Well, never let it be said that I’m some sort of expert prognosticator when it comes to boxing predictions for an upcoming year. In my prediction piece for 2019, I was 100% correct on a measly 3 out of 19 and partially correct with 4 other stabs in the semi-dark.
My biggest successful prognostication was picking Josh Taylor to win the WBSS junior welterweight tournament with wins over Ivan Baranchyk and Regis Prograis.
My biggest flop? Predicting that Mikey Garcia would put on a “boxing clinic” in defeating Errol Spence and then move on to stop Manny Pacquiao. (Yikes…)
Anyway, here’s another list of predictions for the coming year in boxing and, as always, feel free to cruelly hold me to them next year:
-- In February, WBC heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder will knock out Tyson Fury within 8 rounds. He’ll then win a dreary track meet of a bout via unanimous decision versus an obsessively mobile Fury in a November return contest.
-- Anthony Joshua will defend his heavyweight belts twice in 2019, stopping Oleksandr Usyk in 3 rounds and Kubrat Pulev in 7.
-- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will meet Gennady Golovkin in September, at 168 lbs., stopping the Kazakh KO artist in the late rounds of this third encounter. Before that, in May, Alvarez will stop Callum Smith via liver shot to capture the “real” WBA super middleweight title.
-- Teofimo Lopez will knock out Vasiliy Lomachenko in the tenth round of their lightweight title unification bout after having lost all nine previous rounds.
-- Manny Pacquiao will beat Danny Garcia and then be beaten by Shawn Porter in a thrashing so complete that he officially retires.
-- Floyd Mayweather will flirt all year with a comeback, but only enter the ring in a Saudi Arabia-hosted exhibition bout late in the year against some Japanese fall guy.
-- Terence Crawford will continue to miss out on legacy-defining welterweight bouts, swerving away from a possible Shawn Porter clash, beating Kudratillo Abdukakhorov and Chris Van Heerden in 2020 instead.
-- Eddie Hearn’s every attempt to make a cross-platform, cross-company mega-fight will still involve the other guy having to sign away part of his career to DAZN.
-- Errol Spence will make his ring return against Sergiy Lipinets and look an absolute mess. He’ll sit out the rest of 2020 with an assortment of injuries.
-- Julian Williams will stop Jermell Charlo in a junior welterweight title unification classic which will receive way too little media attention.
-- Jermall Charlo will stay put at PBC and defend his WBC middleweight title against Jeff Horn and Chris Eubank Jr. while rumors whirl regarding a jump to DAZN in pursuit of a big-money Canelo clash.
-- Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Adrien Broner will make appallingly large paydays for comeback bout. They’ll vow, beforehand, to be taking things seriously this time, to be in shape and mentally focused—until the fight actually happens and they deliver another poor performance. Afterwards, both fighters will promise to be back and, again, pledge to take things more seriously next time.
-- Andy Ruiz, even more out of shape than in his second bout with Anthony Joshua, will drop a unanimous decision to Adam Kownacki and then retire during the post-fight interview. Later in the year, the former champ will take a stab at the WWE, bringing his Snickers belt with him and defending it against WWE superstars in excruciatingly sloppy gimmicked boxing matches.
-- Gary Russell Jr. will fight just one time in 2020.
-- Amir Khan will still be pining away for a mega-money showdown with Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather that won’t ever come while absolutely ignoring a Kell Brook blockbuster easily doable in the UK.
-- After fighting one smallish bout apiece, but generally getting nowhere in the first 8 months of 2020, Josh Taylor and Regis Prograis will sign for a rematch of their entertaining 2019 battle. This time, Prograis will come away a winner via split decision, setting the stage for a 2021 third encounter.
-- Sergey Kovalev will be knocked out cold early in his post-Canelo comeback fight. He’ll continue on, however, being a total scumbag shithead racist.
-- David Benavidez will stop Caleb Plant in a Fight of the Year super middleweight title unification war.
-- Media-shy boxing adviser Al Haymon will come out of his shell and deliver a stellar cover of Lou Rawls’ “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine” between PBC title fights on Fox.
Got something for Magno? Send it here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com