Boxing: What will 2010 bring?

By Dennis Broadhurst: Well there are some great fights which could be made in 2010, some great stylistic match ups which will give us some interesting tactical fights and some sheer wars in some cases. I certainly hope that all the fights will be made, for the fans sake and for the legacy of the fighters.

The first of the fights I am looking forward to is Mosley vs Berto. At 38, Mosley is nearing the end of his career and has been boxing for years, but nobody can say he is “old”, especially after seeing his performance against Antonio Margarito early this year in which he took out the Mexican in nine rounds. This was a fantastic performance in which Mosley showed really how good he still is. Andre Berto on the other hand has years ahead of him at only 26 years old. He is a very fast, powerfull and skillful fighter who has great defence and an extremely hard uppercut. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dERgTBonUKw&feature=related – I think that Mosley will win this because of his experience and power but I would not be at all suprised if he didn’t, this is hard to predict but I think, and hope that Mosley can edge it.

The second fight I am really looking forward to is Froch vs Kessler. Oh what a war that will be! We all know how Froch struggled to catch the marathon runner Dirrel (I do regret my previous article saying Dirrel schooled Froch), winning a split decision which was far from convincing. We also all know how Kessler was beaten by Ward in dramatic fashion. Both fighters will be eager to impress, both fighters are tough, have bags of courage and are both big punchers.

This will be a war and perhaps the fight I am looking forward to the most. I believe that the fact that Kessler keeps his hands up at his face and is a better overall fighter than Froch may give him the edge but Froch can never be counted out with his unmatched heart and chin.

Moving onto the bigger men, I want to see Haye take on Vitali Klitschko, providing he defeats Ruiz which I think he easily will. The reason I want Haye to take on Vitali is that I don’t think the older Klitschko will be round for much longer and if Haye does not take his chance now then he may never be able to. I now give Haye more chance against Vitali than I would have a month or two ago. I first of all believe that Haye is getting better, he has phenomenal power, great footwork, good ring intelligence and good head movement.

The issue of Haye’s chin will always hang over him but first of all I believe that when he lost to Carl Thompson he lost to a one of a kind, cat with nine lives and it was more of a case of gassing himself out than a glass chin. Secondly I believe that even though Haye may be going up against more power with these big guys, his chin will have improved since his cruiserweight days as he can now fill out his body better and will not at all drain himself. Vitali on the other hand seems to be growing older, he would be at least 39 by the time he would fight Haye and is not a George Foreman or Bernard Hopkins.

His body is not made of iron and although he has still got his iron chin, his body will not be getting any stronger and injuries have not helped. Haye would need to fight hard against Vitali, pounding him round after round and then I think Vitali may retire in the later rounds. There is of course the chance that Haye gets caught with a shot from Vitali which takes his legs away but I think and hope that Haye’s head movement would keep him out of most trouble. I think Haye-Vitali is 50-50 and either man could win. I also believe that if Haye cleans up the Klitscho brothers then he may be undisputed champ for a long time as nothing promising has sprung up recently.

The last fight, and most obvious one that everyone wants to take place is Pacquiao-Mayweather. That is right, I won’t say Mayweather-Pacquiao, why should I ? What has Mayweather done to deserve the first place? Manny is a 7 time, 7 weight world champion he is the current WBO welterweight champion and is also the P4P king of the sport. Mayweather is a five time world champion, two less than Pacquiao, has no belts and is not P4P king so why treat him as royalty? Well quite obviously because he has the money and is an American. We all know that this fight is the biggest in dare I say it,10, 15 or maybe even 20 years. Two great, at this time seemingly invincible opponents, one who is one of the greatest defensive fighters in history and another who is one of the most explosive, dangerous fighters in history.

This fight will be a tough fight for both. Pacquaio has never faced anyone with the defence of Mayweather but Mayweather has not faced anyone as dangerous as Pacquiao is just now in offence. I believe that Manny would need time to work out Mayweather and his defence but eventually would use his speed and phenomenal fitness to get through Mayweather and stop him in the later rounds.

There is also the chance that Mayweather would out-box Pacquaio but I do not see that happening in every exchange for twelve rounds. Mayweather would not be facing a bloated lightweight with rolls of fat around the waistline in the fight that is still 4lbs lighter than him, he will be fighting an almost defined warrior who has a fully built welterweight frame. Me prediction for this fight is a late stoppage or decision for Manny. I could not mention this fight without mentioning PEDs, if Manny does turn out to have cheated all of these opponents then I will be devastated and will have lost a hero but I firmly believe that it was his ability now to train more on technique than getting his weight down which has resulted in his recent greatness.

Anyway lets all hope for a good year of boxing, Happy New Year to all.

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