Canada and USA

Joshua-Wilder: The Fight that Everyone Wants to See That May Not Happen

Published

7 years ago

April 3, 2018

Anthony Joshua-Deontay Wilder is the fight that everyone wants to see, a fight that both boxers are calling for, a fight that according to Joshua’s promoter and Wilder’s manager will be easy to make if the other side wants to do it.

And yet it really might not happen.

Here we take a look at why.

Alphabet Politics

“If this fight doesn’t happen in 2018,” Eddie Hearn has begun telling boxing media over the past few weeks, “it becomes very difficult to make because of the politics.”

The politics that Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, is describing is not the tortuous, contradictory rumor mill which has beset the management camps of Joshua and Wilder before negotiations have even really begun, but something much more destructive: the machinations of the alphabet soup that is the deconstructed heavyweight title.

Anthony Joshua is now looking for places to strap on no fewer than four championship belts while Deontay Wilder is wielding one, “the last one” as Joshua sees it and “the first one” as Wilder sees it. One of them will be wrong but there is a very real chance both of them will be wrong unless they can make the fight this year, for it is in 2018 that Hearn has decreed this fight must take place if alphabet interference is to be avoided.

Povetkin will be made mandatory for the WBA in coming weeks, and the other ABCs who recognize Joshua will follow. The current number one contender according the WBC is Dillian Whyte (who has also been ordered to stage a box-off with Kubrat Pulev by the IBF, which could put him in the strange position of being mandatory to both Wilder and Joshua). Whyte’s status may be a factor more easily controlled as an issue as he is also promoted by Hearn, although Hearn has not been shy about pushing him as the next opponent for Wilder, just as he more recently pushed him towards a fight with Povetkin. There is a whisper that a two fight deal for Wilder that sees him meet Whyte then Joshua may be in development, although this just seems a good way to tangle a long rope.

Whyte seems to be acting as a policeman to Joshua’s titles, but he can’t keep the alphabets off him any more than he can take punches for him. Probably Hearn is right about 2019 being very difficult if Joshua wants to keep all the belts, although, interestingly, Hearn has recently begun talking openly about dropping one of the straps to keep control of Joshua’s career. Time will tell.

Time Will Tell.

Timing, in boxing as in life, is everything.

The good news is that the two fighters have the same cycle. If Joshua had just won with Wilder now entering camp for a contest in late June, it might become difficult to line them up.

The bad news is that the alphabet madness surrounding these two men makes 2018 fight year, or we could end up waiting for 2020, which nobody reading this wants.

In real terms, that means Hearn and Wilder’s manager, Shelly Finkel, have eight months to get this fight made.

The first thing to consider here is the actual mechanics. Parker-Joshua took around one month to negotiate to completion and I would not expect Joshua-Wilder to be that easy. There is bad blood, big egos, the location is undecided and while Parker was probably delighted just to be getting the fight and the millions associated with it, Wilder’s team may be keen to chisel out a larger piece. Three months feels about right, although four or even five is not out of the question keeping in mind that step-aside money and places on the undercard may be required to satisfy those awaiting shots at a total of five alphabet titles.

What this means is that if earnest negotiations were to begin now, the terms of the fight would be agreed sometime between June and August. Then promotion and camps are required after a working date and venue are identified.

Interesting then that Eddie Hearn has suggested that Wilder should fight Whyte in the late summer before Joshua and (presumably) Wilder meet in December. Already there is talk of Joshua taking another fight in the interim. This would call for negotiations for the December fight to be ongoing during promotion for the intermittent contests. It would also give the fight, according to Hearn, a window around six weeks at the very end of the year, with a miss spelling disaster.

Not impossible but a big ask.

The Bottom Line

For his most recent contest, Joshua is expected to pocket in the region of $20m to $30m. According to CBS Sports, Wilder was guaranteed $2.1m dollars for his most recent contest.

More, Joshua’s opponent, Joseph Parker, is expected to walk away with in excess of $10m while Wilder’s opponent, Luis Ortiz, was guaranteed less than $1m.

