Tag: Terence Crawford

Manny Pacquiao could be back in the ring ‘in March, April’: report

Manny Pacquiao said he could fight again this Spring, with many possible opponents.

Manny Pacquiao hopes to return to the ring early next year during a break from his duties as a Filipino senator.

Pacquiao told the Manila Bulletin Sunday that “he can fight in March, April.’’

Pacquiao’s hopes for a spring bout re-ignited speculation about his opponent. In a political season, the senator, who will be 41 on December 17, has more aspiring opponents than he might have running mates or rival candidates in his oft-rumored plans for a run at the Filipino presidency.

The list appears to be led by Danny Garcia and Mikey Garcia. Danny Garcia had been in line to fight Errol Spence Jr. after Spence’s decision over Shawn Porter on September 28 in Los Angeles. But it’s not clear what’s next for Spence after he was thrown from his Ferrari in a scary crash in Dallas on Oct. 10.

Meanwhile, Mikey Garcia has not fought since jumping up in weight and losing a one-sided decision to Spence in Dallas on March 16.

Not on the list – not yet, anyway – is Keith Thurman, who lost a split decision to Pacquiao for a welterweight belt on July 20 in Las Vegas.

Thurman disclosed in mid-September that he underwent surgery on his left hand after the bout. Pain in the hand bothered him throughout the fight, he said. The surgery was a bone fusion. He said he would not be able to fight until next year.

Thurman, who battled back from a first-round knockdown, turned the next 11 rounds into a back-and-forth battle that ended with Pacquiao winning 115-113, 115-113 and 113-114. It was a heck of a fight.

“I would love the rematch,’’ Thurman said then.

If the hand heals in time for March or April, Thurman figures to say much the same thing as speculation mounts about who’s next for Pacquiao.

Also, not on the list is Terence Crawford, perhaps the best welterweight on the planet. But that’s not exactly a surprise. Crawford is a Top Rank fighter, Pacquaio is a Premier Boxing Champions fighter and – blah, blah, blah – never the twain shall meet.

Gervonta Davis: ‘Boxing world hasn’t seen my true potential’

Gervonta Davis said his move up weight to face Yuriorkis Gamboa on Dec. 28 will provide a bigger stage on which to demonstrate his ability.

Gervonta Davis’ power is evident, but he says there is more. A lot more.

Davis’ move up the scale, from 130 pounds to 135, against Yuriorkis Gamboa on Dec. 28, he says, puts him on a bigger stage that will allow him to show how much more.

“The boxing world hasn’t seen my true potential as a fighter,’’ Davis told reporters in a recent Q-and-A session in Las Vegas. “They’ve just seen my power. I’m the type of boxer where if you don’t belong in there with me, you won’t be in there too long.

“Some fighters like to take their time. I’m the type, if I know you’re not on my level, I’m going to show it. The world will see. I’ll fight anybody.”

Anybody means the best at a couple of weight classes for the ever-confident Davis (22-0, 21 knockouts), who is already talking about leading pound-for-pound contender Vasiliy Lomachenko and emerging star Ryan Garcia.

First, however, there is Gamboa at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena in the last significant card of 2019. Showtime and Mayweather Promotions have big plans for Davis in the New Year. But that depends on how he closes out this year.

In Gamboa (30-2, 18 KOs), he faces a fighter with a resume that’s hard to ignore. The Cuban has an Olympic gold medal from the 2004 Athens Games. He is a former featherweight and junior lightweight champion. At lightweight, however, the results have been mixed, including a TKO loss in June 2014 to Terence Crawford, now a welterweight and also a leading pound-for-pound contender.

“We know Gamboa is a veteran and that he’s had a lot of wars, so we know we have a tough fight,’’ Davis said. “He’s definitely dangerous. He can hit. He can fight.

“His last fight he made 134 (pounds for a stoppage of Roman Martinez on July 27), so we know he can get bigger than me at that weight. I’m going into this knowing he’s a bigger fighter than me. I’m just going to bring my power and capitalize on that weight class and becoming world champion.

“I believe I’m one of the top fighters in the world, but I don’t compare myself to other fighters. I just go out and get the job done.’’

Pound-for-pound: Naoya Inoue’s turn as the subject of debate

Naoya Inoue’s performance against Nonito Donaire was gutsy but otherwise just solid, which worked against him in the pound-for-pound debate.

Another week, another pound-for-pound debate.

Two weeks ago, Canelo Alvarez’s stoppage of Sergey Kovalev sparked discussion over whether Alvarez deserves to be No. 1 in the world. This past week, fans and pundits are having the same conversation over Naoya Inoue, who outpointed Nonito Donaire on Thursday in Japan.

Inoue (No. 4 last week) deserves credit for overcoming significant obstacles in the fight, specifically a bad cut that bled much of the fight and Donaire’s size advantage. We later learned that Inoue suffered a fractured orbital bone and a broken nose. He also stood up to everything thrown by Donaire, who is known for his punching power.

All that and a determined opponent was a lot with which to contend yet he won a unanimous decision.

At the same time, Inoue, who had appeared to be superhuman in previous fights, looked mortal in this one. His vaunted punching power largely went missing against the bigger man, aside from a body shot that hurt Donaire badly and put him down. That raises questions about how Inoue would do if he continues to move up in weight.

And the Japanese idol took more hard shots than we were used to seeing, including a few that rocked him. Again, the “Monster” looked like a human being against an opponent who has seen better days.

In the end, Boxing Junkie staffers decided that Inoue shouldn’t supplant any or our Top 3 – No. 1 Vasiliy Lomachenko, No. 2 Terence Crawford and No. 3 Alvarez – based on a gutsy performance that was otherwise no better than solid.

Thus, Inoue remains at No. 4.

Check out our Top 15 list below. And let us know what you think.

BOXING JUNKIE

POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Vasiliy Lomachenko
  2. Terence Crawford
  3. Canelo Alvarez
  4. Naoya Inoue
  5. Oleksandr Usyk
  6. Gennadiy Golovkin
  7. Errol Spence
  8. Juan Francisco Estrada
  9. Mikey Garcia
  10. Artur Beterbiev
  11. Josh Taylor
  12. Manny Pacquiao
  13. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
  14. Leo Santa Cruz
  15. Kosei Tanaka

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Miguel Berchelt, Mairis Briedis, Tyson Fury, Shawn Porter, Julian Williams