The Biggest Boxing Fights to Look Forward to in Fall 2016
Boxing fans know that not all of the fights we want to see are going to end up getting made; it's a good year if just some of those bouts happen.
By that standard, 2016 has been a good year, and this will continue as we head into the final months of the year.
It is true that superstars Manny Pacquiao, Saul Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin were all a bit uninspired when choosing opponents for this fall.
However, Roman Gonzalez will make a run at his fourth world title against another elite, undefeated champion. And in Poland, the best cruiserweight matchup in years will take place.
And barring a last-minute promotional disaster, Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward will meet in November, in a battle between undefeated, pound-for-pound stars.
10. Tyson Fury vs. Wladimir Klitschko, October 29
1 of 10
Last year's fight between Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko was absolutely horrible.
Boxing fans have seen some terrible heavyweight fights over the years, but we would need to go back to the era of John Ruiz and Nikolai Valuev to remember bouts as bad as Fury-Klitschko I.
So I am not exactly bouncing up and down with giddiness for the rematch. Still, it will be one of the important fights in 2016. It will establish whether Klitschko's abysmal performance against Fury last year was a one-off fluke, or if the long era of the Ukrainian has come to a close.
For that reason, I will be tuning in at the end of October. No matter how ugly and boring the fight is, I do not want to miss seeing what happens.
9. Manny Pacquiao vs. Jessie Vargas, November 5
2 of 10
Manny Pacquiao's November 5 return against Jessie Vargas is little more than a naked money grab.
Vargas is a talented fighter, but aside from landing a big punch in the closing seconds, he was completely outclassed by Timothy Bradley in June 2015.
And Bradley was clearly outclassed in his last two fights with Pacquiao. Indeed, most observers would argue that the American should have lost his first bout with the Filipino, when he was awarded a controversial split decision.
So a bout between Pacquiao and Vargas proves absolutely nothing. At most, it could reveal that the 37-year-old has suddenly grown old and vulnerable.
But if Pacquiao is still anywhere close to what he was against Bradley last April, this fight with Vargas will be a romp for him.
Still, it's a return for one of the biggest boxing stars of this century. If nothing else, it will be interesting to see how poorly it does in terms of pay-per-view sales.
8. Gennady Golovkin vs. Kell Brook, September 10
3 of 10
I am not surprised to see Gennady Golovkin fighting in England during the second half of 2016. It makes a lot of sense for him to take his "Big Drama Show" to a country with such dedicated fight fans.
However, the choice of opponent is a letdown. Billy Joe Saunders, the WBO middleweight champion, would have been an ideal opponent. The winner would have left the ring with all four major titles at 160 pounds.
Saunders seemed to want no part of a fight with GGG, though.
Chris Eubank Jr. would have been another good option. The hard-punching middleweight is a legitimate, top-10 contender. But according to top British promoter Eddie Hearn, Chris Eubank Sr., presented a list of demands for the fight that was absurd.
So instead, Kell Brook will move up all the way from welterweight to face the most feared man in the middleweight division. It's a brave move for the IBF 147-pound champ. And in truth, the Briton will be the most talented boxer Golovkin has faced to date.
However, it is hard to believe Brook is going to carry the power sufficient to slow down Golovkin's relentless attack. This might not be a terrible fight. Anything less than another knockout by the Kazakh will be viewed as abject failure, though.
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7. Errol Spence Jr. vs. Leonard Bundu, August 21
4 of 10
Errol Spence Jr. just might be the best 147-pound fighter in the world. Within a year, I expect to see him emerge on most pound-for-pound, top-10 rankings.
Leonard Bundu is not the opponent who will cement his status, though. What the Italian veteran does provide for Spence is yet another measuring stick.
Just as his Round 5 destruction of Chris Algieri in April allowed Spence to force comparisons between himself and Amir Khan or Manny Pacquiao, a big win over Bundu could leave the American comparing nicely to WBA champion Keith Thurman.
Thurman knocked Bundu down and beat him by a shutout on all three cards in December 2014, but the American did find his opponent's awkward style difficult, and he struggled to impose his typical offense.
If Spence can record another highlight-reel knockout against Bundu, it will add to his growing reputation.
6. Saul Alvarez vs. Liam Smith, September 17
5 of 10
Saul Alvarez finished 2015 as the lineal middleweight champion. After he defeated Miguel Cotto in November, he stood in the ring and delivered fiery rhetoric to HBO's Max Kellerman, all but guaranteeing that he would face undefeated middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
But it's now become clear that Canelo vs. GGG is a bout that is not going to get made, at least not in 2016. Instead, Alvarez has opted to remain at junior middleweight.
