virtually resolved with Postol."
I've been following boxing long enough to know better than taking a statement like that from Arum at face value. On the other hand, the fact Rafael bothered to publish the statement does give it some credibility.
Crawford still has some legal issues to resolve first, but this will be a major fight if it takes place.
8. Gilberto Ramirez: Mexico's Newest Superstar?
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Saul Alvarez has been targeted for stardom since he was a teenager. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. entered the sport carrying the legacy of his legendary father's name.
But with his title-winning performance against Arthur Abraham on the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley undercard in April, Gilberto Ramirez suddenly raises the possibility he could become the biggest Mexican star of this generation.
It was hardly a shock that Ramirez defeated Abraham to claim the WBO super middleweight title. But the dominant manner in which he did it was an eye-opener. At 24, he looked better than ever before, against an opponent who was a clear notch above anybody he had faced to date.
The win made Ramirez 34-0 with 24 KOs. He's got the charisma to become a major box-office attraction and the talent to win the fights necessary to get there.
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7. "The Truth" Continues to Emerge
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Errol Spence Jr. entered 2016 viewed as one of the sport's hottest prospects. After his dominating, Round 5 TKO of Chris Algieri on April 16, Spence has to be viewed as a true contender and potentially the best welterweight in the world.
That performance provides a very good measuring stick for where Spence stands in relation to some other very big stars at 147 pounds.
Algieri fought Amir Khan on very even terms, winning as many as five rounds on one of the cards. Manny Pacquiao knocked Algieri down six times, in a very one-sided fight, but he was unable to finish him.
Spence broke Algieri down and completely overwhelmed him, though. Algieri was knocked down in Round 4 and twice more within the first minute of Round 5, leaving him unable to continue.
Does that mean Spence is "better" than Pacquiao? Not necessarily.
But it does mean people need to start believing in "the Truth."
6. Vasyl Lomachenko Moving on Up
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Vasyl Lomachenko is arguably the greatest amateur of all time. He won a pair of Olympic gold medals and compiled a record of 396-1.
As a professional, he's had only six fights. Yet he's already a threat to enter the pound-for-pound Top 10.
Lomachencko challenged for a world title in just his second professional bout, facing WBO featherweight champion Orlando Salido, one of the toughest veterans in the sport. Salido didn't even try to make weight, losing the belt on the scales and entering the ring against Lomachenko with a substantial weight advantage.
Once the fight began, Salido treated Lomachenko to a crash course in "veteran" tactics, hitting the Ukrainian with repeated low blows and generally rough-housing him.
Lomachenko lost that bout by split decision. But what was impressive was the way he adjusted to Salido and got more competitive as the fight went on. In his next bout, he defeated the very talented Gary Russell Jr. to capture the vacant WBO belt.
In June, Lomachenko moves up to 130 pounds to face champion Roman Martinez, another tough veteran who defeated and drew with Salido in two terrific fights last year. This will provide an interesting test to see how much Lomochenko has improved since his second fight.
5. Krzysztof Glowacki vs. Oleksandr Usyk: Putting Cruiserweight in the Spotlight
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Last August, Krzysztof Glowacki knocked out longtime WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck to capture his belt. The bout was a leading candidate for 2015's Fight of the Year.
So far in 2016, Glowacki has defended his belt against former champion Steve Cunningham, knocking the veteran down four times to win a unanimous decision in yet another terrific fight. The undefeated Polish star has possibly the sport's two best back-to-back wins right now.
Things are unlikely to slow down for the new champion in the remainder of this year. Less than a week after Glowacki defeated Cunningham, Yuri Tarantin reported on BoxingScene.com that the WBO had ordered Glowacki to face undefeated Ukrainian sensation Oleksandr Usyk later this year.
At 9-0 with nine KOs, Usyk has definitely been fast-tracked to a title shot. He's something like a cruiserweight version of his countryman—Vasyl Lomachenko. Usyk won a gold medal at heavyweight at the 2012 Olympics in London.
Cruiserweight has more often than not been overlooked in the United States. But Glowacki is already developing a strong U.S. fanbase among fans of Polish descent. A clash between him and Usyk is one of the sport's most interesting potential bouts, so I hope it ends up getting the attention it deserves from the American boxing media.
