From the sterile security of my white cement bunker in the hills of Central Mexico, I just want to wish you all (even the haters and losers) a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. These next two weeks I want to share with you my take on a Year in Review piece, highlighting all of the best and worst 2017 had to offer us. We saw a lot of good stuff this past year, but also a lot of bullshit and rampant stupidity…
So, without further ado, let’s dive in with Part One.
Joshua Licked a Klit
It’s been a long time since boxing fans were excited over a heavyweight fight. It’s been even longer since a heavily-hyped heavyweight bout actually lived up to its promise. In April, though, Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko, in front of 90,000 fans in Wembley Stadium, delivered a back-and-forth battle that not only thrilled fans, but earned emerging superstar Joshua instant street cred as a “for real” elite-level player. The 27-year-old Brit, who already sported the IBF title, would survive a sixth round knockdown and some shaky moments to stop the former champ in eleven entertaining rounds to emerge as both IBF and WBA heavyweight champ. The resulting positive vibes from this battle opened up a public discourse on heavyweight boxing not seen since the days of Tyson, Lewis, Holyfield, and Bowe.
We Finally Got Canelo-Golovkin
…and it was as unsatisfying as I had predicted. After years of fiction and fake narratives about why this fight wasn’t happening, there was no way anyone on either side of the great Canelo-Golovkin debate could be content with any outcome. If Golovkin blew Canelo away—so what? Golovkinites had been telling themselves for years that Canelo was a fraud and a coward. If Canelo managed to beat Golovkin, well, of course he would—because the cowardly Canelo made Golovkin wait until he got old. And on the Canelo side, there was nearly as much pretzel-twisted logic to justify their guy being the hero and the Kazakh being the cad. Realistically, there was no way this fight WASN’T going to be disappointing. Even when the best possible outcome occurred—a competitive, closely-contested and entertaining battle—both sides were so blown up by the hype (and an obscene Adalaide Byrd scorecard) that they failed to accept an utterly proper and appropriate draw decision.
Ward-Kovalev 2: The Nutcracker Suite
See above. Like in the Canelo-Golovkin dynamic, Ward fans and Kovalev fans were so deeply in the tank for their respective fighters that a close first go-round between the two in 2016 yielded nothing but hurt feelings and anger. In a rematch that saw Ward firmly ahead, an aesthetically unappealing finish, where ref Tony Weeks stopped the fight after what appeared to be a Ward low blow, left everyone with an unsatisfying conclusion and a bad taste in the mouths of both fan bases. (But let’s be real here, Ward beat Kovalev’s ass, even before beating his nuts.)
Mayweather-McGregor Destroyed Boxing
The Money Fight didn’t kill boxing, as predicted by fight nerds everywhere. If anything, it proved that boxing could still be a mainstream-viable moneymaker and that, if given half a chance, the general public could once again embrace the sport. When all the dust settled and all the buys were tallied, Mayweather-McGregor went down as the second most successful PPV in sports history with 4.3 million buys. As for the fight itself, Mayweather carrying Conor for a few rounds allowed for everyone to walk away content that what we saw was an actual fight.
Terence Crawford in a Holding Pattern
Someday, some way, Terence Crawford may find the opposition that validates what every smart boxing person sees in him. The best and most complete fighter in the game remained in a holding pattern for all of 2017, tearing through two-belt junior welter champ Julius Indongo and Olympic gold medalist Felix Diaz with zero difficulty at all. What remains for “Bud” is the mainstream success and accompanying paydays that go along with skill that could be on par with any of the best fighters of this era. A move up to welterweight is Crawford’s best chance at getting the career-defining fights he needs, but the 147-pounders seem no more willing to face him than the 140 and 135-pound classes did. Best case scenario for 2018 involves him roping in Jeff Horn for the WBO belt and then parlaying that performance into a Manny Pacquiao fight or, less likely, into a cross-network, cross-promotional battle with PBC welters such as Errol Spence, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, or Danny Garcia.
The Turnover
If boxing retirements are ever to be believed, we saw the end of the line for more than a dozen of the sports elite-level fighters:
Floyd Mayweather, Andre Ward, Wladimir Klitschko, Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, James Toney, Jean Pascal, Robert Guerrero, Takashi Miura, Takashi Uchiyama, Nathan Cleverly, and Rakhim Chakhkiev.
Not all of these guys finished at the top of their game, but most will be missed (I say most because, really, who’s gonna miss a fumbling, mumbling 23-years-past-his-prime James Toney?). However, such a massive turnover makes room for newer stars to take their place. Here’s hoping the new guys can fill these shoes.
(Come Back Next Monday for Part Two)
Got a question (or hate mail) for Magno’s Bulging Mail Sack? The best of the best gets included in the weekly mailbag segment right here at FightHype. Send your stuff here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com.