If he is staying at 154 pounds, Liam Smith is not a terrible opponent for him. The undefeated WBO champion has not really faced a high-quality opponent to date, but he is a rising talent with a growing fan base.
Smith is one of four Liverpool brothers who fights professionally. Canelo will enjoy his typical crowd support when the two face off in Texas this fall.
But I expect that Smith's fans will travel well in support of their local hero. The atmosphere for this one should be terrific—and the fight might not be that bad, either.
5. Daniel Jacobs vs. Sergio Mora, September 9
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Daniel Jacobs sometimes seems like the forgotten man in the middleweight division. But a very good argument can be made that he deserves to rank No. 2 at 160 pounds, behind only Gennady Golovkin.
And Jacobs' Round 1 knockout of Peter Quillin last year is a better single resume line than anything on GGG's record.
Jacobs beat Sergio Mora by TKO in August 2015, but the stoppage came after his opponent injured his ankle in the second round, following a second knockdown. The fight had been shaping up to be a thriller. The two men traded knockdowns in the first round.
"The Latin Snake" is a tough, experienced veteran, and this is a rematch he very much deserves. But this is definitely Jacobs' fight to win.
I particularly like the timing of this bout. The night before Golovkin fights a welterweight on HBO, Jacobs should have the opportunity to call the middleweight kingpin out in front of a national television audience.
4. Anthony Crolla vs. Jorge Linares, September 24
7 of 10
For the second year in a row, Jorge Linares will travel to England for a world-title fight against another top lightweight. In May 2015, he came back from a fifth-round knockdown to stop Kevin Mitchell by Round 10 TKO, in a bloody, action-packed affair.
Next month, Linares will be in Manchester to battle WBA champion Anthony Crolla.
Crolla and Linares have both had up-and-down moments in their careers, but right now, each one has a claim to being the best in the division. So this fight is one of the more relevant on this list.
The atmosphere in the Manchester Arena should be electric for this fight, and Crolla might benefit from a hometown edge.
3. Krzysztof Glowacki vs. Oleksandr Usyk, September 17
8 of 10
You will need to find a live stream if you want to watch Poland's Krzysztof Glowacki defend his WBO cruiserweight belt against undefeated, former Olympic gold medalist Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine.
With Saul Alvarez in action in Texas on the same day, the United States boxing media will not be paying a great deal of attention to what will be going down between Glowacki and Usyk in Gdansk, Poland.
However, this is an outstanding matchup. Over the past two years, Glowacki has emerged as the top cruiserweight in the world and one of boxing's more exciting fighters. He knocked out long-time champion Marco Huck in one of 2015's best fights and knocked down former champion Steve Cunningham four times last April.
Usyk looks like he might be the 200-pound version of Vasyl Lomachenko. Now 9-0 with nine KOs, he very much looks ready for a world-title challenge.
2. Roman Gonzalez vs. Carlos Cuadras, September 10
9 of 10
In the last two years, Roman Gonzalez has managed to establish himself as a major fighter in the United States, despite campaigning in the lowest weight classes. It has been overdue recognition.
Gonzalez is a three-division world champion, undefeated in 45 fights with 38 KOs. At this point in his career, he is fighting for his place among the greatest sub-bantamweights who ever lived.
So his bout in September with WBC super flyweight champion Carlos Caudras is historically important. The Mexican is the toughest opponent Gonzalez has faced, a larger man, also in his prime and also very talented.
Cuadras is undefeated, 35-0-1 with 27 KOs. This is very much a superfight and a can't-miss event for any true boxing fan.
The card will also feature a surefire slugfest between Jesus Soto Karass and Yoshihiro Kamegai in a rematch of their battle last April.
1. Sergey Kovalev vs. Andre Ward, November 19
10 of 10
The HBO broadcast team has been referring to this one as a done deal almost all year, discussing it during nearly all of their boxing programming.
Serious fans have been waiting with eager anticipation for the showdown between unified light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev and former super middleweight champ Andre Ward.
Both men are top five, pound-for-pound fighters. This is the best possible fight that can be made right now.
However, last week, Steve Kim of Boxingscene.com reported that the bout could be in danger. According to Kovalev's promoter, Kathy Duva, the final deal has still not been set, and she now has "doubts" about whether the fight will take place.
I am going to be an optimist in this case and assume it will happen in the end. Both men are taking a risk in facing each other, but the reward—both in terms of box office and legacy—is much more substantial than anything they can find with anybody else.
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