20 Predictions for 2020: PREDICTION number 20-Someone breaks Muangsurin and Lomachenko's record!12/28/2019 As we head towards a new year we've decided to look into our glass balls, our tea leaves and our palms to come up with 20 predictions which will be posted over the coming weeks for what we think will happen in 2020. So far our predictions haven't been the best though they've not all been wrong. In 2013 we predicted that Naoya Inoue, his brother Takuma and Kosei Tanaka would all win world titles. Between them they've won a few world titles, though Takuma has yet to win a proper world title. That same year we also predicted a growth in Chinese boxing, and this arguably happened despite the fact the Macau side of things has died off. We also predicted a growth in Asian fighters making a name for themselves in the US, this was before Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Naoya Inoue or Kazuto Ioka had fought on US soil, and before the wave of Uzbek's had began to attract US attention. Unlike the past, where we have made all of our predictions in 1 article, we'll be spreading these ones out with 1 prediction per article, and going more in depth than we have in the past.  PREDICTION number 20-Someone breaks Muangsurin and Lomachenko's record!
We've had, we believe, a nice mix of predictions, from some we feel were maybe a little obvious to some which were certainly a bit left field. What we hadn't mentioned was anything historical. Today, in our 20th, and final, prediction for next year we do go historical and we predict someone will break the long standing record for fewest fights to win a world title. At the moment the record stands at 3 pro bouts, at least for men, jointly held by Thai legend Saensak Muangsurin and current Ukrainian star Vasyl Lomachenko, who both won their first world title in their third bout. We have seen fighters, including Lomachenko himself in fact, challenge for a belt in their second bout, and a few debutants have also fought for world titles, but to date no one, other than female fighter Hyun Mi Choi, has won a world title before their third bout. In 2020 we expect that to change. We predict that someone will win a world title in their second professional bout, at some point next year. We'll be totally open and admit we don't know who it will be who achieves the feat, though we would guess a central Asian fighter, likely an Uzbek, or a Japanese fighter. Both countries have been willing to fast track fighters, throw them in deep from their debut, and try to create a buzz quickly and neither country tends to do the whole slow build tot a title fight that we see in the west. We're thinking next year will be the year the record goes for a few reasons. Firstly there are more titles out there than ever before, and whilst a fighter holding a "regular" title might not be accepted by some fans the reality is that that will do for others. Even with all the titles out their the fighter who breaks the record would still need to be a world ranked opponent for the belt, so even with extra titles, they don't get a gimmie for a belt. Another thing to consider is that 2020 is an Olympic year, and fighters who miss out on the Olympics may well be looking to make a name for themselves as quickly as they can. Someone like Kenji Fujita, who recently retired from the amateur code, could be hot shotted through the pros on the back of his excellent amateur background. Even if it's not Fujita, it could well be some other top amateur who misses the Olympics for whatever reason, and tries to make up for the year by being moved on the hyper quick road to the top. On one hand a lot of the top Uzbek fighters have already debuted, however there is still a lot of talent there yet to turn over. Some one like the exceptionally talented Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov, who has won gold at the Asian Games, Asian Championships and World Championships, could make an immediate impact on the pros. Likewise someone like, Vassiliy Levit, could well turn his back on the politics of the amateurs and try to make the most the little time he'd have in the pros. There were several Uzbeks who likely could, had they selected the right champion, been able to take a world title in their first 2 fights. Hansanboy Dusmatov was probably the most likely, but a then 1-0 (1) Israil Madrimov taking on Tony Harrison would have been compelling and a 1-0 (1) Bektemir Melikuziev could likely have beaten the Callum Smith who fought John Ryder. Neither of those would have been gimmies, but neither would have been the biggest of shocks either...in fact neither would have been the biggest upset of 2019 if we're being totally honest. It is a massive risk for any fighter to try and achieve the feat, as we saw when Lu Bin failed against Carlos Canizales, but it's certainly not impossible and we know the record will go. It's a matter of "if" and not "when". Sadly for Bin he was up against an excellent champion, but had he attempted the feat just a few years earlier, there's a chance he could have beat a champion like Alberto Rossel or taken the vacant title that ended up with Jesus Geles. With the two pro-style competitions that AIBA ran now seemingly dead, and professionals competing in amateur tournaments the two codes have began to directly over lap in major competitions, and this could also help an amateur prepare to face a pace a professional fighter. Sure the amateur bouts are shorter than they were in APB and WSB, but amateur boxing does have stiffer competition at the top level than most professional fighters have early in their career, and we have seen more and more fighters turning to professional boxing "pro-ready". With no head gear in the Olympics that is likely to continue, despite the death of two pro style competitions. One other wild card to consider is Thailand. The Muay Thai scene has long developed top Thai fighters who have been able to be fast tracked, and as with Muangsurin, their may well be some appeal to a top Muay Thai practitioner to turn to boxing, and try to break Muangsurin's record. With professional boxing struggling a little bit in Thailand, something like this would give the country's boxing scene a huge shot in the arm. A loss would likely send them back to Muay Thai whilst a win would make them an instant boxing star. Although we do realise this is a wild prediction we genuinely would not be surprised if it happens in 2020!
