By – Justin Jones & Brian Jones: You might recall our previous plea to Push Boxing Forward back in 2021 by which we called for the boxing powers that be to place their agendas aside and make the fights the boxing fans wanted.
While a few the matchups we outlined got here to fruition, the overwhelming majority never materialized and are still in play today. Our position then and now stays the identical, “the perfect vs the perfect equals success”.
Truthfully speaking, we were fearful in regards to the long-term survival of the game now we have adored for 75 years combined, but thankfully, boxing’s buzz has barely intensified during the last couple of years in a way that we couldn’t have imagined. It remains to be quite shocking when you consider the indisputable fact that it has been social media influencers and elite foreign investors which have shaken up the game and led to much-needed change. Things have been altered financially, competitively, systemically, and programmatically, and to us, it’s what boxing has been missing.
The times of fights not being made due to “promotional sides of the road”, network beefs, and record protection are seemingly over. And for those reasons, now we have outlined 4 divisional tournaments that we consider will captivate the boxing world.
We’re proposing that these tourneys – official or unofficial – happen over the subsequent 18 to 24 months and have several of boxing’s glamour divisions, including Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, Junior Welterweight, and Lightweight. We arrived at these 4 divisions after establishing a transparent criteria based upon fighter rankings throughout the divisions (e.g., pound-for-pound status), world champions, star power (e.g., pay-per-view draw, live gate data, viewership statistics, etc.), hall of fame candidacy, and strength of the particular matchups.
Without further ado, please take a moment to read through our tournaments, evaluation, and predictions and tell us what you think that within the comments and on social media:
#1 Light Heavyweight (175 Kilos) – The sunshine heavyweight division immediately in our opinion is boxing’s hottest division. No other division features three pound-for-pound elites – Dmitrii Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs), Artur Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs), and newcomer David Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs).
Wildcard: The wildcard within the division could be the game’s biggest star – Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs). If he decided to rejoin the 175 lbs. ranks then it could alter our tournament of course. We might bring Callum Smith (31-2, 22 KOs) into the fold and expand it to a six-man tourney. With Canelo tied up until September, the likelihood of him having the ability to compete is severely diminished, so we’ll just go along with a final 4 for now:
Semifinals
- #1 Bivol vs #4 David Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs)
- # 2 Beterbiev vs 3 Benavidez
Justin’s Picks: Bivol by Unanimous Decision (UD). Bivol is best in every area aside from perhaps power. Bivol’s toolbox and championship pedigree might be too complex for the still green Morrell to resolve. The one way Morrell could win in my view is by knockout and if Beterbiev couldn’t do it in 24 rounds I don’t see Morrell doing so.
Benavidez by majority decision. I’m going with the upset on this one as I see father time nipping at Beterviev’s heels. Benavidez is in his prime, locked in, looks really comfortable at 175. His combination punching, work rate, and youth will wear down Beterbiev and permit him eek out a highly contested and brutal victory over the long run 1st ballot hall of famer.
Final: Bivol by UD. This matchup has me super excited because of their contrasting styles and where they’re of their careers. I consider Bivol’s ability to fight in any way – probably only second to Terence “Bud” Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) – gives him a slight advantage over the bull-like style Benavidez brings to the ring. Benavidez will push Bivol to his limits, but Bivol’s footwork and ring generalship enable him to remain undisputed.
Brian’s Picks: Bivol by UD over Morrell. Though Morrell might be heavily motivated to prove to the world that he’s the brand new king of the division, Bivol’s skills and experience will lead him to a choice victory. Beterbiev stops Benavidez by late technical knockout (TKO) in a possible fight of the yr (FOTY) candidate.
Final: Bivol outpoints Beterbiev for the split decision victory. Beterbiev will start faster on this fight and land a shot within the early rounds that stuns Bivol, but as now we have seen before, Bivol will weather the storm and be victorious within the trilogy match.
#2 Lightweight (135 Kilos) – The lightweight division is one other star-studded glamour division in boxing which features certainly one of boxing’s biggest pay-per-view stars in Gervonta “Tank” Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs), and fellow pound-for-pound and arch nemesis Shakur Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs). We’ve been waiting for the highest guys to combine it up for just a few years, and there isn’t any higher time than the current to see who the king of the hill is.
Wildcard: If Vasyl Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) were to retire or maintain his inactivity, then William Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) would step into the fourth seed unless Lamont Roach’s (25-1-2, 10 KOs) continues campaigning at 135. In that case, we’d have a fourth seed “fight in” bout to find out the tournament’s fourth seed.
Semifinals
- #1 T. Davis vs #4 K. Davis (13-0, 9 KOs)
- # 2 Stevenson vs #3 Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs)
Justin’s Picks: Tank by late TKO. Keyshawn is a rising star with tons of potential, but it surely is just too soon to throw him in there with Tank, he needs a little bit more seasoning. Stevenson by UD. Lomachenko looked good in his last outing, but his inactivity and age are huge concerns for me. I do know Stevenson has not been as dominant as expected currently, but I believe a fight of this magnitude will bring out the perfect in him.
Finals: Stevenson by split decision. This might be a highly contested bout between two of probably the most talented and well-known boxers of this generation. Each guys might be on their A-game, but Stevenson’s defense and speed might be the difference in a razor-thin victory.
