Travis “Novel” Fleming’s 25 Dream Fights For the Next Year

By Travis “Novel” Fleming

With boxing reaching its highest level of popularity since the early 90’s, I thought it would be interesting to wax philosophical about the best potential match ups of the post Mayweather vs Pacquiao era. Here are twenty five potential bouts that are pick’em affairs between elite level talents. Boxing will be sitting pretty if even a fraction of these fights come to fruition.

Terrence Crawford, 26-0, 18 KO’s vs Lucas Matthysse, 37-3, 34 KO’s: Crawford’s versatility and slick skill set tested against Matthysse’s power, pressure and will to win. Winner goes on to be a mega fight opponent and gets a massive boost to their rankings.

Deontay Wilder, 33-0 32 KO’s vs Wladimir Klitschko, 64-3 53 KO’s: Can Wilder put an end to the Klitschko era and usher in a new era of competitiveness and excitement at heavyweight? Will Wlad notch a career defining victory so he can ride off into the sunset with an elevated ranking, having beaten every legitimate challenge of his era?

Keith Thurman, 25-0, 21 KO’s vs Kell Brook, 34-0, 23 KO’s: Both top tier talents in need of a credible win to prove their worth. Both skilled boxers with big power. Which one will emerge as the best welterweight once Mayweather retires?

Andre Ward, 27-0, 14 KO’s vs the winner of Andre Dirrell, 24-1, 16 KO’s vs James DeGale, 20-1 14 KO’s: Ward is running short on opposition at 168. Froch doesn’t want a rematch and GGG doesn’t want to move up for him, but luckily on May 23, Dirrell and DeGale battle to see who becomes the second best at 168, creating a legitimate threat to Ward and a fight that, if Ward wins, would elevate him back to his lofty ranking as the number two pound for pound best fighter in the world after his long layoff.

Miguel Cotto, 39-4, 32 KO’s vs Saul “Canelo” Alvarez 45-1-1, 32 KO’s: The two biggest names in the sport besides Mayweather and Pacquiao. Imagine if boxing’s two biggest fights happen in the same year? The only fight not involving Mayweather or Pacquiao that can generate a million pay per view buys. Also a very interesting style clash with two guys who rarely disapoint when it comes to brutality.

Adonis Stevenson 26-1, 21 KO’s vs Sergey Kovalev, 27-0-1, 24 KO’s: Two massive punching light heavyweights, both with legitimate claims of being the best in the division. They’ve been going back and forth with trash talk for over a year and seem to genuinely dislike each other. Someone’s getting hurt in this grudge match, who will emerge king of 175 lbs?

Erislandy Lara, 20-2-2, 12 KO’s vs Demetrius Andrade, 21-0, 14 KO’s: Both highly skill boxers that have trouble getting anyone in the ring with them, so why not fight each other? Borderline pound for pound talents, the winner will emerge as one of the best junior middleweights in the world.

Amir Khan, 30-3, 19 KO’s vs the winner of Adrien Broner, 30-1, 22 KO’s vs Porter 25-1-1, 16 KO’s: Khan has been spoon-fed soft punchers and smaller men ever since his brutal knockout at the hands of Danny Garcia. Assuming Khan gets by featherfisted Chris Algieri, a fight against the Broner vs Porter winner would give the winner of that fight their biggest name opponent to date and would give Khan respect for facing his first credible threat since 2012. Both Porter and Broner present interesting style clashes with Khan and should make for an exciting fight.

Ruslan Provodnikov, 24-4 17 KO’s vs Lamont Peterson, 33-3-1 17 KO’s: Crossroads fight between two guys desperate for a significant win. Both are extremely iron willed, does Peterson have enough skill to avoid the relentless assault of Provodnikov? A fight to stay relevant, so both warriors would put it all the line.

Nicholas Walters 25-0, 21 KO’s vs Vasyl Lomachenko, 4-1, 2 KO’s: Two men at the top of the talent rich featherweight division. Two men destined for future pound for pound greatness. Does the pedigree of one of the greatest amateur fighters of all time hold up against a powerful, well rounded, elite level pro? Winner of this tilt is sure to go on to superstardom.

