It might be partially due to the reported $20 million Michael Koncz says Manny Pacquiao wants guaranteed for the fight, but Pac-Man will NOT be facing Terence Crawford this year. So said Bob Arum when speaking with The Manila Bulletin.
Instead, the Top Rank boss wants to take Manny on the road – possibly as far afield as Australia or the Middle East. Arum says the Crawford fight could still take place, in America, but not in the first half of 2017.
It’s one of two defeats that really bothers Amir Khan, and the former 140-pound champ remains ever hopeful he will get a chance to avenge it one day. The fight in question is the 2012 stoppage defeat Khan suffered at the dangerous hands – his left hand in particular – of Danny Garcia.
The hugely controversial points defeat to Lamont Peterson aside (this too being a loss Khan has never forgotten about wanting to avenge) the Garcia loss bugs Khan the most. Ahead on the cards and outboxing “Swift” at the time of the crushing stoppage (Khan still on his feet trying to fight back at the time of the referee’s timely stoppage) Khan is convinced he will beat Garcia in a return meeting.
Bob Arum has spoken about his desire to see Manny Pacquiao fight Terence Crawford and Freddie Roach, while acknowledging the fight would be a tough one for Manny, says it could happen. But yesterday, in speaking with The Manila Bulletin, Pac-Man’s right hand man Michael Koncz put a potential spanner in the works by stating how the Filipino superstar will only agree to a fight with the unbeaten pound-for-pounder if he is guaranteed a whopping great $20 million payday.
Britain’s James DeGale, a fighter who has done things the hard way – fights on the road, tricky opponents, frustratingly long enforced layoffs – believes he will get the respect he is due after he beats Badou Jack in their big 168 pound unification fight on January 14.
In fact, Olympic gold medal winner and reigning IBF super-middleweight champ DeGale compares himself to the great Joe Calzaghe and the position he was in when entering his crunch fight with Jeff Lacy in 2006. DeGale told ESPN.com that like Calzaghe did with his blistering win over Lacy, he will prove he is the best in the world with a commanding win over Jack.
As expected, Danny Jacobs is pushing himself to the absolute limit as he gets ready to challenge unified middleweight king Gennady Golovkin in March. Jacobs has began his 10 week training camp and, in what must have proven quite costly, “The Miracle Man” has brought in three world class fighters as sparring partners – the three Russian fighters all being legit middleweight contenders in their own right.
For those of you who, like myself, somehow missed it in 2016 when it was released, there is a great new book out on the simply unforgettable three-fight rivalry warriors Aturo Gatti and Micky Ward engaged in back in 2002/2003, that just has to be read. If you didn’t get a copy – released as it was just before Christmas – and you care anything for the Gatti-Ward fights, then “Intimate Warfare: The true story of the Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward trilogy” is a must.
The way things stand right now, 2017 promises to be a big year for boxing; with blockbusters such as Klitschko-Joshua, Golovkin-Jacobs, Thurman-Garcia, Haye-Bellew all set and others, such as GGG-Canelo and Wilder-Joshua possibilities.
But will 2017 provide fight fans with everything they want? Here are a few things this writer wishes for over the coming 12 months:
Unbeaten heavyweight contender Hughie Fury has confirmed that he is currently in negotiations with WBO heavyweight champ Joseph Parker and how he fully expects to challenge the New Zealander on Parker’s scheduled April 8 defence.
Speaking with Sky Sports, Fury, cousin of course of former heavyweight king Tyson Fury, said he is willing to travel to New Zealand for the fight and that after he beats Parker, he will look to unify the heavyweight titles.
Former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has already said a number of times ahead of his April fight with Anthony Joshua how age is not, and will not be, a factor. Although he will be 41 come the April 29 fight for the IBF and WBA titles, Klitschko says this is merely a number and nothing more.
And, in a more recent interview with Eirsport, Wladimir says that he actually got faster as a fighter with age. Klitschko also says he has “ a lot of weapons” at his disposal and he will decide on the night which one he uses against the unbeaten Joshua.
Have we seen the best of former 140-pound champ Amir Khan, maybe even the end of his winning fights at the top level – or can the now 30-year-old bounce back from his crushing KO loss to Canelo Alvarez in 2017? Khan, who is excited to get back in action having had an op on his troublesome right hand, told The Bolton News he is positive he can win a world title at welterweight.
Khan Tweeted yesterday how his next opponent will be announced “soon” and the British star told The Bolton News how he will win that welterweight title and that after he does so, “people will forget about the defeats.” Khan of course suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of the much bigger and heavier Canelo, and there are plenty of critics out there who feel Khan may have suffered irreparable damage from the heavy KO.