There are different versions of these figures but whichever ones you prefer, the difference is stark. Joshua, currently, is out-earning Wilder enormously.

“They can’t make us any offers,” Hearn has said of Wilder’s camp. “All they’d be offering is the money we bring.”

There is some truth to this. If the purse split is 80-20 in Joshua’s favor, Wilder will still make the biggest payday of his career by many magnitudes.

Wilder has publicly been very relaxed about all this, merely demanding that whatever the agreed split is that it be reversed for the rematch, inevitable as he sees it, once he’s knocked Joshua out.

Joshua and Hearn are perhaps less relaxed.

“We’ve had to overpay from the debut,” said Hearn of the pay-structure in place for Joshua opponents. “It’s gone all the way up to the twenty-first fight. AJ will get what he deserves. He’s not a charity.”

Shelly Finkel says the money can be “worked out.” Hearn says they will approach Wilder with “a serious offer” and “one that we think is fair, not something disrespectful”. In these words is the confidence of a man who knows he holds the chips in the shape of the moneymaker and most of the belts.

Joseph Parker received the short end of a 65-35 split. 60-40 is the number most often floated when the fight is under discussion by third parties. Whether it is one that Hearn and Joshua are in a mood to make is a different matter.

Location, Location, Location

“Me personally,” Joshua said discussing the Wilder fight at his most recent post-fight press conference, “I’d like it to be in a stadium in the UK.”

This is understandable and why any promotion would chose to fight in front of 8,000 in preference to 80,000 I don’t know, but will Wilder be willing to take the short end and give up location?

Like iterations on all other matters, each interview brings with it agreeable sound-bites from both camps.

“We’ll fight him anywhere,” offered Finkel. “We are fine to fight in the UK and we are fine to fight in Vegas.”

“I’d love to go to America and look at the landscape and see how serious they are,” conceded Joshua. “Deal with this behind closed doors.”

If Joshua is serious about this, it would be a huge help. A face-to-face negotiation in America might be enough to get the fight settled. Hearn claims to be open to the idea of fighting in America and admits that Vegas has “potential.”

Finkel talks like he has Wilder’s blessing to make the fight in London or Cardiff; that, then, should be the route, not least because it is Joshua’s stated preference. Both of these men, however, are homebodies. Wilder hasn’t fought outside of the Americas and hasn’t fought outside of the United States for more than five years. Joshua is rooted in Britain as a professional.

Also, as a whispered aside: Joshua has a drugs conviction in the UK. As I understand it, Americans aren’t keen on convicted criminals from other countries working for a living in their country. Joshua might get a Presidential nod, which would probably be nice for the promotion, but here is another layer of complexity we don’t need.

Location may be the biggest knock-down-drag out binary barrier to the fight happening.

Who Wants It?

On paper, everybody wants it.

But nobody believes anybody else wants it.

“[Joshua] doesn’t want the fight now,” Finkel has said. “Nothing to do with cowardice – he knows Deontay is the only one that could beat him. He’ll fight when he’s ready; right now he’s dodging us.”

This is a balanced statement and it rang true for me. Was it so outside the realms of possibility that Eddie Hearn and Anthony Joshua are simply delaying? After all, they could bank $60m dollars for fighting Alexander Povetkin and Kubrat Pulev, whereas Wilder would make as little as $6m boxing the same two opponents.

“If you knew what it takes to make a fight,” Hearn said recently, “you’d know how far away we are from making this fight…If they step up and actually are serious about the fight and serious about a deal that we’re more than fair to offer them, but, with them, they’re so erratic and unpredictable, I don’t know what to believe.”

Who and what to believe is indeed the key question.

Finkel is a veteran and has made some very slick maneuvers in moving the blame back on to Hearn. He also rings true for me when he says “if [Hearn] wanted the fight next, he could make the fight next.”

I believe that.

I am also convinced by the level of frustration Hearn betrays when discussing the matter. Recently, Deontay Wilder claimed (for the second time in fact) that he hoped to take a human life in the ring before his career was over. When questioned about these heinous remarks, Hearn did not attack Wilder for them but was almost sympathetic.