Brian’s Picks: Tank by knockout (KO) over Keyshawn. Although Tank’s last fight against Roach left much to be desired, I still see him winning this fight via late stoppage. Keyshawn’s size and repertoire lead him to success within the early rounds, but that success might be short-lived after being caught with a devasting KO blow from Tank within the later rounds. Stevenson defeats Lomachenko by decision in a fight that I’d have predicted Lomachenko would win if this was just a few years back.
Final: Tank by TKO over Stevenson. That is one other clear FOTY candidate, and it lives as much as the hype. Tank struggles to hit Stevenson within the early rounds, but he eventually cuts off the ring and finds his mark, stopping him late with a ferocious flurry.
#3 Junior Welterweight (140 Kilos) – There are a ton of characters with big personalities at 140, some existing bad blood, and top-tier talent that makes things very interesting. Some might argue that the trash talk on the press conferences and social media banter could be more entertaining than a few of the fights themselves and we agree.
Semifinals
- #1 Teófimó López (21-1, 13 KOs) vs #4 Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs)
- # 2 Richardson Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs) vs #3 Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs)
Justin’s Picks: López by UD. I don’t feel that López is as big of a puncher as we once thought, especially as he climbs the divisions, but he still has enough pop and explosiveness to get the job done. He may have to observe for Ryan Garcia’s left hook, but I believe he can outbox Ryan and beat him to the punch. Devin Haney by UD. Many fighters don’t bounce back after a punishing beat down like Haney suffered versus Garcia, but I believe Haney will learn from it and be sharper within the ring moving forward. He’ll utilize his jab and speed to neutralize Hitchins.
Final: Haney by UD. I see Haney becoming a unified champion once more with a dominant performance over López. His speed and movement will frustrate López and lead him to an 8-4 type performance.
Brian’s Picks: López by decision. The build-up to the fight will gain much interest, I’m sure, and hopefully, the motion contained in the ring matches that energy. López will potshot from the skin and use his movement to remain clear of Garcia’s deadly left hook, leading him to a unanimous decision. Hitchins upsets Haney by decision. Two words: hunger and confidence. Hitchins might be hungry to prove that he’s the person at 140, while we are going to see if Haney has regained his confidence after his dramatic loss to Garcia.
Final: This fight would only make sense to happen in NY – the energy could be amazing. López may have to take care of some big shots and constant pressure, but his experience and forgotten power secure him a 7-5 UD.
#4 Heavyweight – Boxing’s biggest – pun intended – and most vital division is closing out a mini-golden era with the likes of Tyson Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs), Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs), and Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) all past their primes and either entering retirement or on the verge of it which creates opportunity for the subsequent crop of heavyweights. The division boasts the #1 pound-for-pound king in Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) and just a few up-and-comers who’ve a likelihood to battle it out to choose who might be the division’s top guy in the long run.
Semifinals
- #1 Usyk vs #4 Agit Kabayel (26-0, 18 KOs)
- # 2 Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) vs #3 Joseph Parker (36-3, 24 KOs)
Justin’s Picks: Usyk by UD. Usyk will not be prime Usyk, but it surely’s still darn close. His strength of schedule has been incredible, and he continues to amaze me with each performance. Kabayel has solid skills, a superb motor, and all the time involves fight, however the pound-for-pound king will come out victorious and achieve this in a dominant fashion. Parker by split decision. Parker and Dubois are two of probably the most improved boxers in my view. I envision Dubois catching and dropping Parker throughout the first 4 rounds, then losing steam, allowing Parker to utilize his movement and jab to show the momentum and secure a detailed victory to change into a world champion again.
Final: Usyk by UD. The one one that can beat Usyk is Father Time. I believe this might be his final fight, putting a stamp on an illustrious and ideal profession that may land him within the Boxing Hall of Fame as a unanimous 1st ballot selection. Parker might be game, however the southpaw will use his angles and multi-level accurate punching to maintain Parker at bay and behind on the cards over 12 rounds.
Brian’s Picks: Usyk by late stoppage. Kabayel looked great against Zhilel Zhang (27-3-1, 22 KOs), but unfortunately for him, Usyk will not be Zhang. The undisputed champion will prove to be an excessive amount of for the rising heavyweight and end this fight by TKO within the later rounds. Dubois by KO. Parker has looked great in his past few fights, and this one will look the identical until it doesn’t. I see Parker being up on the cards early but getting caught across the seventh round and unable to beat the count.
Final: Dubois by TKO. On this rematch, I’m going with Dubois to stop Usyk late, handing him his first loss and claiming the undisputed heavyweight crown.
Once more, our call is to the fighters and the choice makers to maintain the large fights, competitive cards, raucous arenas, multi-platform user experiences, high-quality productions coming. The fans and boxing community want you to “Make Boxing Great Again”.
Boxing deserves it. No turning back now.
Past Articles:
https://www.boxingnews24.com/2017/09/hot-takes-procon-%E2%97%8F-procon-canelo-vs-golovkin-jones-bros-react/
https://www.boxingnews24.com/2021/01/pro-con-lopez-davis-garcia-and-haney-will-make-lightweight-boxings-glamour-division-in-2021-jones-bros-debate/
Social Media – @jusjones29
Email: Jusjones2112@yahoo.com, Jonesb3329@yahoo.com
That is an exciting proposal for bringing more excitement to boxing! Here’s a breakdown
Last Updated on 03/19/2025
