​By Rene Bonsubre,Jr.

January 29 - The WBA removes Manny Pacquiao’s super champion status and names him champion in recess. Pacquiao was unable to defend since winning the title in July 2019.

February 20- Vic Saludar WSD12 Robert Paradero,wins vacant WBA regular world minimumweight title, Biñan City, Laguna, Philippines.

February 27 - Rene Mark Cuarto WUD12 Pedro Taduran ,wins IBF minimumweight world title, Bula Gym, Gen. Santos City,Philippines.

March 19-  Nesthy Petecio (Women's featherweight) and Carlo Paalam (Men's flyweight) qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games by virtue of their high standings in their respective weight categories in the Olympic qualifying rankings. They joined Eumir Marcial (Men's middleweight) and Irish Magno (Women's flyweight) who qualified via the 2020 Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

April 3 – Former four division world champion Donnie Nietes returns after being away for two years and three months and beats Pablo Carrillo (Colombia) by unanimous decision in Dubai,UAE for the vacant WBO International junior bantamweight title.

April 10 – Jerwin Ancajas WUD12 Jonathan Javier Rodriguez (Mexico), retains IBF junior bantamweight world title, Mohegan Sun Casino,Uncasville, Connecticut,USA

April 25 - Former Philippine amateur boxing team member Genebert Basadre died age 37. He won the lightweight gold in the 2005 SEA Games and bronze in the 2006 Asian Games.

April 26 - Television boxing commentator Mike Ochosa died from a heart attack at 55.

May 22- Manny Pacquiao announced on social media that he will be fighting WBC/IBF world welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. on August 21 in Las Vegas.

May 28 - Middleweight Eumir Marcial, light flyweight Mark Lester Durens, bantamweight Junmilardo Ogayre and female light flyweight Josie Gabuco falter in the semi-finals ; Team Philippines wraps up its campaign with four bronze medals in the ASBC Asian Elite boxing championships in Dubai,UAE.

May 29 - Nonito Donaire KO4 Nordine Oubaali (France),wins WBC bantamweight world title,Dignity Health Sports Park , Carson,California,USA. The 38 year old Donaire made history as the oldest bantamweight world titleholder.

June 26 - Paradigm Sports Management's Audie Attar files a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Manny Pacquiao in Orange County civil court, claiming breach of contract when he agreed to fight Errol Spence instead of Mikey Garcia. The lawsuit sought for an injunction against the Spence fight.

June 26 –The all-Filipino superfight between WBC bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire and WBO champion John Riel Casimero gets cancelled.

August 6 -  Judge Walter P. Schwarm of the California Superior Court for Orange County issues a preliminary ruling denying the motion for the injunction against the Pacquiao-Spence fight.

August 7 – Philippine amateur boxing team wraps up Tokyo Olympics campaign with two silvers from Nesthy Petecio (women’s featherweight)  and Carlo Paalam (men’s flyweight) and one bronze from Eumir Marcial (men’s middleweight).

August 10 - Errol Spence, Jr. withdraws from his fight against Manny Pacquiao due to a retinal tear in his left eye and WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas of Cuba was named as replacement.

August 14 - John Riel Casimero WSD12 Guillermo Rigondeaux (Cuba), retains WBO bantamweight world title,Dignity Health Sports Park , Carson,California,USA.

August 21 - Manny Pacquiao L UD12 Yordenis Ugas (Cuba), WBA welterweight (super) world title, T-Mobile Arena,Las Vegas,Nevada,USA.

September 1 - Leopoldo Serantes, light flyweight bronze medalist in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, passed away at 59 due to complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

September 19 – Senator Manny Pacquiao accepts his party's nomination for him to be the standard bearer in the 2022 Presidential elections.

September 21 - The WBC orders an all-Filipino title fight between its bantamweight champion, Nonito Donaire, and its interim titleholder, Reymart Gaballo.

September 29 – Manny Pacquiao retires from boxing.

October 1 - Manny Pacquiao joins the Magnus Carlsen Celebrity Charity Challenge and plays against the 10 year old version of the Norwegian world chess champion on the Play Magnus app.

October 20- Trainer Juanito Ablaca passed away. Ablaca handled former world champions Gerry Penalosa,Joma Gamboa and Marlon Tapales at certain points of their careers.

December 10 - John Riel Casimero pulled out of his mandatory WBO bantamweight title defense in Dubai against Paul Butler (UK) in Dubai due to a reported bout with gastroenteritis.

December 10 - The World Boxing Organization (WBO) orders John Riel Casimero to show cause within the next 10 days to submit a medical certification by the American Hospital in Dubai where he was admitted for medical treatment as well as medical records pertaining to such admittance.

December 11 - Sunny Edwards (UK) WUD12 Jayson Mama,IBF flyweight world title, Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai,UAE

December 11 – Nonito Donaire WKO4 Reymart Gaballo, retains WBC bantamweight world title. Marlon Tapales  WTKO2 Hiroaki Teshigawara (Japan) in an eliminator for IBF junior featherweight title,Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

December 14 -Thammanoon Niyomtrong (Thailand) WKO5 Robert Paradero, WBA (super) minimumweight world title, Phuket,Thailand.

