By Frank Warren
Once the dust has settled on Saturday night between Miguel Cotto and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez – of course that is the early hours of Sunday morning here – you can be certain the talk will be who is going to fight who next?
There are several possible permutations, with Golovkin ready, willing and eminently able to take on the winner – if either Cotto or Alvarez fancy it. It is a fight that makes a lot of sense but, equally, I know that, despite denials, the Lee camp has been in touch with both Cotto’s and Golovkin’s teams on the assumption that Andy Lee will retain his WBO title against Billy Joe Saunders on December 19.
That’s presumptuous to say the least for the more I hear about Billy Joe now he’s back training at full-pelt, the more I am convinced he will win in what certainly won’t be an easy job. But B-J is one of the most resolute characters I have ever encountered in boxing.
He’s looking leaner, meaner and keener than ever. There is absolutely no doubt in his mind that he will become champion – and I go along with that.
I’d be happy for him to fight either Cotto or Alvarez but, as I’ve said before, I’d much prefer for him to gain more experience before even thinking about Golovkin. But that would be a huge-money fight and, if an offer came along, it may be hard to resist.
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No Oscar winner
I like Oscar De La Hoya but I think he’s been a bit disingenuous in slagging off Floyd Mayweather as he did in that open letter in Playboy magazine, saying ‘good riddance’ to one of the most boring men in boxing’ and that "the fight game will be a better one without you in it.”
Well, For my part I think Mayweather has been good for boxing bringing in more money and certainly more pay-per-view figures than the sport has ever known. I think many people base their views of him on his fight against Manny Pacquiao, which of course wasn’t exactly thrill-a-minute. That was as much to do with styles as anything.
Oscar seems to have gone well over the top, though I doubt it will bother Mayweather one iota.
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Boxing shows its heart
We are featuring two charity shows this weekend – one for DEBRA tonight and another on Monday in aid of Nordoff Robbins both at London’s Hilton Hotel, Park Lane.
This year the annual DEBRA show, which supports the-non-government funded for those affected by the terrible genetic skin blistering condition Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) has a change of pace as it will feature Total Combat, the new sport which is a sort of Twenty20 version of boxing that has had several successful trial runs and will be promoted regularly by my son Francis, who devised it, from early next year.
The Monday event sees Bradley Skeete defending his WBO European welterweight title on a show for Nordoff Robbins, a wonderful charity devoted to helping both kids and adults with a range of disabilities through music.
I’ve got a lot of time for Bradley. He hails from Penge which, as I’ve said before, is not exactly a hotbed of boxing, but he is one of the most popular rising stars on the British scene.
Next year could really be a brilliant one for him. What I like about him is that he listens to advice.
He got criticism earlier this year, but he’s livened up his act. He has great skills but, to be honest, he looked a bit boring – he’s certainly not the most elegant of fighters with his skinny, gangly frame, but then he actually went out there and started knocking a few opponents over. He’s shown that he can punch as well as box, mixing it when he needs to and next year I expect to see him stepping up in class fighting for top honours.
