Boxers Facing the Highest Expectations Headed into 2017
Anticipation plays a big part in the life of a sports fan. The action, however fantastic, is brief. Much more time is spent looking forward to the next season or big game.
But casting an eye toward the future is especially important for members of the boxing Fancy. The biggest stars fight no more than two or three times per year.
That leaves a lot of space for expectation to build.
10. Manny Pacquiao
1 of 10
Manny Pacquiao turns 38 later this month. He is long since well-established himself as an all-time, elite fighter. In the big picture, he has nothing left to prove as a prizefighter.
But if he intends to continue active competition, the expectations around him will be high. There is a dedicated base of Pacquiao fans who would probably shell out to see him fight a literal cab driver.
The rest of the boxing public is going to expect a lot more from him, though. Nothing against Jessie Vargas, a legitimate, top-10 welterweight, but he was not a compelling opponent for a legend like Pacquiao.
In 2017, boxings fans will expect Pac-Man to take on a true challenge.
9. Deontay Wilder
2 of 10
When you are hyped as the next big American heavyweight, the expectations surrounding you are always going to be high. Deontay Wilder has had that aura around him for the past few years.
In 2015, he beat Bermane Stiverne to capture the WBC belt. That was an impressive resume line for the 6'7" Bronze Bomber.
What he has done since has been less impressive, though. He has knocked out four straight opponents since winning the belt, but not a single one of them was a top-10 contender.
Fans have a right to expect more from him.
8. Anthony Joshua
3 of 10
Anthony Joshua has faced big expectations ever since he captured Olympic gold in his native London in 2012. At the time, he was still practically a beginner in the sport. But his athletic, 6'6" frame made him a natural.
He has lived up to those expectations so far, putting together a record of 17-0 with 17 KOs. This past year has been his best campaign to date. In April he knocked out Charles Martin for the IBF strap, and he stopped previously unbeaten Dominic Breazeale in June.
I am not going to pretend the IBF heavyweight title is a legitimate world title. But it is a step closer to legitimately being placed around the waist of a rising contender like Joshua.
Joshua has to handle things against fringe contender Eric Molina in December. Then, going into 2017, he will face some of the sport's biggest expectations.
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7. Danny Garcia
4 of 10
Danny Garcia put together a terrific resume when he fought at super lightweight. He stopped Amir Khan and cleanly defeated Lucas Matthysse.
But he also selected unranked lightweight Rod Salka as an opponent in August 2014. His wins over Mauricio Herrera and Lamont Peterson were controversial.
Garcia won the vacant WBC welterweight belt last January, when he defeated Robert Guerrero. Then, last month, he went cherry-picking again, stopping fringe welterweight contender Samuel Vargas in a non-title fight.
Garcia is a well-rounded, high-level professional fighter. But he has shown a willingness to coast in his level of competition and has benefitted from generous scoring cards. He has also yet to prove he really belongs among the true elite at welterweight.
He'll have his opportunity to do so in March, when he faces Keith Thurman in a unification fight.
6. Terence Crawford
5 of 10
When you reach the point Terence Crawford has in his career, you face high expectations heading into every new year.
In 2014, Crawford became the WBO lightweight champion and was named Fighter of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America. In 2015, he knocked out Thomas Dulorme, to become the WBO super lightweight champion.
This year, he unified the WBO and WBC belts when he thoroughly outclassed Viktor Postol, the other best fighter in the world at 140 pounds. Crawford is now a pound-for-pound contender and an emerging superstar.
So it is natural for fans to expect a lot out of him heading into 2017. A showdown with aging legend Manny Pacquiao would be one of the year's major fights. A fight with the brash, if overhyped, Adrien Broner would certainly draw attention.
And eventually, a move to the stacked welterweight division is inevitable for Crawford.
5. Saul Alvarez
6 of 10
I know I am not the only boxing fan who views Saul Alvarez's 2016 campaign as a disappointment. A year ago, Canelo would have been at the top of this list, after taking the lineal and WBC middleweight titles from Miguel Cotto in November 2015.