Guillermo Rigondeaux, 15-0, 10 KO’s vs Carl Frampton, 20-0, 14 KO’s: Will somebody please give Rigondeaux the chance to showcase his awesomeness? Frampton has been on a tear and looks to be the biggest challenge for Rigondeaux at 122 lbs. In fact, Frampton might be the only challenge, so hopefully boxing’s most avoided man can get Frampton in the ring and not be forced to move up in weight for fights as he is already undersized at 122 lbs where his flawless skill set has seen him make top tier talents look like novices.

Roman Gonzalez, 43-0, 37 KO’s vs Naoya Inoue, 8-0, 7 KO’s: The biggest battle of small men since Michael Carbajal vs Humberto Gonzalez. Will Inoue become the most impressive fighter in history with only 10 fights? Will Roman Gonzalez enter the top 3 pound for pound and cement himself as the new Ricardo “Finito” Lopez?

Gennady Golovkin, 33-0, 30 KO’s vs Andre Dirrell, 24-1, 16 KO’s: GGG desperately needs a legitimate opponent and if Dirrell beats James DeGale to become IBF champion at 168 lbs, he’s got one that holds a world title an an amateur victory over him. Dirrell and GGG each beat each other once in very close fights as amateurs, so they have unfinished business, and clearly make for competitive fights. If Dirrell beats Degale, the timing couldn’t be more perfect and GGG will have his long awaited first elite level opponent. Does Dirrell’s speed and skill give GGG as much problems as a pro as it did in the ams?

Andre Ward, 27-0, 14 KO’s vs Sergey Kovalev, 27-0-1, 24 KO’s: As previously mentioned, Ward is out of opposition at 168. If James Degale beats Andre Dirrell, he would make for a top level opponent but if Dirrell wins, he and Ward are friends so they might not fight as they already botched a previous attempt in the Super Six tournament. Ward has been calling on Gennady Golovkin and criticizing him for not wanting to move up a division to fight him, so why not move up a division himself to fight the “Krusher” Sergey Kovalev? Ward would not be undersized at light heavyweight as that’s where he fought as an amateur and it’s the division that he won his Olympic gold medal in. Wards upcoming June tune-up is also at light heavyweight. This would be the classic boxer vs puncher style clash that have made for some of the most interesting bouts ever. Two of the very best in either category, the winner would see an astronomical enhancement to his legacy, and if Ward won he’d be the king of two divisions.

Amir Khan, 30-3, 19 KO’s vs Kell Brook, 34-0, 23 KO’s: The biggest fight in the UK, it would be an absolutely monster of an event. Both highly skilled operators. Khan’s speed and workrate vs Brooks power and counter punching ability. The winner would take the torch from Carl Froch as England’s top fighter of the following era.

Anthony Joshua, 12-0, 12 KO’s vs Tyson Fury, 24-0, 18 KO’s: This is assuming Fury loses to Wladimir Klitschko. Joshua, the former Olympic gold medalist, has the goods to be a future champion, he’s a very skilled boxer with a big punch. Fury is as tough as they come and never comes to lay down so will be sure to test Joshua in a way he’s yet to be tested. The winner of this fight would be the most logical opponent for Deontay Wilder, provided Wilder doesn’t already get a Klitschko fight by then.

Manny Pacquiao, 57-6-2 38 KO’s vs Terrence Crawford, 26-0 18 KO’s: A chance for Crawford, boxing’s best young fighter, to stamp his ticket to superstardom and the pound for pound elite. A chance for Pacquiao to prove he still has it, and to earn the rematch he craves with Floyd Mayweather by beating a skilled boxer type that would serve as an excellent tune up for Floyd.