“Wilder’s saying things out of desperation,” Hearn said, “because he has no idea what’s happening to his career, he has no idea who is talking on his behalf, he has no idea what is happening next.”

Hearn’s whole attitude hints at chaos behind the scenes where his negotiations over Wilder are concerned. The involvement of Finkel and the more intangible presence Al Haymon – described as “a ghost” by Wilder – contradicts his position, but Hearn is convincing.

The final truth is that we don’t know. There is some terrible disconnect here between a fighter who can make $30m for a single fight against a low-profile opponent and a fighter who cannot, and between the management teams that represent them. That’s a gap.

If I was forced to guess I would suggest that it works like this: financially, Joshua flat out doesn’t need Wilder. Fisticly, he does, because Wilder is in possession of the final title belt. Hearn is essentially a creature of finance; sporting excellence interests him but not as much as the money that accompanies it. Wilder’s team is reading Joshua, but not Hearn. This has led Finkel to overestimate the strength of his hand and leave Hearn bemused by their aggression. He expects to be thanked for the opportunity; instead he has private emails he sent Finkel read in public.

Joshua meanwhile has reached a place where he is sick of overpaying opponents, something Hearn claims they have done from the very beginning. Joshua is now ready to lay claim to his fair share, perhaps a position as much about respect as money; so his line of thinking has fallen in with his promoter’s at the exact moment his promoter has decided to stick it to an ungrateful opposition.

And Wilder continues to wave the belt, Finkel to use words like “ducking.”

The sum total of these parts makes for a precarious position. If the fight is not made for a date before March 2019, things could get very, very sticky. Quite apart from anything else, one of them could lose.

Watch this space, but temper your expectations.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

To comment on this article at The Fight Forum, CLICK HERE.

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Matt McGrain

Up Next

Boxing 2018: Some Thoughts on the Powers That Be

Don't Miss

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez Pulls Out of GGG Fight

Argentina

The BWAA Shames Veteran Referee Laurence Cole and Two Nebraska Judges

Published

6 years ago

August 2, 2018

Arne K. Lang

In an unprecedented development, the Boxing Writers Association of America has started a “watch list” to lift the curtain on ring officials who have “screwed up.” Veteran Texas referee Laurence Cole and Nebraska judges Mike Contreras and Jeff Sinnett have the unwelcome distinction of being the first “honorees.”

“Boxing is a sport where judges and referees are rarely held accountable for poor performances that unfairly change the course of a fighter’s career and, in some instances, endanger lives,” says the BWAA in a preamble to the new feature. Hence the watch list, which is designed to “call attention to ‘egregious’ errors in scoring by judges and unacceptable conduct by referees.”

Contreras and Sinnett, residents of Omaha, were singled out for their scorecards in the match between lightweights Thomas Mattice and Zhora Hamazaryan, an eight round contest staged at the WinnaVegas Casino in Sloan, Iowa on July 20. They both scored the fight 76-75 for Mattice, enabling the Ohio fighter to keep his undefeated record intact via a split decision.

Although Mattice vs. Hamazaryan was a supporting bout, it aired live on ShoBox. Analyst Steve Farhood, who was been with ShoBox since the inception of the series in 2001, called it one of the worst decisions he had ever seen. Lead announcer Barry Tompkins went further, calling it the worst decision he has seen in his 40 years of covering the sport.

Laurence Cole (pictured alongside his father) was singled out for his behavior as the third man in the ring for the fight between Regis Prograis and Juan Jose Velasco at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans on July 14. The bout was televised live on ESPN.

In his rationale for calling out Cole, BWAA prexy Joseph Santoliquito leaned heavily on Thomas Hauser’s critique of Cole’s performance in The Sweet Science. “Velasco fought courageously and as well as he could,” noted Hauser. “But at the end of round seven he was a thoroughly beaten fighter.”

His chief second bullied him into coming out for another round. Forty-five seconds into round eight, after being knocked down for a third time, Velasco spit out his mouthpiece and indicated to Cole that he was finished. But Cole insisted that the match continue and then, after another knockdown that he ruled a slip, let it continue for another 35 seconds before Velasco’s corner mercifully threw in the towel.

