By Joe Harrison
During the first few months of this year, we’ve already been provided with dozens of great boxing match-ups. We’ve seen champions defend their titles, underdogs pull off upsets, and things are changing as the months continue to pass. It doesn’t seem so long ago that some of the top names in boxing were Roy Jones Jr, Lennox Lewis, Oscar De La Hoya, and Bernard Hopkins. Since then, other names have taken over the sport -such as Floyd Mayweather Jr, Jermain Taylor, Manny Pacquiao, and Antonio Tarver. While some boxers continue to climb the rankings, others fall and try to work their way back up. Therefore, with big names getting bigger, and legends coming up short, here are some of the sport’s biggest names and where their fate lies today.
Who’s On Fire
Joe Calzaghe (41-0, 31 KO’s) – Although he was highly respected for having an undefeated record and successfully defending his WBO super middleweight title 17 times, there were many doubters among us as Calzaghe stepped into the ring with the undefeated IBF champion, Jeff Lacy. Since Calzaghe destroyed Lacy, taking him to school and beating him over twelve rounds, Calzaghe is on top of the world. He’s still undefeated, still the WBO champion, but now he’s also the IBF champion and is recognized as the world’s number one super middleweight. So what’s next for Calzaghe? There has been talk about him moving up to light heavyweight and taking on Roy Jones Jr. Also, he expressed interest in fighting James Toney. Whichever direction Calzaghe takes, he won’t be taken lightly.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. (35-0, 24 KO’s) – After conquering 3 different weight divisions, “Pretty Boy” Floyd is still at it, this time in the welterweight division. Next on the list is former undisputed welterweight champion Zab Judah on April 8th. Although Mayweather didn’t exactly take on the best in Arturo Gatti and Sharmba Mitchell, he still put on dominating and convincing performances. But if Judah comes in this bout with the right mindset and in prime condition, Mayweather could have his first real challenge since defeating Jose Luis Castillo. It should make for an interesting match.
Rafael Marquez (35-3, 31 KO’s) – After six successful title defenses, four which came by knockout, Marquez is looking unstoppable. He hasn’t lost a bout since the year 2000, and 31 out of his 35 wins have come by knockout. Marquez is currently looking to defend his IBF and IBO bantamweight titles again on April 22 in Lake Tahoe, CA against an opponent yet to be named.
Arthur Abraham (20-0, 17 KO’s) – Undefeated in 20 professional bouts with 17 knockouts, Abraham is making quite an impact in the middleweight division. After defeating Howard Eastman, Abraham scored a knockout victory over Kingsley Ikeke for the vacant IBF middleweight championship. On March 4th, he made his first title defense by dominating Shannan Taylor on the way to a unanimous decision. Abraham’s second title defense may take place as soon as May 13th.
Glen Johnson (44-10-2, 29 KO’s) – Ever since he lost to Antonio Tarver in their rematch, Johnson is quickly working his way back to the championship scene. Last September, Johnson defeated George Jones by a tenth-round technical knockout. Then, last month, he totally outclassed Richard Hall en route to a unanimous decision, winning the vacant IBA light heavyweight title. There was talk of Johnson possibly facing Clinton Woods for his IBF title, but it appears that Johnson may have to wait a while since Woods may be fighting Jason DeLisle instead.
Zahir Raheem (27-1, 16 KO’s) – Not many boxing fans were taking Raheem too seriously after his loss to Rocky Juarez back in July of ’04. Not until last September, when Raheem shocked the world by totally outclassing Erik Morales, winning by unanimous decision. With that win, Raheem has been given the opportunity to fight for the vacant WBO lightweight title on April 29th. His opponent will be Acelino Freitas, and it should prove to be an exciting match-up.
Danny Williams (35-4, 28 KO’s) – This guy was pretty much written off after being demolished by Vitali Klitschko in December of ’04. Since then, he’s done everyone a favor by taking out Audley Harrison, and he also handed Matt Skelton his first loss. Williams is clearly on a role and is working toward a shot at Nikolay Valuev for the WBA heavyweight championship. But first, he may have a rematch with Skelton coming up this summer. If that rematch does take place, it should be interesting as Williams attempts to show everyone how serious he really is, although Skelton will be looking to avenge his only loss.
Joan Guzman (24-0, 17 KO’s) – The former WBO super bantamweight champion is still undefeated and ready to tackle any tasks ahead of him. So next up, Guzman is shooting for the featherweight championship. Last August, Guzman defeated Terdsak Jandaeng in a WBO featherweight eliminator. Therefore, possibly in May, Guzman is taking on Scott Harrison for his WBO championship. This will not be an easy task for Guzman.