Marcos Maidana, 35-5 31 KO’s vs Keith Thurman, 25-0 21 KO’s: This one would get nasty quick. A chance for Thurman to prove he is who we think he is. Maidana would test Thurman in a way he has never been tested and if he cannot handle the pressure he will suffer a nasty beating. Winner would have a legit claim to top dog at 147 after Mayweather and Pacquiao retire.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez 45-1-1 32 KO’s vs Gennady Golovkin, 33-0 30 KO’s: GGG desperately needs a big fight against a top tier talent. It appears Cotto will likely choose to fight Canelo instead of him, and it would be great news for GGG if Canelo were to win as Canelo has showed his willingness to take high risk fights and has the potential to give GGG problems with his power, accuracy, chin and decent technical ability. They reportedly sparred and neither man had the edge. Their styles would make for an absolute war, and this fight would generate massive interest. The winner would become the “face” of boxing in the post Mayweather vs Pacquiao era.

Gary Russell Jr, 26-1-0 15 KO’s vs Nicholas Walters, 25-0 21 KO’s: Speed vs power. Both with recent career defining wins where they dominated, and knocked out, opponents that were supposed to give them a 50-50 fight. Hopefully this happens before Walters outgrows featherweight as Russell is just too small to go any higher, and Walters looks like his time at 126 could be limited.

Artur Beterbiev, 8-0 8 KO’s vs Andrzej Fonfara, 27-3 16 KO’s: Beterbiev, like fellow amateur stand outs Lomachenko and Rigondeaux, is being fast tracked to a world title. After only 8 fights, winning every one by KO, Beterbiev has already knocked out two former champions and is well on his way to a quick title shot. In the amateur ranks, Beterbiev twice beat current champ Sergey Kovalev and has been chasing the opportunity to repeat his am victories in the pro ranks against the red hot Kovalev. A dominating win over Fonfara would line Beterbiev up as the biggest threat to Sergey Kovalev at 175 lbs. Fonfara just scored one of the upsets of the year by destroying Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, and last year he proved he can hang with the best of the division in knocking down champion Adonis Stevenson, en route to losing a close decision. A win over Montreal based Beterbiev would position Fonfara for the rematch he desperately craves against fellow Montrealer Stevenson. This fight has war written all over it.

Danny Garcia, 30-0 17 KO’s vs Robert Guerrerro, 32-3-1 18 KO’s: Danny Garcia has had trouble making the junior welterweight limit for a while now, and seems poised to make the jump to 147 lbs this year. Who better than to test the waters against then Guerrerro? Guerrero isn’t the biggest puncher, so he’s somewhat of a safe first fight at welter, but he’s rugged, will make you work and is a great indication of how a fighter moving up in weight can hang at 147 lbs. There will be some vicious exchanges in this fight, the winner would secure a title shot, and it’s an easy fight to make, with both being Al Haymon fighters.

David Lemieux, 33-2 31 KO’s vs Andy Lee, 34-2-1 24 KO’s: Lemieux first has to get by Hassan N’Jikam N’Dam to capture the IBF middleweight title, and if he does, this would be a great unification bout that will create the most logical challenger to GGG. Both Lemieux and Lee are monstrous punchers, so this one is sure to end in a nasty knockout.

Abner Mares, 29-1-1 15 KO’s vs Leo Santa Cruz , 30-0-1 17 KO’s: Santa Cruz needs to fight a legitimate challenge before he’s completely forgotten. Fellow Mexican warrior Abner Mares has stated he is more than willing to fill that roll. Two brawlers that never take a step backwards always makes for a great battle. Will the proven Mares expose Santa Cruz as a media creation that has been feasting on no hopers, or will Santa Cruz finally climb into the ranks of the elite with a career defining victory?

Timothy Bradley: 31-1-1 12 KO’s vs Brandon Rios 33-2-1 24 KO’s: This fight seems a certainty with both fighting on the same card in June and both being of the few Top Rank fighters from 140-147 that haven’t fought each other. Logic would say Bradley outboxes him, but Bradley has a tendency to abandon his boxing and get dragged into a brawl against much more powerful fighters. Rios looked vicious and spectacular in his last fight where he destroyed Mike Alvarado. It was the best Rios has looked since his days at lightweight, so if Bradley abandons his boxing and goes to war this could end very painfully for him.

What fights are you looking forward to the most?

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