Controversy has dogged Laurence Cole for well over a decade.

Cole was the third man in the ring for the Nov. 25, 2006 bout in Hildalgo, Texas, between Juan Manuel Marquez and Jimrex Jaca. In the fifth round, Marquez sustained a cut on his forehead from an accidental head butt. In round eight, another accidental head butt widened and deepened the gash. As Marquez was being examined by the ring doctor, Cole informed Marquez that he was ahead on the scorecards, volunteering this information while holding his hand over his HBO wireless mike. The inference was that Marquez was free to quit right then without tarnishing his record. (Marquez elected to continue and stopped Jaca in the next round.)

This was improper. For this indiscretion, Cole was prohibited from working a significant fight in Texas for the next six months.

More recently, Cole worked the 2014 fight between Vasyl Lomachenko and Orlando Salido at the San Antonio Alamodome. During the fight, Salido made a mockery of the Queensberry rules for which he received no point deductions and only one warning. Cole’s performance, said Matt McGrain, was “astonishingly bad,” an opinion echoed by many other boxing writers. And one could site numerous other incidents where Cole’s performance came under scrutiny.

Laurence Cole is the son of Richard “Dickie” Cole. The elder Cole, now 87 years old, served 21 years as head of the Texas Department of Combat Sports Regulation before stepping down on April 30, 2014. At various times during his tenure, Dickie Cole held high executive posts with the World Boxing Council and North American Boxing Federation. He was the first and only inductee into the inaugural class of the Texas Boxing Hall of Fame, an organization founded by El Paso promoter Lester Bedford in 2015.

From an administrative standpoint, boxing in Texas during the reign of Dickie Cole was frequently described in terms befitting a banana republic. Whenever there was a big fight in the Lone Star State, his son was the favorite to draw the coveted refereeing assignment.

Boxing is a sideline for Laurence Cole who runs an independent insurance agency in Dallas. By law in Texas (and in most other states), a boxing promoter must purchase insurance to cover medical costs in the event that one or more of the fighters on his show is seriously injured. Cole’s agency is purportedly in the top two nationally in writing these policies. Make of that what you will.

Complaints of ineptitude, says the WBAA, will be evaluated by a “rotating committee of select BWAA members and respected boxing experts.” In subsequent years, says the press release, the watch list will be published quarterly in the months of April, August, and December (must be the new math).

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Canada and USA

The Avila Perspective, Chapter 8: Competing Cards in N.Y. and L.A.

Published

6 years ago

August 2, 2018

David A. Avila

Rival boxing shows compete this Saturday as light heavyweight world titlists are featured in New Jersey while former world champion welterweights and middleweights tangle in New York.

A mere 150 miles separate the two fight cards staged in Uniondale, N.Y. and Atlantic City.

But there’s no mercy inside the boxing ring and certainly no mercy between boxing promotions. While Main Events stages WBO light heavyweight titlist Sergey Kovalev and WBA light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol in separate bouts, DiBella Entertainment stacks former champs Andre Berto against Devon Alexander in a welterweight clash.

Take your pick.

Russia’s Kovalev (32-2-1, 28 KOs) has lost some luster and hopes to reboot his popularity with a win against Canada’s Eleider Alvarez (23-0, 11 KOs). But he will be directly competing against WBA champ Bivol (13-0, 11 KOs), also of Russia, who defends against Isaac Chilemba (25-5-2) of South Africa.

HBO will televise both light heavyweight title fights.

Bivol, 27, has slowly, almost glacier-like slow, picked up fans along the way by training in Southern California. The quiet unassuming fighter with a conservative style and cobra-like quickness appeals to the fans.

“I do not think that now I am the best light heavyweight, but I am now one of the best. One of four guys,” said Bivol during a press conference call. “But I hope in not the far future, we will know who is the best.”

That, of course, would mean a date with Kovalev should both fighters win on Saturday. Nothing is certain.

Kovalev, now 35, has lost some of that fear factor aura since losing back-to-back fights to now retired Andre Ward. Though he’s cracked two opponents in succession by knockout, many are pointing to the potential showdown with Bivol as the moment of truth.

