USA Today boxing writer Dan Rafael says that the biggest fight out there right now is a middleweight bout between Gennady Golovkin and "Canelo" Alvarez. But the powers that be at HBO want that match to simmer on the backburner a while longer. They have set aside the date of April 23 for GGG's next exposure and the date of May 7 for Canelo. The opponents at the moment, are the ubiquitous TBA.
If they were to choose among the top contenders of the three major sanctioning organizations, these would be their choices: Tureano Johnson (IBF), Jorge Sabastian Heiland (WBA), or Alfonso Blanco (WBC).
Johnson, 19-1, is from Atlanta by way of the Bahamas. He has yet to fight anyone of note. Heiland, 26-4-2, is from Argentina. His signature win was a 10th round knockout of Matthew Macklin in Dublin. Alfonso Blanco, 12-0, fights out of Oxnard, California. In his last fight in his native Venezuela, he won a 12-round decision over 41-year-old globetrotter Sergey Khomitsky.
Tureano Johnson is out of the running as he is on the shelf with an injury. Rafael reports that Golovkin's most likely opponent on April 23 will be Dominic Wade, 18-0, who hails from the DC area. Wade is ranked #3 by the IBF, #7 by the WBC, and #8 by the WBA.
A more intriguing opponent than any of the aforementioned is England's Billy Joe Saunders (23-0), who owns a shard of the middleweight title (the WBO version) and is coming off a win over Andy Lee. Saunders is an Irish Traveler, like his countryman Tyson Fury, which gives HBO a storyline that it wouldn't have with any of the others.
Has there ever been such a gap between the reigning title holders and their top contenders?
If they were to choose among the top contenders of the three major sanctioning organizations, these would be their choices: Tureano Johnson (IBF), Jorge Sabastian Heiland (WBA), or Alfonso Blanco (WBC).
Johnson, 19-1, is from Atlanta by way of the Bahamas. He has yet to fight anyone of note. Heiland, 26-4-2, is from Argentina. His signature win was a 10th round knockout of Matthew Macklin in Dublin. Alfonso Blanco, 12-0, fights out of Oxnard, California. In his last fight in his native Venezuela, he won a 12-round decision over 41-year-old globetrotter Sergey Khomitsky.
Tureano Johnson is out of the running as he is on the shelf with an injury. Rafael reports that Golovkin's most likely opponent on April 23 will be Dominic Wade, 18-0, who hails from the DC area. Wade is ranked #3 by the IBF, #7 by the WBC, and #8 by the WBA.
A more intriguing opponent than any of the aforementioned is England's Billy Joe Saunders (23-0), who owns a shard of the middleweight title (the WBO version) and is coming off a win over Andy Lee. Saunders is an Irish Traveler, like his countryman Tyson Fury, which gives HBO a storyline that it wouldn't have with any of the others.
Has there ever been such a gap between the reigning title holders and their top contenders?
The Top Ranked Middleweight Contenders. Who Are These Guys?
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