The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of July 17
It's fight week!
Terence Crawford and Viktor Postol are set to do battle in a junior welterweight unification match Saturday night on HBO pay-per-view at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Here we take a look at that fight and who could have the edge.
Manny Pacquiao is coming out of retirement, if we can even really call it that, but it seems he's having a hard time finding a suitable opponent for the fall. Could it be someone from adviser/manager Al Haymon's stable? Or perhaps the winner of Saturday's PPV showdown?
Next we take a look at Deontay Wilder's big win from Saturday night, Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez's next opponent and Miguel Cotto's future plans.
These are the hottest boxing storylines for the week!
Who Has the Edge in Crawford-Postol?
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Crawford (28-0) and Postol (28-0), the two best 140-pound fighters in the world, are set to meet Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in a unification fight that belongs on network HBO but landed on PPV because of a shrinking boxing budget at the network.
That means fewer eyes will be on what seems to be a legitimate 50-50 fight that has even the smartest and most experienced boxing pundits stumped. Each man is highly skilled, and you could make the case that each represents the toughest opponent of the other's career.
Crawford has frequently been mentioned as someone who could one day hold boxing's mythical title of best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He's a slick boxer with a mean streak—one of the best finishers in the game today—and has all the tools to be everything people say about him and more.
Postol doesn't have the same amount of buzz about him, but the Ukrainian with a tricky style looked as impressive as anyone in dropping Lucas Matthysse and forcing him to quit in a major upset last year. That performance earned him a championship belt and this fight.
Virtually no outcome is out of the question here. Either guy could win. It could be close or a blowout.
In a boxing year that has been marked by disappointment about big fights not coming together and big stars jumping from one mismatch to another, Crawford vs. Postol sticks out as a fight that could go any number of ways, and that type of drama is good for the sport.
Step Forward or Step Back for Wilder?
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Wilder did what he was supposed to do by dispatching Arreola on Saturday night to retain his WBC Heavyweight Championship in front of his home fans in Alabama.
It was a solid performance that was widely expected, but the champ had to overcome duress.
Wilder dropped Arreola hard near the end of the fourth round and flailed wildly in an attempt to get his man out of there. He wasn't successful and appeared to do some damage to his right hand, which he rarely used for the rest of the fight.
In his post-fight comments on the broadcast, Wilder explained that he broke his right hand earlier in the fight and also tore a biceps muscle. Those two injuries were what limited his offensive explosiveness in the final four rounds of the fight.
When you take everything into the equation, this was still a positive night for the undefeated American.
It wasn't the fight he or the fans wanted, and it came against the backdrop of disappointment and frustration, but he took care of business and did so with a right arm that was mostly just there for show.
He jabbed effectively and showed improved footwork. He will now be expected to move on to bigger fights when his injuries heal.
Wilder said on the broadcast that he wants the (Tyson) Furys and (Anthony) Joshuas of the world next, and you can bet the fans join him in those wishes.
Does Anyone Want to Fight Manny Pacquiao?
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Pacquiao is slated to end his brief retirement and return to the ring this fall, but it appears as though he's having a difficult time getting an opponent to sign on for the assignment.
Top Rank's Bob Arum's recent rapprochement (brought on by the settling of a multimillion dollar lawsuit) with reclusive power broker Al Haymon, who controls a large stable of fighters, many of whom would be attractive for Pacquiao, led to hope for some fresh matchups for Pac-Man.
But it's not that easy.
Adrien Broner was the top choice, but his financial demands were too much for Top Rank and Pacquiao, according to Radio Rahim of BoxingScene.com. Arum said that dealings with Haymon about the possible fight were cordial and that he believes Broner really wanted the fight. His price was just too high.
Arum also mentioned WBC welterweight champion Danny Garcia as a potential foe.
Steve Kim of UCNLive tweeted on Friday that sources at Top Rank had informed him that Garcia turned down what would be a career-high payday of $4 million. That number more than doubles what he made in his previous fight.
It's worth nothing that Arum denies he's reached out to Garcia, per Mike Coppinger of USA Today.
He said that the most likely names to draw the assignment are the winner of Crawford vs. Postol or WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas.
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Can Chocolatito Conquer Another Division?
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Chocolatito was anointed boxing's pound-for-pound king shortly after the retirement of the previous occupant (you know who), and he will bid for a fourth world championship in a fourth weight division when he challenges WBC junior bantamweight champ Carlos Cuadras September 10 on HBO.
The fight features a pair of undefeated fighters who pack some of the biggest punches in the lower-weight divisions. It will happen on the same night that Gennady Golovkin defends his middleweight titles against Kell Brook across the pond in London as part of a split-site broadcast.
Gonzalez has already captured world titles at strawweight and junior flyweight and currently holds a belt at flyweight. He will move up to 115 pounds and challenge Cuadras in what promises to be an exciting, all-action fight.
Cuadras is unbeaten in 36 fights. The one lone mark on his record is a 2014 technical draw caused by a cut.
He has fought just once in the United States and will appear on American television for the first time, but he's one of the better stylistic matchups for Gonzalez and presents his foe with a chance to make some history.
Alexis Arguello is considered to be the greatest fighter to ever come from Nicaragua, but he failed in his attempts to win a world championship in a fourth weight division when Aaron Pryor knocked him out in 1982.
Gonzalez has a chance to bring that record home, but he's going to need to take down a game opponent to do it.
Will Cotto-Marquez Come Together for the Fall?
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ESPN.com's Dan Rafael reports that Cotto's return is in the works for the fall.
The Puerto Rican, who will be a surefire entrant into the International Boxing Hall of Fame when he retires, hasn't fought since dropping his middleweight title in a PPV showdown against Canelo Alvarez last November.
Eddie Hearn reportedly offered Brook as an opponent for Cotto, in a fight that was pushed by HBO and would have taken place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, but Roc Nation Sports turned down the matchup, per Mitch Abramson of Ring magazine.
Hearn believes they rejected the fight because they're looking for someone with a bigger profile in the United States who isn't quite so difficult. Brook didn't meet either of those criteria, so they moved on.
Juan Manuel Marquez, who hasn't fought since battering Mike Alvarado for an easy decision in 2014 because of a knee injury, seems like the most likely foe, especially if Team Cotto is looking to put on a PPV, according to Rafael.
Marquez is a name and a draw, but it remains to be seen what he has left in the tank at 42 years old and coming off a substantial layoff caused by injury.
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