Look What You Could Have Won: 5 Huge Fights That Failed to Be Made in 2016
In 1992, during the English monarch's traditional televised address to the nation on Christmas Day, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth described the past year as an "annus horribilis."
If you're not fluent in Latin (and why would you be), the term means "a year of disaster or misfortune."
Whatever language you speak, Her Majesty's description also offers a fitting summary for boxing. We've not even reached the end yet, but already it feels like we will remember 2016 as a period of missed opportunities, when so many huge bouts should have happened but never made it to the ring.
Instead, it has been the year of talking rather than fighting, leaving Oscar De La Hoya—a man who normally radiates positivity on the outside—ready to hand out a rather unwanted honour.
"I think 2016 should go down as one of the worst years in boxing history, maybe the worst," Golden Boy told Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports.
Strong words, Oscar.
However, after the latest near miss involving Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko, Bleacher Report refuses to be too downbeat. Let us embrace what might have been, not curse our misfortune.
Like a host taunting losing contestants on a television game show after they've just missed out on the grand prize, it is time to take a look at what you, the boxing fan, could have won.
We've picked out five huge fights that were talked about but haven't happened this year. As an added bonus, there's also a prediction over whether they will ever take place in the future.
As ever, feel free to have your say via the comments section. Oh, and don't expect to find Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor in this list.
Kell Brook vs. Amir Khan
1 of 5
Speculation over a potential clash between British welterweights Kell Brook and Amir Khan has gone on for years.
The domestic rivals sparred together as amateurs—and have since exchanged shots in the media as pros. There was one particularly spiky meeting when they sat next to each other in a Sky Sports studio in 2012.
Talk is cheap, but at the start of 2016 it seemed possible the domestic rivals could finally meet in a summer showdown.
Promoter Eddie Hearn even had the venue sorted. "I’ve booked Wembley for 4 June," he told Kevin Mitchell of the Guardian, before adding it "doesn’t mean it’s nailed on to happen."
Still, there seemed grounds for optimism. Brook held the IBF welterweight title and, once he'd brushed aside mandatory challenger Kevin Bizier, would be looking for a big fight.
He got it—but not with Khan.
Wembley wasn't needed in the end, as Khan caught everyone by surprise in agreeing to move up to a catchweight of 155 pounds and fight Saul Alvarez on May 7.
Brook followed his rival's lead later in the year, leaping all the way up to middleweight to face Gennady Golovkin in a pay-per-view blockbuster in London.
Both Englishmen found they'd bitten off more than they could chew at a higher weight. Now they are considering their options for the future—could the time be right for them to lock horns?
What are the chances of the fight still happening?
Like a bad smell in a lift, the possibility of a Brook-Khan clash continues to linger on.
Khan told Phil D Jay of World Boxing News he's open to the idea—but only at welterweight: "With the money that’s going to be on the table, Brook should consider at least one more fight at 147. I think he’d want to take a fight with me. But if it happens, it would have to happen at 147, to be honest."
Brook, however, may see his future higher up. He remains the IBF champion at 147 pounds for now but would have to face mandatory challenger Errol Spence Jr. if he chooses to stick around at the limit.
Saul Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin
2 of 5
After the prolonged wait to see Floyd Mayweather Jr. face Manny Pacquiao, boxing didn't really need another similar scenario to unfold again between two of the sport's brightest stars.
Sadly, so far the only war waged between Saul Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin has been in the media.
Neither man has come out of the situation with much credit, particularly when their last outings were against fighters who made their names down at welterweight.
When Canelo cut Amir Khan down to size to retain the WBC middleweight title (at a set limit of 155 pounds), few saw his next move being a drop down to super welterweight.
However, the Mexican duly decided to vacate his belt and take on Liam Smith for the WBO strap at the 154-pound limit instead.
With his most lucrative option at middleweight suddenly off the table for the near future at least, Golovkin took on—and defeated—Kell Brook in September.
At 34, the Kazakh likes to stay active, yet he is set to fight just twice (with those bouts lasting a combined total of seven rounds) in 2016.
He has options to move up to super middleweight, although any switch won't be due to weight issues. His power, though, could paper over any concerns he has over a lack of size at 168 pounds.
What are the chances of the fight still happening?
The chances are good, but you'll have to be patient.
Golovkin is not going to cajole Canelo into signing a deal until he's completely ready. "No doubt about it, everyone knows that I’m the A-side. The fight will happen when I want it to, that’s the way it is," Canelo said, per George Gigney of Boxing News.
It will be fascinating to see if Alvarez remains at super welterweight when he returns from a broken thumb.
Golovkin was set to face Daniel Jacobs in December, but that plan has been shelved. Tom Loeffler, who looks after GGG, told Steve Kim of BoxingScene.com that a deal may be done for a new date in 2017.
