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<\/a>By Randy \u201cThe Commish\u201d Gordon<\/strong><\/p>\nAs 2019 winds, down, I think of the number of world-class fighters who have moved up in weight during the year, or are about to move up: Canelo Alvarez. Oleksandr Usyk. Gervonta Davis. Gilberto Ramirez. Soon, Murat Gassiev will follow Usyk from the cruiserweight division into the land of the heavyweights. Of the names you just read, I think Gervonta Davis has the most intriguing opportunities.<\/p>\n
For one, there is Vasyl Lomachenko, the WBO Lightweight Champion and the man viewed by many as boxing\u2019s top pound-for-pound fighter. There is also the winner of next month\u2019s Richard Commey-Teofimo Lopez fight. Let\u2019s not leave out fast-rising, budding superstar, Ryan Garcia. Then, there\u2019s the WBC Lightweight Champ, a guy named Devin Haney. While we\u2019re at it, let\u2019s not leave off former lightweight kingpin, Mikey Garcia. Just a few of those fights would fill up Davis\u2019 calendar well into 2021. <\/p>\n
The most lucrative one at the moment is a fight against Lomachenko. It\u2019s a fight the Davis camp is clamoring for.<\/p>\n
Funny, but at this time last year, the Davis camp were steadfast in rejecting any notion of \u201cTank\u201d facing \u201cThe Matrix.\u201d Since that time, after seeing him floored by Jorge Linares and tagged by Luke Campbell, they\u2019ve changed their tune and have called him out. Repeatedly.<\/p>\n
Both Lomachenko and his promoter, Top Rank, are open to facing Davis in 2020. However, it\u2019s beginning to look like Lomachenko\u2014who has to consume a high volume of calories to make 135 pounds\u2014is more comfortable at the super featherweight\/jr. lightweight limit of 130 pounds. While Lomachenko wants to go down in weight, Davis is looking upwards. He walks around at over 160 pounds, and has been feeling the strain of making 130 pounds for years. So, Davis is through at jr. lightweight. From here on in, Davis\u2019 future will be north of 130 pounds. His next fight, scheduled for December 28 in Atlanta, will be as a lightweight. His opponent is perfect for him: the shopworn Yuriorkis Gamboa. The fight will be seen on Showtime.<\/p>\n
Gamboa is 37, and riding a four-fight winning streak. However, his best days came as a featherweight, capturing the 126-pound title (WBA) in 2010. His worst performance as a pro came on June 28, 2014, when he faced newly-crowned WBO Lightweight Champion Terence Crawford for Crawford\u2019s title. Crawford toyed with Gamboa, dropping him four times on the way to a ninth-round stoppage. Although he has won seven out of eight fights since losing to Crawford, he hasn\u2019t shown the same flash he had prior to the Crawford fight.<\/p>\n
Two of his wins (vs Jason Sosa and Alexis Reyes) came on Majority Decision, with many in attendance feeling as if Gamboa was lucky to win. Against Davis, who will probably carry well over 140 pounds into the ring after a day of rehydration following the Friday weigh-in, Gamboa will be outgunned at every turn…Another guy who has made a move up in weight is former WBA 168-pound kingpin Gilberto Ramirez. After narrowly retaining his title for the fifth time last December with a Majority Decision against Jesse Hart, Ramirez\u2014nearly 6\u20193\u201d\u2014stopped fighting with the scales and decided to move up to light heavyweight. He looked terrific in stopping former contender Tommy Karpency in the fourth round. Injuries have kept him sidelined, but he\u2019s back in the gym and ready to go…<\/p>\n
Former WBA & IBF Cruiserweight Champion Murat Gassiev is another top name set to move up. Inactive since losing to Oleksandr Usyk in the WBSS Cruiserweight Finals in July 2018, Gassiev nursed some injuries, then went to work in building himself into a heavyweight. At nearly 6\u20194,\u201d he already has heavyweight height. He already has explosive power, now has added 20 pounds of muscle onto his frame. He believes a rematch against Usyk is one of the big fights in his future. He is set to make his heavyweight debut in early 2020.<\/p>\n
WBC Featherweight Champion Gary Russell, JR. is, arguably, the best featherweight in the world. His record is 30-1, with 18 knockouts. His one loss was on June 14, 2014, when he lost a majority decision to Vasyl Lomachenko. However, he is the least-known of any American champion. You can blame it on his promoter\u2014the PBC\u2014or on Russell, JR. himself, whose personality and charisma are a shade above that of a wart hog. His last fight took place in May of this year, when he stopped Kiki Martinez at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, as the co-feature to Deontay Wilder\u2019s first-round blowout of Dominic Breazeale. At the post-fight press conference, Russell, JR. was asked about his activity\u2014or lack of it. He responded, \u201cI intend to stay busy from here on in. I plan to have two, maybe three more fights this year.\u201d Since then, he has had none, nor is anything on the immediate calendar. In 2014, the year he lost to Lomachenko, he was 2-1. He ends 2019 with a record of 30-1, 18 KO\u2019s.<\/p>\n
