Who’s in the Money Hunt For The Great Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013 and 2014?
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Correspondent
New York,NY (April 21st, 2013)– 2013 and 2014 are the glory money hunt years for the most qualified opponents for the as yet still unbeaten 36 year old Floyd Mayweather Jr. to throw their hats in the ring and get a shot at Floyd. Win or lose (and so far all of the opponents have lost), the Floyd opponents will get ‘to disappear after drawing out their hard earned cash’ as we say from Die Moritat von Mackie Messer, which translates into English as The Ballad of Mack The Knife. For he we have the $$$ ballad of the foes of Floyd.
For if Floyd survives his trip to boxing hell against Robert Guerrero and actually wins the decision, his trip to hell may just be beginning. Here’s my foe $$$ list.
# 1 Saul Canelo Alvarez of Mexico, at age 22, at 46-0, has beaten 26-0 WBA southpaw champion Austin Trout, after sending him to the canvas for the first time in his career. Canelo sits atop of the Junior Middleweight division as the super champion to beat, holding the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association world titles. Showing power at 154 pounds, ‘the ultimate confrontation’ will give Canelo the chance-if Floyd beats Guerrero-to beat up on Floyd some more.
Given same height and reach between the two combatants, Canelo’s 46-0 with 30 knockouts at age 22 sparkles next to Floyd’s 43-0 with 26 knockouts at age 37. If Canelo wins this bout, he will be three bouts away from passing Rocky Marciano to reach the magical 50-0. In the nearest historical parallel, Ruben Olivares reached 61-0-1 till he lost his WBC and WBA Bantamweight titles to Chuchu Castillo in October 1970. Olivares won his belts back in a rematch with Castillo in April 1971.
# 2 Erislandy Lara Santoya of Guantanamo, Cuba, age 30, a 17-1-2 southpaw who was the world amateur welterweight champion in 2005. Lara escaped Cuba and defected by speedboat to Mexico. Floyd is getting old, and might not escape the ring in oner piece against the vicious and sharp Lara. Blatantly robbed of a 12 round decision against the now paralyzed Paul Williams, draws with Carlos Molina (D10 in 2011) and 32-0 Vanos Martirosyan in a WBC Light middleweight eliminator (2012) have led Lara to win only two of his last five bouts. Not to be deceived, the quality of his opponent is extremely high.
Lara next fights the rough tough and been around the block Mexican Alfredo Angulo on June 8, 2013 in California. If Lara beasts Angulo convincingly (as in a knockout, Lara is a live wire in the Floyd hunt. Lara has knocked out in the first round Shannon Briggs style such pretenders as Ronald Hearns, Delray Raines, Tim Connors, Willie Lee, William Correa, Jose Varela, Keith Cross, Rodrigo Aguilar, and Dennis Aleksejevs. Floyd take notice, Lara is not a walk in the park opponent.
# 3 Danny Garcia. On April 27, 2013, Garcia will defeat Zab Judah by knockout at Barclay’s Center and rise to 26-0 with 17 knockouts, to retain his WBC and WBA World Light Welterweight titles. A hard hitter, he could knock out Floyd. Conversely, Garcia may not hit as hard at the higher weight and Floyd might knock him out and expose the Philadelphian as not being as ‘swift’ as his nickname.
# 4 Timothy Bradley-The ‘Desert Storm’ warrior has reached 30-0 with 12 knockouts and is the WBO World Welterweight titleholder, but it wasn’t easy. Two close and controversial 12 round decisions over Manny Pacquiao and Ruslan Provodnikov have put Bradley into a mega bout with Juan Manuel Marquez. Bradley has been dropped and hurt by Provodnikov (round 12) and Kendall Holt (round 1). Against Holt, Bradley got out of foot position in the same way Pacquiao did when Pacman got knocked out by Marquez. Bradley has a big hard but a questionable chin which might make Bradley a tempting choice for Floyd.
# 5 Adrien Broner-Shades of Iron Mike Tyson versus Evander Holyfield. Broner recently got arrested for biting a security guard at the Fountainbleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Hopefully he can stay out of trouble long enough on his own recognizance to fight Paulie Malignaggi on June 22 at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn and add the WBA World Welterweight title to his WBC Lightweight title. At 26-0 with 22 knockouts, the 23 year old Broner, known as ‘the problem’, has youth, speed and strength on his side, and might be just the type to end Floyd’s dominant reign.
# 6 Paul Spadafora-Play that funky music white boy. 37 year old southpaw bad boy ex-champion Spadafora is now 48-0-1 and holds the NABF light welterweight title.
