The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of January 22
It's a big fight week, with both Showtime and HBO producing packed cards, and Bleacher Report will get you all set up with what you need to know ahead of the big fights.
On Showtime, Carl Frampton will defend his WBA Featherweight Championship against Leo Santa Cruz in a rematch of one of 2016's best fights. Should we expect more of the same?
Or can Santa Cruz get revenge and the title back?
Also on that card, Dejan Zlaticanin will defend his lightweight title against Mikey Garcia in a fight that could wind up being the best of what figures to be an action-packed weekend.
HBO will also get back in the game with its first fight card of 2017.
In the main event, Francisco Vargas, not known for his defense, will defend his super featherweight title in another fight guaranteed to produce some action.
Elsewhere, we'll touch on Golden Boy Promotions' new deal with ESPN and the negotiations between Adonis Stevenson and Joe Smith Jr. for a championship fight.
These are the hottest boxing storylines for the week.
Can Frampton and Santa Cruz Deliver Fireworks Again?
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Carl Frampton and Leo Santa Cruz met in a blockbuster that turned out to be one of 2016's best fights last July at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and they're set to do it again Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Showtime.
We should probably expect more of the same nip-and-tuck action that defined the first fight.
Frampton, an underdog who was oddly being dismissed by many in the boxing community, was able to neutralize Santa Cruz's trademark aggression and take a close but correct decision in front of a large crowd that overwhelmingly favored him.
A rematch was a natural option for both fighters, given the excitement and tightness of the first fight.
The term "50-50 fight" seems to have become somewhat cliche in the last couple of months, but that's what we have here. It's the best vs. the best in a particular weight class, and when that happens, the real winners are the fans.
We saw it last weekend when Badou Jack and James DeGale produced 12 rounds of sustained action, and we'll see it again when Frampton and Santa Cruz renew acquaintances.
It's the type of fight where you want to just kick back, grab your favorite icy beverage and watch the leather fly.
Enjoy!
Will Zlaticanin-Garcia Steal the Show?
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It seems like people are sleeping on Dejan Zlaticanin's defense of his WBC Lightweight Championship against Mikey Garcia in the co-featured bout of Frampton vs. Santa Cruz II.
A lot of that can be attributed to the superb main event—maybe some are wrongly thinking this is a belt grab for Garcia—but it could be the type of fight that winds up stealing the headlines and leaving people talking for days afterward.
This one could be a main event in its own right.
Zlaticanin is not just a live underdog—opening at +180 (bet $100 to win $180), per OddsShark—he might not be an underdog at all. You'll find a good number of people who will argue that he's the favorite in this fight, given his big left hand and Garcia's recent inactivity.
Garcia looked like one of the sport's rising pound-for-pound stars a few years back before disappearing off the radar for two-plus years. He returned in July with a dominant win over inactive former titlist Elio Rojas.
It was a quality win, but Zlaticanin is a massive step up in class.
In fact, both guys are taking big steps up in opposition here.
Zlaticanin has some quality wins but nothing of the order of Garcia, who, this being just the second fight of his comeback, hasn't seen this stiff a level of opposition in years.
That makes this another coin flip.
Is HBO's Lone January Card a Winner?
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HBO has been on the receiving end of a large amount of criticism of late—with just two regular network cards on its first-quarter schedule as of this writing—but it has a doubleheader Saturday night that's flying under the radar.
In the main event, Francisco Vargas will defend his WBC Super Featherweight Championship against once-beaten power puncher Miguel Berchelt.
Judging by past performances and the style of each man, this one has potential Fight of the Year candidate written all over it. That's not surprising, given that Vargas, who has won that award in each of the past two years, is known for producing memorable wars, and Berchelt is a huge puncher who can also box a bit.
The co-featured bout should be just as good.
Former titlist Takashi Miura—who combined with Vargas for the 2015 Fight of the Year—is known for having an in-ring style that puts safety last. He'll find an opponent willing to mix it up with him when he faces Miguel Roman, with both men looking to get back in the title hunt.
You can dump on HBO for its recent history all you want, but this is a tremendous two-fight card that should produce plenty of action, particularly for those of you who appreciate less of the sweet science and more of guys just bashing each other's brains in.
How Much Will Golden Boy's Deal with ESPN Matter?
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ESPN.com's Dan Rafael reported last week that Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions has entered into a deal with ESPN and its family of networks to produce 42 boxing cards over the next two years.
The network will air the cards on ESPN2 in the United States and has an option to extend the series—which will debut on March 23—for a third year if it produces results.
What does this mean for boxing fans?
More free boxing on non-premium networks.
So what can fans expect to see on the new series?
Rafael points out that the new project will likely feature a great deal of young, up-and-coming fighters who aren't quite ready yet for HBO—the company's premium cable partner—but who could use the exposure that comes with reaching the large audience drawn by ESPN.
That means you should not expect to see big-name fighters like Canelo Alvarez slugging away on ESPN2, but it should provide a good opportunity to check out some new talents, and that's never a bad thing, so long as they're matched properly.
Does Stevenson vs. Smith Land at Nassau Coliseum?
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Keith Idec of BoxingScene.com reported that WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson and Joe Smith Jr., who is coming off the two biggest wins of his career, are in negotiations for an April 29 fight at the newly renovated Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.
The Coliseum, which was home to the NHL's New York Islanders until 2015, is located on Long Island—about a 40-minute drive from Smith's hometown—and will become a player in the boxing business under the leadership of Brett Yormark, who is the CEO of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment.
Stevenson remains the lineal champion at 175 pounds despite spending the last several years of his career content to sit up in Quebec and feast on nobodies while avoiding tough fights. His last fight—a knockout over Thomas Williams Jr.—was the only challenge he's seen since 2014.
And to his credit, he passed it with flying colors.
Smith is the ultimate blue-collar story.
He's a construction worker on Long Island and burst his way into serious contention with a pair of stunning 2016 knockouts over Andrzej Fonfara and Bernard Hopkins. Not bad for a guy who was largely dismissed by the boxing community before both bouts.
This would be a great matchup of power punchers, and it could swing either way depending on who can get to the target first.
Bring it on!
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