What’s next for Anthony Joshua?

joshua1234By Gav Duthie: The date is set but we are no closer to learning the next step in the Anthony Joshua journey. The O2 Arena is booked for April 9 but no undercard or opponent has been mentioned for Joshua 15-0 (15). A couple of weeks ago Eddie discussed 8 potential opponents for the date but as time passes many of these have made other arrangements.

What Eddie said:

Eddie Hearn told IFL TV that the main 3 opponents they were looking at were

– Bryant Jennings
– Bermane Stiverne
– Johann Duhaupas

Jumping up two weight divisions

khan45By Gav Duthie: Plenty of jaws dropped at the bombshell news that Amir Khan would be fight Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez for the WBC Middleweight title at a catchweight of 155lbs. Amir had been chasing a big fight for quite sometime and after he re-established his relationship with Oscar De La Hoya the fight was made quite quickly. Very few give Khan any chance against the Mexican superstar but credit him for such a huge risk. Although a surprise this was not an unprecedented move and this article will discuss some of the other successes and failures of boxers jumping two weight divisions for a big fight.

5. Stanley Ketchel v Jack Johnson (October 16 1909, LKO 12 World Heavyweight Title)
(Previous fight 5 July 1909 v Billy Papke WUD 20 World Middleweight Title)

In hindsight it was a bizarre set of circumstances that lead to this fight. There was a huge amount of desperation to dethrone Johnson as he was a black heavyweight champion which was unacceptable at the time.

Can Hearn deliver the big fights for Kell Brook?

hearn54By Gav Duthie: Many have criticized Amir Khan for chasing the rainbow by pursuing a super fight against renowned stars such as Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Manny Pacquiao. Khan has stuck to the philosophy of ‘If at first you don’t succeed try, try again.” Eventually this has paid off as he has secured a bout with WBC middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, one of the sports biggest names. He refused to accept that his best option was Kell Brook and although I believe fighting the Mexican is a big mistake you have to give him credit.

I would argue that Brook has done the same with Khan. They have chased and chased but the man from Bolton has got away. For Brook, Amir was a huge money fight and a good opponent to bridge the gap between British supremacy and the American market. The question is where does he go now and its on Eddie Hearn to deliver big fights for his prize asset.

Frustration

I can’t imagine how Kell Brook is feeling about his next opponent, Canadian Kevin Bizier. He has lost two fights too Ionut Dan Ion, all be it by split decision and Brook destroyed Dan with consummate ease.

Welterweight hopes in 2016

brook676By Gav Duthie: One of the biggest criticisms of the talented welterweight division is that the biggest fighters are not facing each other. If the governing bodies stick to their guns we could see fantastic fights taking place for each title in the near future.

Whats signed?

One of the biggest bouts between two apparent heirs to the welterweight throne are facing off on March 12 as Keith Thurman 26-0(22) faces Shawn Porter 26-1-1 (16) for the WBA “regular” welterweight title title and the elder statesman WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley 33-1-1 (13) has his rubber match with possible retiree Manny Pacquiao 57-6-2 (38) for the WBO.

What’s Next for David Haye?

haye6444By Gav Duthie: David Haye 29-2 (27) made light work of the overhyped and overmatched Mark De Mori 30-2-2 (26) on Saturday to get his name back in the heavyweight scene. After such a long lay off the division has changed completely since his last outing against Derrick Chisora in July 2012. This in turn raises more questions than answers regarding Hayes place in heavyweight boxing. Where should he go next and how does he fair against the current heavyweight champions.

The Facts

After David’s win on Saturday he has been immediately reinstated at #9 in the WBA rankings the very same position as Mark De Mori had. De Mori was clever as an opponent as he was a soft touch but Haye would have also made sure he beat a ranked opponent. All the belts are currently tied up within the WBA right now at present.

The heavyweight division in 2016

klitschko#4By Gav Duthie: As fights go, Wladimir Klitschko v Tyson Fury was largely uneventful but the result has blown the heavyweight division wide open. Heavyweights will always be the mecca of boxing but interest has dropped considerably seeing as the division has been dominated by only 3 men in the last 15 years, Lennox Lewis and the Klitschko brothers.

New champions will mean more competitive fights and every fighter in the top 30 will now feel they have a realistic chance of bagging a world title. Here we discuss the current scene, the players within and their chances of bagging another world title.

Arum knows he has work to do

Ellerbe and ArumBy Gav Duthie: If Bob Arum were a boxer he would currently be going into the 12th and final round having lost all 11 before him looking to windmill his way to a knockout victory.

This is how it feels with the Top Rank promoter trying to justify a trilogy match between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley. Arum has been in the game long enough to know that this will be a tough sell. He is trying to tell us that this is a different Tim Bradley but fans are not convinced.

Naoya Inoue: A year that has passed him by?

inoueBy Gav Duthie: It takes a lot for smaller fighters to get themselves noticed on the world scene but thats exactly what Japan’s Naoya Inoue 9-0 (8) did little over a year ago on 30 December 2014. He captured the WBO Super Flyweight beating top fighter Omar Andres Narvaez to add to the WBC title he had won before in only his 8th fight.

A year on and he has fought only once against a game but out of his depth Warlito Parrenas 24-7-1 (21) a few days ago. There was hope after the Narvaez fight that a super fight could be made with Flyweight champion and pound for pound star Roman Gonzalez but this year has been rather pointless for the Japanese star they call ‘Monster’.

Inoue v Narvaez

Okay, so he might have got the now 40-year-old Narvaez at the right time but the Argentine was still a great fighter.

My boxing awards: 2015

Floyd Mayweather JrBy Gav Duthie: As 2015 draws to a close we assess what boxing gave us for the year. Lots of big fights came to fruition that has passed us by in previous years and the promotional landscape changed dramatically with the emergence of PBC. This article discusses 10 different points to summarize the year.

1. Fighter of the year

Arthur Abraham

When looking into this I even surprised myself with my choice. Abraham wouldn’t even be a top 25 P4P fighter but he has had a tremendous year.

Does Arum owe Pacquiao more?

1-LR_MAYPAC-TRAPPFOTOS-FINAL PRESSER-9963By Gav Duthie: It looks likely that for his final fight in the ring Manny Pacquiao will face former two time foe Timothy ‘Desert Storm’ Bradley in a rubber match. The other name in the frame is rising star Terence Crawford.

All 3 fighters are promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank. For me despite his recent loss to Floyd Mayweather he is the second best boxer of this generation and needs to sign off in style to cement his legacy. Floyd fought Andre Berto in his last outing but seeing that he had already beaten Pacquiao he didn’t need a big finish, Pacquiao does.

As an 8 division world champion Manny Pacquiao has arguably made Bob Arum more money than any boxer before him, doesn’t he deserve to choose his last opponent rather than the usual recycling of Top Ranks standard boxer reel.