# 7 Winner of 20-0 Keith Thurman of Florida versus 22-0 #8Diego Gabriel Chaves of Argentina July 20 in California interim WBA World Welterweight title bout.
# 9 Kell Brook-Great Britain’s ‘Special One’ is 29-0, 19 knockouts and is ranked number one by the International Boxing Federation, but is nursing a foot injury.
# 10 Vanos Martirosyan-The Armenian Nightmare, now 32-0-1 with 20 knockouts, must wait till the cut over his left eye, incurred during an accidental head butt from Erislandy Lara in a WBC Light Middleweight eliminator, fully heals.
# 11 Sergey Rabchenko-Also known as RabchenKO, the Belarus fighter is 23-0, 17 knockouts, and now holds the WBC silver and European Light Middleweight titles.
# 12 Cesar Rene Cuenca-The 32 year old Argentine southpaw is now 44-0 with only two knockouts. A skilled technical fighter who can box the pants off of Floyd, Cuenca holds the WBC Latino light welterweight title. In the tradition of the late Carlos Monzon, the late Nicolino ‘El Intocable’ Loche and Sergio Gabriel Martinez, yet another most dangerous Argentina fighter. Floyd should think twice before taking a bout against Cuenca. Like Carlos Monzon before he beat Nino Benvenuti, Cuenca has never been seen outside his native Argentina, and is unlikely to be seen unless a world title bout is offered and he is tested on foreign soil for real.
# 13 Leonard Bundu-The 38 year old Sierra Leone southpaw, now fighting out of Italy, has won five European Welterweight title bouts in a row, and is 29-0-2, 10 knockouts. Bundu might be a prime candidate for Floyd because of his age. That factor might be deceiving, because like Italian fine wine, Bundu seems to be getting better with age
# 14 Demetrius Andrade-19-0, 13 knockouts, Providence, Rhode Island southpaw known as ‘Boo-Boo’. Andrade will need to defeat 28-1 Zaurbek Baysangurov in the Ukraine on July 6, 2013 and win the World Boxing Organization Light Middleweight title to have an outside chance to fight Floyd. If not, Baysangurov could have an outside chance at Floyd if he wins. Both are still relatively unknown.
# 15 Damian Jonak-36-0-1, 21 knockouts Polish light middleweight who fights next May 11, 2013. Holds legitimate ten round decision wins over Jackson Bonsu, Anderson Clayton, Alex Bunema, Michael Schubov and Jose Luis Cruz. Now yet seen outside of Poland but Floyd could rectify that situation and test this record.
# 16 Khabib Allakhverdiev-18-0, 8 knockouts Russian southpaw known as ‘The Hawk’, Khabib won the WBA and International Boxing Organization Light Welterweight world titles by defeating 33-0-1 Joan Guzman in November 2012 in Sunrise, Florida, when Guzman injured his left knee in the eighth round and was unable to continue, winning a split technical decision on the scorecards.
Honorable Mention: Jermell and Jermall Charlo-The 22 year old twin brothers from Texas combine for a 33-0 record at 154 pounds. If Floyd is bored he could fight both of them at the same time. The Charlos are first prominent twins to be world ranked at the same time since Tarvis Simms and Travis Simms (now retired), and the first brothers since Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, and Miguel Angel Cotto and Jose Miguel Cotto.
Jermell ‘Iron Man’ Charlo is now 20-0 with 10 knockouts, by virtue of his eighth round knockout over Harry Joe Yorgey to win the WBC Continental Americas Light Middleweight title in January 2013 in Las Vegas and is ranked 11 on BoxRec. Jermall Charlo looked impressive cutting Orlando Lora to pieces at the Alamodome on April 20, 2013, on the Canelo Alvarez versus Austin Trout undercard, and is currently ranked 71 on BoxRec. That number should rise.
One thing is for sure: the two talented young Charlo brothers are not going away, and might steal the spotlight in the future as the marquee names age out and fade away off the map. Floyd beware! These two are rapid risers.
Honorable Mention: John Jackson, age 25, 16-1, 14 knockouts at 154 pounds, U.S. Virgin Islands. Son of former world junior middleweight champion Julian ‘The Hawk’ Jackson. John was impressive beating 16-0-1 Ceresso Fort in Atlantic City in 2013. the Hawk’s son is currently ranked number 15 among junior middleweights by the World Boxing Council. His older brother Julius, age 25, is a 15-0 super middleweight.
The Jackson brothers, affiliated with 340 Boxing in the Virgin Islands, appear on cards promoted Samson Lewcowicz and Samson Boxing. His dad Julian ‘The Hawk’ Jackson works the corner of his sons.
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