A Trio Of Predictions For 2010

by James Slater– It’s always fun making predictions, even if they turn out to have been utterly wrong. With the sport of boxing, it seems everyone has an opinion as to who will win or what will happen when a certain fight takes place. Here, purely for fun, I list three predictions I feel we will see come true in 2010.

Purely for fun? By that I mean, though I feel we will see the following three results take place in the coming 12 months, don’t go betting any money on what I’ve written! Anyway, see if you agree with what my crystal ball tells me!

1: Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Junior will fight, and “Pac-Man” will win on points.

Okay, that’s actually two predictions for the price of one, but the second one cannot possibly come true unless the first one does.

The current arguments, and the raging battle the fight is undergoing so as to get made aside, I feel that money – approx $40 million for both fighters – will see to it that the fight gets signed after all. It won’t be easy, but a compromise will be reached and the two best fighters on the planet will at last rumble. It might not happen on its originally intended date of March 13th, but Pacquiao-Mayweather will happen some time in 2010.

A great fight will ensue, but the aggressiveness of Pacquiao’s southpaw skills (Mayweather having had problems with southpaws in the past) will see him to a close points victory. The decision may well be almost instantly looked at as one that is not without controversy, and Mayweather and his fans will scream blue murder about having been robbed, but this will only mean we get to see a part-two!

2: Carl Froch will beat Mikkel Kessler in April.

Just after Froch’s close win over Andre Dirrell, and just prior to Kessler’s shock loss at the hands of another Andre in Andre Ward, you would be pretty hard pressed to find too many people out there willing to give “The Cobra” much of a chance at beating the Dane; in the “Super Six” tournament or at any other time. But I feel the iron-chinned and old-school warrior from Nottingham will beat Kessler in April, and it’s likely a number of people will now feel the same way. “The Viking Warrior” sure took some punishment in what was just his second loss as a pro.

Styles make fights, and yes, Dirrell did make Froch look ordinary – something “The Matrix” will also do to Arthur Abraham when he meets the German-based, current points leader of “Super Six” (there’s another prediction!) – but against a Kessler who is now just that little bit past his best, the unbelievably stubborn Brit will get the job done in style. Kessler and Froch will go to war, but in the end, around the 9th or 10th round, Froch will stop his man in what could well be a candidate for 2010’s fight of the year.

3: David Haye will meet Vitali Klitschko and win on points.

It’s about time! We’ve all been wanting to see Haye get it on with one of the two brothers since even before the time he began taunting them incessantly – this taunting coming to a climax with the now infamous “severed heads” T-shirt stunt. And towards the end of 2010, after he’s beaten John Ruiz (another prediction!), we will finally see “The Hayemaker” rumble with a Klitschko – Vitali, according to my predictions.

It seems to me that the older brother has been more annoyed by Haye, and for that reason, along with the fact that “Dr Iron Fist” has no other obvious or signed fight on the horizon, I believe it will be the WBC champ who gets it on with the current WBA ruler. And what will happen when the two clash? In a fight that looks something not too dissimilar to his fight with Nikolai Valuev, the younger, faster and sharper Haye will outbox the ageing Klitschko and win a close one on points. Sure, there will be the occasional scare for the 29-year-old, but Haye will hold on, get his breath back and ultimately make it to the finish line against the man who is almost ten years his senior. This will then very likely set up Haye Vs. Wladimir Klitschko (if “Steel Hammer” has not been upset by Eddie Chambers in March – a fight I really can’t make my mind up about).

Feel free to make your own predictions on the always interesting comments feature available on ESB articles. Inevitably, yours will be better and more accurate than mine!