It is the final month of the year, typically a slow one for boxing. But December picks up right where November left off as there are plenty of solid offerings through the first half of the month. The latter half of the month, well…I guess all months can’t be like November. Read on for a list of key fights this month as well as our staff picks for which fight stands out above the rest.
Dec 3
Lateef Kayode vs. Ed Perry – Showtime
Luis Franco vs. Eric Hunter – Showtime
Gilberto Gonzalez vs. Noe Balanos – Telefutura
Dec 4
Nonito Donaire vs. Wladimir Sodirenko – Top Rank PPV
Humberto Soto vs. Urbano Antillon – Top Rank PPV
Mikey Garcia vs. Olivier Lontchi – Top Rank PPV
Pawel Wolak vs. Jose Pinzon – Top Rank PPV
Ricky Burns vs. Andreas Evensen – Sky Sports
Alexander Dimitrenko vs. Albert Sosnowski
Saul Alvarez vs. Lovemore N’Dou – HBO Latino
Daniel Ponce De Leon vs. Sergio Medina – HBO Latino
Dec 5
Chris John vs. Fernando Saucedo
Dec 7
Fres Oquendo vs. Oliver McCall
Dec 9
Tomasz Adamek vs. Vinny Maddalone – Integrated Sports PPV
Sadam Ali vs. Manuel Guzman – Integrated Sports PPV
Dec 10
Antonio Pitalua vs. Ed Peredes – Telemundo
Randall Bailey vs. Said Ouali
Dec 11
Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana – HBO
Victor Ortiz vs. Lamont Peterson – HBO
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Dereck Chisora – ESPN3.com
Abner Mares vs. Vic Darchinyan – Showtime
Yonnhy Perez vs. Joseph Agbeko – Showtime
Jeff Lacy vs. Dhafir Smith
Juan Alberto Rosas vs. Cristian Mijares – Fox Sports Net
Fernando Montiel vs. Eduardo Garcia – Fox Sports Net
Nathan Cleverly vs. Alejandro Lakatos
Matthew Macklin vs. Ruben Varon
Kell Brook vs. Philip Kotey
Paul Smith vs. James DeGale
Dec 16
Dmitriy Salita vs. Mike Anchondo
Dec 17
Steve Forbes vs. Emmanuel Augustus
Odlanier Solis vs. Ray Austin
Tavoris Cloud vs. Fulgencio Zuniga
Ricardo Mayorga vs. Michael Walker
Dec 18
Bernard Hopkins vs. Jean Pascal – Showtime
Paulie Malignaggi vs. Michael Lozada – Showtime
Erik Morales vs. Jorge Rodrigo Barrios
Jorge Arce vs. Medgoen Singsurat – Fox Sports Net
Marco Huck vs. Denis Lebedev
Dec 23
Hugo Cazares vs. Hiroyuki Hisataka
Staff Picks: Fight To Watch
Paul’s Pick: Abner Mares vs. Vic Darchinyan
Dec 11 on Showtime
First, Darchinyan is always fun to watch; He leaves nothing in the locker room. Second, Abner Mares is one of the best upcoming stars in the sport and he passed a real gut-check in his last fight with Yonnhy Perez. The mix of styles and attitudes will produce an intriguing fight where Darchinyan will push and Mares will be forced to push back if he wants to stay alive. The questions will be whether Mares can keep his grace under pressure and whether Darchinyan can handle a young, technically sharp bantamweight. I’m expecting war.
Corey’s Pick: Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana
Dec 11 on HBO
Don’t miss out on the classic boxer vs. puncher matchup between Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana on December 11. This one has been brewing for some time after Golden Boy Promotions basically paid Maidana to put his mandatory shot at Khan off for as long as possible. Harsh words were exchanged, and hopefully that translates into harsh blows when they meet in the ring. Though Khan is the more talented of the pair, Maidana is relentless. Even if outclassed at times, he’s going to make Khan work hard for a victory. And don’t be surprised if Khan has to turn more puncher than boxer to win his respect. The potential for a classic is there when two of the top four junior welterweights in the world clash in a fight appropriately billed as “Thunder and Lightning.”
Trent’s Pick: Abner Mares vs. Darchinyan
Dec 11 on Showtime
The selection for Fight to Watch of the month first was whittled down to Dec 11. Then, the choice becamce which fight on the Showtime bantamweight tournament to watch. Both will be fun but since I’ve already seen Agbeko-Perez once before, perhaps I found more intrigue in the unknown of Mares-Darchinyan. A common theme in these pre-fight Fight of the Year candidates is one man that is never in a bad fight. That is Vic Darchinyan. Mares showed his warrior potential in his draw with Perez. The bar has been set pretty high for this contest.
Will’s Pick: Paul Smith vs. James DeGale
Dec 11
When we all look back at the year in boxing, a big argument could be
made that Frank Warren deserves to be recognized as the Promoter of
the Year. Working without established stars his once cautious
matchmaking has given way to reckless abandon, with Warren putting his house fighters in high-stakes, high-risk matches throughout the year. The latest example of this is James DeGale taking on Paul Smith for the British Super-Middleweight Title. The Olympian DeGale has looked awesome in most of his professional fights, adding power to the poise that won him a gold medal in Beijing. However in Smith he will face a huge step up in opposition. Smith is not only a far more experienced professional and possible contender for a world title in 2011 but will be fighting in his hometown of Liverpool. Should DeGale managed to beat Smith then 2010 will end with an emphatic statement about the latest star to emerge from Britain’s glamour division.
