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Great matches that haven’t happened (yet)

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When the highly anticipated fight between Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Vasyl Lomachenko fell through, fans were reminded of other potentially great fights that suffered the same fate.

From Lennox Lewis-Wladimir Klitschko, Prince Naseem Hamed-Juan Manuel Marquez, Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Kostya Tszyu, Mike Tyson-George Foreman, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-David Benavidez, the list goes on.

Here are seven of the biggest fights of the contemporary era that were considered possible but, for various reasons, never happened. Some of them are gone forever, but fingers crossed, others may still make it to the finish line.

  1. Sergey Kovalev vs. Adonis Stevenson

Russian Sergey Kovalev was one of the best fighters from 2013 to 2015, during which time he became the unified featherlight heavyweight champion after a unanimous decision in 12 rounds over Bernard Hopkins. On the other hand, Adonis Stevenson held the lineal title and the WBC belt at that time.

The duo were unstoppable at 175 pounds for a time, and a fight between the two seemed guaranteed to generate fireworks, but Stevenson reportedly decided to work with Al Haymon’s Showtime stable.

  1. Sergio Martinez fights Gennady Golovkin

Former middleweight titleholder Gennady “GGG” Golovkin was in his prime when he was offered a fight with Argentine Sergio Martinez in the 2013–14 season. While Golovkin held the IBF and WBA belts, Martinez was the WBC champion and considered the true king.

Golovkin may have been too much for Martinez at the time, given his age, but it would have been a fascinating encounter nonetheless. However, when Martinez, ravaged by injuries, was defeated by Miguel Cotto, it almost ended his career.

  1. Roman Gonzalez vs. Naoya Inoue

Gonzalez and Inoue have dominated the junior bantamweight division at various times and both were world champions at 115 pounds.

While Gonzalez still fights in the junior bantamweight division and has defeated the likes of Juan Francisco Estrada, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Carlos Cuadras, Inoue moved up to bantamweight after three successful years in that weight class.

Inoue currently fights in the junior featherweight division and is the undisputed 122-pound champion, but a fight with Gonzalez could always end in a fiasco.

  1. Terence Crawford vs. Jaron “Boots” Ennis

Terence “Bud” Crawford became a three-division champion when he took the WBO welterweight title from Australian Jeff Horn in June 2018. Before that feat, the Nebraska native held the lightweight and junior welterweight world titles.

Crawford became the undisputed junior welterweight champion by knocking out then-unbeaten Julius Indongo in three rounds in August 2017. He moved up to 147 pounds and secured the title of undisputed champion when he defeated Errol Spence Jr. by ninth-round knockout last year.

During this period of dominance, Crawford was challenged by the best juvenile fighter in the division – Jaron “Boots” Ennis – but his decisions were never taken into account.

At the time, Crawford understandably preferred a no-contest challenge to Spence Jr., as their contract stipulated a rematch. After Bud’s decisive victory, the sequel ultimately fell through, so Crawford moved up to fight for the titles at 154.

Even though he defeated Israil Madrjmov, a drop to 147 is not out of the question – it could still happen in the future.

  1. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. David Benavidez

The highly anticipated fight between two of the world’s top super middleweight contenders has been on the radar for a few years now, but grave negotiations have yet to begin.

Canelo has been accused of avoiding Benavidez, especially after he demanded a monstrous fee to face his closest rival. The Mexican superstar has faced a number of high-profile opponents, but his recent opponents have not been considered a real threat.

It is not yet known whether Alvarez, who is scheduled to face Edgar Berlanga on September 14, will change his mind and agree to a superfight in 2025.

  1. Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Vasyl Lomachenko

One of the most talked about lightweight fights, Gervonta “Tank” Davis was ready to fight Vasyl Lomachenko for the unified WBA and IBF championship. It was reported that it would take place in November.

However, Lomachenko has decided not to return to the ring this year – citing his family as the reason. Few can deny that he has not earned some time off.

We hope that the fight between them will take place in 2025.

  1. Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder

Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua were the top heavyweights in the world from 2017 to 2019, when both were undefeated and in the prime of their careers. Joshua held the WBO, IBF, and WBA titles, Wilder was the WBC champion, and the duo could (and should) have put together one of the most anticipated fights in heavyweight history.