“Most likely this fight is gonna happen since both Sergey and I are HBO boxers and as long as that’s what the people want, most likely the fight will happen,” said Bivol. “Me and Sergey will make sure to give this fight to the people.”

It’s time for the build-up and it starts on Saturday Aug. 4, on HBO.

“That’s certainly a goal of Sergey’s and he’s made it very clear to me that that’s what he wants to do,” said promoter Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events. “He wants to do unification fights if he is successful with Eleider Alvarez. That’s what he wants to do next; he’s been very clear about that.”

DiBella

Five former world champions stack the fight card at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

Former welterweight world champs Andre Berto (31-5, 24 KOs) and Devon Alexander (27-4-1, 14 KOs) lead the charge in a 12-round clash. FOX will televise the main event and others at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET.

Berto, 34, has been fighting once a year so it’s difficult to determine if age has crept into his reflexes. When he knocked out Victor Ortiz in a rematch two years ago Berto looked sharp and dangerous. But against Shawn Porter a year ago, the crispness seemed gone and he quickly lost by knockout.

Alexander, 31, has the advantage of being a southpaw. But he always seems to do the minimum when he fights. Last February he slowed down and allowed Victor Ortiz to steal the fight. All the commotion by the announcers was for naught. Defense does not win fights, it allows you to win fights. The lack of offense in the latter rounds cost Alexander a win in a match that entered the books as a majority draw.

It’s a curious matchup of former world champions.

Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (33-1-1, 23 KOs) the former WBO middleweight titlist meets J’Leon Love (24-1-1, 13 KOs) in a super middleweight bout set for 10 rounds. It’s another intriguing fight especially between two fighters with great personalities.

Quillin, 35, was ambushed by Daniel Jacobs in the first round a year ago in losing the title. Was it bad luck, age or both? As a fighter the Brooklyn-based prizefighter has a ton of followers who like him as a person. Few are as classy as Quillin.

Love, 30, has long been a mainstay in Las Vegas and since his amateur days his abilities have been touted. Throughout the years Love has shown that charm and friendliness can go a long ways, even in the bitter wars of prizefighting. But the time has come to see if he belongs in the prizefighting world. Quillin will present an immense challenge for Love.

A number of other interesting fights are slated to take place among former world champions including Sergey Lipinets who lost the super lightweight title to Mikey Garcia this past winter. There’s also Luis Collazo in a welterweight match.

One world title fight does take place on the card.

Female WBA super middleweight titlist Alicia Napoleon (9-1) makes the first defense of her title against Scotland’s Hannah Rankin (5-1). It’s a 10 round bout and the first time Napoleon defends the title since winning it last March against Germany’s Femke Hermans. Ironically, Hermans now has the WBO super middleweight title after defeating former champ Nikki Adler by decision this past May.

L.A. Congestion

Next week the city of Angels will be packed with three fight cards in four days.

First, on Wednesday Aug. 8, 360 Promotions stages Abraham Lopez (9-1-1, 3 KOs) versus Gloferson Ortizo (12-0-1, 6 KOs) in the main event at the Avalon Theater in Hollywood, Calif. This is Filipino fighter Ortizo’s ninth fight this year. You read that correctly.

All of Ortizo’s fights have taken place across the border in Tijuana. The 32-year-old now returns to California against another Californian in Lopez. He’ll be looking for his fourth consecutive knockout, but Lopez, 22, has not lost a fight since his pro debut. Inactivity might come into play for Lopez who hasn’t stepped in the boxing ring in over a year.

New York’s Brian Ceballo (3-0) returns in a six round welterweight bout against local fighter Tavorus Teague (5-20-4). Ceballo, who is promoted by 360 Promotions, looked good in his last appearance. The amateurish punches seen in his first two bouts were gone by his third pro fight. His opponent Teague has ability and can give problems if Ceballo takes his foot off the pedal.

One of Gennady “GGG” Golovkin’s training partners Ali Akhmedov (11-0, 8 KOs) makes his California debut when he meets Jorge Escalante (9-1-1, 6 KOs) in a light heavyweight match.