December 21- Vic Saludar LSD12 Erick Pacheco Rosa(Dominican Republic), loses WBA (regular) minimumweight world title,Hotel Catalonia Malecon Center, Sto.Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

December 23-  The World Boxing Organization (WBO) allows John Riel Casimero to remain as WBO world bantamweight champion with conditions upon review of his medical records.

Special shout out to contenders Jonas Sultan,Marlon Tapales,Mike Plania and Joe Noynay for winning on the road in 2021.

Photo-Top row – left to right – Vic Saludar,Jerwin Ancajas,John Riel Casimero,Manny Pacquiao. Bottom-Left to right – Nonito Donaire, Rene Mark Cuarto, Olympic medalists Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam, Eumir Marcial

Recently we posted the first of two “21 for 2021” articles, with that one being focused on prospects, those with less than 10 fights and currently not yet world ranked. This second one focuses on fighters who are currently world ranked, or have more than 10 bouts, and are again ones to keep an eye on in 2021. For this list we will not be including any world champions, former world champions or previous world title challengers, but more the up and comers and rising contenders.

We suspect fans will recognise more names from this list than the previous list but we still think there might be one or two names that even the most hardcore of fans might not be too familiar with at this point in time.

Some of these fighters will be challenging for world titles in 2021, others will have to wait longer. Regardless the 21 men featured here are all worth paying a close eye on heading in the new year, and all are expected to move their careers onwards. For some that will be a world title fight, for others a world title eliminator and for others a regional title bout and move up the rankings.

1-Bektemir Melikuziev (6-0, 5)
Hard hitting Uzbek amateur standout Bektemir Melikuziev has had a loud buzz around him since turning professional in 2019, following a very good amateur career. Like many top Uzbek amateurs he’s not been moved with kid gloves and has, instead, been matched to climb the rankings and move towards big bouts very quickly. On January 30th he’ll face Sergey Kovalev, in what will be the “Bully’s” 7th professional bout. A win against Kovalev and the 24 year old Golden Boy Promotions prospect will be right on the verge of a world title fight. Heavy handed, with a good boxing brain and brutal body punching Melikuziev looks like someone who could be a world champion by the end of 2021.

2-Israil Madrimov (6-0, 5)
We stay with Uzbek’s for our #2 choice, with Israil Madrimov well deserving of a place, despite a 2020 which had him looking somewhat human. After turning professional in 2018 we were all quick to rave about him, and by early 2020 he looked on the verge of something big. Sadly Covid19 hit and boxing was put on ice. When Madrimov returned to the ring in August 2020 he looked really ordinary in his bout Eric Walker, which had some bizarre officiating from Gary Ritter. We suspect that bout will serve as a wake up call to Madrimov, who is much better than he showed there. Currently very highly ranked by the WBA Madrimov will likely find himself in a title fight at some point next year.

3-Sadriddin Akhmedov (11-0, 10)
Staying with Central Asian’s for a moment longer we need to mention 22 year old Kazakh prospect Sadriddin Akhmedov who is incredibly young but insanely talented. The 154lb youngster is one of the many Central Asian fighters making a name for himself in Canada, where he has built a reputation for himself as a fantastically talented boxer-puncher. He’s got solid power in both hands, fantastic movement boxing IQ and has started to score solid wins over the likes of Jhony Fredy Navarrete Montano and Jose Antonio Villalobos. Sadly, though like many fighters, his career was slowed in 2020, due to Covid19, but he has got a bout scheduled for later this month.

4-Ginjiro Shigeoka (5-0, 4)
Another fight who was out of the ring for the entirety of 2020 was Japanese Minimumweight Ginjiro Shigeoka, who sadly lost all the momentum of a huge 2019 which had seen him end the year with a TKO win over Rey Loreto. Aged just 21 Shigeoka could afford a year out and a year to physically mature, but now we’re in 2021 we expect really big things for the hard hitting southpaw. Hailing from Kumamoto, though fighting out of the Watanabe Gym in Tokyo, Shigeoka is a freak with insane speed and power for 105lb’der and we suspect those traits will be enough to take him to a world title, as long as his team can secure him a shot. Sadly though his long term potential is unlikely to see him flying through the weight classes, as he is just over 5’0” and unlikely to have the frame for some of the higher weights.

5-Masayoshi Nakatani (19-1, 13)
Once beaten Japanese Lightweight Masayoshi Nakatani ended the year on a high with a huge win over Felix Verdejo. The win came after well over a year away from the ring and saw Nakatani score one of the biggest comeback wins in recent years. That win has really put his name up there amongst the top contenders at 135lbs and following the win he’s going to be looking at a world title fight of some sort. Although not the most skilled Nakatani is a big, tough, awkward, powerful fighter, with good stamina, a real will to win and one of the most under-rated jabs in boxing. Few would give him a chance against the divisional elite, though he’s already proven to be competitive with Teofimo Lopez and his win over Verdejo again showed the level that he can operate at.

