While the first two months of the year failed to produce a marquee bout, the rest of 2017 promises to be an entertaining year for boxing. High on the list of anticipated fights is a potential showdown between among the two best pound-for-pound boxers in the world: Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin.
It’s the fight that boxing fans have been craving and probably the biggest middleweight bout since Sugar Ray Leonard faced Marvin Hagler. While a provisional date has been set for Sept. 17, Golovkin has his doubts that Alvarez’s promoters will let him go through with it.
“His big minus is his promotion, with the ‘I’ll call you back, I’ll call you tomorrow,’ … it’s too much. Just tell me, ‘G, I need two years,’ but all this other talking … people see it and they all are saying, ‘Oh, please, stop.’ It’s like a bad commercial,” Golovkin told the Los Angeles Times.
First, Golovkin, Alvarez and many other top fighters have others have big events in store before the summer.
Gennady Golovkin (36-0) vs. Daniel Jacobs (32-1) – March 18; New York
Golovkin, arguably the best knockout artist in the world, has proven he’ll fight anyone and has defeated nearly every opponent with relative ease. However, the Kazakh superstar admits that Jacobs may give him trouble and it’s understandable given that the Brooklyn native hasn’t lost since July 2010 and is coming off eight wins by technical knockout, including against highly respectable Peter Quillin.
While Golovkin will be the heavy favorite, it wouldn’t be too surprising if this fight actually went the distance.
Canelo Alvarez (48-1-1) vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (50-2-1) – May 6; Las Vegas
Yes, Mexico can’t wait for this fight on Cinco de Mayo Weekend. Alvarez should have little trouble against the son of perhaps the most beloved Mexican boxers of all-time. But after his injury, Alvarez is probably smart to face a less prolific opponent with a megabout looming against Golovkin.
Chavez is no pushover. He’s defeated Andy Lee and Marco Antonio Rubio, but it would be surprising if Chavez lasts very long against one of the best power punchers in boxing.
Manny Pacquiao (59-6-2) vs. Amir Khan (31-4) – May 19; United Arab Emirates
Will this fight happen? Top Rank promoter Bob Arum remains unsure. Both boxers have a lot on the line, particularly Khan. After the devastating knockout defeat to Alvarez, Khan needs to bounce back or his career might be in serious jeopardy. Despite the loss, Khan remains a solid boxer with impressive technical skills. He’s also very familiar with his opponent.
Pacquiao, 38, will be taking a break from political duties in the Philippines to make this fight happen. But he’s won his last two bouts after the loss to Floyd Mayweather and he didn’t seem to show much of a decline in the unanimous decision victories.
Errol Spence (21-0) vs. Kell Brook (36-1) – May 20; Sheffield, England
While British star Kell Brook turned out to not be ready for the big jump in weight and to battle a formidable opponent like Golovkin, he remains one of the best welterweights in boxing. Unfortunately, he might be overextending himself once again when he fights Errol Spence, perhaps the best young boxer in the world. Spence, 26, has breezed past opponents and should be up to the task against his most intimidating opponent to date.
Spence is fast, smart and confident. But he will be fighting against a hometown favorite who is eager to restart his career after his corner threw in the towel in his last fight. This should be a very interesting bout.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