In each of the next five years, he has had but one fight. And yet, he continues to call out guys like Lomachenko and Leo Santa Cruz. He even put out a creepy video a few months ago where he called out Santa Cruz while appearing to threaten Santa Cruz\u2019 ill father. Gary, as I once heard Don King say to heavyweight Greg Page, \u201cGo out and get yourself a personality.\u201d Speak to Al Haymon. Fighting once a year will not get you Lomachenko. Fighting once a year will not get you Leo Santa Cruz. Fighting once a year will get you Kiko Martinez. And Oscar Escandon. And Jhonny Gonzalez. Wake up, Gary! You\u2019re 31 with a skill set second to nobody. You can beat these guys you\u2019re calling out. Only, nobody outside your circle in Capital Heights, Maryland, knows who you are. Get to work! It\u2019s not too late to make your dreams come true. Otherwise, you\u2019re destined to be known as Gary \u201cOnce a Year\u201d Russell, JR., the champ nobody knows.<\/p>\n
When Floyd Mayweather, JR. and Conor McGregor faced each other in a \u201ccrossover\u201d fight\u2014a boxer against an MMA fighter\u2014it opened the doors for so many of these \u201cPet Rocks\u201d to be sold to the public, which has shown it will buy just about anything unique and different, no matter how ridiculous. There\u2019s boxer Vs MMA fighter. There\u2019s bareknuckle boxing (Artem Lobov Vs Paulie Malignaggi). There\u2019s Youtube stars (KSI Vs Logan Paul) facing each other. A few weeks ago, it was undefeated heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury performing in the WWE. Now, it\u2019s back to MMA fighters challenging boxers. The MMA fighters are boxer are Jorge Masvidal and Stipe Miocic. Masvidal, coming off an impressive win over Nate Diaz at UFC 244, has gotten on the growing line of those who have thrown challenges at newly-crowned light heavyweight champion Canelo Alvarez. \u201cI can fight and I can punch,\u201d said Masvidal, adding, \u201cand I can punch very hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miocic, the UFC Heavyweight Champion, has called out Tyson Fury. While Alvarez hasn\u2019t responded to Masvidal\u2019s challenge, Fury has said, \u201cAs soon as I beat [Deontay] Wilder in the rematch (expected to take place in the first quarter of 2020), I\u2019ll take care of Miocic, too!\u201d While I am not a proponent of these kind of matches, it\u2019s an opportunity for each guy to make a lot more money. To that, I say \u201cHallelujah!\u201d More power to them!<\/p>\n
If I had to guess, who Canelo Alvarez will face\u2014most likely in May\u2014here are the top five men I believe have the best chance of facing Alvarez.<\/p>\n
1. Gennady Golovkin\u2014<\/strong> <\/em>The former Middleweight Champ is 0-1-1 against Alvarez, but time is not on his side. He will be 38 in April, and is not going to get any better. Alvarez liked what he saw in \u201cGGG\u2019s\u201d last fight, a tough decision win against Sergei Derevyanchenko. GGG is 40-1-1, 35 KO\u2019s. Alvarez believes their rubber match will be more decisive, and that, after their fight, \u201cGGG\u201d will leave the ring with his second loss. Oh, this fight will happen at 168 pounds, not 160.<\/p>\n 2. B.J. Saunders\u2014<\/strong><\/em>The WBO Super Middleweight Champion is a southpaw with a 29-0 record, 14 knockouts and a difficult style. However, Alvarez feels, a rightfully so, that Saunders has never faced a fighter with as many tools as Alvarez. That\u2019s why we think, if Alvarez doesn\u2019t choose \u201cGGG\u201d to face him in May, it\u2019ll be Saunders.<\/p>\n 3. Demetrius Andrade\u2014<\/strong><\/em>Like Saunders, Andrade is a southpaw. However, he is a very fast southpaw and especially fast for a 6\u20191\u201d middleweight. Andrade will bring with him the WBO Middleweight Title, but that\u2019s only if they fight at 160 pounds, which we don\u2019t see happening. Look for this one at 168 pounds.<\/p>\n 4. Callum Smith\u2014<\/strong><\/em>Tall and motivated, the WBA\/WBO Super Middleweight Titlist is 26-0 with 19 knockouts. He can box, punch with power, brawl and put on relentless pressure. He is also 6\u20193.\u201d Don\u2019t look for Alvarez to face Smith until he\u2019s out of other options.<\/p>\n 5. Dmitri Bivol\u2014<\/strong><\/em>The 17-0, 11 KO\u2019s WBA Light Heavyweight Champ is an exceptional in and out boxer, with the best jab in the division. He says he feels strong at 175, but also says he can make 168 pounds with ease. He is a dangerous fight, and like Smith, an opponent the Alvarez camp will most likely stay away from as long as they can.<\/p>\n Our column next week will focus on the upcoming WBC Heavyweight Title rematch between champion Deontay Wilder and Luis Ortiz. I will be on the scene in Las Vegas, doing my show on SiriusXM Radio on Friday from Radio Row at the MGM Grand Hotel.<\/p>\n It should be a very interesting rematch!<\/p>\n Randy \u201cThe Commish\u201d Gordon is the Author of the hit book, “Glove Affair”. Order your copy by clicking HERE<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n