The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of December 18
Joe Smith Jr. emphatically ended the career of Bernard Hopkins with an eighth-round knockout victory Saturday night at the Forum in Los Angeles. It was a scary scene but a decisive end for a fighter who spent the last decade defying boxing's conventional wisdom.
We'll take a look at the fight from both men's perspectives.
Gennady Golovkin finally has the tough fight that fans have been demanding, and we'll break down his bout with the hard-hitting Daniel Jacobs.
Also, we try our hand at some recent fight rumors.
Could Canelo Alvarez really face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a May fight that would be a blockbuster event but likely leave some boxing fans wondering about the cinnamon-haired star's motivations?
Will Kell Brook and Amir Khan finally meet after years of trash talk?
All that, plus, Alexander Povetkin's second failed drug test this year.
These are the hottest boxing storylines for the week!
What to Make of Hopkins vs. Smith?
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What to make of Hopkins vs. Smith?
Father Time remains undefeated, even if Hopkins, whose longevity and otherworldly accomplishments earned a draw against him, pushed him to the very limit. His end came Saturday night from a series of big punches from a young, strong light heavyweight that sent him through the ropes and out of the ring.
Let's be clear.
With all due respect to Hopkins, who is one of boxing's all-time greats, there is not a shred of controversy in how this fight ended. He looked slow and got blasted by some good shots that sent him to the floor.
Literally.
He's lucky not to have been more severely injured, and he lost the fight fair and square.
There was no push, and nothing happened that shouldn't have.
And it's a good thing he reiterated in his post-fight comments that he won't back down from his pledge to walk off into the sunset. His career ended in a typical way for a fighter who personified anything but typical in his 28 years in the ring.
He was steamrolled by a younger, stronger, next-generation fighter.
Smith now seems like a real player in the 175-pound division. He's scored two massive upset knockouts in 2016 (he previously beat Andrzej Fonfara in June) and figures to find his way into more significant fights in the new year. Not bad for a construction worker from Long Island, New York, right?
Whether people choose to diminish this win is up to them, but it's worth noting Smith did something nobody before had been able to do. Not even Sergey Kovalev.
He stopped Hopkins.
Smith might not win it, but his two big upsets also place him in the conversation for Fighter of the Year.
Can Golovkin vs. Jacobs Deliver?
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Golovkin announced Saturday via his Twitter account that after weeks of negotiating a deal had finally been reached for him to defend his unified middleweight championships against secondary titlist Jacobs March 18 at Madison Square Garden in New York City on HBO pay-per-view.
The fight was set to go to a WBA-mandated purse bid Monday if the two sides couldn't agree, but this deal renders that moot. No financial terms for the fight have been disclosed, but you can bet that Jacobs will be receiving more than the 25 percent he'd have gotten under the bid.
GGG was thrilled to have a fight in place after only seeing the ring twice in 2016.
"Danny is an amazing fighter. He is a tough opponent and No. 2 in the middleweight division. He is my toughest opponent," Golovkin said, per Dan Rafael of ESPN.com.
GGG is telling the truth: Jacobs is his toughest foe to date.
The Brooklyn native is a big, strong middleweight with serious punching power. If he connects clean, it'll be interesting to see how Golovkin—who has shown some defensive lapses in recent fights—reacts. Brook, his most recent foe, hit him frequently but didn't have the power to make it matter.
The big question for Jacobs will be whether he can take the return fire.
Or if he can get to the target first with something decisive.
This is a dangerous fight for both men, and while we're not thrilled it's going to be on a pay platform, we're just happy it finally got done. It's a big test for both guys.
Is Canelo vs. Chavez Jr. Really Possible?
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Canelo and Chavez Jr. are reportedly in talks for what would be a huge all-Mexican fight on Cinco de Mayo weekend on HBO PPV, per Dan Rafael of ESPN.com. The biggest obstacles for the fight appear to be weight and the lingering acrimony between Golden Boy Promotions and Chavez's adviser, Al Haymon.
The weight targeted by both sides is somewhere in the neighborhood of 164 or 165 pounds.
Let's put to the side for a second the fact that Canelo and team have constantly used the "he's not a middleweight" defense as a means to kick the can down the road on going to 160 pounds for a highly anticipated fight with Golovkin.
It's simple to see the rationale behind this potential fight: money.
Canelo is Mexico's biggest current star and one of the biggest draws in the sport.
Chavez Jr., a former middleweight champ who has struggled with weight and commitment issues in recent years, is the son of the man whom many consider to be the greatest Mexican fighter of all time.
This fight sells itself, and the box office would be immense, but Canelo, who has never fought above 155 pounds despite holding a middleweight championship, would open himself to significant criticism for what looks like a money grab while pushing off the fight that fans want.
Even if he and his team continue to make vague assurances, it will happen in the fall.
If Canelo fights Chavez at super middleweight and then doesn't square off with GGG in September, well, he'll deserve every shred of the considerable vitriol he'll receive from fans.
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Will Brook vs. Khan Finally Happen?
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You might soon file this one in the "about damn time" folder.
Brook and Khan are two of the biggest British stars in the sport, and a welterweight showdown between the pair has been logical for a long time now.
It seems mostly because of Khan's reluctance—as he was pursuing megafights with the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao instead—that this fight hasn't happened yet.
But there might be hope yet.
Richard Damerell of Sky Sports reports that Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn believes Khan could be serious about the fight because fresh contacts have taken place and the Bolton fighter has taken to social media and promised to destroy his rival in the same manner Golovkin did.
Khan has also called a potential fight with Brook a tuneup, per Fight Hub (h/t Will Esco of Bad Left Hook).
Brook responded via his own social media account, stating he was glad to see Khan had "woken up from" his "last KO" and that he'll "look forward to sending" him "back to sleep."
Whether this ends up just being the type of trash talk that we've seen before and leads to nothing remains to be seen. But we're somewhat optimistic that with the potential money involved that this one could actually become reality in 2017.
Shouldn't Alexander Povetkin Just Go Away?
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Povetkin was scheduled to face Bermane Stiverne Saturday for the interim WBC Heavyweight Championship and the right to challenge Deontay Wilder for the full belt next year, but the bout was canceled with just hours to go when the Russian failed a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association drug test required by the WBC.
The WBC announced in a statement Saturday morning that the failed test—Povetkin's second of 2016—had forced the organization to withdraw recognition of the bout and that an investigation was forthcoming.
Stiverne, who dropped the big green belt to Wilder via decision early in 2015, had the chance to go forward with the fight anyway but decided to pull out because the belt and top-contender spot was no longer on the line. Also, why fight an opponent who flunked a drug test? Nobody should expect that.
Stiverne was upset by the lost opportunity.
"There’s no reason to fight if the WBC won’t sanction the bout, I’m very disappointed in the actions of Povetkin. I’ve been training for months to be victorious. To wake up the day of the fight, have breakfast, take a nap and wake up to find out he tested positive is the worst possible situation," Stiverne said in a statement released to boxing media.
This is the second time VADA has snagged Povetkin this year. He was due to face Wilder for the title, but that bout was canceled nine days prior when his samples both tested positive for melondium. He escaped sanction because the levels were below the accepted threshold.
The substance in question this time is ostarine, which, like melondium, is known to increase stamina and recovery. Povetkin's manager Andrey Ryabinsky asserted on social media to not know where it came from, per Rafael.
Making matters worse, Povetkin went on to knock Johann Duhaupas—who took the fight on hours' notice—out cold just a couple of hours after it was revealed he failed a doping test.
Disgusting.
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