4. A Superfight for Little Big Man?
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Lineal flyweight champion Roman Gonzalez has done what is usually impossible for fighters in the lightest weight classes. He's become a star in the United States while also garnering status as the consensus pound-for-pound king.
On April 23, he improved to 45-0 with 38 KOs after winning a dominant unanimous decision over a talented and game, but ultimately overmatched, McWilliams Arroyo.
"Chocolatito" has become must-see television for boxing fans, but at this point, it would be nice to see him in a more high-profile fight. After beating Arroyo, he told HBO's Max Kellerman during his post-fight interview that he thought he would fight once more at flyweight before moving up.
If he does make one last fight at 112 pounds, let's hope it's a rematch with Juan Francisco Estrada, who currently holds the WBA and WBO belts at flyweight. Gonzalez defeated Estrada at 108 pounds in 2012, but it was by far the closest fight Gonzalez has had in recent years, and Estrada has very much developed into a star in his own right in the years since.
Gonzalez's really interesting options will come when he attempts to capture a title in a fourth division—115 pounds. Both WBO champion Naoya Inoue and WBC champ Carlos Cuadras are undefeated stars. A matchup between Gonzalez and either fighter would represent a true test and would qualify as a legitimate superfight.
3. The Game of Thrones at Heavyweight
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For fans my age, who are old enough to remember when the heavyweight crown was truly "the biggest title in professional sports," 2016 has been a year to feel hopeful over a possible return to glory.
While we're hardly in a golden age like the 1990s or 1970s, the pieces are still in place for some very exciting heavyweight bouts over the next few years.
Tyson Fury's unanimous-decision victory over Wladimir Klitschko last November was an absolutely horrible fight. But by knocking off the longtime champion, Fury did open up some much-needed room to breathe in a division that has suffocated under the Ukrainian champ's seemingly endless reign.
On April 9, Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua captured the IBF strap by knocking out Charles Martin in just two rounds. The IBF heavyweight title deserves nothing but scorn from a knowledgeable boxing fan, but holding the trinket does put one of the most exciting young fighters in the division in position for some major fights.
On May 21, WBC champion Deontay Wilder will finally take on a true top contender, when he faces Alexander Povetkin in Moscow. On the same day, undefeated Joseph Parker faces tough contender Carlos Takam in New Zealand.
But my pick for the true class of the division at this point is Cuba's Luis Ortiz. Now 25-0 with 22 KOs, "the Real King Kong" is an explosively athletic big man with high-level technical skill.
2. The Canelo vs. GGG Soap Opera
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In a perfect world, Gennady Golovkin would be challenging for Saul Alvarez's lineal middleweight title on May 7. Instead, GGG knocked out badly overmatched Dominic Wade on April 23, and on May 7, Canelo will face Amir Khan—a welterweight who has already been knocked out twice.
While the lineal middleweight title will be on the line when Alvarez faces Khan, the bout is being contested at a 155-pound catchweight, rather than the true 160-pound limit.
Alvarez is the third straight lineal champion at middleweight who has dodged GGG.
Maybe I'm being too optimistic, but I have a tough time believing Alvarez will continue to duck Golovkin, provided he gets by Khan (which he definitely should). I just don't think the red-headed superstar is the sort of fighter to hide from a tough challenge.
So I've got my fingers crossed that we see this fight by the end of December. Even if the fight doesn't end up getting made, expect to hear and read a lot about it.
1. Sergey Kovalev vs. Andre Ward
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I'm in agreement with HBO analysist Max Kellerman, who called a bout between light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev and former super middleweight champ Andre Ward "the biggest possible fight in the sport" during the March 26 broadcast of Ward's victory over light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera.
These are two undefeated stars with a tremendous amount to gain by beating each other. For Kovalev, it would be a victory over one of the great pound-for-pound talents of his era. For Ward, it would mean moving up in weight to defeat a genuine monster.
These are the sort of wins from which an all-time great resume gets built.
Best of all, this one should happen. Kovalev is set to fight Isaac Chilemba in Russia in July, and Ward may fight again over the summer, as well.
But both men should win. And the contract is in place for them to fight in the fall.
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