5. ROY JONES JR FIGHT A DANGEROUS OPPONENT
Roy Jones Jr has promised to retire following his February 8 farewell encounter, and the last thing he or boxing needs is to get another beating. At his best, Jones was one of the best to ever lace ’em up, but the last 14 years of his career – since a 2004 loss to Antonio Tarver – has been depressing to witness. And one final hammering would be the most saddening of all.
Go out with a win, Roy, and enjoy your retirement. Despite the losses you’ve endured in recent years, no one will forget what you achieved all those years ago.
4. DAVID HAYE SUFFER ANOTHER INJURY
While David Haye snapping his Achilles against Tony Bellew made the first encounter curiously engrossing, a repeat would be a grim way to sign off. Despite being one of the greatest cruiserweights of them all, and as exciting a heavyweight as we’ve seen in recent years, Haye’s injury list is in danger of becoming his defining feature.
Should he get through training camp without breaking down, the sincere hope he is truly ready to fight again by the time the May rematch with Bellew comes around. If not, the contest should be canned forever.
3. ANOTHER PAY-PER-VIEW PLATFORM BEING CREATED
The year of 2017 was a curious one for boxing. It was loaded with excellent fights but too many undeserving bouts were locked away on costly platforms. As interesting as contests like Chris Eubank Jnr-Avni Yildirim, George Groves-Jamie Cox and Joseph Parker-Hughie Fury were on paper, none of them merited the Box Office price tags attached to them.
While the need for PPV is understood in certain instances, charging punters for every single meaningful bout will only marginalise the sport and damage its long term future.
2. A POSITIVE DRUG TEST BEING SWEPT UNDER THE CARPET
If the sport is ever going to cure itself of the PED disease, it needs to work together to ensure bans are transparent and consistent. In an ideal world, anyone caught should be banned for life. It’s the only way to send the right message out to would-be cheaters.
Two-year bans, or nonsensical loopholes, do absolutely zilch to deter fighters from taking the risk.
1. FLOYD MAYWEATHER-CONOR McGREGOR II
A press release landed in my inbox over the Christmas period stating odds of just 5/1 that Floyd Mayweather would again take on Conor McGregor.
McGregor, as loveable as he might be to some, has no business earning millions by getting thrashed by the sport’s elite. Boxing should never turn into some X-Factor-style popularity show, where shouting the loudest makes you the richest, irrespective of your boxing ability.