6-Hiroaki Teshigawara (22-2-2, 15)
Current OPBF Super Bantamweight champion Hiroaki Teshigawara is one of the many forgotten and overlooked fighters at 122lbs, with much of the focus now spinning around to the US. Despite that the talented Teshigawara is ranked by a number of world title bodies and, at the age of 30, his team are likely to be pushing hard for him to get a world title bout in 2021. He’s not the tidiest of fighters or the biggest puncher, but he’s an awkward boxer puncher, with a solid chin, under-rated power and some very subtle tricks in his arsenal. He looks a level below the best in the division, but in reality there’s a real chance he could have the tools to frustrate any of the top guys. A very under-rated fighter in a division that looks set for a small boom period.

7-Daniyar Yeleussinov (10-0, 6)
Unbeaten Kazakh Welterweight Daniyar Yeleussinov turned professional with a lot of hype following an Olympic gold medal from the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Sadly though the hype quickly died off after some underwhelming performances that seemed to suggest he was struggling to adapt to the professional ranks. In his last few fights however he has shown real development and now looks ready to make a mark on the upper echelons of the division. Although he only fought in 2020 Yeleussinov made a statement, battering Julius Indongo in 2 rounds and made Indongo say “no mas”. Now it’s time for Matchroom to secure Yeleussinov a world title eliminator and begin to move him towards a top Welterweight name. It’s a shame Yeleussinov is with Matchroom, who don’t have big Welterweights to match him with, however he can work his way to a mandatory position this year.

8- Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (17-0, 9)
Uzbek Welterweight Kudratillo Abdukakhorov looked set to have a big fight last year before a visa issue held him up and cost him a chance to fight for an IBF interim world title. Since then his manager bought out his Top Rank contract and he has signed with Sampson Boxing who will almost certainly secure him a big fight in 2021. The skilled but light punching Uzbek is a genuine talent, but he’s going to have to find some new gears if he’s to win a world title this year. Despite that it’s hard to imagine not getting a shot, and with that in mind he belongs high up this list. He will get a shot in 2021, or at least he’ll get some big fights this year, but we suspect the 27 year old won’t quite have the power or physicality to claim a world title.

9-Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (9-0, 5)
Kazakhstan Middleweight hopeful Zhanibek Alimkhanuly may end being in the right place at the right time for a world title fight in 2021 if things play out as we expect. The speculation is that Demetrius Andrade is heading up to 168lbs and as a top 3 ranked WBO fighter Alimkhanuly will certainly be in the mix for a title fight. Like Yeleussinov there was some early apprehension about Alimkhanuly, who seemed to take a few fights to really find his groove in the professional ranks. His 2020 calendar was somewhat bare, with just a single fight during the year, but it was an impressive performance against Gonzalo Gaston Coria which saw Alimkhanuly claim the WBO Global title and improve his world title chances. Don’t be surprised if we see Alimkhnauly take on Liam Williams for the vacant WBO world title later this year.

10-Shakhram Giyasov (10-0, 8)
We stay with Central Asian prospects as we look at talented Uzbek standout Shakhram Giyasov, a 140lb hopeful we could be in the title scramble if the belts become vacant in late 2021. The Matchroom and World Sport promoted boxer-puncher is unbeaten but has had some ups and downs in recent bouts and it seems he learned from those downs. Blessed with heavy hands, very nasty body shots and a good boxing brain Giyasov’s issues have been in over-looking opponents. In his last 2 bouts he has put things together well and we see him knocking on the door of a title fight this year. Sadly he is only currently ranked by the WBA, who have so many issues with multi-title holders, that he may he may need to look for another route, but with Matchroom guiding him that shouldn’t be much of an issue.

11-Musashi Mori (12-0, 7)
Japanese Featherweight Musashi Mori will almost certainly have a make or break 2021. The 21 year old southpaw is on a fast track to a title, and has been since relatively early in his career. Within 13 months of his debut he had won the Rookie of the Year, in just his 8th bout the then 18 year old won the WBO Asia Pacific title, and since then he has notched 3 defenses of that regional title and moved up the world rankings. In his last 2 bouts Mori has scored notable wins over Takuya Mizuno and Tsuyoshi Tameda and is now scheduled to face Satoshi Shimizu in May, in a regional unification bout. A win there and Mori will be banging on the door of a world title bout, and could well end up with one in late 2021 if his promoter can pull a few strings.

12-Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov (16-0, 9)
Unbeaten Russian based Tajik fighter Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov is not a name that we suspect many will be familiar with, but the 25 year old Super Featherweight has been amassing a solid record over in Russia, and has the backing of German Titov. In his last few fights he has beaten solid opponents, such as Emanuel Lopez, Mark Urvanov, Abraham Montoya and Tomas Rojas. The talented fighter might not have the power needed to stop the best, but he has strong promotional back, good skills and certainly has a lot of potential to make a mark during the next 12 months, especially given the fact that boxing has continued on in Russia during the ongoing crisis. Notably he is ranked in the top 10 by 3 of the world title bodies and 2021 will be focused on moving towards a title fight, rather than getting one out right.

