The great Al Bernstein recently declared 2013 to be the greatest year in boxing in 25 years, which is a statement that had me take pause.
It was a fantastic year, with several star-making performances and epic battles in the ring. The quality of boxing was terrific. The one fight that really kicked off the great year was Bradley winning that brutal battle against Ruslan Provodnikov, who had a star-making performance.
Just to be a contrarian, here are some problems I?ve had with 2013.
But to me, boxing is never going to be as good as it can be, not when Top Rank and Golden Boy continue their cold war and refusing to make fights. Everyone is going to point to the fact a Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather superfight has never been made. But it goes much deeper than that. Look at the best matchups this year, and I bet I could find an even better matchup that can?t be made. I?ve always been interested in seeing Canelo Alvarez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. I think Timothy Bradley vs. Danny Garcia or Floyd Mayweather would be really intriguing and competitive fights. And this is just skimming the surface.
FIGHT OF THE YEAR?: The boxing year ended on a bang with Marcos Maidana beat Adrien Broner. A lot of people were declaring it the Fight of the Year. I thought it was a great fight, but I didn?t think it was the best. I?m partial to the Bradley-Provodnikov fight because there were so many ebb and flows. You never knew who was going to win, and Provodnikov nearly pulled it out at the end when he knocked down Bradley in the closing seconds. I didn?t think Maidana-Broner was as competitive. I thought Maidana controlled the fight the whole way. But the one advantage the Broner fight had was that Broner lost. Broner has become the top bad guy in boxing, more so than Floyd Mayweather. So when Broner got punished, people were overjoyed. Credit Broner for making people care so passionately, and embracing the bad guy. Because of that, Broner?s loss could get him strong consideration for Fight of the Year.
BRONER, REALLY?: My take is that if you?re going to be a professional athlete, then act like a professional. I don?t like his antics, which are overly crass and embarrassing. But that is the marketing of Broner and it?s very successful. He is a huge star. To me, he?s more a reality star than a boxing star. But his antics are not the problem per se. He?s a talented fighter who has been undisciplined for a long time and has regressed. I first noticed Broner when he was to fight Vicente Escobedo and was really overweight. The show only went on because Escobedo would not have been paid if the fight didn?t go on. People assume he?ll get it. He hasn?t. I think he will not only have to look at himself, but also his corner, who have failed in keeping him on task. Broner has to dedicate himself to being a good fighter, not just on being famous. Because how can we take him serious if he doesn?t take his sport serious?
PAY-PER-VIEW PROBLEMS?: Now people who will say 2013 was a rousing success will point to the Mayweather-Alvarez fight, which did gigantic numbers and established Mayweather as the biggest box office draw in the sport. But that overshadows that Mayweather?s previous fight against Robert ?The Ghost? Guerrero underperformed, and people said it signaled problems for Showtime after their mega deal with Mayweather. Then look at Manny Pacquiao?s fight against Brandon Rios, that did under 500,000. That?s half of an average Pacquiao fight. Top Rank brushes it off, saying the fight made a profit, thanks to site fee paid by Macau. The problem with Mayweather and Pacquiao is they don?t have great opponents to bring in the audiences. Right now, Maywather?s leading opponent for May is Amir Khan, who frankly hasn?t looked that impressive in two years. Pacquiao could have a rematch against Timothy Bradley that will do better than the 900,000 pay per view sales they had in the first meeting. And Juan Manuel Marquez is a possibility, but a fifth Pacquiao-Marquez always runs the risk of overkill. But who else after that?
PERSPECTIVE ON JULIO DIAZ?S YEAR: This year, Julio Diaz lost both of his fights, but if you look at his opponents, it says the Kidd still has something left. The first fight of the year for Diaz, who turns 34 on Dec. 24, he beat up Amir Khan in England before losing a close decision. The gameplan for Diaz was to feel out Khan and get a gauge on his speed, then turn it on. Because the scores were so close, Diaz said if he could have turned up the heat a little earlier, he might have squeeked out the win. In September, Diaz took on Shawn Porter for a second time. In the first fight, Diaz and Porter fought to a draw. In the rematch, the bigger and younger Porter was able to beat Diaz to the punch for a unanimous decision. The victory for Porter allowed him to earn a shot at the IBF title, which he won with a unanimous decision over Devon Alexander. It shows that Diaz is fighting at a high level, even championship level. He?ll have to get back on the winning track. If he does, maybe he?ll get another shot at the gold.
TITLE TIME YET FOR RANDY CABALLERO?: Randy Caballero continues to evolve as a boxer. In his last two fights, he?s demonstrated a vicious attack to the body that ended his last two fights in victory. He?s also a top-10 fighter in the WBO (third), IBF (fifth) and WBC (13th). For a large part of 2013, Caballero was the No. 1 contender in the WBO and dropped despite remaining undefeated. Caballero?s time should come soon. But politics are always involved in boxing, so while Caballero has the merit and the big promotion company (Golden Boy) behind him, we?ll have to hope it gets his shot soon.
IS IT TIME TO PANIC OVER GABINO SAENZ?S CAREER?: In the early part of Gabino Saenz?s career he?s had two draws during the first 13 fights of his career. While he is still undefeated at 11-0-2, the draws have come in six-round fights. For 2014, Saenz will be making the jump to eight round fights against tougher opponents. One thing to keep in mind is that Saenz has been going to school and working full time. It?s really noble and admirable that Saenz has gotten his business degree while given back to his community by working at the teen center in Indio. But this is the time for Saenz to get serious about his boxing career. The fact is, his commitment has only been part time because he?s been trying to do so much. Now that his life will clear up, this will really be the year to see if Saenz will fulfill his destiny and become a world champion. He?s 24, an age where a lot of top fighters become champions. Saenz has the talent, but he will have to start to put things together now. He has to make that big push because in boxing.