Who’s Freezing Up
Bernard Hopkins (46-4-1, 32 KO’s) – The former undisputed middleweight champion has two consecutive losses. After suffering those two defeats to Jermain Taylor, Hopkins no longer appears to be invincible. He is still a dangerous boxer for anyone, but appears to be out of his prime as age is finally catching up to him. Fully aware that it may be time to hang up the gloves, Hopkins is having one more fight, this time as a light heavyweight squaring off against Antonio Tarver. It won’t be an easy task, but Hopkins assures everyone that this will be his last bout, win or lose.
Erik Morales (48-4, 34 KO’s) – With three losses in his last four matches, Morales continues to fall. He appeared to be on the right track when he scored a decision against Manny Pacquiao in March of last year, but Pacquiao returned and got his revenge over Morales in the form of a technical knockout win last January. Now Morales wants revenge, and their third fight may happen as soon as this September. Unfortunately, Morales hasn’t had the best luck in rubber matches, and it’s doubtful that he will be the favorite in this super featherweight match-up.
James Toney (69-4-3, 43 KO’s) – After beating Holyfield, Toney was indeed for real and looking to rise in the heavyweight division. He looked pretty good while scoring decisions over Rydell Booker and Dominick Guinn too. Unfortunately, when he got his first heavyweight title shot against John Ruiz, he did fairly well, but also tested positive for a banned substance after the fight and it was declared a no-contest.
Then, Toney was given another opportunity to become heavyweight champion. This time, he faced Hasim Rahman for the WBC heavyweight championship. Toney was the favorite going into the fight, and was expected to win, however, this did not happen. Rahman boxed very well, sticking to his jab, and avoided being outsmarted by the crafty and out-of-shape Toney. Although the fight was close, Toney was lucky that the fight was scored a draw, for many observers felt that Rahman did well enough to earn a victory. Although Toney remains unbeaten at heavyweight, he missed out on yet another opportunity to become heavyweight champion. At the age of 37, time is quickly running out.
Roy Jones Jr. (49-4, 38 KO’s) – There’s not much more for this man to prove. Once recognized as the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer, and the undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world, Jones has lost his last three fights and is clearly past his prime. Apparently, Jones does want to fight again. Hopefully, for the sake of his health, he won’t fight anyone too dangerous. It would be a shame to see him get knocked out again the same way Glen Johnson knocked him out in September of ‘04.
Kostya Tszyu (31-2, 25 KO’s) – Since being demolished by Ricky Hatton last June, Tszyu finds himself debating on what his next move will be. Should he go back out there and fight top opponents, or should his fine career come to an end? As one of the world’s top pound-for-pound boxers, Tszyu seemed unbeatable. Even when he was stopped by Vince Phillips back in ’97, losing the IBF light welterweight championship, Tszyu was not phased. He jumped right back on track, and eventually became the WBC light welterweight champion. Then he earned the WBA belt, and then the IBF belt. Obviously, Tszyu has had a very successful career. Now it’s only a matter of whether or not he should attempt to become a three-time champion, at the age of 36.
Oscar Larios (56-4-1, 36 KO’s) – With 56 wins out of 61 professional fights, Larios has already had a long and exciting career at the age of 29. Unfortunately, things are turning around for this warrior. In his last bout, Larios had a rubber match with Israel Vazquez, and lost by a third round technical knockout, losing his WBC super bantamweight title. Now, Larios plans on moving up to super featherweight and is to take on Manny Pacquiao on July 2nd. However, it is not likely that Larios will get the win over one of today’s top pound-for-pound boxers in Pacquiao.
Jose Navarro (23-2, 11 KO’s) – The young and talented Jose Navarro has shown the potential to be an outstanding fighter. But for now, he just isn’t quite good enough. Already having 25 professional bouts at the age of 24, he has lost both his opportunities to become super flyweight champion. His first loss was to then WBC champion Katsushige Kawashima by a close split decision in January of last year. Determined to be champion, Navarro worked his way back up only to lose by a unanimous decision to current WBC champion Masamori Tokuyama. Navarro definitely has the tools to be a world super flyweight champion. Until his skills improve, it’s not likely to happen.
Scott Pemberton (29-5-1, 24 KO’s) – After scoring knockout wins over Omar Sheika, Rick Camlin, and James Crawford, Pemberton appeared to be a worthy competitor while going up against Jeff Lacy for the IBF super middleweight title. Even though Lacy quickly knocked him out in the 2nd round, Pemberton was not overlooked. Surely, he could climb back up, right? Wrong! In his next fight, he was knocked out again, this time by “The Contender’s” Peter Manfredo Jr. So at the age of 39, it would make sense for Pemberton to hang up the gloves.