13-Chainoi Worawut (13-0-1, 12)
Unbeaten Thai youngster Chainoi Worawut, also known as Thattana Luangphon, is one the many rising Thai hopeful who is starting to make waves and is getting plenty of exposure thanks to WP Boxing and NKL. The heavy handed 23 year old Super Bantamweight began his professional career in May 2018 and blew his first 3 opponents out before fighting to an unexpected draw. Since then however he has scored 10 straight wins, 9 by stoppage, including solid regional type wins over the likes of Alvin Medura and Jomar Fajardo. Despite never beating a top tier regional fighter he has worked his way up the WBC world rankings, and is already in the WBC top 10. He needs a big win in the near or two, and with the backing he has that wouldn’t be a surprise. Blessed with power, a relatively strong promoter, good connections with the WBC and exciting style Chainoi will get opportunities and we suspect by the end of 2021 he’ll be banging on the door of a title fight.

14-Jing Xiang (17-4-2, 3)
Talking about a man banging on the door for a title fight it’s hard to overlook Chinese fighter Jing Xiang, a very skilled boxer-mover who is a contender at both 105lbs and 108lbs. Currently ranked by all 4 world title bodies at Minimumweight he is very much in line for a shot, in fact he’s the WBO’s #1 ranked contender. Technically Xiang is one of the very best in China, and he’s already notched notable wins over former world champions Merlito Sabillo and Kompayak Porpramook and seemed on the verge of big things in 2020, before Covid19 essentially froze him out of notable fights. Aged 31 it’s now or never for Xiang, who is riding a 9 fight unbeaten run. He has the skills, but now the question is whether his team can secure him a shot at someone like Wilfredo Mendez or Knockout CP Freshmart.

15-Thanongsak Simsri (14-0, 12)
It seemed like 2020 was going to be the year where we found out whether or not Thai puncher Thanongsak Simsri was a super stud or not. His team had planned big things for him, and the hope was that he would claim a number of regional titles. Things obviously changed, and they seemed to change for the better when he signed up for a WBA Light Flyweight world title fight against Hiroto Kyoguchi, and then sat through 2 weeks in quarantine in Japan. Sadly his shot was taken away when Kyoguchi tested positive for Covid19 following the weight, forcing a late cancellation to the event. He remained in Japan after the bout was cancelled, in the hope of the bout being rescheduled, but returned to Thailand in December with the promise of a shot at Kyoguchi in 2021. Fingers crossed he gets that shot in the Spring and we see what the Thai youngster can really do.

16-Masamichi Yabuki (12-3, 11)
Another Light Flyweight on the verge of something big is Japanese national champion Masamichi Yabuki, who is ranked by 3 of the 4 title bodies and seemed to be heading towards a world title fight. Blessed with naturally heavy hands, impressive size for a Light Flyweight, and under-rated boxing ability the Japanese boxer-puncher is a man who could pose a threat to the champions at 108lbs. Despite having 3 losses on his record he is not a man to overlook and we suspect he and his team are going to be chasing a very big 2021. Sadly the Midori Gym, which he fights out of, don’t have the deepest of pockets, but the job his team are doing in getting his name out there is very impressive and we suspect they’ll be trying to improve his profile through the first part of 2021 and then hunt a title eliminator, or a world title fight, in the final few months of the year. A very dangerous and under-rated fighter in the talented heavy Light Flyweight division.

17-Ju Wu (10-0-2)
Light punching Chinese Lightweight Ju Wu is not a name you’re likely to hear much of, especially with the US Lightweights dominating the top of the division and the majority of the conversation regarding the division. Despite that the 21 year old southpaw from Jinan is impressive and looking like a future contender in the making. Although a total unknown outside of those who follow the Chinese scene Wu is a talented, speedy young boxer with freakish physical dimensions for a Lightweight, standing at almost 6’, he’s got a good jab and good movement and a lot of time on his side. In recent bouts he has beaten the likes of Adones Aguelo, Rimar Metuda, Alain Chervet and Xiao Tao Su, and appears to be a fighter who is very much developing his in ring identity. Although still a work in progress the 21 year old is someone making a note of now, and we expect big things from him in 2021.

18-Hironori Mishiro (10-0-1, 3)
One man who enters 2021 flying high is OPBF Super Featherweight champion Hironori Mishiro, who enters the year on the back of a huge win over Masayuki Ito. Mishiro has been on the verge of a world ranking for a while, and his win over Ito should assure him of a top 15 place. Although very much an under-dog against the top fighters in the division he does have the style and tools to give fits to some notable names fights, and a bout between Mishiro and Tevin Farmer would be a very interesting match up. Mishiro lacks power and killer instinct but has an excellent jab, fantastic size and movement and real hunger to make a mark on the sport. At 26 years old he’s coming into his own and might only be 3 or 4 good wins away from a really big international fight.