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As we head towards a new year we've decided to look into our glass balls, our tea leaves and our palms to come up with 20 predictions which will be posted over the coming weeks for what we think will happen in 2020. So far our predictions haven't been the best though they've not all been wrong. In 2013 we predicted that Naoya Inoue, his brother Takuma and Kosei Tanaka would all win world titles. Between them they've won a few world titles, though Takuma has yet to win a proper world title. That same year we also predicted a growth in Chinese boxing, and this arguably happened despite the fact the Macau side of things has died off. We also predicted a growth in Asian fighters making a name for themselves in the US, this was before Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Naoya Inoue or Kazuto Ioka had fought on US soil, and before the wave of Uzbek's had began to attract US attention. Unlike the past, where we have made all of our predictions in 1 article, we'll be spreading these ones out with 1 prediction per article, and going more in depth than we have in the past  PREDICTION number 19 - More Fighters Head West
Over the last few years we have seen the profile of some Eastern fighters getting to the point where fans in the West have began to follow more and more Asian fighters. The obvious example is, of course, Naoya Inoue but others like Kenshiro Teraji and Kosei Tanaka have also managed to organically create a buzz from their fights. This has also seen more and more Western promoters signing up fighters from the East. Of course there's always been one off cases, such as Top Rank signing Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire, Nobuhiro Ishida signing with Saul Alvarez's promotional company and Yoshihiro Kamegai signing with Golden Boy Promotions, but the last couple of years we have seen a real boom in it. At the moment Top Rank promote 5 Japanese fighters, including Inoue, Ryota Murata and Masayuki Ito. More are likely to follow, with Top Rank wanting to build their global audience, and we suspect another big Japanese signature will be inked to Top Rank fairly soon. A number of Uzbek and Kazakh fighters are promoted, or more often co-promoted, by Western promoters like Eddie Hearn, Golden Boy Promotions and Bob Arum. Golden Boy also have also landed on their feet with Chinese sensation Can Xu, whilst Top Rank co-promote Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. We have also seen MTK Kazakhstan emerge and signing up a lot of central Asian talent, that has potential but is yet to really make it's mark on the global scene, unfortunately. With out it ever becoming a big thing we have slowly seen promotional outfits signing up a lot of top Asian fighters, prospects and amateur stars. This is likely to continue, especially in the wake of the 2020 Olympics where fighters will be looking to sign the best deal they can after the Tokyo games. For some fighters fighting in Las Vegas, or being promoted by one of the big guys of the promotional world is absolutely key. It's recognition of their ability, their marketing potential and their earning capacity. For others however it can be seen as a mistake. For every Asian fighter who has signed with an Western promoter and built their profile there is a case of someone being under-promoted and under-recognised. For every big success there is a Ivan Dychko, who has really failed to make any sort of mark on the professional ranks, or a Bakhodir Jalolov, who has fought more often as an amateur than a professional. There are also those more recent signings that have questions lingering over them. For example Wanheng Menayothin signing with Golden Boy Promotions, in what looks like a very odd choice all around. It's clear that, under the right promotional vehicle, a fighters profile can become huge around the globe. The sad thing however is that a promoter who can help make 1 fighter a global star, might not be able to replicate it with another. What Top Rank did with Manny Pacquiao, turning him into one of the biggest names in the sport, depended on more than just Top Rank and their promotional stance and match making. It depended on Pacquiao too and his freakish ability. Jerwin Ancajas, another Filipino that has signed with Top Rank, is world class but will never be the next Pacquiao, and had Top Rank really pushed that narrative it would have bitten the promoter and the fighter in the backside. Our prediction is that western promoters continue a bit of a talent stripping of Asian boxing. Whilst not a bad thing per se, it certainly can do more harm than good if the promoters fail to use the talent correctly. In just a year Srisaket Sor Rungvisai has gone from star to missing man under Matchroom US, since making his debut Daniyar Yeleussinov has failed to get a proper promotional push, with his promoter focusing more on UK talent in similar weight classes, and Jerwin Ancajas' time with Top Rank has yet to deliver him a truly big fight. Not only are promoters often limiting the ability, profile, drawing power and competition of their Asian investments but the knock on is that they are also damaging the domestic scenes for some of these fighters. Srisaket for example would have been a real focal point, even in stay busy bouts, had he been allowed to stay active in Thailand. It's a narrow line going forward as to which fighters will and won't benefit the most from signing with Western