Five “Dark Horse” match-ups for 2013

mayweather46By Joseph Herron: Although several intriguing and potentially crowd pleasing match-ups have already been slated throughout the New Year, there remain many superb pairings that have gone unnoticed by major promoters in boxing.

Because of various promotional, monetary, or network conflicts, many fan friendly unions have very little chance of materializing in 2013. Here are just a few terrific fights that should be made in the upcoming boxing year but probably won’t.

Nonito Donaire versus Abner Mares at Super Bantamweight

Although the fight fans of the world overwhelmingly prefer this superb pairing over any other in the packed 122 pound weight division, there is little to no chance this fight will become a reality in 2013. Abner Mares, the undefeated WBC Super Bantamweight Champion, currently fights under the Golden Boy Promotional banner, while Nonito Donaire, the Ring recognized 122 pound champ, exclusively competes on Top Rank, Inc promotional fight cards.

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Marquez still undecided about whether he’ll continue his career

marquez9025By Rob Smith: 39-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez still doesn’t know if he’ll return to the ring in 2013, as he’s considering whether to continue to fight or not, according to notifight.com. He’s still talking with his family about whether he should come back and perhaps fight one or two more times before hanging up the gloves permanently.

It’s going to be difficult for Marquez to retire right now with the lure of a fifth fight with Manny Pacquiao at the Cowboys Stadium this year. Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum hasn’t yet talked to Marquez about his future plans, but you can guess that he’ll make a huge offer to get Marquez to continue fighting so that he can set up a Pacquiao vs. Marquez fifth fight this year.

It might actually be better Pacquiao’s sake if he doesn’t try and get Marquez to continue fighting because Pacquiao really doesn’t need another knockout loss like the one he suffered on December 8th of last month when Marquez knocked Pacquiao completely out in the 6th round. That was a knockout that could have some lasting negative effects for Pacquiao for the remainder of his career.

Arum could be making a mistake of having Pacquiao fight Marquez again, because even if it makes a ton of money for Pacquiao, Arum and Marquez, it could be the last big payday for Pacquiao if he gets knocked cold again. You would have to figure that Pacquiao would have a lot of pressure on him to retire after getting knocked out a second time.

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Is Pacquiao losing now because he’s not training hard enough?

pacquiao4445By Brad Cronick: In looking at how hard Juan Manuel Marquez prepared for his recent 6th round knockout win over Manny Pacquiao last month, it seemed as if he wanted it much more than Pacquiao did. Marquez not only looked like he was in better shape than Manny, but he looked he was working a lot harder than him in training camp.

Pacquiao seemed to be strolling around the ring and one got a sense that he wasn’t really doing as far as he needed to in order to get in the best shape. Pacquiao’s physique looked soft compared to Marquez and we already know the outcome of the fight with Pacquiao getting knocked out.

British boxing trainer Joe Gallagher has his own theory with what’s happened to Pacquiao, saying to Philstar.com “Nothing can go on forever…He’s [Pacquiao] had distractions outside of the ring, his personal life and it may affect him, It’s just about making money now and when you’ve made so many millions, it’s hard to train hard.”

It’s hard to imagine what it’s like being Pacquiao because he’s not like any other fighter right now in terms of popularity. He is huge in the Philippines and to be such a big celebrity as him, it’s got to be difficult for him to get the same amount of motivation to train hard like he did earlier in his career. He’s making over $20 million per fight plus the other big money he’s getting through endorsements deals.

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Donaire voted Fighter of the Year for 2012

donaire423By Rob Smith: WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20 KO’s) has been selected as Fighter of the Year for 2012. Donaire got the nod over 39-old Juan Manuel Marquez, who fought only twice in 2012 compared to the four times that Donaire fought. Donaire’s selection was based on wins over Jorge Arce, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., Jeffrey Mathebula and Toshiaki Nishioka.