19-Azizbek Abdugofurov (13-0, 5)
Unbeaten Uzbek Super Middleweight Azizbek Abdugofurov rose through the ranks very quickly in 2017 and 2018 and looked to be on the verge of something very big in 2019. Sadly however Abdugofurov’s career has hit a wall in the last 2 years as he has become a card carrying member of the “Who needs him? Club”. Despite that he is world ranked by the WBC and is only really one or two wins away from a world title shot in the relatively talent lacking Super Middleweight division. The Uzbek was supposed to fight under Frank Warren last year, but that failed to happen and the 28 year old has completely lost all career momentum. Despite that he’s talented, he’s world ranked and there is still time left in his career. Fingers crossed his team manage to get him out 2 or 3 times in 2021 and get him back where he should have been last year.

20-Toshiki Shimomachi (12-1-2, 8)
The Super Bantamweight division is one of the most overlooked and most interesting right now, with a lot of talent from all over the planet. The division really could end up being one of the most stacked for the next few years. Despite that we really do like the chances of Toshiki Shimomachi, who could end up being a real player in the division in the next few years. The 24 year old southpaw is a physical freak at the weight, standing at close to 5’11”, and is very much a non-Japanese style fighter. His style in the ring is that of an outside counter puncher, with a loose and relaxed style in the ring that makes him very hard to hit and very slippery. Although a counter puncher by nature Shimomachi is heavy handed, he has stopped his last 3 and 5 of his last 7. It’s not his power that is key however but his timing and placement and we suspect that will see him to success at a much higher level than the Japanese Youth title, which he held in 2019 and 2020.

21-Dave Apolinario (14-0, 9)
We finish this list with 21 year old Filipino Flyweight Dave Apolinario, who is currently ranked by the WBA and IBF, and has been quietly going about his business without much song and dance. In fact he’s slowly becoming one of the best kept secrets in Filipino boxing. Unlike many top Filipino fighters Apolinario doesn’t have much in terms of fight changing power, or flash. He’s not a loud mouth and he’s not a fighter who immediately catches the eye. Instead however he’s a brilliant skilled fighter, who understands the sport and his style fantastically. He’s a super smart boxer who controls the ring action with intelligent movement, good counter punching and the ability to mix up the tempo. There is very little talk about Apolinario though to us he’s been really impressive and has already had a 10 rounder under his belt. He is certainly one to watch for the next 12 months.

As we’ve come into 2021 we’ve decided to make some wishes for what we want to see this coming year in Boxing. 

These are a mix of what we want to see in the ring, on the TV, and in the venues!

1-More US and UK TV picking up bouts from the East
At the very end of 2020 we saw Boxnation pick up what we believe to be their first Japanese show ever and the result was that one of the fighters' names started trending in the UK. We’ve previously seen ESPN+ in the US pick up bouts from Japan, we’ve seen DAZN pick up shows from Thailand, and Boxnation also pick up cards from the Philippines. We’ve seen them do it, we know they can do it. So let's see a lot more of it being made available! Especially if 2021 is going to be like 2020, with a lack of shows taking place around the globe. We already know there will be no boxing in the UK in January, but there will be live televised cards in Japan and Thailand, and perhaps a service like Boxnation or DAZN could make an effort to pick those up .

2-DAZN make serious changes to their commentary team
This isn’t a wish when it comes to Asian boxing, at least not directly, but it is a general wish to improve our enjoyment of boxing, and that’s for DAZN to clean our their dire broadcast team. The three muppets they currently have calling most of their fights are genuinely unbearable and ruin fights with their cheerleading and bickering, with the voices becoming less and less analysis and more promoting a fighter. Whilst we have seen the suggestion to turn the volume down that really doesn’t work for those of us who want to hear the corner work, and hearing shots connect. If DAZN can’t make major changes to their commentary then the least they can do is offer a no commentary option, allowing those of us who want to hear the fight take place to enjoy the action, without the need to be in silence.

3-5-NTV, TBS, Fuji TV all show live broadcasts, and we get a continuation of Japanese streams
Sticking with broadcasts and TV we really hope to see a lot more from major Japanese TV channels in 2021. Between the three main terrestrial channels we got only a single live show, and that was the New Year’s Eve card. There was no live boxing on Fuji TV and there was no live boxing on NTV. We really hope that changes, especially with the likes of Junto Nakatani and Ryosuke Iwasa (potentially NTV fighters), Kazuto Ioka and Daigo Higa (TBS fighters) and Kenshiro Teraji and Ryota Murata (Fuji TV) all wanting big fights this year.

Along with that we also want to see more live streams provided by Boxing Raise, who should really be doing 1 a month, A-Sign Boxing, Boxing Real and TV Osaka and YTV. There is enough talent to go around, there’s far more than enough shows to go around, so lets see more of it! Especially if shows are still going to have limits on how many fans are allowed in the venues.

4-Fans being allowed to fill venues by the end of the year
Having just mentioned fans in venues one of our really serious wishes is that we will begin to see fans fill venues again by the end of 2021. Not only that but be allowed to do so without masks and with the ability to cheer, chant and really enjoy the fights they get to see. We understand why restrictions are on fans, but by the end of the year we would absolutely love those restrictions to be lifted and normality in boxing venues being allowed to resume. This isn’t just in Japan, where fans have been wearing masks and not allowed to cheer, but globally. We want large crowds back in boxing by the end of 2021. But only if it can be done safely. It’s obvious that this will not be something that happens in the early part of the year, but with vaccines and general understanding of the world at large, it certainly something that could happen by December 31st.

