It’s a great sign that there is no need to really do an article on what fights should be made for the upcoming year, because as I looked over the first quarter of 2009, I see that many of these matchups are already on the docket. And the best news for boxing fans is that the large majority of these events will be taking place in non-casino venues and will be on either HBO or Showtime, not pay-per-view.
So instead of speculating on what fights we should be looking forward to, we take a look ahead to what will actually be happening in the next few months.
– January 17th (HBO) Beau Rivage, Biloxi, MS – Andre Berto vs. Luis Collazo and Sergio Martinez vs. Joe Greene: The first big show of the year features Andre Berto, the current WBC welterweight champion facing his first real test in the slick southpaw Collazo, who should trouble Berto with his experience and boxing ability. To the eyes of many, Collazo is a live, live dog. Martinez, the WBC 154-pound champion, finally found someone in Greene willing to face him. Martinez is a fast, tricky left-hander who took apart Alex Bunema back in October in his HBO debut. Greene is a talented young fighter, but you wonder if Martinez is just too seasoned for him.
RATING: 3 GLOVES (out of five)
– January 24th (HBO) Staples Center, Los Angeles – Antonio Margarito vs. Shane Mosley: Margarito, coming off his career-defining victory over Miguel Cotto last July, returns against Mosley, who struggled for much of the night against Ricardo Mayorga in late September. Judging by who’s involved, this should be an all-action affair between the game?s best pressure fighter and a boxer/puncher who has never been afraid to mix it up. But you get the sense that while Margarito is in his prime, ‘Sugar’ was just a bit sweeter several years ago.
RATING: 4.5 GLOVES
– February 7th (Showtime), Honda Center, Anaheim, Ca.- Vic Darchinyan vs. Jorge Arce, Kid Diamond vs. Antonio DeMarco: Look for fireworks to be set off as two of the hardest punching little men in the sport go head-to-head. This bout just oozes machismo, and don’t look for either man to give an inch. Darchinyan comes in with three of the major titles at 115-pounds and he impressively halted Dimitry Kirilov and Cristian Mijares in 2008. Arce remains one of the sport?s most colorful characters and one its most entertaining performers. This should be a fun night all the way around.
RATING: 4 GLOVES
– February 14th (HBO), Site TBA- Alfredo Angulo vs. Ricardo Mayorga and Nate Campbell vs. Ali Funeka: Angulo-Mayorga should be a fun fight and a decent test for ‘Perro’, who has a fan-friendly style. Mayorga brings a willingness to mix it up and the proverbial ‘puncher?s chance’. How will Angulo hold it together against the antics of ‘El Matador’? Cambpell is one of the premier lightweights, but he gets a stern test from the big and talented Funeka.
RATING: 3.5 GLOVES
– February 21st (Pay-Per-View), Youngstown, Ohio and New York – Kelly Pavlik vs. Marco Antonio Rubio and Miguel Cotto vs. Michael Jennings: When HBO and Showtime passed on these comeback fights for Pavlik and Cotto (coming off their first career losses) Bob Arum had no other choice but to then put up the money for one of his in-house pay-per-view productions, which will take place from two different sites. Also featured on this night will be other Puerto Rican standouts like Juan Manuel Lopez and Ivan Calderon.
RATING: 2 GLOVES
– February 28th (HBO) – Toyota Center, Houston, Texas – Juan Diaz vs. Juan Manuel Marquez: A ‘fight fan?s fight’ if there ever was one, as you have an aggressive youngster facing the wily ol’ counterpuncher as they stake their claim as the world’s best lightweight. Will ‘the Baby Bull’ be gored by the precision of Marquez, or will Marquez be worn down by the steady pressure of Diaz? I can’t wait to find out. And it should be a lively atmosphere in Houston, where you can expect a full house in Diaz’s hometown.
RATING: 5 GLOVES
– March 14th (Showtime), Philippines – Nonito Donaire vs. Fernando Montiel and Ulisis Solis vs. Brian Viloria: Donaire-Montiel serves as one half of a 115-pound Final Four that will most likely pit the winner of this bout against the winner of the February 7th fight for jr. bantamweight supremacy. Viloria gets one more shot at the big time; if he blows this one, then his days of relevancy are over for good.
RATING: 3 GLOVES
– March 14th (HBO), Site TBA – Chad Dawson vs. Antonio Tarver II: Seriously, isn’t this like making a sequel of ‘The Love Guru’ or ‘Prom Night’? Back in October, when they first met, Dawson completely dominated Tarver over 12 rounds so thoroughly that nobody outside of Tarver himself could possible conceive of a different outcome the second time around. Why is this return bout taking place? Because there is a rematch clause. And why is HBO televising it? Because they want to be in the Chad Dawson business.
RATING: The Michael Jackson (in other words, one glove)
