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OBSERVE AND FIGHT: BOXING'S CHRISTMAS WISH LIST HEADING INTO 2015

By David Kassel | December 22, 2014
OBSERVE AND FIGHT: BOXING'S CHRISTMAS WISH LIST HEADING INTO 2015

It's Monday. Welcome back for another edition of Observe and Fight, The Boxing Observer's compilation of observations and random thoughts from the week that was in boxing. It's Christmas week and I've got a few requests for jolly ole St. Nick. Hopefully, when I wake up Christmas morning, Santa Claus will grant me all my wishes for boxing in 2015. Without further ado, in alphabetical order, check out the latest observations from The Boxing Observer, David Kassel.

A successful comeback to the ring for Andre Ward. Ward has been inactive since November 2013 due to promotional issues. The sport's #2 P4P fighter is in the prime of his career and it would be a shame to see him waste his talent because he cannot come to some sort of agreement to get back in the ring.

Abner Mares vs. Leo Santa Cruz! Everyone has wanted this fight for so long. It's pretty clear that Mares is better off at 122lbs. I would pay top dollar to see this affair.

Adonis Stevenson vs. Sergey Kovalev. This is about as easy as it gets. The winner is the undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world. Plain and simple.

Andre Dirrell to get one more crack at Carl Froch. Froch is still a force to be reckoned with, even at age 37, but he still has some unfinished business with the man from Flint, Michigan. I know Froch is holding out for a fight in Las Vegas, most likely against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., but Dirrell would be a much tougher, more competitive opponent for Froch.

Andy Ruiz Jr. to quit the charade. Soon enough, Ruiz will be fighting 4-round fights once a month on ESPN, much like Butterbean once did. Ruiz needs to get in shape or get out of the ring. He makes Chris Arreola look like a bodybuilder.

Anthony Joshua's handlers not to rush him. Joshua, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, is fighting often and stepping up in competition every time. I like the thought, but I don't want his promoter to rush him into something he isn't ready for. Joshua won't be ready for a potential title shot until at least late 2016. Let's not push him along faster than he should be pushed. Remember David Price?

Antonio Escalante to get the help he needs. Four drunken driving arrests this year alone? Come on people. Someone has to know how to help this guy.

Antonio Tarver to go after a cruiserweight title instead of a heavyweight belt. Let's be real. Tarver isn't beating anyone over 6'5".

Bernard Hopkins to win one last world title before retiring. It's hard not to root for the guy, and he turns 50 on January 15th. I'd love to see him win one more title and call it quits.

Boxing back on network television. I'm talking about the big boys: CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX. I know NBC has done a bit with Main Events Promotions, but I want to see HBO and Showtime quality fights for the world to see. Television advertisements would go through the roof.

Brandon Rios vs. Mike Alvarado 3 to live up to the hype. It won't be long until we find out. The fight takes place January 24th, in Denver.

Canelo Alvarez vs Miguel Cotto. Neither fighter will ever be the #1 P4P fighter in the world, but these are the two biggest names from Mexico and Puerto Rico respectively. This fight is the only one which I believe can force Floyd Mayweather to move his Cinco de Mayo return to another date. Unless, of course, a fight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao can come together.

Carlos Cuadras to face the winner of Omar Narvaez vs. Naoya Inoue. Cuadras is the undefeated WBC 115lb. champion. Narvaez has held the top spot at 115lbs. for years. If Inoue can't knock him off the throne (Inoue is moving up 2 weight classes for this fight), Cuadras is certainly capable.

Cruiserweight titles to be unified as all 4 champions are available. It looks like on March 28th, WBC champion Grigory Drozd and WBA champion Denis Lebedev are set to fight on the same card in Russia. I hope it's against each other. The winner of that match-up should face the winner of another fight that should be made. IBF champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez vs. WBO champion Marco Huck.

Danny Garcia vs. Adrien Broner. I don't know about you, but this fight screams excitement in the junior welterweight division. I'd much rather see that fight than Garcia vs. Lamont Peterson.

Demetrius Andrade vs. Cornelius Bundrage. The winner would unify 2 world titles at 154lbs. and put themselves in line to face Canelo Alvarez. Canelo will be looking for opponents after Cotto. Here's an opportunity.

Devon Alexander vs. Andre Berto. This is a fight I always wanted to see. Why not make it happen now?

Felix Verdejo Jr. to get a major push from HBO. This guy has the goods. It's time for everyone who doesn't watch UniMas to see what all the hype is about.

Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao. Did I really need to waste my time typing this? It's the fight the world wants to see.

Frankie Gomez to continue down the right path, both in and out of the ring. This guy has too much talent to throw it all away.

Gennady Golovkin vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. I know this would be a pretty easy fight for Golovkin, but I'm interested to see if Golovkin can knock out the iron-chinned Chavez Jr.

Guillermo Rigondeaux to get his much overdue respect. It's a shame that talent like his isn't appreciated. It's shunned because it isn't the most "fan friendly."

James Degale vs. George Groves 2. The first fight was extremely close, and British fans would pack the house for this rematch.