5-More unification bouts
The first of our in the ring wishes for 2021 is more unification bouts. There were plans a lot of them in 2020, with Can Xu Vs Josh Warrington and Naoya Inoue Vs John Riel Casimero both looking like they would occur last year. Thankfully we did have some unification bouts, but the reality is that we should have had more, and we still should. We think more unification bouts is a universal wish, and that includes the obvious ones, such as Hiroto Kyoguchi Vs Kenshiro Teraji, Josh Taylor Vs Jose Ramirez, Errol Spence Vs Terence Crawford and Tyson Fury Vs Anthony Joshua, as well as some less obvious ones, like Moruti Mthalne Vs Julio Cesar Martinez. Lets see a lot of titles unified in 2021 please!

6-More All-Thai fights!
One of the few great things about 2020 was the number of really interesting All-Thai bouts. The year saw fewer Thai’s padding their records against over-matched visitors from Indonesia and the Philippines and instead we saw a lot of really interesting All-Thai bouts. This has meant that shows have a much higher anticipation factor going into them, and they have consistently been delivering excellent bouts. After years of declining quality control in Thailand we’ve seen TL Promotions, Tan Telecom Promotions, Petchyindee and NKL all put on some excellent bouts in 2020 and we really hope that continues in 2021. If it does then there could be a legitimate Thai title scene, which would be amazing to see, rather than the over-reliance on meaningless regional titles. Having a good Thai title would be much better for the sport than a weak regional title scene for the WBA Asia and WBC Asian Boxing Council titles.

7-More even-looking Filipino bouts
Boxing in the Philippines was hibernating throughout much of 2020 due to the ongoing pandemic. Sadly when boxing in the country woke up there was pretty nothing competitive taking place at all. That is set to change in 2021, with several good looking bouts on the docket, but we’re wishing that we get competitive looking bouts taking place in the country week after week. There has long been a lack of real good All-Filipino bouts but hopefully, with the pandemic limiting travel to the country, we’ll begin to see promoters work together to match their fighters in competitive bouts. If they don’t then we could end up seeing some fighters wasting 2 years of their careers with no real competition.

8-The Tokyo Olympics to go ahead without issues
We don’t often discuss amateur boxing, unless the fantastic Marcus Bellinger sends us an amateur boxing review or unless someone turns professional, but that doesn’t mean we don’t care about the amateur boxing scene. We genuinely do. With that in mind we are really wishing the Tokyo Olympics, which were supposed to take place in 2020 before being pushed back to summer 2021, takes place with no issues. Issues in Olympic boxing are something that happens at every Olympics, with home fighters getting numerous dodgy decisions in their favour, various accusations of bribes, match fixing and other countries accusing each other of getting dodgy decisions. We really hope the Tokyo games, as an Olympics in general, goes ahead without any issues, but we are particularly hoping for controversy free Boxing during the Olympics.

9-Fans to continue to get behind the sport globally
Towards the end of 2020 we began to see more and more Western fans get behind boxing in the west, with a lot of fans wanting to watch things like Wanheng Menayothin Vs Penya Pradabsri, Masayuki Ito Vs Hironori Mishiro and Kazuto Ioka Vs Kosei Tanaka. This was really great to see, and something we genuinely hope continues through 2021 as more casual boxing fans begin to realise that the sport is a global sport. A truly global sport. In fact it’s arguably the most global sport out there. No other sport has world champions spread across the globe like boxing. Yes Soccer might have more participants and more viewers, but the reality is that Soccer has a handful of very dominant countries. Boxing has current world champions from Thailand, Japan, Philippines, Nicaragua, South Africa, Ukraine, Mexico, France, Uzbekistan, the USA, Mexico, the UK, China, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Russia, Latvia and the Dominican Republic of the Congo.

Boxing is a truly universal sport, and we hope fans continue to note that. Yes, we push Asian boxing strongly, but we fully acknowledge the sport is a  global one with great fights taking place all over the world on a regular basis. Fingers crossed fans around the world get the chance to see more boxing from countries that usually don’t get international TV deals. This is how we grow the sport, and this is how the sport becomes more inclusive. It’s also how fans become more educated, and how discussion grows. Please fans, realise there’s a big world out there, and great boxers come from almost every part of it!

