If 2009 was any indication on the current revival of the sweet science, then 2010 is setting up to be one of the more memorable years in the ageless sport.
There are an abundance of superb match-ups that have already been inked for the first quarter of the New Year with a couple mouth-watering potentials that clamor to be made. 2010 will be the year that future hall of famers will fight each other. Let’s go through a couple contracts that have already been finalized, or are just about done. In another, later article I will go through the “dream” matches that have yet to be made.
First up on the menu is a scintillating January 30th match-up between a really good newbie in undefeated Andre Berto (25-0, 19 ko’s) and a really good veteran, Sugar Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 ko’s). The older, more experienced Mosley has stated more than once that he “sees a lot of himself in Andre Berto”. After unsuccessfully vying for a shot at then-WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto and the explosive Manny Pacquiao, Mosley was forced to take a full calendar year off with his next opportunity finally coming from the 26-year old Miami native.
Numerous press releases have revealed that hall of fame trainer Freddie Roach is looking to sign Berto on as a sparring mate for Manny Pacquiao in his preparations for Floyd Mayweather Jr. Of course he will need to have a pleasant showing while avoiding any type of injury in his own fight to stay on course to aid the Filipino bomber in his toughest test yet. Timothy Bradley (25-0, 11 ko’s), who successfully and impressively defended his WBO jr. welterweight title against Lamont Peterson (27-1, 13 ko’s), has been dubbed as a candidate as well. If everything comes together as they should, Berto and Bradley would join Amir Khan to comprise an undoubtedly great sparring lineup. The other catch which makes this equation all the more electrifying is that Bradley recently put an official challenge out in the open about a possible Amir Khan fight in the near future.
A week following the Berto-Mosley showdown, knockout artist and WBC lightweight champion Edwin Valero (26-0, 26 ko’s) sets his sights on a young, hungry, one-loss challenger in Antonio DeMarco (23-1-1, 17 ko’s). DeMarco, who will turn 24 a month before his February 6th date with Valero, is best known for his stoppage of Kid Diamond in early 2009. His physique and ring demeanor mimics that of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. but while the son of the legend has been up and down of late, DeMarco has been on cruise control since his 2006 majority loss.
In mid-February we will see Vic Darchinyan-conqueror Nonito Donaire and Fernando Montiel, both of whom are chasing respective titles within a half-division of each other, take part in pertinent bouts with the anticipation of a future match-up somewhere down the road in 2010. Montiel has just been dealt his third defeat this past September, the first via stoppage, but his style should add to a potentially great match-up. Before he can try his hand at the Filipino Flash, he must first get past another young Filipino champion in Ciso Morales, an undefeated youngster who resides from Bohol, Philippines. Donaire will fight Mexico City, MX native Gerson Guerrero for the interim WBA super flyweight title on the same card.
The first big fight in March will be a 12 round Super Six showdown between undefeated Arthur Abraham and slickster Andre Dirrell. Abraham is coming off an impressive one-punch, last second kayo over a game but faded Jermain Taylor while Dirrell is recovering from a close, disputed split-decision loss to undefeated WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch this past October. Abraham was able to close the show convincingly against the former undisputed middleweight champion but Dirrell, as if he was afraid to trade with the heavy-hitters, resorted to a foot race in the squared circle in what was certainly one of the more disappointing bouts of 2009.
As most boxing fans already know, March 13th will be the date of the biggest dance of the year—barring a rematch on a later 2010 date, that is. Sin City will play host to the 12 round historic battle between WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and undefeated challenger Floyd Mayweather Jr. I find it very bizarre to think that if these two were to ever meet in the ring, that it would be Pacquiao who would hold the welterweight title while Mayweather Jr. was on the outside looking in and absorbing the challenger’s role. It is also agreed upon, for argument’s sake, that this will be a battle for the ages where the former consensus pound for pound king will take on the current, consensus pound for pound king for sole claimant to the throne. This one, on paper, will be hard to beat. And considering Pacquiao is a people’s champion in the sense that he comes to thrill, I doubt that it would be anything less than spectacular. This is, without a doubt, the fight that every avid, casual, and even non-fans of the sport will be watching.
On March 25th, heavy-fisted David Tua (50-3, 43 ko’s) will continue his comeback in a fight against Friday Ahunanya (24-5-3, 13 ko’s). Tua, who hasn’t seen defeat since the 2001 decision loss to Chris Byrd, will spice up the heavyweight division if he can continue to rake in success. Ahunanya is no walk in the park though as he has been in with quality opposition such as Alexander Povetkin, Sultan Ibragimov, and Sergey Lyakhovich just to name a few; Tua better come to fight. Considering the Klitschko powerhouse duo have been on shaky ground lately, another top tier addition will surely bring excitement back to the heavies—especially one that can punch like Tua. As I envision two bangers like Wladimir and Tua teeing off on each other, I can’t seem to leave out the fireworks that will sure follow. Let’s be real, nothing can be as boring as the Vitali-Kevin Johnson fight. And after David Haye’s big trash talk but small walk, we need more power in this giant of a division to keep the steam rolling.
April 17th will be Andre Ward’s turn against Jermain Taylor. The Super Six has been phenomenal and pretty much ideal in that it represents a bracket-like schedule that forces great fighters to face other greats within their divisions. This type of tournament bidding could pave the way for other grand ideas—like having ONE champion in each weight class through bracket tournaments.
On the same night, via tape-delay, Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler will try to advance to the next stage in the Super Six at the expense of the other. Kessler, the former heavily favored participant is obliged to return to the top of the betting odds while Froch, coming off an abysmal performance opposite Dirrell, will try to keep his “0” intact. A couple years ago we saw Kessler get taken apart by a slick boxer from Wales (Joe Calzaghe) but Froch is far from “slick” and he’s anything but a “boxer”. We hope this one is a fireball but nothing is a sure-win nowadays. For what it’s worth, it’s hard to believe that these two would stink up the place. Froch seems to always be willing and ready to trade leather but Dirrell’s style prevented any big bombs. I hope Kessler brings the goods because he’ll need it.
May 22nd Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez will put their health and well-being on the line for another gut- wrenching battle. After returning from a year and a half layoff due to a detached retina, Vazquez will take on Marquez for the fourth time at the Staples Center in California. The terrible two-some fought three consecutive super bantamweight title fights starting in 2007 and spanning across 2008. The first outing saw Vazquez losing his title to Marquez via seventh round kayo. Five months, one day later they duked it out for another ten minutes or so as Vazquez emerged the victor by referee stoppage in the sixth. Their third and final meeting was their longest but the outcome was still close as Vazquez retained the title by way of split decision.
So as you can see we have a perfect agenda, at least for the start of 2010. The rest of the lineup will continue to grow as recent fighters recover and plan their next bout, and while close-dated fights are completed. Some names (who aren’t included in the early 2010 scheduling) that come to mind are Wladimir Klitschko, who will be facing Eddie Chambers in March if his shoulder recovery completes accordingly; Paul Williams, who will be working to bring shine back to his name after the Martinez near-loss; the new stars on the brink of superstardom such as Timothy Bradley, Amir Khan, and Edwin Valero to name a few; the prospect of a Yuriorkis Gamboa-Juanma Lopez showdown; and last but not least, the Berto-Mosley-Mayweather-Pacquiao outcomes and the infinite possibilities that will surely follow.
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