WISH LIST: FIGHTS FOR 2015
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 22 Dec 2014
?Tis the season to be jolly and for making wishes. For a lifelong fight fan, it is time to savor the memories of 2014 and to look forward to what could be an amazing year in boxing. There is no fantasy league in the fight game and we can?t always get what we want. But we can always hope.
These are the fights I want to happen in 2015:
VASYL LOMACHENKO VS NICHOLAS WALTERS
Lomachenko (3W-1L,1KO) was fast tracked to a world title because of his impeccable credentials - a two time Olympic gold medalist who is widely considered as one of the finest amateur boxers in history.
Fight fans were in awe over Walters? brutal 6th round TKO of Nonito Donaire in Carson, California. The Jamaican WBA champ showed that he is not just about power and he put his punishing jab to good use. Prior to beating Donaire, he gave Vic Darchinyan a savage thrashing in Macau. He remains unbeaten at 25-0,21KO?s.
The Ukrainian WBO featherweight champ also had an appearance in Macau where he showed ballet-like grace in his footwork and exquisite combination punching against challenger Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo.
Will his high skill level be enough to tame Walters?
DONNIE NIETES VS ROMAN GONZALEZ
They have two of the best careers among the active champs in the lower weight divisions. Nietes (34W-1L-4D,20KO?s) has won WBO titles two weight divisions ? 105 and 108 ? and will get the Philippine record as the champion with the longest uninterrupted reign when the clock signals the start of 2015.
Gonzalez (41-0,35KO?s) is a three division champion and the incumbent WBC flyweight champion. The Nicaraguan stopped Nietes? stable mate, Rocky Fuentes in six rounds last November .
Nietes is eying a move to flyweight and go for a triple crown. His guile and resourcefulness will be tested against Gonzalez?s pressure, hard body punching and combos. If this match becomes a reality, this will seal the legacy of the winner.
MANNY PACQUIAO VS FLOYD MAYWEATHER / DANNY GARCIA
To be honest, I stopped wishing about Pacquiao vs Mayweather three years ago. What the world wants and what Mayweather wants are two different things. If ?Money? manages to talk himself out of this match-up again, no one should be surprised.
So, if Pacquiao pushes though with the plan to go back to 140 lbs, the best guy out there is the unbeaten Danny Garcia (29-0,17KO?s) of Philadelphia.
Garcia, who has the WBC and WBA junior welterweight belts, has wins against the likes of Erik Morales, Amir Khan, Zab Judah and Lucas Matthysse. That is certainly a better resume compared to Pacquiao?s last challenger.
ADONIS STEVENSON VS SERGEY KOVALEV
After cleaning up the light heavyweight ranks, these two power punchers should face each other and avoid a quagmire similar to Pacquiao-Mayweather.
For the past couple of years, WBC champ Stevenson (25-1,21KO?s) has stopped five of his six opponents, which include erstwhile title-holders Chad Dawson and Tavoris Cloud.
Kovalev (26-0-1,23KO?s) showed he had technique behind the power when he won all twelve rounds against the seemingly ageless Bernard Hopkins . The Russian juggernaut now holds the WBA, WBO and IBF belts.
GENNADY GOLOVKIN VS SAUL ALVAREZ/MIGUEL COTTO
The world wants to see more of the hard puncher from Kazakhstan and against bigger names.
There are reports that Alvarez (44-1-1,31KO?s) and Cotto (39-4,32KO?s), the WBC middleweight champ, will be fighting each other. The winner should face Golovkin (31-0,28KO?S) and no fight fan would complain if Gennady faces both within the year.
Alvarez lost his WBC/WBA light middleweight title fight to Floyd Mayweather but remains a big star not just in his native Mexico.
Cotto, the Puerto Rican four division titlist, enjoys a career rejuvenation under Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach.
Golovkin, who has the WBA middleweight belt, created a lot of buzz in the U.S for the past two years. His last eight fights have ended by the short route.
Anyone who has religiously followed the sport of boxing knows that behind-the-scenes negotiations for big fights are often bloodier than what happens inside the ring. It is not just about the money. Television and cable networks, feuding promoters, sanctioning bodies and outrageous demands have destroyed mega-fights on several occasions.
Negotiation is an art and not an exact science. Let?s keep our fingers crossed.
Photo clockwise from top left ? Vasyl Lomachenko, Nicholas Walters, Roman Gonzalez, Donnie Nietes
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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