Calling Fact or Fiction for the Biggest Rumors and Speculations in Boxing
For boxing fans, good fights rarely come more often than a couple of times per week and sometimes much less frequently. To fill up all that remaining space, the fans need their allotment of rumors and speculation.
All of the fights on this list have been talked about in serious enough terms to rise to the level of open speculation in the media. Some are as good as made, to hear certain people tell the tale.
But don't believe anything in boxing until you see the principal combatants making an announcement at an official press conference.
David Haye to Fight Shannon Briggs: Fact
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Shannon Briggs has been attempting to trash talk his way into a big fight for the past couple of years now, showing up to verbally harass Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder, providing entertaining spectacles for YouTube.
Briggs will probably get the kind of high-profile fight he has been aiming for later this year against former cruiserweight and heavyweight champion David Haye.
Haye has been on the comeback trail this year after a break of four years. He's looked good knocking out two second-tier opponents, Mark de Mori and Arnold Gjergjaj.
After stopping Gjergjaj last May, he called out Briggs by name.
Over a month has gone by now, and that fight still hasn't been made. So it remains mere speculation at this point.
Still, the fight makes sense and should happen. The verbal sparring between Briggs and Haye building up to this would go a long way toward selling tickets.
Haye still looks to have the punch needed to become a player in a post-Klitschko heavyweight scene. Fighting Briggs could raise his profile, with a minimal risk of getting derailed by a loss.
Danny Garcia to Fight Andre Berto: Fact
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Let me say: I hope I am wrong on this one. Danny Garcia is the undefeated WBC welterweight champion. Andre Berto doesn't rank in the top 20 at 147 pounds, so there's no way he should be getting a crack at Garcia's belt.
Losing a glorified sparring match to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last September and knocking out the faded shell known as Victor Ortiz earlier this year might have raised Berto's profile, but they have hardly elevated him to the status of legitimate contender.
Still, anybody who writes about boxing has to be able to look through a cynical lens at times. And Berto looks like the sort of low-risk, soft-touch opponent Garcia might select to finish off his 2016 campaign.
He was talking up the possibility during the spring. Garcia was part of the broadcast team for Berto's stoppage of Ortiz and was calling a fight with Berto a "great matchup" when talking to FightHub that night.
Don't be surprised if Premier Boxing Champions gives us this one sometime in the fall.
Gennady Golovkin to Fight Chris Eubanks Jr.: Fact
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Earlier Monday, Sky Sports reported that British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn says this fight will get made "this week." It's never a good idea to assume that a boxing promoter is speaking with complete reliability when he tells the press that a fight has been made.
Still, this one makes sense and will happen in the fall. Chris Eubanks Jr. would be an underdog against WBA and IBF middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, but the son of the British boxing legend is himself a dangerous puncher.
If GGG can't ink a deal with Canelo Alvarez, this is one of the fights that makes the most sense for him. Eubanks will be supported by a passionate British fanbase, but if Golovkin can handle the young challenger in typical fashion, he'll earn the respect of that same group and expand his global brand.
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Manny Pacquiao to Fight Adrien Broner: Fiction
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This could be an entertaining fight. Stylewise, the matchup is a good one. Adrien Broner does not have the footwork or length to keep Manny Pacquiao away from him, as Floyd Mayweather did so successfully in May 2015.
Pacquiao would be able to force Broner to exchange with him. The brash Cincinnati native would be forced to rely on his own hand speed and chin to have any hope of gutting out a victory against even a declining version of Pacman.
On June 23, Steve Kim of Boxingscene.com quoted Golden Boy vice president Eric Gomez as saying "from what we hear, he (Pacquiao) has a deal to fight Adrien Broner."
This is a sourced quote from one of the sport's more reliable journalists, attributed to a real boxing insider. But Gomez is still on the outside when it comes to analyzing what is going on with Top Rank and Pacquiao.
Don't believe this fight is going to happen until you see the press conference announced.
Floyd Mayweather to Fight Conor McGregor: Fiction
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More than any other entry on this list, I desperately hope that I am correct on this one. I don't want to write about boxing in a world where Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor meet up in a pay-per-view boxing match.
Somehow, this has been one of the most speculated fights for the first half of 2016. And it became a full-blown rumor in May, when Fox Sport's Colin Cowherd told his audience that he had "intel" that Mayweather was going to come out of retirement in September to face the UFC star.
It's been over a month now, and the fight has gone nowhere. Cowherd could have vastly overestimated the reliability of "intel" he receives about the fight game.
It all could just be chatter drummed up to keep the casuals flapping their lips.
If this fight does happen, it will be an obscenity against both sports. It will be a cynical money grab and nothing more.
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