Boxing talents without a confirmed opponent

By James P Sexton - 12/07/2014 - Comments

broner444By James Sexton: A lot of the time I think to myself of dream matchups I would like to see and wonder how they would play out. For some fighters I would be happy to see up against anyone as long as they would be back in the ring. Below is a short list of pugilists who have not yet confirmed their next opponent, and who I would like it to be.

Adrien Broner

It was only 2013 when Broner put the once defeated Gavin Rees down twice on way to a 5th round TKO to defend his WBC world title which he had picked up by putting Antonio DeMarco down in another stoppage performance three months earlier. The Ring magazine had put Broner’s name forward as a top ten pound for pound fighter and even after his shaky performance against Paulie Malignaggi, once he had picked up his third world title he was looked upon as one of the next generation of boxing superstars. Its amazing how much can change in a year. After two uneventful wins Broner will be looking to put himself back on the map in 2015 and light welterweight is a great place to do it. If he wants to become a four weight world champion then his options are Danny Garcia (WBA or WBC) or Lamont Peterson (IBF) as he isn’t ranked highly by the WBO you can not see him fighting for the title vacated by Chris Algieri. His other options for fights at 140 include Lucas Matthysse, although seeing how he fared against argentine power puncher Marcos Maidana you can’t imagine his handlers are too eager to throw him back in the deep end with another devastating knockout puncher like Matthysse. Other than pressure fighter Ruslan Provodnikov the other two ideal options would be undefeated talents Viktor Postol or Jessie Vargas, however I do not see how any of these fights are going to come to fruition.

Carl Froch

He is now on a five win streak (four by stoppage) since his loss in the finals of the super six to Andre Ward. Whilst I would really enjoy to see this man against pretty much anyone who would fight him, there are some names in particular which are appealing. Firstly the WBO champ Arthur Abraham or the WBC champ Anthony Dirrell. I point these out specifically because unifications are never a common occurrence and you would have to imagine that both are very winnable fights for him. However its extremely doubtful that these are the fights that would come about. Froch and his promoter have made it clear that they are going after a big name such as a fight in America against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Chavez Jr is an ideal opponent for Froch for many reasons, mainly due to the fact that its a big name, big money would be involved and again, its a fight he would have to be the favourite in based on recent performance. Also we might just find out through this fight who has the pound for pound chin in the business. Another option (which I dislike but I have heard mentioned) is a rubber match with Mikkel Kessler. Kessler hasn’t fought since he lost to Froch on points in 2013 and the result would likely be the same a third time around.

Danny Garcia

ANYONE RANKED. Its been a frustrating year for the fans of Danny Garcia and probably equally as difficult for himself and his team. They tried to pick a safe opponent in Mauricio Herrera who had already lost three fights previously. This wasnt an awful choice of opponent but was picked specifically for their first fight in Peurto Rico, an attempt to draw on some of the fan power there. Things didn’t all go to plan on the night though as Herrera put up a good fight, narrowly missing out on a mixed decision. After this close call the team decided to drop the level of opposition for the next fight, however when you are not fighting in world class company you cannot afford to drop the level of competition again, but that is just what they did. Rod Salka, a man who had been fighting as a lightweight and was un-ranked. Garcia got the result this time around but it was such a mismatch to start with that it did little for the fighters reputation. At this point it would be great to see Garcia vs Peterson in a unification bout at 140. Both talented fighters, both champions, same promoter, both without an opponent it would make sense.

Kell Brook

Kell Brook, the third champion along with Manny and Floyd in the stacked 147 division. Right now he is in an enviable position as he has a belt and an undefeated record in a big money weight class. He is just coming back from a stab wound during a holiday and this combined with the fact that he has only just won the title in the biggest fight of his career it would seem he is due a tune-up fight before he attempts to brawl with the best fighters out there. Possibly a Rios/Alvarado or Judah/Malignaggi type opponent would suit him nicely before hunting the big dogs in the division next.



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