SEPTEMBER - THE MONTH FOR BOXING AND BIG FIGHTS!
With a range of fights that will appeal to both the casual and hard-core Boxing fans, September is set to be a month to enjoy for all lovers of the sport.
Whether it be a huge stadium fight in front of 90,000 people, a long awaited tournament final or a hugely anticipated rematch, the month of September could be one to remember from start to finish.
Danny Garcia Vs Shawn Porter – 08/09 - WBC Welterweight Title
In a fight that genuinely involves two of the top 5 boxers within the division, former world champs Shawn ‘Showtime’ Porter and Danny ‘Swift’ Garcia will go to battle in a 50/50 fight that will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Fighting for the WBC strap after Keith Thurman was forced to vacate, the winner of this fight may well fight Thurman at some point next year as both fighters have been on the losing end of close points defeats to the WBA champ. Thurman, who hasn’t fought for 18 months is expected to have a warm up fight before plunging into a big fight against another top Welterweight in 2019.
Seeing as Garcia & Porter suffered very narrow losses to Thurman in the past couple of years, both fighters are likely to want the rematch against the Florida based fighter, potentially with a better chance against a boxer who’s been as inactive as Thurman.
Whereas the loser of the fight may struggle to fight for another world title soon, there are still plenty of big non-title fights out there in 2019 against fellow Americans Jessie Vargas, Lamont Peterson and even Adrien Broner
Canelo vs Golovkin – 15/09 - WBA & WBC Middleweight Titles
The delayed but still widely anticipated rematch between GGG and Canelo Alvarez is taking place exactly a year after the first fight that ended in a draw.
With a combined record of 87 - 1 – 3, as the first fight should have done, this fight will determine who the best Middleweight in the world is after over a year of discussion. In what was definitely a close first fight, many feel that Golovkin won although two of the judges didn’t agree.
Whether Golovkin at the age of 36 and after numerous consecutive world title fights as well as the hardest fight of his career 12 months ago, can defeat a 28 year old Canelo Alvarez is yet to be seen.
However, the rematch can’t be discussed without the unfortunate results of a drug test that Alvarez took in March this year with the results being blamed on contaminated meat which ended in Alvarez being banned from the sport for 6 months.
Unfortunately the pre-fight talk of the rematch has been over-shadowed by Canelo’s failed drug test and if the fight goes Canelo’s way, many will have their doubts over the legitimacy of the win or whether Alvarez should have even been allowed in the ring.
Regardless of failed drug tests and dodgy judges scorecards, we should be in for an amazing rematch between two of the best pound for pound fighters in the sport with many fight fans undecided on their prediction as of yet.
Anthony Joshua Vs Alexander Povetkin – 22/09 - IBF, WBA & WBO Heavyweight Titles
Perhaps not the fight that many had hoped to happen after Anthony Joshua completed 12 rounds for the first time earlier this year in Cardiff, defeating Joseph Parker in the process.
As the chances of Joshua V Wilder happening in the next 12 months seem to be on the decline, AJ is fully focused on the seasoned heavyweight Alexander Povetkin (34-1) and many faces within the sport think that he’ll need to be come fight night.
Povetkin, who has only lost against a better Wladimir Klitschko than the one that Joshua fought last year has beaten a number of top 15 heavyweights throughout his 13 years as a professional, collecting 24 KO’s on his way.
Although it may be hard to find somebody who genuinely believes that Povetkin can defeat Joshua on September 22nd, very few are expecting this to be an easy fight for Joshua due to Povetkin currently being rated as the 3rd best heavyweight in the world after AJ & Wilder.
As mentioned before, Joshua will need to keep his mind fully on Povetkin come fight night. With a lot of attention on who Joshua is going to fight in April of next year with Wembley Stadium already being booked, AJ will need to need to defeat Povetkin convincingly before moving onto hopefully even bigger tests in 2019.
George Groves Vs Callum Smith – 28/09 – WBA Super Middleweight title/Winner of Super Series
After months of speculation over whether George Groves would be fit to fight in the World Boxing Super Series final after dislocating his shoulder against Chris Eubank Jr in February, the final of the super series was finally announced for September the 30th with Jeddah, Saudi Arabia being the chosen location.
Having beaten Brits Chris Eubank Jnr & Jamie Cox over the last 12 months, Groves has arguably had a tougher route to the final than Smith. However, both will now meet in the final of the series with the winner being awarded the Muhammad Ali trophy as well as and perhaps more importantly for Smith, Groves’ world title.
After fighting in various eliminators over the past few years and choosing to fight in the series rather than for the WBC title last year, Callum Smith is finally fighting for a world title against arguably the best super middleweight in the world right now in George Groves.
Despite the perhaps awkward location as well as the delays of the final being announced, two Brits fighting for a world title only comes round once every so often so should be enjoyed.