By Joe Plunkett
Boxing is going through a great period, after a stinker of a campaign last year. We saw a calendar that was dominated by a fight which was not even really boxing. Floyd Mayweather took on Conor McGregor and it was a total joke of an occasion. McGregor performed better than expected but putting an amateur up against a professional was never going to give us a real fight to enjoy, let alone a special occasion that showed just how great boxing could be. No, it was everything that is wrong with modern sport. Money over quality, spectacle over spectators and greed over a good time.
However, this year seems set to be a good one for boxing. We have already had some great bouts, like Eubank Jr losing to George Groves and if that technical, tight and interesting fight is any indication, it could be one of the best boxing years in a while. We have matches coming up that should be fun to watch, that should get us going as fans and entertain us in a way that the Mayweather and McGregor flop never could.
There are so many great bouts coming up, but there a couple that stand out; fights that are going to be so special that fans of the sport will be counting down the days. It is a great time to be a boxing fan and it is going to be a fun few months of action. These are the fights you cannot miss, the bouts that will really get the senses going.
Anthony Joshua vs Joseph Parker (31st March)
Anthony Joshua is now a beloved face in British sport, with many having made him the favorite for last year’s sports personality of the year award, though he eventually finished fourth. This is a big fight in so many ways. It is huge for Joshua as he needs to keep winning, in order to prove that he is the top heavyweight around. It is big for Parker too as it’s a shot at a big rival. It’s also a huge night for the bookmakers, who are reporting that Joshua Parker betting is through the roof. For British boxing it is a chance for the golden boy to shine once again.
Gennady Golovkin vs Saul Alvarez (5th May)
This bout is huge, so much so that it’s actually worthy of the super-fight moniker. It pits two genuinely world class boxers together with Golovkin arguably being the best in the world. They have already battled it out once, late last year, and it ended as a draw. It is still unclear which of the two fighters is the best and it will be wonderful to see two boxers currently at the top of their games clash in this one. For real boxing fans this is the biggest rematch in years.