2016 Match Up Wishlist: Welterweight

By Ross Walker - 01/24/2016 - Comments

thurman4By Ross Walker: Disclaimer: Some fighters on this list may be included in matchups in other divisions, if this is the case they will appear in the heavier division’s list.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Terence Crawford

Unfortunately it looks as though this fight will not be taking place but dare to dream. If this match up were to take place it would be the proverbial “passing of the welterweight torch” type of fight with Manny Pacquiao on his way out and Crawford on his way up. This fight should have happened instead of the Tim Bradley vs. Pacquiao match up but fans were once again left asking for more from promoters. I’m assuming Pacquiao saw Bradley as a safer alternative to Terence Crawford as Crawford is much more dangerous than Bradley. Crawford has shown knockout power and the ability to turn it on upon request like he did against Thomas Dulorme. In the Dulorme fight Crawford’s corner asked him to “turn it up” Crawford did so by going out and promptly knocking out Dulorme after analyzing him for five rounds. Would this result happen with Pacquiao? Maybe, Pacquiao has shown vulnerability to smart, hard punching opponents in the past (see Marquez) Crawford has also shown vulnerability to getting tagged in the past (see Yuriorokis Gamboa) and if Pacquiao gets a clean shot he can hit you as hard as anyone. This fight is too close to call.
Chances of match up in 2016: 0.01% Pacquiao and co. has claimed he is retiring after the Bradley fight and Crawford has moved on fighting Hank Lundy next.

Kell Brook vs. Amir Khan

This would be a battle for British welterweight supremacy which would draw huge ticket and pay per view sales in Great Britain. Kell Brook is coming off another KO victory, this time over Frankie Gavin. The most recent victim has put Brook at 35-0 with 24 knockouts giving him a 69% KO rate. Khan scored a win over Chris Algieri but did not look great in doing so. Khan was rocked a couple times in this fight and although Algieri is tough and technically sound with good hand speed he does not possess much power. If, and when, this fight happens it will likely be held in May at Wembley Stadium in front of a huge crowd. I would definitely give the edge to Brook in this one. Brook’s KO power combined with Khan’s glass chin makes most believe that Brook would KO the loud-mouth Khan. Khan will try to stick and move but Brook is also better in this category of the sweet science.

YouTube video

Chances of matchup in 2016: 90% Khan is ready to go after losing out in the Pacquiao sweepstakes, the only block to this fight is religion. Khan needs to fight by May as this is the start of the Muslim tradition of Ramadan. If the fight does not happen by May look for it in late 2016.

Keith Thurman vs. Danny Garcia

A battle between two undefeated American fighters who both happen to be 27 years old with their eyes set on welterweight and pound for pound supremacy. Would this fight be a pay-per-view bout? I hope not but I think it has the ability to be one with the popularity of the two athletes. Then again, they are both PBC fighters so hopefully, maybe, possibly we could get this one on free cable. Keith Thurman is coming off a hometown win over Luis Collazo who retired from the fight after the 7th round. Collazo’s eye had been torn apart by Thurman and it was no longer safe for him to continue. The win bumped Thurman to 26-0 with 22 KO’s for a beautiful KO rate of 81%. In Garcia’s most recent bout (he is fighting Robert Guerrero tonight) he beat an aging Paulie Malignaggi in his first fight at 147. Garcia ended the fight with a TKO victory in 9th round. This fight wasn’t very competitive and was designed as an intro for Garcia to 147 and a Brooklyn swan song for Paulie. These two fighters have a lot in common and seem to be on a collision course for each other. As of January 23rd (tonight) they will also have a decent common opponent in Robert Guerrero. Thurman battered him about and knocked him down in the 9th round when they met. It will be very interesting to see how Garcia fares against the always game Guerrero. This would be an extremely tight bout, both fighters are equal in technical skill and ring IQ but I think Thurman is a little bit tougher and his power is much more effective at 147 than Garcia’s. Garcia has not had his chin tested at 147 and has some pretty easy match ups of late.

Chances of match up in 2016: 50% Both have fights scheduled already: Thurman vs. Porter and Garcia vs. Guerrero. But there is still lots of time left in 2016 for this fight to happen. These two do seem to be on a collision course for each other at some point and there is too much money to be made for this fight not to happen at some point.

Errol Spence Jr. vs. Adrien Broner

Another all American match up between two fighters who are under 30 years of age, this one with a very interesting Floyd Mayweather Jr. tie-in. This match up would feature a former Mayweather sparring partner in Spence and a former self-proclaimed Mayweather prodigy in Adrien Broner. The main reason why this fight is so intriguing is that both fighters used to spar in the Mayweather gym and rumor has it that Spence hurt Broner pretty bad in sparring which resulted in Broner having to take some time off. I could only imagine the result would be much more devastating for Broner if he ever took a fight against Spence as this incident apparently occurred in 2013 when Spence had less than a dozen fights. Spence fought four time in 2015 winning all four by KO and taking the IBF International welterweight title. His last bout was against Alejandro Barrera, Spence dominated Barrera in typical Spence fashion with power punches and a body shot to being a merciful end to the bout. Broner is coming off a 12th round TKO over a limited opponent in Khabib Allakhverdiev. The win pushed Broner’s record to 31-2 with 23 KO’s for a KO rate of 68%. This was Broner’s first finish since Gavin Reese in 2013 which is when he started taking actual competitive fights. Broner is over-rated and unprofessional and it would be a pleasure to see Spence shut him up. If this fight were to be made Spence would end Broner’s night before the closing bell just like he was rumored to have done in sparring. Spence has only gotten better since the rumored sparring knockdown and Broner has had ups and downs. Spence is quicker, has much better footwork and also gets the nod in power.

Chances of match up in 2016: 10% Broner would have to move up to the division which is not a stretch considering his weight issues. The stretch is Broner signing on the dotted line and considering the opposition this is unlikely.



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