2014 CALENDAR HAS BEEN LESS THAN STELLAR
Las Vegas, NV-Looking back at the first 8 months of the year and it’s hard to even think of any fights that were truly memorable. There were a few good ones, such as John Molina’s brave effort in a 11th round knockout loss to Lucas Matthysse, and Terrence Crawfords 9th round knockout win over Yuri Gamboa in defense of his WBO lightweight title. Besides those, especially at the elite level most fights have been somewhat dull as the favored fighter has generally won in fights he was highly favored in. The difficulty of getting the best out there to fight the best has hurt the sport. Even then that doesn’t always guarantee an action packed contest. There are a few big fights on the horizon, one that stands out, the others with somewhat predictable outcomes.
Floyd Mayweather vs Marcos Maidana 2
Mayweather and Maidana
WBA and WBC welterweight championship
September 13th, Showtime PPV
Grade C+
For the 70 plus dollar price tag, and the fact that all the entertainment value comes from the B side (Maidana) it just isn’t worth the purchase. Add to the fact that it only took Floyd six rounds to figure out the Argentine the last time. This fight should be one-sided and unless Maidana can pull off something dramatic, expect a technical but unexciting performance from Floyd. Not to say Floyd isn’t brilliant at what he does, it just isn’t entertaining.
Gennady Golovkin vs Marco Antonio Rubio
WBA middleweight championship
October 18th, HBO World Championship boxing
Grade B-
Since it’s tough for the power punching Golovkin to get big fights he gets a pass here. Rubio is a good and durable opponnent with height and power. Unfortunately he won’t be all that hard to find and will have to withstand a furious onslaught from the opening bell. Rubio will be such a heavy underdog who no one expects to win, so can’t give this a high grade. The B is mainly because “GGG” generates excitement in most of his fights as they rarely go the distance.
Bernard Hopkins vs Segey Kovalev
WBA, IBF and WBO light heavyweight titles
November 8th, HBO World championship boxing
Grade A
You have to give credit to Bernard Hopkins for seeking out the most difficult fights. Kovalev has been on a tear through the division stopping his last nine opponents. Hopkins will be 50 in January. He must have seen something on tape that he can exploit because this is a truly dangerous fight. Bernard is a legend, and Kovalev is an exciting puncher. This is a bout where Bernard should be a slight underdog. The intrigue is there to see if the old man can pull off what would be considered a miraculous feat.
Part 2 will cover the years remaining top fights
-Kevin Perry