Boxing 2011: 10 Fighters We Expect To Break Out This Year
The world of music lost an unheralded talent this week when Teena Marie passed away at the age of 54. Most people who loved her music were truly saddened by her passing but her music will live on forever in the hearts of her fans.
While Bernard Hopkins earned a draw this year in a fight that many people thought he won, people will continue to celebrate his career long after he hangs up his gloves.
While my love for music may gravitate towards the generations passed, there remain new prospects in boxing that will carry the sport and excite fans for years to come. These fighters have genuine talent and their star power isn’t manufactured by showing them on TV every five minutes like the recipe for success in music.
Fighters like Andre Berto have had their fights on HBO virtually every time they’ve fought and he’s had some exciting performances, yet fans want to see him against better opposition. In the music industry, the Soulja Boy’s of the world are continually on the radio and TV when no one can name a great song or single profound lyric in one of his songs.
We as boxing fans hold our sport to a higher standard and demand more of our stars. Here are 10 fighters we expect to reach the next level in 2011.
Honorable Mention: Nonito Donaire (25-1, 17 KOs)
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Donaire put himself on the map by knocking out Vic Darchinyan and he seemed poised to be a star. Here we are three years later and he’s just now lined up to have another big fight against Fernando Montiel on HBO.
You could argue that he had his breakout year when he beat Darchinyan, which is why I haven’t included him with the top 10 but if he can beat Montiel, he could turn himself into a real star even though he’s a small fighter at 118 lbs. A fight with the winner of the Bantamweight Tournament winner would only help his cause.
He’s big enough that he could campaign up to 126 lbs. comfortably. Sky’s the limit for Donaire.
Miguel “Mikey” Garcia (24-0, 20 KOs)
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Garcia is a star in the making and he’s really stepping up his level of competition. The reason I haven’t included him in the top ten is because it remains to be seen how Top Rank moves him along.
Garcia could very well end up having a big 2011 and people would be singing his praises, but he could also end up fighting on Top Rank’s Pay-Per-Views and not seen by enough boxing fans.
Sometimes it works for their fighters and sometimes it doesn’t. We all would’ve liked to see Donaire in bigger fights in the last couple of years and hope the same doesn’t happen to Garcia. He’s a great talent and I’d love to see him become a star.
Trained by his brother and former Lightweight titlist, Robert Garcia, he has the pedigree coming from a boxing family and area where everyone is pulling for him to reach the next level. It almost seems as though the only thing that may be holding him back is his promoter.
Saul Alvarez (35-0-1, 26 KOs)
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At just 20 years old, Alvarez is already a huge star in Mexico. His promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, plans on featuring him on higher profile cards to introduce him to American fans as he moves towards a title fight.
He could very well fight for a title in his next fight but he still has plenty of room to grow as a fighter. He has good power and an exciting style which will certainly help him to extend his fan base in the U.S.
You have to figure that he will become stronger as he grows into his body more in the next few years. If he can tighten up his defense and if Golden Boy does their part, 2011 could be a huge year for Canelo.
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David Lemieux (25-0, 24 KOs)
4 of 11Canada has been a hot-bed for boxing in the last couple of years with fighters such as Jean Pascal and Lucian Bute packing arenas full of fans with each time they fight but David Lemieux was born in Montreal.
He stepped up his level of competition this year beating Elvin Ayala and Hector Camacho Jr., both men who normally are durable opponents were both knocked out in the first round.
The Middleweight division is pretty weak right now but as long as he keeps winning, fans will keep showing up to watch him fight until he can hopefully secure a big fight. At this pace, he’ll need stadiums to hold all of his fans for his fights.
Robert Guerrero (28-1-1, 18 KOs)
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Most fight fans are well familiar with Robert Guerrero’s story. His wife Casey has been battling Leukemia while he’s been trying to hold on to his boxing career while supporting his wife and taking care of his kids.
As a father of two kids myself, I can’t imagine the stress of trying to balance everything the Guerrero family has been through. He’s had some shaky performances and he has been blasted by people in the boxing community for saying that he quit against Daud Yordan or that he’s not the same fighter that he had been in the Featherweight Division.
With his wife’s Leukemia hopefully behind them for good, Guerrero had an excellent performance against Vicente Escobedo in his last fight which positioned him as the mandatory to fight Lightweight kingpin Juan Manuel Marquez.
It remains to be seen if Marquez will fight him and it’s been rumored that Michael Katsidis will actually be the one to fight Guerrero next. Guerrero has had a difficult time with rough fighters so it should be a big performance for him if he can handle Katsidis if they were to fight.
Guerrero has a big year ahead of him with his tribulations outside of the ring behind him.
Fernando Guerrero (20-0, 16 KOs)
6 of 11Guerrero literally means warrior in Spanish, so it’s fitting that there are two Guerrero’s on this list of young fighters.