Two of those fighters – Arce and Nishioka – were well respected fighters and at were at one time high quality fighters. Vazquez Jr. is one of the best fighters in the 122 pound division, although far from the best. Mathebula had recently won the IBF title against Takalani Ndovu by a 12 round split decision.

Donaire dominating Arce and Toshiaki, but struggled against Vazquez Jr. and Mathebula in wins that weren’t really impressive or even close to being impressive.

It looks like Donaire got the 2012 Fighter of the Year award based on activity level because he four times during 2012 and for his wins over the aging stars Arce and Nishioka. Watching Donaire’s performances against Vazquez Jr. and Mathebula, it would be impossible for me to give Donaire fighter of the year for those victories because Donaire really struggled in those fights and he didn’t look worthy of Fighter of the Year based on those two fights.

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Arum: Pavlik vs. Bute possible for March

bute554By Marcus Richardson: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says a fight between former IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (31-1, 24 KO’s) and Kelly Pavlik (40-2, 34 KO’s) is possible by March of this year. Bute is one of the names that Pavlik’s management is working on putting a fight deal with for March.

Arum said to 8countnews.com “I talked with Cameron Dunkin. They’re working on a big fight with Pavlik for the first three months of the year. One of the names is Lucian Bute.”

Bute’s promoter Jean Bedard mentioned recently that he’s interested in putting together a fight between Pavlik and Bute. Whether it can happen is still unclear, but it’s a great fight for both guys. Pavlik needs a big win over a fighter with a name because he’s done nothing for the last two years other than facing weak opposition.

Bute lost to Carl Froch last year in May in a disappointing 5th round TKO loss. Bute didn’t look like he had put a good game plan together because he didn’t have a plan B to fall back on after it was clear that Froch had too much power for him to fight in the center of the ring in a toe-to-toe battle. Bute needed to shift into a hit and run style that he had used earlier in his career to great success.

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Trout in the Canelo sweepstakes for May 4th

trout3By Bill Phanco: WBA World junior middleweight champion Austin Trout (26-0, 14 KO’s) is waiting to find out if Golden Boy Promotions will allow him to fight one of their most prized assets with their promotional company WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) and Trout sees a lot of flaws in the young 22-year-old Alvarez’s game that he thinks he can take advantage of if Golden Boy gives him the chance to face the young Mexican champion.

Trout said to RingTV.com “I don’t know [who I’ll be fighting next]…We’re in the Canelo sweepstakes…for May 4.”

Golden Boy has really lucked out with Canelo because the red-haired Mexican fighter is hugely popular in Mexico despite the fact that he’s faced a lot of old fighters and almost zero junior middleweights. It’s kind of strange to see a champion having fought almost no real junior middleweights even though he’s the WBC 154 pound champion.

Golden Boy doesn’t have to do much with Canelo in terms of match-making because his Mexican fan base tune in to all of his fights even if he’s facing a 40-year-old welterweight. This is why Trout may not win the Canelo sweepstakes because Golden Boy doesn’t have to put him in with guys from his own division in order for him to still get good ratings.

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Maskaev impressive in beating Beck

maskaev3By Rob Smith: Former WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev (37-7, 28 KO’s) didn’t look half bad in defeating Owen Beck (29-12, 20 KO’s) by a 3rd round TKO on Sunday night at the Sports Palace in Moscow, Russia. Maskaev put Beck down three times in the fight in stopping him in the 3rd round at 2:59.

Beck was knocked down once in the 1st and twice more in the 2nd round from big shots from Maskaev. The finisher came from a short right hand from Maskaev that put Beck down. To Beck’s credit, he did make it back to his feet but he was unable to stand without swaying from side to side and then caused the referee Viktor Panin to stop the fight.

Maskaev hadn’t fought since being stopped in the 1st round by Nagy Aguilera in December 2009. That’s a long time to go in between fighting for someone Maskaev’s age, but he looked good.

It’s unclear how far Maskaev can go in the division. He’ll have to be matched carefully for him to be able to get a title shot, because I have a feeling if they put Maskaev in with someone of decent quality, he’ll get stopped again.

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