2015 is setting up to be one of the best years of boxing we have seen in recent years. There are a lot of interesting matchups being made and Al Haymons number of new TV deals means that more people will be watching these fights than in the past few years.
One of these well-balanced bouts would be the competitive champion vs. champion fight in Garcia vs. Peterson. Although the titles will not be on the line for this fight, it will still be an interesting show between two top 140lb fighters.
Promoter Tom Loeffler and trainer Abel Sanchez have both been overlooking their date with Martin Murray at the end of this month and have taken to discussing a superfight with Peurto Rican legend Miguel Cotto sometime later in the year. Whilst they have said Golovkin is 100% focused on the task at hand in tough British fighter Murray, they have looked ahead at what would have to be viewed as the best option for Golovkin.
At this point in his career it is unclear whether Cotto would be looking to get in the ring with a younger, hungrier and apparently more dominant champion such as Golovkin. Cotto does not have a fight lined up yet, but the interesting this is that after his fight in May he would be forced to fight Golovkin as he would be in the madatory position for Cottos middlweight strap.
Fernando Beltran and Ignacio Beristain (promoter and trainer for Marquez) have said that Juan Manuel will fight again and that it will be in 2015. At 41 years of age the Mexican legend has the right to be picky with his fights and having fought just once in 2013 and 2014 it is likely he will only take one fight for this year also.
Marquez has said that his final goal as a fighter would be to win a world title at 147 and become the first Mexican boxer to win titles in five weight divisions.
Lee Selby looks set to be granted home advantage in his mandatory challenge for the IBF World featherweight title held by Evgeny Gradovich, at a date yet to be set.
This was confirmed this week by Egis Klimas, the US based Russian’s manager, who also manages the affairs of Sergey Kovalev and the sensational Vasyl Lomachenko.
Presented by K2 Promotions and Klitschko Management Group in association with Gary Shaw Productions, tickets priced at $1000, $600, $300, $200 and $100 can be purchased through the Madison Square Garden Box Office, www.TheGarden.com and www.Ticketmaster.com.
This past weekend, as boxing fans focused their attention yet again upon the question of whether Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao would finally meet inside the ring, former super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler took to Facebook to address a question of a different sort. This question concerned Kessler’s future as a competitor, and within the space of a few short paragraphs, “The Viking Warrior” provided his answer:
“I have thought long and hard over the options, which have been made available, but none of these options are enough to get me motivated” stated Kessler. The Danish boxer then added “I am always in training, it is part of my life, but I consider myself in a state of retirement.”
Undisputed Heavyweight World Champion WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO will defend his 10-year title reign against top rated challenger BRYANT JENNINGS on Sat., April 25 emanating from the “The World’s Most Famous Arena”, Madison Square Garden and televised Live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Said Klitschko about the highly anticipated battle, “I do have great respect for Bryant Jennings and his achievements. He has good movement in the ring and good technique. I know this will be a tough challenge.”
The title shot for number 1 ranked IBF 168lb fighter James DeGale is confirmed and is likely going to occur on April 25th in the 02Arena in London. The last point which has to be confirmed is the opponent for DeGale.
Negotiations for a meeting between number 2 ranked Andre Dirrell are underway although it would seem the American is sceptical of fighting in the UK after losing a close and controversial decision to home fighter Carl Froch back in 2009. Eddie Hearn, the promoter for DeGale has said that he wants the fight on home soil for DeGales first world title attempt. Likely this fight will get made and it will go to purse bids to get the agreement.
Many of the sports most dominant fighters throughout history have taken losses and this is the same today with many of the top rated fighters such as Wladimir Klitschko, Manny Pacquiao, Saul Alvarez, Adrien Broner, Juan Manuel Marquez, Carl Froch, Erislandy Lara, Miguel Cotto and literally hundreds of others having tasted defeat before in their campaigns to the ring. Despite what many casual fans seem to think today in the Mayweather Era, a loss does not mean anything if a fighter can come back from it and rise again to the top of the sport. Fighters are generally more remembered for the quality of opposition rather than the raw figures.
Nevertheless there is something exciting about watching a fighter who has never tasted defeat. A man who has had his hand raised each and every time he has stepped through the ropes. Here is my personal opinion on the top batch of currently undefeated fighters in the sport today.
Despite the cancellation of that fight being a crushing blow to his career, it is apparent that Crolla has not lost focus and even with the short amount of time since the incident, he is already back in the ring preparing for his world title opportunity. His team have been pleased with the work he is doing and all indicators suggest he is in the process of a full and speedy recovery.