Boxing will hit the headlines early in the year for vastly contrasting reasons: Floyd Mayweather Jnr will take up 90 days? residence in a Las Vegas jail on a charge of domestic violence, while Muhammad Ali celebrates his 70th birthday on Jan 17 with a gathering of the greats in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ali, who has been fighting Parkinson?s Disease for almost 30 years, took part in a slew of classic fights. Fast forward to the present, and a landscape much changed. Four recognised world sanctioning bodies, 17 weight divisions, and potentially 68 world champions.
Among that melee, for over two years, the world has waited for the best two fighters on the planet, welterweights Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, to meet in a ring.
Mayweather?s sole contest last year, against Victor Ortiz, generated $78.4 million in pay-per-view revenue in the US. Pacquiao fought twice, with 1.3 million buys for his contest against Shane Mosley and 1.5 million for the controversial trilogy fight with Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez.
With the Filipino fighter looking to extend his career in politics in 2013, the fight needs to be signed soon, yet on account of the jail term, the meeting of the pair looks destined, at best, for the last quarter of the year, if at all.
But 2011 was a bitter-sweet year for British boxers. Some great fights, yet nine British boxers were beaten in world title bouts abroad, with the high-profile trio ? David Haye, Amir Khan and Carl Froch ? all losing world titles.
Nonetheless, the triumvirate, and many of the vanquished, will be back in action just as readily at the highest level by the summer. London heavyweight Dereck Chisora ? after two cancelled world title challenges against Wladimir Klitschko ? gets the nod to face elder Ukrainian brother Vitali Klitschko for the WBC heavyweight title in Munich on Feb 18.
World titles involving UK fighters will come thick and fast in the first half of the year. Welshman Nathan Cleverly will defend his WBO light-heavyweight title in Cardiff on Feb 25. His opponent is yet to be named.
Then, one of the brighter lights of 2011, Ricky Burns, who vacated the WBO super-featherweight title in September after two defences, had a terrific win up at lightweight (135lbs) against Australian slugger Michael Katsidis. He will also contest a world title in 2012, most likely in Glasgow in March.
Irish Brummie Matthew Macklin is in line to face No 1 middleweight Sergio Martinez on March 17 at Madison Square Garden, while Froch is set to return after losing his WBC 12st title to Andre Ward in a tilt at IBF champion Lucian Bute.
All will be high-profile events, perhaps none more so than Khan, desperate to return against Lamont Peterson, the American who narrowly took the British light-welterweight WBA and IBF titles in a controversial fight in Washington in December.
By the summer, we might well have four world champions again, by which time attention will turn to the Olympics.
Watch out for superheavyweight Anthony Joshua, and team-mates Tom Stalker, Andrew Selby, and Luke Campbell. In the first-ever women?s Olympic boxing event, Nicola Adams (flyweight) is arguably the most likely to win a medal, while Savannah Marshall (middleweight) is a rising talent. The quality and standard of the women?s boxing ? three weight categories ? will be one of the shocks of the Olympics for many observers.
2011: Roll of honour Andre Ward defeating Carl Froch; GB super-heavyweight Anthony Joshua, silver medallist at World Champs.
Highlights: Bernard Hopkins becoming oldest champion at 46.
Lowlights: The debacle in Sin City between Floyd Mayweather Victor Ortiz.
Unsung hero: Scottish boxer Ricky Burns, with two defences of the WBO super-featherweight title, and a great victory over Michael Katsidis at lightweight.
Wasn’t expecting that… Dereck Chisora getting the nod ahead of David Haye to face Vitali Klitschko for the WBC heavyweight title.
2012: New Year’s resolution: Amir Khan to win back his titles.
Watch out for: The GB Olympians: Anthony Joshua, Tom Stalker, Andrew Selby, Luke Campbell (men’s), Nicola Adams and Savannah Marshall (women’s) at the Olympics.
Key dates: Jan 17, Muhammad Ali turns 70; Aug 11/12, the Olympic boxing finals.
What will happen: Khan will avenge defeat for his IBF/WBA light-welterweight titles against Lamont Peterson.
What won’t happen: Pacquiao meeting Mayweather in the first half of the year.
