Boxing - Not the best year so far
By Ben Jacobs: Am I the only person who feels a little underwhelmed at the half way stage of this year in terms of the boxing we have seen so far? There haven't been many stand out fights, perhaps the Froch vs Kessler fight was the year’s best so far.
We have also twice seen the biggest fight in the sport implode before our eyes as well as other potential exciting match-ups such as Haye vs. one of the Klitschko's, not come to fruition. That said, we have seen the continuing rising status of fighters such as Andre Ward and Timothy Bradley who have positioned themselves to a point where in the next couple of years they could be talked about on most people's top 5 pound for pound list if they continue to develop as they are currently.
However this summer feels fairly flat, as did the summer of 2009, although that was also caused by a series of tragic deaths in the sport. Next week’s Marquez vs. Diaz rematch has potential to be one of the years more exciting bouts if it lives up to anything like their first bout, although Marquez is coming off a tough loss in which he was completely outclassed by Floyd Mayweather and Juan Diaz looked mediocre in his two bouts with Paulie Malignaggi.
Having said that, next month’s showdown in Montreal between Chad Dawson and Jean Pascal is one of the most anticipated match ups for hardcore boxing fans, even if it doesn't capture the general public's imagination.
Dawson, widely considered to be one of the most talented fighters in the sport may be forced to at times engage in a war with the exciting Jean Pascal who is a talented boxer but cannot resist the urge to have a good tear up as his fight with Carl Froch demonstrated in addition to his two barnstormers with Adrian Diaconu.
Hopefully my disappointment at the first half of this year will turn to joy in the second half with the aforementioned Dawson vs Pascal fight, the return of Devon Alexander, the continuing intrigue that is the super 6 tournament and despite the controversy, the recently announced Pacquiao vs Margarito fight promises to be an all action affair between two fighters who don't know the meaning of the word retreat.
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