Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua escaped us and Terrence Crawford vs Errol Spence is a myth, but the philistine gods have finally gifted us Aamir Khan vs Klay Brook in 2022, so why stop dreaming there?
British boxing currently has a wave of great prospects from the 2020 Olympics, a wave of young professionals cutting their teeth with learning fights and domestic titles and old heroes settling scores and cashing out.
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Tantalizing bouts including Liam Williams vs Chris Eubanks Jr. and Josh Taylor and Jack Cattrall have already been confirmed for spring, so here’s what SunSport suggests a few more bouts we can imagine…
Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano – Undisputed Lightweight
The 35-year-old Irish icon took over his mandatory defense on 11 December and after Serrano won his tune-up on 18 December, it’s a deal done for April.
Not only that, the fight for all of Taylor’s undisputed lightweight crowns will be at the top of the bill at Madison Square Garden.
Ireland’s Olympic hero and leading two-weight queen versus Puerto Rico, 33, who has captured world titles in an astonishing seven divisions.
This will be the fight that defines the careers of both women and unlike most female fights that we see, there is real animosity between the fighters and the teams.
And celebrity YouTube boxer Jake Paul is the new promoter of Serrano, so he’ll be adding fireworks to the event — for better or worse.
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Alexander Usik vs. Tyson Fury – Undisputed Heavyweight
It could have easily read Anthony Joshua vs Dillian White – we really want to see an undisputed heavyweight champion.
We’ve been teased and promised and guaranteed, only to be eventually lied to and disappointed.
Anyone who holds Fury’s WBC belt and Usyk’s WBA, IBF and WBO belts over the summer should definitely be fighting each other.
The Boxing Form Book – especially among heavyweights – tells you that the boxer beats the punter in all rematches.
Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis and even Anthony Joshua’s re-wins over Andy Ruiz Jr prove this point, so it’s hard to see how AJ avenges his loss to Ukraine’s southeast.
It’s hard to see how Dillian White finds a way to beat the 6ft 9in switch-hitting Fury, so let’s just assume it’s a Fury vs Usyak showdown for the ages – with immediate rematch clauses and controversial draws.
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Conor Bain vs. David Avnesyan – Welterweight
25-year-old Ben is improving rapidly, insisting he is ready for the world title right now – promoter Eddie Hearn believes he needs two more tests.
Ben has so far sidelined English, British and European titles but his recent looks show that his education hasn’t been harmed at all.
But at the top of the welterweight pile is an assassin’s row with prospects like Errol Spence, Terrence Crawford, Yordenis Ugas, and even Vergil Ortis and Jeroen Ennis.
Hearn’s plan now is for Ben to fight the brilliant but precocious Adrian Broner, but the Floyd Mayweather protege is notoriously flaky.
Ben’s victory is unlikely to convince his skeptics, who will point to Broner’s passivity and personal problems and that defeat would be a nightmare for his red-hot career.
In form and fresh at the age of 33, a meeting with European champion Ava will be the real litmus test for Ben.
The Ilford ace has all the momentum and confidence to suggest that he wins it, but we need to see him put as much faith in him by giving a real challenge to his team.
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Sunny Edwards vs Julio Cesar Martinez – IBF & WBC Integrated Flyweight
There’s so much heat, talent, skill, and backstory to this potential match that it’s almost guaranteed not to happen.
The flyweight division often flies under the radar due to its lack of big KOs and characters but these boys buck the trend.
Edwards is a mastermind from South London who stuns opponents with his skills and is the IBF World Champion.
Martínez is the Mexican banger who was set to defeat Sunny’s brother Charlie in 2019 when he shamefully thrashed him while on the ground – it was no contest – and he later tested positive for a banned substance.
Martinez still holds Charlie’s old WBC title, so it will be a consolidation to decide No. 1 in the division. Maestro vs Monster? Yes, please.
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Lawrence Okoli vs Maris Breedes – WBO & IBF Integrated Cruiserweight
Hackney is looking to unify the 14th 4lbs division before jumping to play alongside stablemates such as World WBO Cruiserweight Champion Anthony Joshua and Derek Chisora.
The 36-year-old Latvian Breedis has the IBF strap on and is considered the man to beat as Usyak clears the entire weight class and goes up.
A few years ago, O’Collie may not have had many supporters but under Shane McGuigan, his improvements have been plentiful.
Sousse’s right hand unbeaten nearly wiped out all 17 of his victims, while Usyk could not stop Byredis in his only loss.
So it will be the decisive battle that will end the careers of both men in this division before moving on, or perhaps retiring to the veteran Byredis, as is the case with Okoli.
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Josh Taylor vs. Terrence Crawford – WBO Welterweight Title
Josh Taylor probably has the best CV in boxing in the world, so trying to impose new challenges on the undisputed super-lightweight king feels humiliating.
The Edinburgh ace will have to defend all of their titles against Manchester obligatory challenger Jack Cattrall in February.
But then he can empty his belt, after completing the course, pack on a few more pounds and hunt down mega-fights and deposit money on the welter.
With even the illustrious WBO 147lbs King Crawford struggling to find worthy picks, we can only dream of a date when these two clash.
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Hamza Shiraz vs. Bradley Skeet – Super-welterweight
On 4 December red-hot undefeated Hamza Shiraz had to jump from potential contender with a win over the respected yet defunct Bradley Skeet.
Shiraz, 22, super-welter has moved his training camps to California, while Skeet recently returned to Sheffield in the cold.
It was supposed to be a simple change of guard, but Skeet outboxed the Ilford Star and looked sure to win the decision.
However, Shiraz, a wonderfully polite and respectful man, became agitated and hit Skeet while he was kneeling.
Referee Steve Gray should have ended the contest there and then – without contest or disqualification – because the skeet was not in a fit condition to continue and was stopped shortly thereafter.
In typically classy fashion, Shiraz apologizes and offers to rematch Skeet and it will be another big learning battle for them.
Hopefully we’ll see the match again because Skeet deserves another payday and a shot at redemption and Shiraz can get the valuable experience it probably lacked the first time around.
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