These could be world title fights but are also fights that are smaller to be made in the game such as Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk or Errol Spence-Terence Crawford.
Those fights have had plenty of ink on them already, so in no particular order...
Bonus: Alycia Baumgardner-Mikalya Mayer II
I know that I don't often write about the women's side of the sport. I do believe that a few things need to change in order for women's boxing to move closer to equal treatment to male boxing (twelve-round title fights, three-minute rounds, and more knockouts). Still, there may not be a better feud in boxing than Alycia Baumgardner and Mikalya Mayer.
The two met in London last October with sharp words and dislike during the buildup for their 130-pound division that unified three of the four titles and produced an excellent action fight with Baumgardner winning a somewhat controversial split decision that many believed should have been given to Mayer.
I watched this fight live in a hotel room and thought Baumgardner won 96-94 but a month later, I rewatched the bout (without distractions) and gave the nod to Mayer by the same score.
Either way, it was a fight that was exciting and certainly screamed for a rematch but Baumgardner refused to consider one after the fight, although she seems more amenable to it now, and the two continue to jaw at each other with a memorable outside-the-ring confrontation in December at the Estrada-Gonzalez III bout.
It will happen sooner or later but it would be better to have it happen this year.
Heavyweight
Deontay Wilder vs Joe Joyce
Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk for the unified title is the fight everyone wants to see but the fight that I'd really love to see pits Deontay Wilder, the biggest puncher in the division, if not boxing against the relentless aggression and granite-like chin of Joe Joyce.
Can Wilder's early-round assault crack the Juggernaut?
Can Joyce force Wilder to box off his back foot and grind him down as he did Daniel DuBois and Joseph Parker?
Neither of these two would be afraid to trade punches and it could be an all-time classic but it would be a difficult bout to sign with Wilder connected to PBC, Joyce with Frank Warren/Top Rank, and Joyce as the WBO's top contender but it would be a memorable fight if it would happen.
Cruiserweight
Jai Opetaia vs Mairis Briedis II
Briedis, the only fighter to give Oleksandr Usyk a close fight in losing a majority decision in 2018 that I scored a draw, lost his title via upset to Opetaia last July via unanimous decision.
The fight was excellent and Briedis charged down the stretch in the late rounds, breaking Opetaia's jaw in the process.
A rematch would certainly be in order and is the best fight to be made in a weaker division.
Light Heavyweight
Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol
This fight would result in the light heavyweight division being consolidated with Beterbiev's three titles and Bivol's one at stake.
Beterbiev has the perfect record with knockouts in all eighteen of his bouts, while Bivol is undefeated with a boxer-puncher style.
This one seems pretty straightforward, Can Bivol, who was rocked by Joe Smith late in a fight that Bivol dominated, survive twelve rounds of boxing's version of a pressure cooker?
If he does, he likely wins because he'll build a lead on the cards over the first half to two-thirds of the fight.
Can the thirty-eight-year-old Beterbiev break down one of the more talented boxers in the sport?
This one isn't likely, despite both fighters saying they want it -mainly because the purses they will demand aren't likely to be feasible and Bivol has a much larger paycheck waiting for a Canelo Alvarez rematch.
Super Middleweight
David Morrell vs Christian Mbilli
Undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez's biggest fight would be against undefeated David Benavidez, who has signed for a March fight against former IBF champion Caleb Plant.
Should Benavidez win, he's Alvarez's natural opponent but should Plant win, considering his KO loss to Canelo, a potential rematch doesn't excite many fans or think he could reverse the result.
So, I selected this match between undefeated fighters that have yet to be truly tested with PBC's minor beltholder David Morrell against Canada's Christian Mbilli.
Morrell is a talented boxer-puncher against Mbilli, who is a more straight-ahead banger.
Both can punch with Morrell stopping seven of his eight opponents and Mbilli gaining early endings in twenty of his twenty-three fights but Morrell seems more versatile to me and I'd lean his way entering this fight.
This one wouldn't be an easy fight to sign with Morrell with PBC and Mbilli with Canada's Eye of the Tiger, who has a working arrangement with Top Rank and neither would be likely to travel to the other's home base (Morrell Minneapolis, M'billi Montreal) so I don't see this one happening unless the WBA (Morrell's minor title) would mandate a fight between the two.
Middleweight
Janibek Alimkhanuly vs Jaime Munguia
The middleweight division isn't loaded with compelling fights and the few that are handicapped by the reluctance of an aging WBA and IBF champion Gennady Golovkin and a perpetually inactive WBC boss Jermall Charlo to face contenders.
Former WBO junior middleweight champion Jaime Munguia has been even more reluctant since moving to middleweight in 2020, fighting squash match after squash match, turning down title opportunities multiple times, and seems uninterested in fighting anyone that could fight back.
WBO champion Janibek Alimkhanuly had assumed the mantle of the fighter that defines High-Risk Low Reward after mowing down recent opponents but looked very average in his first title defense against Denzel Bentley, so an Alimkhanuly-Munguia fight would not only pair two fighters with plenty to prove, it would also be a fan-friendly fight.
This could be made with Munguia rated highly by the WBO, who tried to mandate this fight in December with Munguia turning it down, and the promoters have worked together before (Alimkhanuly Top Rank and Munguia Golden Boy) but Munguia doesn't seem to be interested, which is too bad as the winner would gain a lot from a victory and perhaps the loser would as well assuming the fight is exciting.
The next segment in the series will cover the junior middleweight division down through the junior lightweight division.
No comments:
Post a Comment