10-Rankings to begin to make sense!
Our final wish for 2021 is for world rankings that make sense. All too often in 2020 we had mandatory world title fights that were mismatches, particularly from the IBF. What we need is for all rankings bodies to clear out their top 15, where possible and rank on merit, rather than preference. If a fighter beats someone higher than them they should be ranked higher. There is no reason for Ryo Sagawa to be ranked behind Reiya Abe, but for most of 2020 Sagawa was ranked behind the man he beat in 2019. Likewise there is no logical reason why Hiroshige Osawa should be ranked #1 by the WBA at Featherweight. Sadly through the 17 (or 18) weight classes there are hundreds of questionable rankings. Just a quick glance and we see things like the retired Yuto Takahashi taking up a place in the top 5 with the IBF at 108lbs, Takayuki Okumoto being ranked above Kenta Nakagawa, neither of whom should be in the rankings when they are next updated. Or Sirichai Thaiyen taking a #1 ranking. In 2021 we should see rankings make sense. From every title body.

Don’t confuse that for us wanting rankings to all be the same, they shouldn’t be, but they should at least make sense. We can all argue over who are the top 15 in a weight class, and where they should be, we can’t however pretend the current rankings make any sense.

It’s fair to say that we got very, very few dream fights in 2020. We know that we got some really good fights, but we got very, very few of the big blockbuster fighters. There was no Anthony Joshua Vs Tyson Fury, Errol Spence Vs Terence Crawford or Gennady Golovkin Vs Saul Alvarez III. Going in to 2021 the sport needs a big bounce back year, and good fights aren’t enough, we need some great fights.

With that in mind we’ve come up with a list of 10 fights we want to see in 2021 as the sport looks to rebuild following a frustrating year affected by Covid19, budget cut, a lack of crowds and viewers less willing to shell out for PPV.

Naoya Inoue (20-0, 17) Vs John Riel Casimero (30-4, 21)
The obvious one to start with is one….we thought we had! Back in early 2020 Bob Arum managed to sort a deal to have WBA “Super” and IBF Bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue face off with WBO champion John Riel Casimero. The bout looked set to be a massive Bantamweight unification bout, putting 3 of the major titles together. And then it had to be delayed due to Covid, and was then scrapped all together with Casimero going off to face Duke Micah and Inoue facing Jason Moloney. What seemed like a dream bout at Bantamweight heading into 2020 is still a highly anticipated clash in 2021, though we might be waiting a whilst as Bob Arum has stated the won’t be taking place unless they can have fans in attendance. Still, maybe late 2021 is a possibility for this hugely attractive all-Asian unification bout!

Hiroto Kyoguchi (14-0, 9) Vs Kenshiro Teraji (17-0, 10)
One bout that has made this type of list for a few years now is the all-Japan Light Flyweight unification bout between WBA “super” champion Hiroto Kyoguchi and WBC champion Kenshiro Teraji. Both of whom had 2020’s to forget. Kyoguchi was scheduled to defend his title in November, before testing positive for Covid19 on the day of the fight, forcing the entire event to be cancelled at short notice in what was one of the most disappointing moments of the year, and one of the most heart breaking given that Thanongsak Simsri had had to go through a lengthy quarantine before fight night. As for Kenshiro he was supposed to fight in December before his bout was cancelled due to legal issues resulting from some drunken misbehaviour. With neither man fighting in 2020 both will know that 2021 needs to be a big year for them. We suspect both will start the year by facing the men they were scheduled to fight at the end of 2020, but then maybe, just maybe, we can have this one to close the year and finally give us the chance to know who is the better man from the two.

Knockout CP Freshmart (21-0, 7) Vs Ginjiro Shigeoka (5-0, 4)
Going into 2020 we had hoped to see Ginjiro Shigeoka fight for a world title before the year was over. Instead the Japanese youngster was out of the ring for the entire year, killing the momentum he had built in 2019. Despite that he has remained a highly ranked contender and is still someone we’d love to see get a world title fight in the near future. Currently the man many regard as the best in the division is WBA “super” champion Knockout CP Freshmart, and stylistically we actually see him making for an interesting fight with Shigeoka. Knockout is talented, he’s solid, but there are question marks about his desire, he lacks power and he’s not the quickest out there. The champion’s technical ability would ask real questions of Shigeoka, whilst Shigeoka’s explosive power and lightning speed would see him getting chances to land against the champion. Together they would make for a compelling bout. Maybe not the most fan friendly, or exciting, but certainly a compelling and intriguing bout. Before this would like to see both men get the chance to shake some ring rust, so maybe a bout for the summer, it not the fall after both have managed an easy win early in the year.

Junto Nakatani (21-0, 16) Vs Artem Dalakian (20-0, 14)
There is something about unification bouts that is that little more endearing to fans and the boxing media, and even two relatively low key champions unifying is pretty important, and can catch the attention of global fight fans. With that in mind we would love to see anyone of the Flyweight champions unifying their titles. On paper the most attractive bouts would include WBC champion Julio Cesar Martinez however we’re actually prefer to see WBO champion Junto Nakatani take on WBA champion Artem Dalakian in what would be a very intriguing, and potentially very technical match up. Nakatani has come of age in recent years, and the 23 year old is slowly making a name for himself, both at home and internationally among the hardcore fans. Dalakian on the other hand is frustrating hardcore fans with his run of C tier defenses. A unification between these two men, the only two unbeaten champions at the weigh, in summer would be a very interesting bout and see the winner prove themselves as being one of the divisional elite. Potentially even leading the winner to a US bout with Martinez in 2022