Female super lightweight Elvina White (2-0) is also slated to compete. The entire fight card will be streamed at www.360promotions.us and on the 360 Promotions page on Facebook. First bell rings at 6:15 p.m.

Belasco Theater in downtown L.A. is the site of Golden Boy Promotions fight card on Friday Aug. 10. A pair of young prospects will be severely tested.

San Diego’s Genaro Gamez (8-0, 5 KOs) meets Filipino fighter Recky Dulay (10-3, 7 KOs) for the vacant NABF super featherweight title. For Dulay it’s always kill or be killed. Five of his last fights have ended in knockout wins or losses.

Gamez, 23, seems to thrive under pressure and broke down two veterans in back-to-back fights at Fantasy Springs Casino. Now he returns to the Belasco, a venue where he has struggled in the past. But this time he’s the main event.

Another being severely tested will be Emilio Sanchez (15-1, 10 KOs) facing veteran Christopher Martin (30-10-3, 10 KOs) who is capable of beating anyone.

Sanchez, 24, lost by knockout in his last fight this past March. He’s talented and fearless and one mistake cost him his first loss as a pro. He’s not getting a break against Martin, a cagey fighter who has upset many young rising prospects in the past. Martin also has experience against world champions. It’s an extremely tough matchup for Sanchez.

The fight card will be televised by Estrella TV beginning at 6 p.m.

World Title Fight

On Saturday, boxing returns to the Avalon Theater in Hollywood.

The main event is a good one as Puerto Rico’s Jesus Rojas (26-1-2, 19 KOs) defends the WBA featherweight world title against Southern California’s Jojo Diaz (26-1) in a 12 round clash. It’s power versus speed.

Rojas, 31, is one tough customer. When he took the interim title against Claudia Marrero last year he chased down the speedy southpaw Dominican and blasted him out in the seventh round. Several months earlier he obliterated another Golden Boy prospect, Abraham Lopez (not the same Abraham Lopez that is fighting on the 360 Promotions card), in eight rounds. Now he has the title and defends against the speedy southpaw Diaz.

Diaz, 25, just recently lost a bid for the WBC featherweight title against Gary Russell Jr. Though he lost by decision three months ago, that fight might be easy in comparison to this challenge against Rojas.

The former Olympian won’t be able to take a breath against the Puerto Rican slugger who is about as rough as they come.

Two more undefeated Golden Boy prospects get a chance to eliminate each other when Philadelphia’s Damon Allen (15-0-1) meets East L.A.’s Jonathan Navarro (14-0, 7 KOs) in a super lightweight fight set for 10 rounds.

Phillie versus East LA is like fire versus fire in the boxing ring. Boxers originating from those two hard-bitten areas usually have go-for-broke styles that result in pure action. Allen versus Navarro should not disappoint.

Allen, 25, is not a hard puncher but he’s aggressive and like most Philadelphia fighters, he’s not afraid to mix it up.

Navarro, 21, lives in East L.A. but trains in Riverside under Robert Garcia. He’s slowly finding his timing and will be facing the fastest fighter since his pro debut in 2015.

Others featured on the card will be Hector Tanajara, Aaron McKenna and Ferdinand Kerobyan.

The card will be streamed on the Golden Boy Fight Night page on Facebook beginning at 6 p.m.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

To comment on this article at The Fight Forum, CLICK HERE.

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Canada and USA

What’s Next for Manny Pacquiao?

Published

6 years ago

August 1, 2018

Kelsey McCarson

Manny Pacquiao isn’t quite ready to retire, and more big-money fights against high-level competition seem to be on the 39-year-old’s way.

“I feel like I’m a 27-year-old,” Pacquiao told GMAnetwork.com’s Jamil Santos last week. “Expect more fights to come.”

Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs) looked exceptionally sharp in his seventh-round knockout win over former junior welterweight titleholder Lucas Matthysse on July 15 at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was Pacquiao’s best performance in at least four years, netting Pacquiao a secondary world title at welterweight along with a slew of renewed public interest in the boxing superstar’s career.

