British boxing ready to bloom

2011 should be an exciting year for british boxing From BBC sport http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bendirs/2010/12/british_boxing_ready_to_bloom.html If 2010 was a year when the green shoots of British boxing began to flower, 2011 could be one of those rare years when British boxing bursts into full bloom * One of the most heartening stories of 2010 was the development of Amir Khan into a fighter of worldwide repute. Bolton's WBA light-welterweight king should get the chance to announce himself as a fighter of genuine world class over the next 12 months. A homecoming contest is planned for April, with former world title challenger Lamont Peterson said to be the likely opponent, before a unification match in the summer against the winner of Timothy Bradley v Devon Alexander. While Khan showed plenty of heart to come through against the hard-hitting Marcos Maidana in December, WBO champion Bradley, who is favourite to beat WBC champion Alexander, has more cunning, if less clout, than the crude Argentine. It would be another crucial learning fight for the 24-year-old Khan, who, whatever he wants us to believe, is nowhere near ready for Floyd Mayweather yet. Carl Froch lost and regained world titles in 2010 as he sealed a semi-final spot in the rickety Super Six super-middleweight tournament - a noble idea, undermined at every turn by the vagaries of the sport. Froch, holder of the WBC belt, faces Jamaican warhorse Glen Johnson next before a probable final against razor-sharp American Andre Ward, the WBA title-holder. With Sky interested in screening Froch's future fights and the Super Six final set to take place in either Las Vegas or New York, the criminally undervalued Nottingham fighter should finally get the credit he has long craved and wholeheartedly deserves. Ricky Burns was one of Britain's four world champions at the end of 2010 - and the Coatbridge man is another fighter whose profile should be higher than it is. Burns claimed the WBO super-featherweight crown from Puerto Rico's Roman Martinez with a magnificent performance in September and rumours have surfaced that unbeaten two-weight world champion and current WBO featherweight title-holder Juan Manuel Lopez is set to move up again to challenge the Scot in 2011. Burns may be Frank Warren's only current world champion but the veteran promoter has a wave of talent rolling into shore and about to break, with Nathan Cleverly and Kell Brook both on the verge of world title tilts. Welshman Cleverly, 23, should get first dibs having been promised a shot at the winner of the January contest between WBO champ Juergen Braehmer and WBA champion Beibut Shumenov. Should Cleverly come through, a unification match with Canada's WBC champion Jean Pascal, last seen drawing with boundless Bernard Hopkins, would make perfect sense. Warren recently offered Brook to Khan but the Bolton man insists he has bigger fish to fry. More likely the Sheffield switch-hitter will meet Mike Jones - if the American wins a rematch against Mexican Jesus Soto Karass in February - for the interim WBO welterweight crown next summer. Olympic gold medallist James DeGale, never lacking in confidence, has also been talking about challenging for a world title in 2011, although the super-middleweight division is talent rich and it is difficult to see an opening. However, should Belfast's Brian Magee cause an upset against IBF champion Lucian Bute on 19 March, DeGale would surely be in the shake-up for Magee's first defence. Warren would make sure of that. If not Magee, then DeGale against fellow Londoner and Commonwealth champion George Groves would be a spicy match-up, as would European middleweight champion Matt Macklin against Darren Barker, a genuine 50-50 fight that was postponed twice in 2010. Another intriguing clash would be European lightweight champion John Murray - like Brook, considered an unworthy opponent by Khan - against British champion Gavin Rees, who is looking for a route back to the top having previously been a world champion at 147lb. Dereck Chisora was meant to have fought Wladimir Klitschko in December before the latter pulled out with a back injury - or was it his stomach? With Haye set to elbow his compatriot aside, Chisora may now spend 2011 mixing it with fellow Brits Tyson Fury and David Price instead. A disappointment for Chisora, potentially a lot of fun for the fans. Throw Rendall Munroe, so gallant in losing a world title challenge in October, into the mix, along with Ryan Rhodes and DeGale's fellow Olympians Frankie Gavin and Billy Joe Saunders, both on the verge of domestic honours, and 2011 promises to be a lip-smacking year for British boxing fans. Just make sure to keep everything crossed... *I left out the 1st part of the article as it was about Haye v the Klits. Didnt want to turn this into another thread about that. Click the link at the top if u want to read that bit.