2013 produced some memorable upsets that have paved the way for an exciting year ahead in boxing. Some of the highlights included; Adonis Stevenson’s 1st round demolition of Chad Dawson, Tony Thompson’s double-header against British Heavyweight prospect – David Price, Shawn Porter’s strong win over Devon Alexander, Marcos Maidana’s decisive victory over the ever-confident – Adrien Broner, and of course Floyd Mayweather’s victories against Robert Guerrero and Saul Alvarez (just kidding).
This year was not without its share of controversy either, with what many feel was a premature stoppage during the Froch VS Groves ‘Battle of Britain’. Another questionable Timothy Bradley victory against JMM, with the talented fighter still not getting the recognition he deserves. Malik Scott’s unfortunate ‘timing issue’ with Derek Chisora. Adrien Broner again in the headlines, but this time for different reasons after his split-decision victory over Paulie Malinaggi that many felt could easily have gone the other way – such is boxing, and life.
So what lies ahead? The talk of the town is, as always, Floyd Mayweather’s next opponent, or Who Wants to be a Millionaire. From the surprising (Amir Khan) to the ridiculous (Bernard Hopkins), with late bloomer (Maidana) making it a two horse race. Whilst the Pacquiao VS Mayweather saga continues, Manny shows no signs of leaving Top Rank, which makes this ‘must-see’ a non-starter. Whatever happens, the hype and the build-up are certain to be more exciting than the fight itself. Whilst Mayweather is awe-inspiring to watch technically, only the purists will say that his last two fights have been that exciting to watch. Mayweather will play the villain as he does so well now, people will start to believe the hype and route for the underdog, and then it simply becomes a case of ‘expectation VS reality’, or another lamb/lion to the slaughter to put it bluntly.
Boxing fans should look further afield to get their rocks off, and the following are those that I will personally be keeping a close eye on across 2014.
Gennady Golovkin is now beginning to creep onto the casual fan’s radar. His name is now being thrown in the cooking pot with the likes Carl Froch, Andre Ward, Sergio Martinez and even Floyd Mayweather. His clash with a much smaller, untested, but powerful Curtis Stevens, proved it will take more than just a tough-guy to stop him. His upcoming clash against Osumanu Adama is somewhat perplexing, as the biggest name on Adama’s record is Daniel Geale back in 2012. Nevertheless, I’m sure many (especially potential opponents) will be tuning in to see what I expect will be another excellent technical display and I hope will be an early stoppage.
Whatever your opinion of Froch, his fights never fail to excite. Sure he looked old and slow against the younger Groves, but it was definitely edge-of-your seat stuff right from the off. This fight reminded me of what was supposed to be the passing of the cruiserweight torch, between two other great British boxers, David Haye and the older Carl Thompson. Whilst less controversial, this fight followed a similar path with the younger Haye starting strong and leading on the judges’ cards before tiring and being stopped midway through the fight. I don’t think Groves would make the same mistakes again i.e. pace himself and leave something in the tank for the home stretch, however I don’t feel he will ever get his chance to prove it. I personally would like to see Froch in with his old friend/rival, Mikkel Kessler. This pairing has all the makings of another Gatti VS Ward trilogy that gripped and excited the boxing world. I would also love to see Groves regain his confidence and his focus with a decent tune-up, before going onto bigger and better things with the likes of Golovkin or Ward.
We will likely see legendary four-division world champion, Juan Manuel Marquez’s, last ever fight. The man himself adamant that he will avoid a final Pacquiao bout, leaving this historic event wide-open.
Light-Heavyweight bangers, Sergey Kovalev and Adonis Stevenson, appear to be on a collision course with one another. This will surely provide one of the fights of the year, with both fighters demonstrating plenty of skill and craft in the ring (Stevenson especially in his last 2 outings), and the ability to end a fight with one punch.
Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse will also be set to return to the ring, after their grueling 12-rounder which left Matthysse a little worse for wear, between the low-blows and the swelling on his right eye. Garcia is on the periphery as far as Mayweather goes, and Matthysse is not short of options as he continues to improve, but this is one rematch that I would like to see made again. The loss of his right eye in the middle rounds left Matthysse wide open to Garcia’s famous left-hook that proved so successful against Amir Khan and many others. Garcia showed great ring Generalship in their first encounter and silenced many of his critics, but I think this fight was closer than the result suggests. Whether the ever-hilarious Garcia Sr. will let this happen is doubtful.
Some of the rising stars that I will be watching with excitement across 2014 include Anthony Joshua, Vasyl Lomachenko, David Lemieux and Deontay Wilder. Joshua has looked solid thus far and continues to impress, with Eddie Hearn sure to keep him busy throughout next year. Lomachenko, who won the WBO International Featherweight title in his professional debut, is surely destined for great things. Lemieux seems to have ironed out some of the creases with his technique, looked impressive in his recent outings and continues to grow in confidence, absolutely one to watch in the hotly contested middleweight division. Wilder remains largely untested, hopefully 2014 will be one of recognition and confirmation, as experienced Heavyweights like Haye have already cited him as a danger in the division. Another one to watch on the British boxing scene will be little-known Larry Ekundayo, who recently took the British ‘light-middleweight’ Prizefighter Competition by storm, cruising to victory over some impressive former champions.
Plenty to look forward to – what would be your dream match-up in 2014..?
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