We all know 2007 was an outstanding year for boxing. Here are some wishes for 2008:
? For Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao to give us the barnburner we all expect in their rematch.
? Ditto for Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez in their rubber match.
? For a heavyweight fight that more than just “fight freaks” can get pumped up for, which means preferably a big, strong, American foil for Wladimir Klitschko.
? For Showtime to get in the game for real instead of just pretending.
? For HBO to keep it up.
? For Floyd Mayweather Jr. to stop announcing retirements, forget about MMA and fight Miguel Cotto.
? For Ricky Hatton fans to learn a new song and some respect.
? For Bernard Hopkins to be in an entertaining fight again.
? For the Top Rank-Golden Boy peace to last.
? For Oscar De La Hoya to go out with a victory.
? For people to stop asking me what I think about mixed martial arts (It’s fine! If you like it, cool. I have nothing against it. Just not my cup of tea).
? Peace for Mike Tyson.
? For 1984 Olympic teammates Evander Holyfield and Virgil Hill to stop taking punches.
? More of Jorge Linares, Kelly Pavlik, Michael Katsidis, Victor Ortiz, Andy Lee, Devon Alexander and Joel “Love Child” Julio.
? Less pay-per-view.
? Another entertaining season of “The Contender.”
? The right fight so HBO will green-light another edition of “24/7” (my recommendation is Hopkins-Joe Calzaghe).
? For fans to continue to rebel against the evil sanctioning organizations, which don’t really care about fans or fighters, only playing favorites and padding their bank accounts.
? For Kendall Holt to get the rematch he deserves against Ricardo Torres.
? For a television outlet in the United States to regularly carry the many excellent fights that take place overseas, even if they are on tape-delay.
? For promoter Artie Pelullo to find another big star to replace Acelino “Popo” Freitas and Hatton.
? For Don King to promote fights and fighters instead of himself all of the time.
? For Juan Diaz and manager Willie Savannah to be happy with their next promoter.
? For Top Rank’s Bob Arum to relax a little.
? For Steve Cunningham to have a title bout in the United States for a change.
? For Vernon Forrest’s arm to hold up. Ditto for Jeff Lacy’s.
? For Jorge Arce and Martin Castillo to finally fight each other.
? For Chris Byrd to call it a day and become a great trainer.
? For Main Events to get back on track before it has nothing left.
? For Roger Mayweather to get his own reality series.
? For promoter Dan Goossen to finally get himself a heavyweight who doesn’t break his heart.
? For those two judges to apologize for robbing Jose Armando Santa Cruz of the decision against Joel Casamayor.
? For Ivan “Iron Boy” Calderon to get the recognition he deserves as the best pure boxer in the game.
? For Showtime’s Steve Farhood to keep taking Nick Charles and the rest of us “ShoBox” fans behind the numbers.
? For promoter Lou DiBella to take a deep breath instead of blowing his stack 50 times a day.
? A 900th world title fight for Col. Bob Sheridan to broadcast.
? For Murad Muhammad to stay under his rock.
? For Seminole Warriors Boxing’s Leon Margules to bring more big fights to the arena at the beautiful Hard Rock resort in Hollywood, Fla.
? For Oleg Maskaev to finally step into the ring with Samuel Peter so we can all get on with our lives.
? Good health for featherweight titleholder Robert Guerrero’s ill wife.
? For Winky Wright to find an opponent.
? For Zab Judah to make sure he pays his taxes.
? For Shane Mosley to remain the classiest fighter in the game.
? For Roy Jones to stop talking about Roy Jones in the third-person.
? For Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to fight somewhere other than pay-per-view.
? For rock-throwing Daniel Ponce De Leon to keep knocking guys out.
? For Allan Green to live up to his potential.
? For Alexander Povetkin to live up to the hype.
? For Sergio Mora to realize just how badly he messed up his career in 2007.
? For the United States to bring home some boxing gold from Beijing and for those matches not to be buried on cable.
? For Vitali Klitschko to actually make it into the ring.
? For Paulie Malignaggi to get a big fight.
? For Antonio Tarver to fight an opponent with a pulse.
? For Tony Thompson, Darnell “Ding-A-Ling Man” Wilson, Roman Karmazin, Giovanni Segura and Nate Campbell to get title shots.
? For Paul Williams to not be ducked by the top welterweights.
? For Edwin Valero to get a license to box in the United States.
? For American fight fans to get a chance to see Arthur Abraham, David Haye, Steve Molitor and Alex Arthur.
? For peace on Earth, but not inside the ring.
Happy New Year.
