This year isn't shaping up to be great...

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by wildharpo, Jan 25, 2011.


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  1. wildharpo

    wildharpo Member Full Member

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    For 2011 I don't see anything on the horizon that even remotely excites me. Wlad vs Adamek might end up being a decent fight, but that's questionable. Floyd looks to be in pretty deep legal trouble, so I don't expect to see him back this year. Manny Pacquiao is fighting Shane Mosley, which I don't expect to be great. The Alexander/Bradley fight this weekend is significant at least, but I don't expect it to be overly action-packed.

    I'm excited about the potential to see Bute vs the Super Six winner, as well as seeing Andre Ward put to the test against tougher opponents than Green and Bika. Boxing will go on, like it always does, but so far the lineup for this year looks less than spectacular.

    The Klitschkos are running out of credible opponents and Haye can't manage to get a fight with either brother signed. The welterweight/junior welterweight division that was previously STACKED with Williams, Mayweather, Cotto, Mosley, Hatton, Berto and others has lost its luster, as some of these stars have moved up in weight, some have retired and some are simply past their primes. Pacquiao continues to dominate and be a very exciting fighter to watch, but he's also running out of credible opponents.

    The last several years, overall, have been GREAT compared to what's on the table for this year. Here's a quick run down of some of the fights I remember most from past years due to their excitement level and/or significance in the sport:

    2007:
    Floyd Mayweather vs Oscar De La Hoya
    Paul Williams vs Antonio Margarito
    Kelly Pavlik vs Jermain Taylor
    Joe Calzaghe vs Mikkel Kessler
    Floyd Mayweather vs Ricky Hatton
    Miguel Cotto vs Shane Mosley
    Kelly Pavlik vs Edison Miranda
    Bernard Hopkins vs Winky Wright
    Miguel Cotto vs Zab Judah

    2008:
    Miguel Cotto vs Antonio Margarito
    Kelly Pavlik vs Bernard Hopkins
    Joel Casamayor vs Juan Manuel Marquez
    Joel Casamayor vs Michael Katsidis
    Bernard Hopkins vs Joe Calzaghe
    Kelly Pavlik vs Jermain Taylor II
    Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez II
    Alexander Povetkin vs Eddie Chambers
    Arthur Abraham vs Edison Miranda II
    David Haye vs Enzo Maccerinelli

    2009:
    Paul Williams vs Sergio Martinez
    Manny Pacquio vs Miguel Cotto
    Lucian Bute vs Librado Andrade II
    Vitali Klitschko vs Chris Arreola
    Floyd Mayweather vs Juan Manuel Marquez
    Chad Dawson vs Antonio Tarver II
    Ricky Hatton vs Manny Pacquiao
    Juan Manuel Marquez vs Juan Diaz
    Antonio Margarito vs Shane Mosley
    Wladimir Klitschko vs Ruslan Chagaev
    David Haye vs Nikolay Valuev
    Carl Froch vs Jermain Taylor

    2010:
    Floyd Mayweather vs Shane Mosley
    Amir Khan vs Marcos Maidana
    Sergio Martinez vs Paul Williams II
    Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito
    Jean Pascal vs Chad Dawson
    Kelly Pavlik vs Sergio Martinez
    Chris Arreola vs Tomasz Adamek
    Manny Pacquiao vs Joshua Clottey
    Andre Berto vs Carlos Quintana
    Wladimir Klitschko vs Eddie Chambers
    Carl Froch vs Arthur Abraham
    Carl Froch vs Mikkel Kessler

    Those were just some of MY personal favorites of the past four years - I don't watch much of the lower weight classes except for the occasional bout with Gamboa, Chris John, Vic Darchinyan or Juan Manuel Lopez, so maybe there's some excitement brewing there that I don't recognize. Nonito Dare is supposed to be a pretty exciting P4P fighter as well, so I'd like to see his upcoming fights.

    What are your thoughts?
     
    wildharpo, Jan 25, 2011
    wildharpo, Jan 25, 2011
    #1
  2. PH|LLA

    PH|LLA VIP Member Full Member

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    I think Bradley vs Alexander and Montiel vs Donaire is a great way to kick off the year.
     
    PH|LLA, Jan 25, 2011
    PH|LLA, Jan 25, 2011
    #2
  3. Finesse74

    Finesse74 Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Give it time. Boxing has always been this way...well after tyson anyways.
     
    Finesse74, Jan 25, 2011
    Finesse74, Jan 25, 2011
    #3
  4. Jay23

    Jay23 Guest

    This :good

    Dont panic theres plenty of time yet for some good matchups to be made.

