What Happened to Boxing?
Earlier in the year when I heard of the potential boxing matchups we were in line to see, I couldn’t help but get excited. Who wouldn’t get out of their seats for Spence-Crawford? Fury-Usyck? Or Davis-Garcia? These are the type of fights you break out the good cigars for.
Unfortunately those cigars will have to continue to collect dust as none of those fights got made. Despite weeks and months of speculation and fan made fight posters, boxing fans are once again left disappointed. Why does this continuously happen? Are we as boxing fans doomed to watch the hype and anticipation of another generational fight whither away the same as it did with Mayweather-Pacquiao? Regardless of what PPV numbers say that fight was at least 5 years too late and I’ll die on that hill. History is repeating itself, only this time, we’re being deprived of MULTIPLE fights we as fans have been craving.
I’ll start with the elephant in the room, and the biggest fight we never got; Errol Spence Jr. vs Terence “Bud” Crawford. Crawford took to instagram live earlier this month to explain his version of events and why the fight never materialized. Crawford claims he would fight Spence for no upfront money, and was only concerned with the backend pay, and transparency with the books. Spence responded on Twitter, claiming Crawford’s proposal to fight under a hedge-fund promotion, seemed untrustworthy to say the least. By no means am I here to determine the credibility of Crawford’s proposal nor will I claim either of these two fighters are ducking the other. These men are both world champions and have solidified themselves as two of the top three pound for pound fighters in the world despite being in the same division. To accuse either of them of being afraid to fight the other is asinine and just plain lazy. The fact of the matter is just like every dream fight we fans never got, politics find themselves stopping this one from being made as well. For a while the concern was that Crawford’s association with Top Rank and Bob Arum was the biggest obstacle, but now that Crawford represents himself and we’re still without a fight, the attention has been turned to Al Haymon, who represents Spence. According to Crawford, it was Haymon’s lack of transparency with the books that made him walk away from the negotiating table. Regardless of the reasoning, part of me can’t help but think had this been a UFC matchup, the fight would already be moving into it’s trilogy phase. This is not to praise Dana White in any way, simply stating what I know, or at least whole-heartedly believe to be true.
Another fight fans will have to continue to hold their breath for (please don’t) is Gervonta Davis vs Ryan Garcia. This fight isn’t as close of a matchup as the former, however the box office appeal of both fighters has die hard and casual fans alike hoping this matchup takes place. Davis would be heavily favored if the fight does take place, and this comes as no surprise as Davis is one of the hardest punchers regardless of weight class, the sport has ever seen. Garcia, an accomplished fighter in his own right, brings a fanbase and social media presence that rivals that of Jake Paul. Garcia is no slouch, he has a significant height and reach advantage, and possesses nearly unrivaled punching speed. These two have taunted each other on social media for years and the idea of a potential fight between the two has seemingly been around just as long. This fight has everything a boxing fan could hope for, speed vs power, two guys who genuinely dislike each other, and the legacy behind it due to both fighters relationships with Floyd Wayweather and Oscar De Lay Hoya. Fans as well as De La Hoya have claimed Davis’ manager, Leonard Elerbie, has shielded the young fighter from more formidable opponents, which in terms of conducting business seems like the smart decision. It’s also important to remember that unless these fighters are representing themselves, they have no say in who their opponent is. I’m sure just like Spence and Crawford, Davis and Garcia are both foaming at the mouth to fight each other, but politics behind the scenes have delayed this fight as well.
With all that said, this article wasn’t simply made to just vent. I have a list of potential matchups that I think could help ease fans disappointment over the fights we didn’t get.
Errol Spence Jr. vs Jaron Ennis
With Crawford already scheduled to fight David Avanesyan, Errol Spence Jr. finds himself in search of a new opponent. In my opinion Jaron “Boots” Ennis is the best welterweight outside of Spence and Crawford. He possess a unique combination of youth, power, precision and quickness. Ennis is undefeated with a record of 29-0 with 27 wins by way of knockout, but at such a young age (25) many wonder if Boots has the resumé to warrant The Truth as an opponent. Ennis has yet to have an opponent last more than 6 rounds with him, and doesn’t have the names on his resumé that some other welterweights do. But aside from Kieth Thurman, who’s fought once since losing his title to Manny Pacquiao back in 2019, who else is there left for Spence to fight. He’s already taken out the likes of Kell Brook, Danny Garcia and Yordenis Úgas. Thurman-Spence was ordered as a mandatory by the WBC, but an official deal has yet to be announced. Personally i think Boots has the talent and hunger to give Spence a real run for his money, but his inexperience especially in later rounds could be the key factor.
Prediction: Spence by Unanimous Decision
Gervonta Davis vs Shakur Stevenson
Earlier this year after failing to make weight at 130lbs, Shakur Stevenson announced that he would be moving up to the 135lb division, where some of the best in the sport eagerly await the chance to fight him. If Davis is unable to strike a deal with Garcia this fight would be next up on my wishlist. Stevenson is an elite boxer, and might just be the closest thing defensively we’ve seen to Floyd Mayweather. As stated earlier, Davis possesses more punching power than a man who weighs 135lbs should physically be able to muster. A clash between these two mini-titans would be one for the ages. I honestly think Shakur makes for a more interesting opponent than Garcia. This is the most unlikely to take place however, being that Stevenson still hasn’t fought anyone at lightweight yet, and I doubt he or his team wants his first experience in the division to be an established powerhouse like Davis.
Prediction: Davis by TKO in the 11th
Devin Haney vs Vasiliy Lomanchenko
This fight would be a battle of two elite technicians, and the closest thing we’ll see to a 3D chess match. Haney is fresh off of a successful title defense against former champion George Kambosos Jr while Loma made his return to the ring in a unanimous decision win against Jamaine Ortiz. This fight would be more for the true boxing lovers as neither of these men are huge knockout artists, but I couldn’t imagine a better opponent for Haney than Loanchenko. Loma has the skills, quickness, experience and ring IQ to push Haney further than any of his previous opponents could have. This would be a major step up in competition for Lomanchenko as well, the 34 year old has faced questions about his standing among the top lightweights ever since losing to Teofimo Lopez back in 2020. But Loma is a different fighter than he was then, and because of their styles I think this fight would go down to the wire. Of all the wishlist matchups I’ve thought about this seems to be the most likely to become a reality.
Prediction: Haney by split decision
There’s no way to tell when or if any of these fights will get made, this is all purely speculation. And as long as promoters and politics continue to stand in the way, all we can do is speculate. I completely understand the role a promoter plays and how important they are to a fighter’s career, but if we are continuously denied the fights we want to see then I can’t help but feel like these promoters are hurting the sport. Can the sport of boxing survive under a singular promotional umbrella? I think that’s the question we should be asking. I’ll leave that up to you to decide.
