How Would a Junior Welterweight Tournament Shake Down?
The junior welterweight division in boxing is one of the hottest weight classes in the sport. While there is a wide range of talent in the division, four names stand above the rest: WBA champion Amir Khan, WBA interim champion Marcos Maidana, WBC titlist Timothy Bradley and IBF king Devon Alexander. These four fighters are the talented core which makes up one of the most exciting divisions in the sport.
Many people think that the junior welterweight division is the possible salvation of the sport. Many boxing fans are extremely excited about the potential for big-time fights featuring those four boxers in the coming months and years. One suggestion which has been floated within the sport is for the four boxers to engage in a mini-tournament, with the eventually champion unifying the junior welterweight crown. While it might seem like a pipe dream, the idea has been seriously explored by the managers of Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander.
Whether the tournament happens or not remains to be seen – there are many logistical hurdles to overcome, along with the possibility that one or more of the fighters would simply not be interested in engaging in the tournament. If this happens to be the case, it would be a shame, since recent events such as the Super Six World Boxing Classics currently taking place in the super middleweight division has added some much needed intrigue and mystery to the sport.
For right now, all boxing fans can do is dream about the possibility of a junior lightweight tournament happening. It's been suggested that one way to select opponents for the opening round fights would be for the boxers to draw lots; but knowing that most fighters want to have as much control over their careers as possible, it's difficult to imagine that this would actually work. Instead, it's more realistic to assume that the match-ups for opening fights would be negotiated.
The most likely match-ups would involve the two American fighters – Bradley and Alexander – squaring off against each other while Khan and Maidana fight in the other opening contest. This would create one bout with plenty of interest for American fans and a second bout that would appeal to European and Latin American fight fans.
How would these bouts go? At first glance, it would appear that Khan would have the upper hand over Maidana in the "international" semi-final. While Maidana is a powerful puncher with some similarities to Breidis Prescott – the boxer who shocked Khan earlier in his career – Khan's work with Freddie Roach and his performance against Paulie Malignaggi showed that he is a much different and smarter fighter than he was when he lost to Prescott back in 2008. Roach would likely develop a game plan that would have the bigger and taller Khan keeping Maidana at bay with his jab and movement.
Meanwhile, the battle between Alexander and Bradley would be much tougher to predict. It would likely pit the slick boxing of Bradley against the power of Alexander. Ultimately, the edge in this fight would have to be given to Bradley, mainly because of his experience against elite-level opponents. Alexander has only fought 20 career fights, while Bradley has fought against tough opposition like Junior Witter, Kendall Holt and Nate Campbell.
If a fight between Khan and Bradley were to take place, it would be one of the most interesting fights in recent memory. Both fighters are very skilled and technically solid fighters who possess speed and precision in their fighting. The difference would be if the more powerful Khan would be able to catch the more defensive-minded Bradley. While it's all fantasy at this point, it sure is fun to imagine how a tournament within the division could play out.
Tags: