CLEVELAND, Ohio – Boxing fans and reporters alike have complained in recent years about how the best fighters did not face each other, and how we’ve witnessed too many dull fights because of mismatches or poor decisions by the judges.
There is probably nothing we can do about controversial decisions, but 2017 has been a great year for the sport with exciting fights and the type of matchups we’ve craved.
So far, boxing has thrilled us with Shawn Porter’s decision over Andre Berto, Keith Thurman over Danny Garcia, Triple G over Danny Jacobs, Anthony Joshua over Wladimir Klitschko, Zhanat Zhakiyanov over Rau’shee Warren, Vasyl Lomachenko over Jason Sosa and Sor Rungvisai over Chocolatito Gonzalez.
What we’ve seen and what bouts are scheduled could mean 2017 will finish as one of the best years ever in boxing.
The bout between Terence Crawford and underdog Felix Diaz (May 20) is good but it does not have the excitement of three upcoming fights, beginning with IBF welterweight champ Kell Brook (36-1) against Erroll Spence Jr. (21-0, 18 KOs) on May 27. Spence Jr. is considered the next best thing in boxing while Brook remains one of the elite fighters in his weight class.
The Andre Ward/Sergey Kovalev fight in 2016 was so good and so close that the boxing world has been blessed with Ward-Kovalev II to take place on June 17 in Las Vegas. In the first fight, Ward recovered from a knockdown to win the razor-thin decision.
And we have another great matchup on Sept. 16 between Triple G and Canelo Alvarez for the middleweight crown. This bout would be a great ending to a slew of great matchups and potential great fights, but there are more possible fights that could transpire before the end of the year — and I’m not considering the circus match between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.
Return to the ring
Olympian and Cleveland native Charles Conwell, 19, will fight Daniel Szoros (2-1, 2 KOs) at the New York Paramount Theater on the campus of LIU-Brooklyn on May 18. It’s Conwell’s second pro fight in less than month. Conwell, a middleweight, knocked out Jeremiah Page (3-4, 2 KOs) in 41 seconds in his pro debut on April 21 in Oklahoma.
Hotter than July
A series of amateur bouts are scheduled at 5 p.m. on July 1 at the Firebirds Sports Football Field (480 Northfield Road, Bedford, Ohio) between USA vs. Canada by Production Plus Productions and King of the Ring Boxing VII.