Gennadiy Golovkin (41-1-1, 36) Vs Ryota Murata (16-2, 13)
Staying with unification bouts a Middleweight clash between IBF champion Gennadiy Golovkin and WBA champion Ryota Murata is a really compelling match up that ticks a lot of boxes, and would make for a huge spectacle at a Japanese dome. Golovkin is expected to face Jaime Munguia in May giving Murata the chance to fight in a tune up defence in the early part of 2021, after being inactive for the entire of 2020, and then we could have the two clash in September in a huge Middleweight bout. In terms of styles these two should gel perfectly, and although Golovkin would be a clear favourite it would still be a major boxing event for Japan, and the sort of attention grabbing super show that could follow the Olympics. The loser of this would likely be heading to retirement, but the payday for both would be huge, and for fans this would be a spectacular bout with genuine international attention.

Can Xu (18-2, 3) Vs Josh Warrington (30-0, 7)
At the start of 2020 there was a Featherweight bout that we wanted, and we were taunted with, and that was a bout between WBA champion Can Xu and IBF champion Josh Warrington. Promoter Eddie Hearn has stated he’s planning to put this one on, however we had heard that right through 2020, and it seems unclear if, or when, this could actually be made. The plan, for this one is that fans would likely need to be in attendance but that seems almost impossible to imagine in the UK right now. Interestingly China does allow fans into venues, but would cause it’s own issues in terms of travel, transport, and time of day, which may not work for a UK TV audience. Regardless of the logistics behind this one, the fight itself would be something special, and would be a high tempo war between two men who love to torture the compubox operators. Expect to see compubox records shattered if, or when, this one is made!

Masayoshi Nakatani (19-1, 13) Vs Shuichiro Yoshino (13-0, 10)
It’s rare that we can get genuinely excited about an all-Japanese Lightweight bout but we need to admit that we would absolutely love to see Masayoshi Nakatani clash with Shuichiro Yoshino in 2021. The bout would likely be the biggest all-Japanese bout at 135lbs in a generation, and would be for the OPBF, WBO Asia Pacific and Japanese Lightweight titles, domestic bradding as well as doubling up as world title eliminator for the two men, who have various world rankings between them. In terms of match up it’s one that we suspect Yoshino would want more than Nakatani, with Nakatani expected to land a big fight on the back of his huge win over Felix Verdejo, but Nakatani may well see it as a great chance to build on his 2020 success. In terms of the in ring styles, we suspect the two men would gel well, with Nakatani looking to use his size and toughness and Yoshino looking to use his explosive power and speed, making for a very interesting in ring dynamic.

Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (9-0, 5) Vs Liam Willaims (23-2-1, 18)
In 2021 we expect some major changes in the Middleweight division, among those we expect to see Demetrius Andrade leave the division, to compete at 168lbs, and vacate the WBO title. If that happens then two top contenders will fight for the belt, and at the moment two of the top 3 ranked WBO contenders are Zhanibek Alimkhanuly, from Kazakhstan, and Liam Williams, from Wales, leaving the door wide open for this bout in the new year. Although it’s not a super fight, by any stretch, it is a fighter that should be something a little bit special, with William’s aggression and power going up against the skills and timing of Alimkhanuly. It’d be a hard one to call and have interest from Central Asia, Europe and the US. Not only would it be a fantastic match and an intriguing clash, but the winner would instantly find themselves in the mix for some big fights at 160lbs.

Tugstsogt Nyambayar (12-1, 9) vs Mark Magsayo (21-0, 14)
At Featherweight we have a lot of interesting potential match ups, and one we would really love to see would be a clash between once beaten Mongolian fighter Tugstsogt Nyambayar and unbeaten Filipino Mark Magsayo. The two men will both be looking to make a name for themselves in 2021, and a bout between the two would be a great chance for them to do just that. Not only that but with talk of Gary Russell Jr potentially leaving the division to make a mark 130lbs it could leave the WBC title vacant. A bout between these two for the potentially vacant WBC title would be fantastic, and could, potentially be made. Alternatively the two could clash in a world title eliminator to get a shot at the belt at the end of 2021. In terms of styles we’d have the more destructive and powerful “King Tug” trying to neutralise the speed and movement of Magsayo, which should give us some thrilling back and forth.

Jin Sasaki (10-0, 9) Vs Phoobadin Yoohanngoh (10-0, 5)
The finish this off we look at the 140lb weight class for a really interesting potential bout between teenagers. In one corner we would have Japanese teenage sensation Jin Sasaki, the currently Japanese Youth champion, and in the other would be WBA Asia South champion Phoobadin Yoohanngoh. Although it’s a huge long shot to imagine this one taking place we can’t help but feel this would be a thrilling bout between two youngsters who both stepped up to challenges in 2020. On paper this would see Sasaki taking on the best boxer he has faced, with Phoobadin would be taking on his most dangerous puncher, and the winner would certainly be edging towards an OPBF title after this one. Sadly whilst we want this bout in 2021 we suspect it’ll be one we have to wait several years for!