Sergey Kovalev vs. Adonis Stevenson
3 of 5
After dismissing the challenge of Jean Pascal in January, IBF, WBA and WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev attempted to tease Adonis Stevenson into a unification clash.
Stevenson—who holds the WBC belt—was at ringside to see his rival's victory in Canada.
He ended up getting in the ring, however, when Kovalev called him Adonis "Chickenson" and made quacking noises in a post-fight interview, showing that while he's a master of his craft in the ring, the Russian isn't an expert in ornithology.
At that point, the pair seemed destined to settle their feud in the ring before the end of 2016.
They had come close before, when the WBC ordered purse bids for a fight in 2015.
However, disputes over who would broadcast the event scuppered any deal. That same issue remains now, with Stevenson being part of Al Haymon's stable and Kovalev being connected to HBO.
At least Krusher does have a big fight to look forward to before the year is out. On November 19, the 33-year-old takes on Andre Ward at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Stevenson, meanwhile, is going nowhere fast. The southpaw's last outing was against Thomas Williams Jr. in July—he dismissed his mandatory challenger inside four rounds.
What are the chances of the fight still happening?
Hmm. It hasn't happened yet, so don't count on anything changing in a hurry.
According to RingTV.com, (h/t Wil Esco of Bad Left Hook), Stevenson is keen to face the winner of Kovalev-Ward: "I need all the titles. I'm the lineal champion, so they're fighting together but nobody (can say they're the best) because I'm the lineal champion and everybody knows. I need all the titles."
However, until there's ink on a contract and a broadcaster is agreed upon, Kovalev vs. Stevenson remains in doubt.
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Tyson Fury vs. Wladimir Klitschko
4 of 5
Like The Fast and the Furious movies, the saga involving Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko dragged on for far too long.
Fury famously ended Klitschko's dominance of the heavyweight scene by defeating the Ukrainian on points in November 2015. In doing so, he claimed the IBF, WBA and WBO titles (although the former was stripped from him in a hurry) to become the new No. 1 in the division.
However, a clause in the contract allowed Dr. Steelhammer the chance for immediate revenge.
Well, we thought it would be immediate.
Fury's ankle injury suffered in training put paid to a planned date for the rematch in July. Undeterred, the two teams agreed to try again on October 29.
Yet there were signs it might never happen. Fury failed to show up for a press conference in London to promote the bout, blaming a combination of bad traffic and car problems for his absence.
Then just over a month prior to the fight, a statement from Hennessy Sports announced Fury was "medically unfit to fight."
After confessing to taking cocaine in an interview with Stayton Bonner of Rolling Stone, the Englishman relinquished his grip on the WBA and WBO world titles, throwing the division into chaos.
The British Boxing Board of Control has since suspended his licence, temporarily halting Fury's career.
What are the chances of the fight still happening?
Slim. Real slim.
Klitschko's age (40) means he cannot hang around and wait for a shot at redemption.
There's no obvious light at the end of the tunnel while Fury's future in the sport remains unclear. He needs to win his battle with depression before considering a boxing comeback.
Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko
5 of 5
After the Tyson Fury fight fell through, Wladimir Klitschko turned his attention to Britain's other big-name heavyweight with a major belt.
It just so happens Anthony Joshua, the IBF champion, needed an opponent for his final outing in 2016.
With Klitschko suddenly at a loose end, the possibility arose for a mouthwatering battle between two Olympic champions at contrasting stages of their pro careers.
Joshua, the young buck who has enjoyed a meteoric rise since winning gold at London 2012, going up against Klitschko, the elder statesman determined to prove he still has something left in the tank.
"This fight, of course if it occurs, Klitschko and Joshua, it will be front and back page of the world news. The whole world will want to be involved in that one," the great George Foreman told Sky Sports News HQ.
The date—December 10—and the location—the O2 Arena in London—were easily sorted.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly—too smoothly really—until Klitschko's camp moved the goalposts by demanding the vacant WBA belt also be up for grabs.
When the governing body delayed its response to the request, time simply ran out to complete negotiations. The lucrative deal was dead in the water.
Joshua is now searching for an alternative option, but whoever he picks will feel like a second-rate substitute.
What are the chances of the fight still happening?
Chances are strong—Klitschko wants to try again in 2017.
The 40-year-old said, per Gareth A Davies of the Telegraph: "I want to box in March or April against International Boxing Federation world champion Anthony Joshua. That’ll be the biggest heavyweight fight for years and hopefully it’ll be for three titles."
For that to happen, Joshua must retain his grip on the IBF strap. He is still scheduled to fight on December 10, although we wait to discover the identity of his opponent.
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