A mass of eye-catching contests could come to fruition should the stars be aligned in the correct manner and below is one clash per division that would make 2017 all the more sweeter moving forward.
Heavyweight – Deontay Wilder v Anthony Joshua
Pitting the two knockout forces of the top division together would be a no-brainer, and with Showtime backing both, the fight could happen towards the end of 2017.
Cruiserweight – Oleksandr Usyk v Murat Gassiev
The breakout fighters of the 200 pound limit in 2016, Usyk and Gassiev can both now call themselves world champions. There’s no doubting Usyk v Gassiev would be explosive if it happened.
Light-heavyweight – Andre Ward v Sergey Kovalev II
Despite talks stalling somewhat since their November meeting, Ward v Kovalev remains the number one fight on everybody’s lips.
Super-middleweight – James DeGale v George Groves II
DeGale would need to come through Badou Jack in order to book his place, whilst Groves faces a tough encounter with Fedor Chudinov. Win for both could mean a massive unification rematch in the late summer of 2017.
Middleweight – Gennady Golovkin v Canelo Alvarez
A date has been earmarked in September 2017 for the biggest 160 pound fight on the planet, so fingers crossed GGG v Canelo makes it over the line.
Super-welterweight – Miguel Cotto v Juan Manuel Marquez
Talked about to happen in 2016, Cotto v Marquez is one of the more interesting contests in what is currently a quiet division.
Welterweight – Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao II
Most fans may disagree, but a second helping of ‘MayPac’ is the only chance boxing has of seeing the master Floyd Mayweather in action once again.
Super-lightweight – Terence Crawford v Mikey Garcia
Crawford is eyeing a super-fight with Pacquiao himself, although an intriguing contest with Garcia has Fight of the Year qualities.
Lightweight – Jorge Linares v Anthony Crolla II
Their first bout was an edge of the seat affair, so who wouldn’t want to see it again in 2017?
Super-featherweight – Francisco Vargas v Vasyl Lomachenko
The main fight of 130 pounds. Vargas v Lomachenko is a dream match-up that hopefully can be made between Golden Boy and Top Rank.
Featherweight – Carl Frampton v Guillermo Rigondeaux
Frampton has another tough assignment against Leo Santa Cruz, but provided the Irishman can come through it again, he could catch the formidable ‘Rigo’ at the right time.
Super-bantamweight – Jessie Magdaleno v Scott Quigg
Magdaleno proved he’s no pushover against Donaire, whilst Quigg looks a stronger force at the higher limit.
Bantamweight – Shinsuke Yamanaka v Luis Nery
Yamanaka has rejuvenated his career, whilst Nery would be the perfect test to gauge how long he can continue.
Super-flyweight – Roman Gonzalez v Naoya Inoue
A fight that made the list at the lower weight previously, Gonzalez v Inoue is THE fight of the lower weights right now.
Flyweight – Kazuto Ioka v Donnie Nietes
Ioka continues to impress, whilst Nietes is yet to make an impact at the flyweight limit.
Light-flyweight – Kosei Tanaka v Pedro Guevara
Tanaka has already won world titles in two weights through only eight fights and Guevara would be good test to see where the Japanese puncher lies on the world stage.
Minimumweight – Wanheng Menayothin v Knockout CP Freshmart
As Menayothin sticks firm at 105 pounds, Freshmart has all the makings of a busy, fan-friendly fight for year ahead.
