Women’s boxing sets an example the men should follow — let the best fight the best
The recent announcement of a middleweight title unification bout between unbeaten women’s champions Claressa Shields and Christina Hammer on April 13 underscores the argument of the best fighting the best.
The same case can’t be applied to men’s boxing. Granted, the talent depth in women’s boxing significantly trails its male counterpart. Yet, Shields and Hammer, both at their professional peaks, agreed to the fight. No need to wait for an elite fighter to age a few more bouts and years before the logical opponent says yes.
A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Shields (8-0, 2 KOs) capitalized on her amateur accomplishments to quickly land professional title matches and earn distinction among the pound-for-pound best fighters. Hammer (24-0, 11 KOs) has reached a similarly lofty status thanks to her eight-year title reign.
“I always seek the biggest challenges and set the highest goals,” Shields said. “Nothing will stop me from becoming undisputed champion and continuing my journey to carry women’s boxing to never-before-seen heights.”
Men’s boxing once basked in the popularity Shields seeks for her sport. The best indeed fought the best and their bouts were dominant media storylines. The contemporary men’s fight game, however, has become an unfortunate system of investment protection, signature fighters linked to conflicting TV networks and the prolonged marinating of appealing bouts.
There was no need for a five-year wait before Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao finally fought in 2015, when both were in their late 30s. The fight shattered pay-per-view records yet it lacked the likely action and memorable moments had Mayweather and Pacquiao fought earlier in their careers.
A more recent example was the Gennady Golovkin-Saul “Canelo” Alvarez middleweight title fight in 2017. Golovkin stormed through the division but Alvarez, the appealing and lucrative opponent, waited until Golovkin encountered Daniel Jacobs, the first difficult test of his 20-fight title run, before he agreed to their eventual two fights.
Boxing fans dream of fights that remain elusive. The matchmaker in all of us continues to analyze the current landscape and wonder if the obvious fights will occur during their appropriate windows. Errol Spence Jr., Mikey Garcia, Terence Crawford and Vasyl Lomachenko belong on the short list of the sport’s best fighters.
The obvious dream matches that generate attention are unification fights between welterweight champions Spence and Crawford and lightweight titleholders Garcia and Lomachenko. Instead, their upcoming fight schedules offer no such envisioned bouts. Garcia will move up two divisions and face Spence March 19 while Crawford will defend his belt against Amir Khan on April 20. Lomachenko has not disclosed his first fight date of the year.
For the first time in a generation, the heavyweight division is re-gaining popularity in the United States thanks to Deontay Wilder, the unbeaten, power-punching champion. Wilder is gradually winning crossover acceptance common of heavyweight champions of previous eras. Wilder also has landed on the constant discussions of demanded fights with his unification bout against fellow unbeaten titleholder Anthony Joshua.
The dynamics make for a compelling fight between Wilder, the U.S.-born champion, and Joshua, whose fights in his native England have become so popular that they required a move to larger capacity soccer stadiums. But Wilder-Joshua, like the aforementioned scenarios, remains in the dream stages. Joshua is scheduled to make his U.S. debut against Jarrell Miller June 1 in New York while Wilder is expected to face Tyson Fury in a rematch of their exciting bout Dec. 1.
The boxing public continues to call out for the demanded matches without any imminent satisfaction. At least Shields and Hammer have stepped up, providing an event beyond fantasies and hopes.
AROUND THE RING
Telemundo opens its 31st year of boxing telecasts Friday night in Kissimmee. The broadcast will feature a regional junior-welterweight fight between Yomar Alamo and Manuel Mendez.
As in the previous four years, the Spanish-language network will air a spring-summer-fall format of fights, promoted by Miami-based All-Star Boxing, on four successive Fridays. The second telecast of the spring series on March 1 also will coincide with the year’s first local card.
All-Star Boxing and Fort Lauderdale-based Heavyweight Factory will present an announced 10-fight show at the Hard Rock Events Center in Hollywood. The card’s co-main event matches Pembroke Pines resident Ed Paredes and Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in a scheduled 10-round welterweight bout.
Leo Santa Cruz retained his WBA featherweight title with a convincing unanimous decision over Rafael Rivera Saturday in Los Angeles. Santa Cruz (36-1-1) won the bout on all three scorecards, 119-109.
Coming up
Friday (11:30 p.m., Telemundo-Ch. 51): Yomar Alamo vs. Manuel Mendez, 10, junior-welterweights.
Saturday (10 p.m., FS1): Anthony Dirrell vs. Avni Yildiri, 12, for the vacant WBC super-middleweight title.