Fernando (pictured right) is a powerful and undefeated fighter out of Baltimore and he’s definitely picking up steam. It’s time for him to step up his level of competition and fighting in the quiet Middleweight Division may be difficult to fight a big name opponent.
He’s not ready for the likes of Middleweight Champ Martinez yet but it would be great to see him fight Sturm for a title or even Lemieux to see who the last man standing would be between the two prospects.
He has a bright future and he’s building a great fan following in Maryland. This could very well be the year he takes it to the next level and should end up in a meaningful fight by the end of the year.
Erislandy Lara (14-0, 9 KOs)
7 of 11Lara (left) is one of two fighters who have defected from Cuba on this list, but like his other countrymen that have made their way to the U.S. to seek a professional boxing career, he has a bright future in the sport.
He defected from Cuba once, only to be caught by Brazilian authorities and sent back to Cuba. He defected again and finally achieved his dream of reaching the states and boxing professionally.
Usually fighters that overcome adversity fight as though they have a chip on their shoulder and Lara is no different. He’s been undefeated in 14 professional fights and knocked out nine of his opponents.
He’s already cracked the top ten on ESPN’s rankings at Junior Middleweight and this should be the year that he puts it all together. Despite only having 14 professional fights, his lengthy amateur background has translated well for him and he should be ready for a title shot this year.
Brandon Rios (26-0-1, 19 KOs)
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Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios may be best known for making fun of Freddie Roach before Antonio Margarito’s fight with Manny Pacquiao.
He was seen in a video with Margarito making fun of Roach’s Parkinson’s disease which he denies was a knock on his disease and few people believe him. Not exactly the way you want to make a name for yourself as a fighter.
In the ring however, he’s difficult not to like. He’s an aggressive pressure fighter that willingly will take punches to land his own. He was repeatedly hit below the belt by Anthony Peterson when it was clear that Rios was on his way to knocking Peterson out.
Peterson was finally disqualified and Rios proved that he was willing to be fouled over and over again to fight his fight. He won a lot of new fans that night and he’s likely to be a fighter with a Fernando Vargas type following if he keeps winning. He’s not incredibly gifted with talent but with trainer Robert Garcia in his corner, he should continue to improve.
Yuriorkis Gamboa (19-0, 15 KOs)
9 of 11Gamboa, one of the best known fighters to defect from Cuba in recent memory, has made a name for himself in the ring with his lightning-quick hands and considerable punching power.
Gamboa is a Olympic gold medal winner and very exciting fighter to watch because of his style but he’s also been knocked down several times as a pro. Much in the same way that Felix Trinidad had been knocked down numerous times in his career yet went on to win, Gamboa usually goes on to knock his opponent out after being knocked down. How can you not love a fighter like that?
Gamboa is set to fight Juan Manuel Lopez by the end of 2011 in a fight that should propel the winner to as much stardom as you can probably have as a Featherweight. Fight fans already love watching the both of them fight and the winner will be the rightful king in the division.
I’m openly picking Gamboa to win this fight in impressive fashion though it should be a great fight for as long as it lasts. I wouldn’t be surprised to see multiple knockdowns in this fight and hopefully that sets him up for bigger fights in the future.
Andre Ward (23-0, 13 KOs)
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Andre Ward is the last American boxer to win a gold medal at the Olympics in 2004.
He wasn’t received as well by Americans as some of the other gold medal winners like Sugar Ray Leonard or Oscar De La Hoya but he’s earned his respect in the ring.
Some people questioned why he was included in the Super Six Tournament when he was considered to be an untested fighter, yet now he is considered the favorite to win it all. People may consider his breakout performances to have been his fights associated with the Super Six in beating Kessler, Green and Bika however I think the best is yet to come.
If he can win the tournament, which will likely be a fairly large promotion in the final if he can make it there, he would have a super fight on his hands with Lucian Bute.
No one that considers themselves a fight fan wouldn’t know about Andre Ward at that point and his stock would only continue to rise. There would be other big fights for Ward and fame and fortune to go along with it.
He’s a respectful and classy fighter which will serve him well if he can continue his winning ways.
Devon Alexander (21-0, 13 KOs) and Timothy Bradley (26-0, 11 KOs)
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Alexander and Bradley fight on HBO on January 29th in the first big fight of 2011.
This fight is great for the sport because it matches two undefeated titleholders in one of the best divisions in boxing. Fight fans have talked over the last year about who might be the best in the division and this is the first step to settling the debate.
Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana waged a great war in a fight of the year candidate on December 11th and the winner of the Alexander/Bradley fight against Khan will most certainly be a huge fight.
Whoever comes out on top of the 140 Lb. division in 2011 could find themselves in another big fight with Pacquiao or Mayweather if they are available at that time.
They are a two-for-one on this list because I honestly cannot pick a winner. Bradley seems to get better and more impressive every time he fights but Alexander is a blue chip fighter if there ever was one. They’ll both need to fight the best fight of their young careers to come away victorious. Major props to HBO for making this fight happen.
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