Jermain Taylor vs. David Lemieux. If Taylor is truly back, he should be able to handle Lemieux's speed and power for 12 rounds, potentially even knocking him out. I doubt this fight happens, but I just don't think Taylor would have defeated Sam Soliman had Soliman not injured his leg in the fight.

Julian "J-Rock" Williams to get a world title shot. Williams is a bad man and a major force at 154 lbs. I think he could do some serious damage if he gets the opportunity.

Kell Brook vs. Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Keith Thurman. No, I'm not suggesting a triple-threat boxing match, however, I am suggesting that any combination of these fighters facing one another would make for outstanding television viewing.

Love for the little men! Some of boxing's best divisions are located south of bantamweight (118lbs). It's time the public started to recognize that the little guys can bang with the best of 'em. If you want non-stop, Fight of the Year quality competition, look no further than the little men.

Magomed Abdusalamov to make a full recovery. I know there is still a long road ahead, but the fact he is home now is a slightly encouraging sign.

Marcos Maidana vs. Robert Guerrero. Fight of the Year candidate anyone? Anyone? Anyone?

Mikey Garcia to settle his differences with Top Rank. Yet another fighter whose career is being derailed and put on hold by boxing politics. Garcia is a future P4P Top-5 fighter if he can ever get back in the ring.

Muhammad Ali to have a speedy recovery. "The Greatest Fighter of All Time" has battled Parkinson's for quite some time now and was admitted into the hospital late Saturday night after coming down with pneumonia.

Nicholas Walters vs. Vasyl Lomachenko. Let's unify 2 of the 4 world titles at featherweight. The winner can take on WBC champion Jhonny Gonzalez.

Omar Figueroa vs. Yuriorkis Gamboa. I know Gamboa would be giving up a lot in size, but this fight would produce more fireworks than the 4th of July!

Oscar De La Hoya to welcome Richard Schaefer back and end their lawsuit. Don't get me wrong, Golden Boy Promotions is doing just fine right now, but they would be doing so much better with Schaefer in its corner. Schaefer would be the final puzzle piece to end boxing's ridiculous Cold War (the new Cold War is between Top Rank and Al Haymon).

Peter Quillin vs. Daniel Jacobs at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. This is a great fight between 2 of the best middleweights in the world, both managed by Al Haymon. There is nothing keeping this fight from coming together. NOTHING!

Roman Gonzalez vs. anyone! Gonzalez is arguably one of the top-5 fighters in the world. If you haven't heard of him, that's because he is a flyweight. With a record of 41-0 and 35 KO's, if this guy was a welterweight, you'd be calling him the man to beat Floyd Mayweather.

Ruslan Provodnikov vs. Humberto Soto. This would be an all-out war!

Takashi Uchiyama to get some American television exposure. The WBA 130-lb. champion is one of the must-see fighters every fan has to watch. He fights again on New Year's Eve in Japan. This guy is must-see TV.

Terence Crawford vs. Manny Pacquiao. I know that everyone wants Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, but if that doesn't happen, there have been talks of Pacquiao vs. Jessie Vargas. While Vargas tries his hardest to be an exciting fighter, he doesn't pose much of a threat to Pacquiao. Crawford, on the other hand, could present major problems at 140lbs. to PacMan and it's a very intriguing fight.

The Charlo brothers to both win world titles. Both Jermall and Jermell are as good as advertised. Both men are deserving of title opportunities. Both should get them in 2015.

The fighting Kameda brothers to invade the United States. We've already received a taste of Tomoki. Let's get Koki and Daiki over here as well to show off their skills.

The winner of Bermane Stiverne vs. Deontay Wilder to unify the heavyweight division with Wladimir Klitschko. Stiverne/Wilder takes place January 17th. Klitschko is fighting on April 25, most likely against Bryant Jennings, in Brooklyn. If the winners of these two fights don't fight each other, this entire process has been all for not. I can't even remember the last time we had a unified heavyweight champion and we're so close to making it a reality.

Timothy Bradley vs. Shawn Porter. This would be the dirtiest fight in 2015, and both guys would go to war. It might not be pretty, but it would last all 12 rounds and would be a blood bath!

Todd DuBoef to finally take over at Top Rank. Bob Arum's son-in-law is Arum's right-hand man in the promotional company and the man who is set to take the reigns if Arum ever steps down. If the fans want Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, this is the guy who can get it done. He has a strong relationship with Mayweather, but DuBoef isn't going to step on his father-in-law's toes to make that fight. Remember, family first.

Tyson Fury vs. Alexander Povetkin. Povetkin already had his chance against Wladimir Klitschko, but Fury needs to step up against a former world titlist before I will believe in the hype machine. I'm a big Fury fan, at least in the ring, and if he beats Povetkin, he will be ready for Klitschko.

Vitali Klitschko to face Tyson Fury. What a test for Fury that would be. If Vitali decides to return, why not do it against Britain's most well-known heavyweight.

That's my boxing wish list for 2015. What's on your list? Stay tuned for the 2014 End of Year Awards in 2 weeks. Send your thoughts to dkassel@fighthype.com, follow me on Twitter @BoxingObserver, and be sure to "Like" The Boxing Observer on Facebook.



[ Follow David Kassel on Twitter @BoxingObserver ]

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