    Theres loads of great potential fights @ SMW, LMW, WW, LWW, FW and BW :deal
     
    Jay23, Jan 25, 2011
    Jay23, Jan 25, 2011
    #4
  5. booradley

    booradley Mean People Kick Ass! Full Member

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    Bradley/Alexander

    S6 semi finals (Froch/Johnson should be a great fight)

    S6 finals

    The return of Kelly Pavlik (should include some high drama)

    Cotto/Margarito II

    This stuff is all coming, and it is only January. Be patient.
     
    booradley, Jan 25, 2011
    booradley, Jan 25, 2011
    #5
  6. Drew101

    Drew101 Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Actually, the start of this year is a lot more promising than it was in 2010.

    We've already got the following fights set for the first four months of the year...

    Alexander vs Bradley
    Donaire vs Montiel
    Rios vs Acosta
    Perez vs Darchinyan
    Mares vs Agbeko
    Martinez vs Dzinzuruk

    Wanna bet that at least one of those fights produces a FOTY candidate?

    And with big fights bound to be made during the course of the year, 2011 actually looks pretty good, at least so far.
     
    Drew101, Jan 25, 2011
    Drew101, Jan 25, 2011
    #6
  7. wildharpo

    wildharpo Member Full Member

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    Thanks for the optimism, I used to consider myself to be a pretty patient guy - until every response was "be patient, give it time." :)

    I'm going to mark Donaire vs Montiel on my calendar after hearing how much everyone's been raving about this fight - I haven't followed either fighter's career, so I'm excited to see what they're all about.

    As booradley pointed out, I'm probably most excited about the POTENTIAL for great fights in the Super Middleweight division. Some people on here claim it's weak, but right now it may be my favorite division and it's loaded with talented guys that all bring different styles to the ring. On top of that, they're all (for the most part) willing to fight each other, which takes out all of the negotiating drama we've been exposed to in some of the other divisions among top fighters.
     
    wildharpo, Jan 25, 2011
    wildharpo, Jan 25, 2011
    #7
  8. PH|LLA

    PH|LLA VIP Member Full Member

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    Pascal v Hopkins or Dawson rematch
     
    PH|LLA, Jan 25, 2011
    PH|LLA, Jan 25, 2011
    #8
  9. FORMIDABLE

    FORMIDABLE Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Imagine JMM-Khan in April (winner to fight Alexander/Bradley), Haye-Wlad in July, Pac-Mayweather in December were all signed. To go with Bradley-Alexander, Montiel-Donaire, Klitschko-Adamek..Would've been one hell of year to look forward to
     
    FORMIDABLE, Jan 25, 2011
    FORMIDABLE, Jan 25, 2011
    #9
  10. Ring Master

    Ring Master The Originator Full Member

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    Drew what's man hope all is well.

    Yup those are good scraps. Plus the Super6 finals.
     
    Ring Master, Jan 25, 2011
    Ring Master, Jan 25, 2011
    #10
  11. gyll

    gyll Undetectable Full Member

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    Floyd - He's basically retired so I've crossed out his name from the roster

    Pac - I actually think Pac-Berto would be exciting. Pac would be the favorite to win but I'm dying to see Pac fight a young, hungry lion with good speed.

    Cotto - A rematch with Marg would be very fun to watch due to the drama involved. I don't think Marg deserves the big paycheck so soon but I'll make an exception in this case.

    Haye - I'm still hopeful that he'll end up fighting either Klit before the year is over, especially if either guy gets softened in their upcoming fights.

    Froch - Not a great fight against Johnson but not terrible either. Froch-Ward sounds pretty good to me if they end up as the two finalists.

    Fights that are a possibility in 2011 or at least I'm hoping for: Khan-JMM, Sergio-Pirog, JuanMa-Gamboa, Rios-Soto, Dawson-Pascal 2, Hopkins-Bute, Maidana-Matthysse, Williams-Cintron 2, Lara-Martirosyan

    Not bad.
     
    gyll, Jan 25, 2011
    gyll, Jan 25, 2011
    #11
  12. RSBonos

    RSBonos Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Constantly complaining about the sport...boxing fans have turned it into a fine art.
     
    RSBonos, Jan 25, 2011
    RSBonos, Jan 25, 2011
    #12
  13. booradley

    booradley Mean People Kick Ass! Full Member

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    Excellent post:deal
     
    booradley, Jan 25, 2011
    booradley, Jan 25, 2011
    #13
  14. Boxed Ears

    Boxed Ears this my daddy's account (RIP daddy) Full Member

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    It's January.
     
    Boxed Ears, Jan 25, 2011
    Boxed Ears, Jan 25, 2011
    #14
  15. ekar

    ekar Active Member Full Member

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    2011 seems great

    donaire/montiel
    Bradly/alexander
    cotto/mayorga
    pacquaio/mosely with all the intangible

    Im more excited about how the landscape of boxing will change. it could stay the same maybe worse. But it could also have a chance for boxing to reinvent itself.
     
    ekar, Jan 25, 2011
    ekar, Jan 25, 2011
    #15
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