Fights you'd like to see by the end of 2009

Here's a five of the fights that I'd like to see, and a breakdown of how they will turn out in my opinion. Please add your own fights. They are all realistically possible and one that would re-energize the sport of boxing.

1. Nate Campbell vs. Joan Guzman @ Lightweight

Joanie is an under-achiever. At 122lbs he was one of the most incredible talents I've seen in years, but alas he's not had the big break necessary in order to become a reputable P4P guy. Nate Campbell is a veteran with a lot of skill, but I dont think he's going to be champ much longer in such a competitive division. Someone will step up and take it from him, be it one of the Diaz's, Amir Khan, Gamboa or Manny Pac. Of the guys most likely to dethrone him, my favourite would be Joan Guzman. His exceptional handspeed and combination throwing will overwhelm Campbell. Campbell is cagey and experienced enough to hold on, and I dont think that Guzman has the power to KO guys at 135lbs like he used to, so I pick a comfortable points victory for Joan Guzman.

The lightweight division is so hot at the moment. If Manny Pac, Yurkios Gamboa and Edwin Valero move up it will be insane. Here's the list: Manny Pac, Gamboa, Valero, Khan, The Diaz's, Casamayor, Campbell, Guzman, Katsidis, Santa Cruz. That makes it the hottest divison in boxing by my reckoning.

2. Chad Dawson vs. Zsolt Erdei @ Light-Heavyweight

A lot of people want Chad Dawson to face Antonio Tarver, them both being winners of the big Light-heavyweight card down in Tampa a few months ago. However I think that Tarver is way past his best and got a gimme against Clinton Woods, who I presume was only interested in the payday as he didn't turn up to fight at all. Tarver looked shot and the only reason he won was the dis-interest of his opponent.

A much more exciting proposition would be to face Zsolt Erdei. Erdei has been around a few years and has one or two decent names on his record, but has not made a big impact on the global boxing scene at all. He appears to be a solid european fighter with good technical boxing skills who is staying in his back-yard and taking the easier option rather than test himself against the elite. I want to see what Erdei can do at the top level, to see if he's a real champ or another protected euro-bum. And I want to see Chad Dawson stake his claim as the undisputed light-heavyweight champion. By beating a long-time beltholder like Erdei, he can do this.

It would be an interesting fight, and I would favour Dawson naturally, but Erdei remains an unknown quantity so i would reserve judgment based on that. Not all euro-bums are bums, look at Joe Calzaghe or Mikkel Kessler.

3. Jermain Taylor vs. Mikkel Kessler @ Super-Middleweight

This would be an awesome fight. Jermain Taylor needs to re-invigorate his career, and going up to super-middleweight to do it would be great. Many people have written off Jermain Taylor based on losing to Kelly Pavlik. However, in both of those fights at some points, Taylor proved that he was an exciting, talented and hard-hitting fighter with a lot more left to offer.

Lest we forget that Taylor beat Hopkins more convincingly in their first encounter than Calzaghe managed too. He fought a much younger and much closer to his prime version of Bernard Hopkins too. The first fight was close but a split decision for Taylor seemed about right. The rematch I scored clearly for Hopkins, but once again it was close.

Taylor is not without talent and those writing him off need to get a sense of perspective. A move up to the Super-middleweight division would reboot his career, and a fight with Mikkel Kessler would decide who is "the man" at 168lbs now that Joe Calzaghe is a light-heavyweight. Kessler is an excellent fighter, he has massive power, a good work ethic, a good chin and well-timed right-hand that got Calzaghe into lots of trouble early on. He reminds me of a bigger and stronger version of Kelly Pavlik, someone with raw power who does the basics very well. Like Pavlik he relies on the 1-2 with his right-hand and the left-hook. His ring generalship tactical acumen may be found lacking at the highest level, but that is based on his fight with Calzaghe. For the most part, he is a complete fighter.

Even though I have defended Jermain Taylor, and want him to win, I will pick Kessler by UD if the fight comes off. Kessler is a bigger, stronger quicker version of Pavlik. Although Taylor won my respect with his effort in the Pavlik rematch, I imagine that style will always cause him some kind of problem. One-dimenstional as Kessler is, that particular dimension is Taylor's achilles heel, and will cost him on the scorecards.