But what comes next for the only fighter in the history of boxing to capture world titles in eight different weight classes? TSS takes a detailed look at the potential opponents for one of the sport’s most celebrated stars.

Cream of the Crop

Pacquiao looked good enough against Matthysse to suggest he’d make a viable candidate to face either Terence Crawford or Vasyl Lomachenko next. Crawford is ranked No. 2 on the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board’s pound-for-pound list while Lomachenko slots at No. 1.

While Pacquiao is no longer under contract with longtime promoter Bob Arum at Top Rank, most industry insiders expect he will continue working with Arum’s team in some capacity so long as his career keeps moving forward. Pacquiao started his own promotional venture, MP Promotions, to co-promote the Matthysse bout with Oscar De La Hoya, but Top Rank was still involved in the fight which is why the bout ended up streaming on ESPN+.

Top Rank’s two hottest commodities at the present are Ring Magazine and WBA lightweight champ Lomachenko and welterweight titlist Crawford. Both are highly-regarded, multi-division world titleholders in the primes of their careers who are universally considered the top fighters in boxing.

Lomachenko and Crawford would each present a unique set of problems for Pacquiao stylistically. Of the two, Pacquiao probably matches up best with Lomachenko at this point in his career. Crawford (33-0, 24 KOs) is much larger and heavier than both Pacquiao and Lomachenko, and unless Pacquiao just really wants to test himself against someone incredibly dangerous, it’d probably be best for Team Pacquiao to avoid fighting Crawford at all costs. Crawford would be a heavy favorite against Pacquiao and most boxing insiders don’t believe this version of Pacquiao could compete with Crawford.

Lomachenko (11-1, 9 KOs) is naturally smaller than Pacquiao and has never fought above 135 pounds. If Pacquiao could lure Lomachenko to 140 pounds or above, he’d find himself in a winnable fight against a top-notch opponent. Lomachenko would probably be the slight favorite based on age alone but Pacquiao’s power and athleticism would give him a realistic chance to pull the upset.

Other Notable Possibilities

Former junior welterweight titleholder Amir Khan has long been angling for a bout against Pacquiao. Khan faces Samuel Vargas on Sept. 8 in another comeback bout against lower level competition. Khan (32-4, 20 KOs) bravely moved up to middleweight to fight Canelo Alvarez in 2016 but was knocked out in the sixth round. He left the sport for a spell but returned to boxing in February as a welterweight with a sensational first round knockout win over Phil Lo Greco. A win over Vargas puts Khan in good position to secure a bout with Pacquiao, and the fight is a reasonable move by both camps. Pacquiao would probably be the heavy favorite, but Khan’s speed and long reach give him a decent chance to pull the upset.

Former welterweight titleholder Jeff Horn won a controversial decision over Pacquiao last year in Australia. The bout grabbed huge ratings for ESPN and there have been many debates since it happened as to which fighter truly deserved the nod from the judges. Horn (18-1-1, 12 KOs) doesn’t possess elite level talent, but he’s huge compared to Pacquiao and fights with such ferocity that the two can’t help but make an aesthetically pleasing fight together. Pacquiao would be the heavy favorite to defeat Horn if the two fight again.

Pacquiao vs. PBC fighters?

Boxing’s current political climate and the ongoing battle of promoters and television networks for the hearts and minds of boxing fans usually leaves many compelling fights between top level stars off the table. Fighters promoted by Top Rank and Golden Boy are almost never able to secure bouts with fighters signed to Al Haymon to appear under the Premier Boxing Champions banner and vice versa. But Pacquiao’s free agent status opens up new and interesting possibilities for the fighter to pursue noteworthy PBC fighters.

There had been lots of chatter about Pacquiao facing Mikey Garcia next. Garcia (39-0, 30 KOs) has been decimating competition at both lightweight and junior welterweight. Garcia is considered by most experts to be one of the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. He’s the TBRB junior welterweight champion and a unified lightweight titleholder (WBC, IBF). While Garcia is hoping to land a big money bout against IBF welterweight titleholder Errol Spence, most boxing experts believe the jump up to 147 pounds would be too much for the diminutive Garcia who began his career at featherweight. A better welterweight target for Garcia would be Pacquiao who also began his career in a much lower weight class.