Expectations were high that Alvarez would face WBA and IBF middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, in what should have been 2016's highest-profile fight.
Instead, Alvarez knocked out welterweight contender Amir Khan in May. Khan put in some good rounds against Alvarez, but never had a chance. The British fighter was simply not big enough to be competitive with the imposing redhead from Guadalajara.
In September, Alvarez knocked out Liam Smith, to capture the WBO super welterweight title. Smith was a mere paper champion, who had never defeated anybody of note, prior to facing Alvarez. It was an embarrassing choice of opponent for a star of Canelo's magnitude.
Alvarez has a lot to prove going into 2017.
4. Gennady Golovkin
7 of 10
Gennady Golovkin's 2016 campaign was every bit as disappointing as Canelo Alvarez's. In April, he knocked out Dominic Wade, a contender of limited experience, on the bubble for the middleweight top 10.
In September, GGG faced undefeated welterweight champion Kell Brook. Brook gave Golovkin legitimate problems in the early rounds, but he never had the power to threaten the Kazak slugger. Golovkin fractured Brook's eye socket, and the Brit's corner threw in the towel, to avoid worse damage.
Golovkin has been ducked by top middleweight for years now. He is riding a 23-fight KO streak. His power is going to be a trump card against all but the most clever of boxing technicians.
At this point, GGG might need to move up to super middleweight, in order to continue meeting the high expectations he has established for himself.
3. Vasyl Lomachenko
8 of 10
It is almost stunning to see a fighter with just eight professional bouts near the top of a list like this. Even most blue-chip prospects are still trying to get their feet under them in six-rounders at that point in their careers.
But Vasyl Lomachenko is a rare, even unique, talent. He is already a two-division world champion. In 2016, he knocked out veteran WBO super featherweight champion Roman Martinez and frustrated undefeated slugger Nicholas Walters so badly that the Axe Man quit after Round 7.
At the close of the HBO broadcast of the Walters fight, analyst Max Kellerman stated he thinks Lomachenko is "probably" the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world right now. That is a widely shared opinion.
That means there are extremely high expectations surrounding the Ukrainian heading into 2017.
2. Sergey Kovalev
9 of 10
In November of this year, Sergey Kovalev faced Andre Ward in 2016's biggest boxing match. In a competitive bout between two great fighters, Kovalev received the first defeat of his professional career, by a narrow margin of 114-113 on all the judges' cards.
It was a controversial decision, as can be seen from this collation of media scores presented by Talking Boxing UK, which found 73 percent of 60 writers favoring Kovalev for a close decision.
Even if the majority of fans and writers think Kovalev should have won, he will still enter 2017 with something to prove. After knocking Ward down in Round 2 and controlling the early action, Kovalev did clearly fade to some degree down the stretch.
I thought the Russian showed plenty of grit and rallied to win Round 10. But he clearly lost the second half of the fight.
In 2017, he will need to show he can adjust to Ward's adjustments.
1. Andre Ward
10 of 10
Andre Ward picked up the biggest win of his career in 2016, beating the previously undefeated Russian wrecking ball Sergey Kovalev by unanimous decision, to claim the WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight titles.
But as I discussed in the previous slide, the win was a controversial one. So entering 2017, the boxing public is going to expect Ward to prioritize a rematch with Kovalev.
To call Ward's victory a "robbery" is to use language in a careless manner. It was a very close bout. Ward showed tremendous heart and resiliency to climb off the canvas and turn in a brilliant performance in the second half of the fight.
But I also had Kovalev winning the fight, 114-113. That works out to six rounds each, with the Russian taking the victory by virtue of his Round 2 knockdown.
Based on how Ward recovered and controlled the action after Round 4, I believe he will win the rematch. But I will be forever disappointed if he does not get into the ring with Kovalev next year to prove it.
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