After being sidelined for far too long, Joshua was stopped by Andy Ruiz Jr. in June 2019, days after Wilder announced he had signed a rematch with Tyson Fury with the possibility of a third fight.

Since then, the Bronze Bomber has only won one fight, knocking out Robert Helenius, and after losses to Fury (twice) came losses to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, which will surely spell the end of his career.

Not long ago, however, a Joshua-Wilder fight would have been the hottest event in sports.

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Boxing

Tyson’s conqueror, Danny Williams, was “never considered” for Morrison

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Kenzie Morrison Danny Williams

World Boxing News has learned that Danny Williams was never considered for a fight against Tommy Morrison’s son Kenzie on November 9.

WBN has learned from a source that Williams was scheduled to face Morrison next month when he returns to action at Firelake Arena in Shawnee. However, promoter Tony Holden confirmed what WBN initially reported, namely that Williams had been offered for the fight.

BoxRec also briefly placed Williams within Morrison’s record on November 9, before removing the former British champion. Williams famously knocked out Mike Tyson in 2004, but has since lived off his victory despite losing his British license more than a decade ago.

Holden, who represents Morrison and is looking for an opponent for the competition in three weeks, explained the situation exclusively to WBN.

“I never confirmed William’s story and I never considered him,” Holden said. “I said no when a local promoter suggested it.”

Williams, 51, last fought in August 202, losing for the 33rd time in his career. With 88 professional fights under his belt, Williams seems unable to turn down a payday despite his advanced age.

Morrison, a power puncher who has stopped 19 of his 21 wins, will look for his next conquest elsewhere. The fight with Mike Balogun remains on the table for 2025 after it was postponed from its original October date.

Balogun, who knocked out Kenzi’s brother Trey in the first round, claimed Morrison was pulled from the fight to spare him the loss.

Holden denies this view.

“Even though this post isn’t up to my standards, I’m going to write it anyway. Mike Balogun falsely claimed that I pulled Kenzie Morrison out of the fight because I was afraid he would lose. Please allow me to correct you, Mr. Balogun,” he stated.

“The decision was not made by Kenzie. Let’s raise the stakes and make it fascinating. If you emerge victorious this month, Kenzie will fight in November.

“We may decide this early next year. If your confidence remains unshaken, we can place a significant bet. Watch Kenzie take revenge on her brother and end your career.

Balogun, a former San Francisco 49ers linebacker, responded to Holden by increasing his salary for a potential collision next year.

“No matter how fair and honorable your decision was, just remember that ‘yesterday’s price is not today’s price,’” said the 2010 undrafted pick.

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Andrew Moloney is confident that if given the chance, he would have beaten Phumelele Cafu and Kosei Tanaka

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Andrew Moloney (left) attacks Pedro Guevara – photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Few people were more disappointed than Andrew Moloney when Kosei Tanaka lost his WBO super flyweight belt to Phumelele Cafu at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Monday night.

The 33-year-old Australian veteran was hoping to get a shot at beating Tanaka in the lucrative Japanese market.

Those dreams were dashed when South Africa’s Cafu delivered the performance of his life, knocking out Tanaka in the fifth round and finishing the fight strongly, beating the four-weight world champion by split decision.

“The plan was to target the WBO and really chase the Tanaka fight, but it all fell apart on Monday night,” Moloney (26-4-1NC, 16 KO) told The Ring. “I think the WBO is probably still the direction we go, but I’m not sure if they have a rematch clause or if Tanaka will take it. But after watching the fight yesterday, I would be really confident that I could fight one of these guys and win. We would like to follow this path.

“I would love to fight Tanaka in Japan as a four-division world champion. He’s definitely someone I’ve looked up to and wanted to fight for a long time.

“Last night was a little hard to watch. The way he performed, I’m more confident than ever that I have what it takes to beat Tanaka.

I assume there will be a rematch and I hope that Tanaka will regain the belt and I will be able to return to the ring and climb the rankings, and maybe this fight will still happen.

Tanaka entered Moloney’s orbit four years ago when he debuted at 115 pounds. Earlier this year, it looked like they were also on a collision course, with Moloney being number one in the WBO rankings. However, when an offer was made for the vacant IBF lightweight title fight between Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. in May in Perth, Western Australia, Moloney felt he couldn’t turn her down.