Spence (24-0, 21 KOs) is probably the best of the PBC welterweights. He’s considered by many to be on par with Crawford at 147 so it would be an incredibly dangerous bout for Pacquiao to go after at this point in his career. But Spence is aggressive and fights in a style that Pacquiao traditionally matches up very well against. Spence would be the favorite based on size, age and skill.

Slightly less dangerous to Pacquiao would be facing the winner of the Sept. 8 battle between Danny Garcia and Shawn Porter. Garcia (34-1, 20 KOs) and Porter (28-2-1, 17 KOs) are fighting for the vacant WBC welterweight title and the possibility of capturing another world title in his career could sway Pacquiao to seek out the winner. Pacquiao could find himself a slight favorite or underdog depending on which of the two fighters he would face, but both would be winnable fights.

The WBA welterweight champion is Keith Thurman. Thurman (28-0, 22 KOs) is a good boxer with tremendous power but Pacquiao’s speed and athleticism would probably give him the leg up in that potential matchup. Thurman hasn’t fought in over 16 months though and recent pictures suggest he’s not in fighting shape at the moment, so the likelihood of a Pacquiao vs. Thurman fight is pretty much nil.

Some fans want Pacquiao to face Adrien Broner. Broner (33-3-1, 24 KOs) is a solid contender at 147 but probably doesn’t have the skill to seriously compete with Pacquiao. Pacquiao would be a significant favorite and would likely stop Broner if the two were able to meet in a boxing ring.

Mayweather-Pacquiao 2?

Pacquiao lost a unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2015, but the circumstances surrounding the fight, and the fact it was the biggest box office bash in the history of the sport, have led many to suspect the two fighters would meet again in a rematch.

Yes, Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) is retired, but he’s unretired several times in his career for big money fights including last year’s crossover megafight with UFC star Conor McGregor. While it seems unlikely to happen, Mayweather-Pacquiao 2 would still be a huge worldwide event worth millions of dollars to both fighters so those following the sport can never say never to the idea of it happening again.

While Mayweather is 41, he’d still get the nod as the betting favorite should he fight Pacquiao again based on what happened in the first fight as well as his stylistic advantage over Pacquiao.

Pacquiao vs. McGregor?

McGregor’s bout against Mayweather last year was such a financial success and the MMA star made so much more money in the boxing ring than he did as a UFC fighter that the idea of him returning to the sport to face Pacquiao isn’t as far-fetched as one might think.

Pacquiao vs. McGregor would be an easy sell to the general public. According to CompuBox, McGregor landed more punches against Mayweather than did Pacquiao, and the general consensus is that Mayweather-McGregor was more fun to watch than Mayweather-Pacquiao.

The size difference between the two would lead to an easy promotion. McGregor is a junior middleweight and Pacquiao has only competed at the weight once back in 2010. Despite all that, Pacquiao would be a significant favorite to defeat McGregor and rightly so. He’s too fast and too good a boxer, and his aggressive style would likely lead to a stoppage win.

Pacquiao’s Top Targets

Pacquiao’s top targets should be Mayweather, McGregor and Lomachenko. Pacquiao would stand to make the most money facing either Mayweather or McGregor. Pacquiao’s reportedly injured shoulder heading into 2015 bout left many wondering how the fight might be different had the Filipino gone into things at his best, and Mayweather’s age might play more of a factor in the second fight than it did in the first. A Pacquiao-McGregor fight would be a worldwide spectacle, one Pacquiao would be heavily favored to win. Besides, it’d be interesting to see if Pacquiao could stop McGregor sooner than historical rival Mayweather. Finally, Lomachenko might be trying to climb up weight classes too fast, and Pacquiao would certainly be fit to test the validity of that theory. It’d be one of the biggest fights in boxing and a win for Pacquiao would be another huge feather in the cap of one of boxing’s true historically great champions.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

To comment on this article at The Fight Forum, CLICK HERE.

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!