04.09.07 – By Geoffrey Ciani: This morning, as I browsed through various boxing websites trying to stay atop the latest news, I came across a poll which tweaked my interest. The poll question read “Which super-fight are you looking forward to most?”
The four choices were as follows.:
* Manny Pacquiao versus Marco Antonio Barrera
* Joe Calzaghe versus Mikkel Kessler
* Miguel Cotto versus Shane Mosley
* Floyd Mayweather versus Ricky Hatton
Of the four choices mentioned, the fight I’m most interested in seeing is Cotto versus Mosley. I believe this one has the most potential. Apparently, many boxing fans agree with me—33% of the respondents chose this fight above the others.
The Mayweather versus Hatton bout came in second with 28% of the vote, with Pacquiao versus Barrera II coming in third with 24% and Calzaghe versus Kessler finishing last with 15% of the vote. Incidentally, the upcoming middleweight clash between reigning champion Jermaine Taylor and top contender Kelly Pavlik was dubiously omitted from the poll.
What, if anything, do these results say about the current boxing landscape? Probably not much.
For starters, the results seem to indicate that the most highly anticipated bout for the remainder of the year is Miguel Cotto versus Sugar Shane Mosley. This makes perfect sense, seeing as this bout brings two outstanding pugilists who have never cowered away from a challenge, each continuously doing all in his power to prove he’s amongst the best in the sport.
Additionally, the poll seems to indicate that fans are less interested in watching the reigning pound-for-pound king. To be sure, this bout was pegged as the second most anticipated according to the poll respondents, so it isn’t as if fans are entirely disinterested in Mayweather. However, that the reigning pound-for-pound king is generating less interest than the former crown holder and the rising Puertor Rican pugilist just goes to show that Mayweather hasn’t capitalized on the success of his prior bout with Oscar De La Hoya.
It also speaks volumes about Mayweather’s choice of opponent. To be fair, it’s not as if Hatton isn’t a worthy opponent, although, he clearly wasn’t the best choice, especially in the follow-up to the biggest selling PPV of all time. Indeed, a bout versus Mosley or Cotto would be generating much more interest. Why? Simply put, because Mosley and Cotto each pose a bigger risk to Mayweather than does the undersized Hatton.
That the long awaited rematch between Pacquiao and Barrera finished third is actually a tad surprising. I reckon this bout would have garnered much more interest had it happened a few years back. This one may have suffered a bit due to the fact that Barrera lost his last time out against Juan Manuel Marquez. While most observers are seemingly counting Barrera out, it could prove interesting if Barrera can utilize his superior boxing abilities and prevent the bout from turning into an all-out brawl—this, however, may prove a most daunting task for the aging Mexican warrior.
Finally, we have Calzaghe versus Kessler. It’s not too surprising that this one finished last. Although each man is an undefeated super middleweight holding ½ the division’s titles, these two pugilists have suffered from a lack of high quality competition. Combined with the fact that both fighters are from Europe, and it’s understandable that this one fell short of the mark. Regardless, it should prove to be defining fight for both fighters. In fact, whatever happens, don’t be surprised to see a rematch, and quite possibly, a trilogy.
With just under four months left to go, 2007 has many a good fight on the horizon. In addition to the four keynote fights and the middleweight showdown between Taylor and Pavlik, we also Juan Manuel Marquez squaring off against Rocky Juarez for the WBC super featherweight championship, Oleg Maskaev defending his portion of the heavyweight crown against Sam Peter, and Vitali Klitschko making his comeback against Jameel McCline, amongst other bouts.
This should prove to be an exciting four months for boxing fans the world over.
To contact Ciani:
geoff@eatthemushroom.com
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