Once this fight is made, the 168lbs division will be unified and there will be a long list of potential challengers in line to take on the champion. Fights with Carl Froch, Librado Andrade, Edison Miranda, Andre Dirrell and Lucian Bute make the future of the division very interesting.

4. Steve Cunningham vs. Enzo Macarinelli @ Cruiserweight

Much like Kessler - Taylor, this would decide who "the man" at cruiserweight truly is now that David Haye has moved up. There's a lot of talent in the cruiserweight division, but these two would appear to be the best of the bunch at the moment. Cunningham is gutsy and deserves respect. He's fought in Germany and Poland numerous times and I doubt that he'd be scared to go to Wales and fight for the titles there. He is a crafty boxer with underrated power, he may not excel at one thing but he is well-rounded and can adapt to different styles. Enzo Mac, despite some of the hate you hear around and the crushing defeat to David Haye, is a deceptively fast and very hard-hitting boxer who on his night can KO just about anyone below 200lbs. Dont believe the hype, Enzo has a good stake in the race to be the next consensus champion at 200lbs.

So how does this work out? Well, Maccarinelli has a significant size and power advantage. His has a good jab that he pops outs quickly and follows up with a brutal right hand. He also has good variation and throws damaging hooks to th body, something I like to see in a world-class fighter. Cunningham, like I mentioned, is an all-round fighter but he is tactically smart and knows how to deal with upright europeans who have power. Ask Marco Huck. He also has a good chin is not a likely candidate to be blown out with a single shot.

I favour Cunningham because as long as he doesn't get into a shootout with Mac he can outbox him, but Mac is quick with his hands and will get through with something powerful at some point. If Cunningham can handle Mac's power, and if he can get past the long, fast jab of Enzo Mac I believe he can expose Mac's defensive weaknesses and win on points, perhaps a late stoppage if Enzo's chin fails him again.

Once settled, there's a lot of good fighters out there the champion can fight. The winner of Rudolf Kraj - Giacobbe Fragomeni would be interesting, as would fights with BJ Flores, Firat Aslan, Johnathon Banks, Thomas Adamek and Herbie Hide.

5. David Haye vs. Eddie Chambers @ Heavyweight

Firstly, I dont want this to be Haye's first fight at heavyweight. I'd like to see him retire one of the old-guard in the division before taking this fight, someone like Briggs, Rahman, Ruiz etc. But once he gets that out of the way, I think he should fight Chambers to really test himself against a real contender.

I rate Eddie Chambers as the best of the current American heavyweight prospects. He has excellent boxing skills and unlike Chris Byrd is a real heavyweight. If he slimmed down he could possibly make 200lbs, but truthfully he's not a light-heavyweight with an eating disorder like Chris Byrd was. I want to see David Haye in against someone who will not be overwhelmed by his speed and power, someone who can make Haye show his boxing skills and test him as a boxer rather than as a power-puncher. I think that Chambers has a better chance of lasting 12 rounds with Haye than someone with an iron chin like McCall or Toney because he can box effectively off the backfoot and is quick enough to make Haye miss with his wild haymakers.

I can see Chambers starting this fight strongly and winning the first few rounds. However, because he hasn't got the power to put Haye away, I can see Haye coming on stronger in the middle to late rounds and knocking his man out late. Either way it would be a great fight and would bring a lot of life back to the Heavyweight division.

 

I cant see Pac going up to 140lbs this year. If Hatton - Pac happens it will be in 2010 after Pac has beaten the 135lbs champion (or should that be if he beats the 135lbs champion, Guzman would give Pac nightmares if you ask me) and after Ricky Hatton has fought Paulie Malinaggi, which would be sometime around October/November.

Cant see Pacman beating Hatton though. Infact I think he'd get squashed in about 5 rounds.

 

Fair enough, I thought Cunningham was only 6ft1 or 6ft2. Macc is the bigger guy though, Cunningham could probably still make light-heavyweight if he had too. Macc's power is pretty good, but the poor quality of the guy he has KO'd overshadows this.

I dont rate him as much of a boxer, whereas Cunningham is a clever and cagey guy who could open someone crude like Macc up if they ever fought. Dont known if Cunningham can close the show with Macc, that depends on Macc's chin rather than Cunningham's power.