This decision ended in disaster. Moloney faced Carlos Cuadras, who withdrew from the fight with a ruptured Achilles tendon and was replaced by Pedro Guevara. Moloney entered the fight with a torn bicep and was largely reduced to boxing with one hand, which circumscribed his punching power.

Still, Moloney felt he did more than enough to win, and was shocked when Guevara was declared the winner by split decision. He was so disappointed that he announced immediately after the fight that he was leaving the ring, but a few days later he withdrew these comments.

It was a breakthrough moment in his career.

“Looking back, it’s a wonderful thing, but watching the Tanaka-Cafu fight made me think that maybe I would do a lot of things if I could turn back time a little bit,” Moloney explained.

“Before my last fight, I was number one in the WBO rankings and I rejected the option of waiting to fight Tanaka. But the opportunity arose to fight Guevara in Australia for the interim WBC title on a major card, and to be candid, I kind of regretted that the Tanaka fight was hanging in the balance, but ultimately we decided to stay busy and take the opportunity to fight in Australia.

“Also, the injury before the fight was another thing I thought about: will I undergo surgery, keep the top spot and wait for Tanaka, but I made the decision to go ahead with the fight with Guevara. Looking back now, maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do. And looking at the way Tanaka fought last night, I thought maybe I should have waited. I’m sure I could beat Tanaka and take the belt away from him.

“So I take some consolation, but unfortunately you can’t turn back time.”

It’s been a frustrating year for Moloney, but he’s still hitting the gym and his team is working to get him another fight. The window of opportunity to box again this year is closing quickly, but he still hopes to return to the ring in December, most likely in his native Australia.

“I really hope so,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been working on. I have been training strenuous at the gym for some time, quite a few months. I hope to return before the end of the year.

“At this stage it will probably be December. I’m trying to block something, but so far no luck. I’m still training away as if the fight was to take place in December, the team is currently working on it and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll be able to finish it.

“I just hope we can get out before the end of the year, get back into the winner’s circle and start climbing the rankings again.”

Moloney, who fought at bantamweight for the first three years of his professional career before dropping down to super flyweight, surprisingly, said he would even consider moving up to another weight class given the right opportunity.

“It’s a tough time in the super flyweight division,” said Moloney, the eighth challenger to The Ring’s 115-pound title. “There’s a lot going on and it’s always strenuous to plan which route to take because everything changes so quickly. I’d pick Bam Rodriguez to beat Guevara, then there’s talk of a rematch between Kazuto Ioka and Fernando Martinez on Up-to-date Year’s Eve. And then there’s talk of Bama, if they win, fighting the winner of that game in unification. The WBO seems to me the fastest way to win the title, so that’s the path we will follow.

“We have also rejected for some time the idea of ​​moving up to flyweight and getting crack there. There’s also some engaging scene going on there right now, but it’s still uncertain. I’d probably feel a little better at super flyweight, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens with Cafu and Tanaka, but like I said, I’d feel comfortable and confident against either of them, so hopefully he can make it it will happen sooner rather than later.”

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Doubts that fuel 19-year-old Benjamin Johnson

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Despite an impressive amateur resume, welterweight Benjamin Johnson of Springdale, Maryland, enters the professional ring with a shoulder injury.

Johnson will face Kevin Pantoja in a four-round fight at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Maryland, promoted by his trainer Lamont Roach Snr’s NoXcuses Promotions. The fight will be broadcast on Saturday on ProBox TV.

Johnson, 1-0 (1 KO), spent just 2:23 in the ring in his professional debut, displaying the quick, aggressive hands that won him multiple national titles. However, 19-year-old Johnson feels an advantage, believing he is being overlooked by his NoXcuses Boxing Gym teammates.

Pantoja, 1-1, 27, has never stopped being a professional – Johnson aims to change that.

“People underestimate me,” Johnson said. “It’s been like that since I was an amateur.”

He added that this underestimation increases his motivation in the gym. Johnson is determined to prove his worth not only to himself, but also to those who doubt him or, worse, don’t recognize him. “I never felt like I was recognized as that guy, so I feel like I’m underappreciated,” Johnson said of his amateur and now professional career.

Johnson sees the fight as a key step in his career, compared to feared forward David Benavidez by some teammates and touted by others as one of the most ready-to-fight prospects in the country.

“I train as much as I can,” Johnson said. “It’s about making a statement. The way you win shows people what you’re capable of, and I’m ready to show my best.

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