promoters, but we do expect to see a growing number in 2020, from right across Asia. If 2020 fails to see the fighters who do "Go West" making their mark we may well end up seeing more and more Asian fighters turning down US deals in the years that follow. Alternatively if these fighters go on to do big things with American promoters then we could end up seeing Asian fighters filling up more and more Western shows, as the battle between DAZN, ESPN and PBC continues to grow from US domination to potential a global war between the trio. (Image courtesy of MPP Boxing) As we head towards a new year we've decided to look into our glass balls, our tea leaves and our palms to come up with 20 predictions which will be posted over the coming weeks for what we think will happen in 2020. So far our predictions haven't been the best though they've not all been wrong. In 2013 we predicted that Naoya Inoue, his brother Takuma and Kosei Tanaka would all win world titles. Between them they've won a few world titles, though Takuma has yet to win a proper world title. That same year we also predicted a growth in Chinese boxing, and this arguably happened despite the fact the Macau side of things has died off. We also predicted a growth in Asian fighters making a name for themselves in the US, this was before Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Naoya Inoue or Kazuto Ioka had fought on US soil, and before the wave of Uzbek's had began to attract US attention. Unlike the past, where we have made all of our predictions in 1 article, we'll be spreading these ones out with 1 prediction per article, and going more in depth than we have in the past.  Prediction number 18-Filipino Boxing struggles get worse
One thing that was remarkably disappointing about 2019 was Filipino boxing. There were certainly a number of highlights, including Manny Pacquiao's wins over Adrien Broner and Keither Thurman, and Nonito Donaire's excellent performance against Naoya Inoue. We also had some huge upsets by Filipino fighters including Lito Dante's massive win over Tsubasa Koura. On the whole however the year was a disappointing one for Filipino's. Just a small list of what has hurt Filipino boxing this year include: The year lacked a big show from former promotional powerhouse ALA Promotions Donnie Nietes didn't fight at all during the year, and essentially gave up the WBO Super Flyweight title for no reason Jerwin Ancajas failed to build any moment. Losses for Mark Anthony Barriga and Vic Saludar at world level ESPN5's broadcasts becoming less and less frequent as the year went on Christian Araneta losing his unbeaten record in a world title eliminator and Lito Dante not defending his OPBF title after beating Koura for it Trust us the list is longer, but we had to stop somewhere, Sadly we see 2020 being a worse year for Filipino boxing. Sooner or later father time is going to retire Manny Pacquiao, Nonito Donaire and Donnie Neites, who are all having success much later in to their careers than we would have expected. We don't see ALA turning things around, and if anything promoters will likely look to have a talent raid on what is left of their fighters, either than or ALA send their guys in to fights away from home as huge under-dogs. We also see the champions from the Philippines being dragged away from home to defend, or more accurately, lose their titles. Worst of all we don't see where the money to go into Filipino boxing is going to come from. A few big shows aside, put on by MP Promotions, we don't see the highlight nights for the Philippines in 2020. The lacks of those big shows also means that the prospects, the life blood of a countries boxing scene, won't get a chance to shine. The Philippines has some amazing prospects, many of which have been featured in our 20 for 20, but we don't see them all getting a chance to shine. In fact our biggest worry is that we could be several years away from the Filipino boxing scene getting another star to build behind. This is a prediction we hope we get wrong. We hope ESPN5 will return with vengeance in 2020, we wish that ALA have just had a lazy year whilst planning the next few years out, we really crave success for the Filipino prospect and yearn for more big upsets. Sadly however we expect more frustration, more fading and less and less investment in the young hopefuls. Boxing in Cebu has all but vanished, and with out a lively Cebu boxing scene, boxing in the Philippines is always going to struggle. As we head towards a new year we've decided to look into our glass balls, our tea leaves and our palms to come up with 20 predictions which will be posted over the coming weeks for what we think will happen in 2020. So far our predictions haven't been the best though they've not all been wrong. In 2013 we predicted that Naoya Inoue, his brother Takuma and Kosei Tanaka would all win world titles. Between them they've won a few world titles, though Takuma has yet to win a proper world title. That same year we also predicted a growth in Chinese boxing, and this arguably happened despite the fact the Macau side of things has died off. We also predicted a growth in Asian fighters making a name for themselves in the US, this was before Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Naoya Inoue or Kazuto Ioka had fought on US soil, and before the wave of Uzbek's had began to attract US attention. Unlike the past, where we have made all of our predictions in 1 article, we'll be spreading these ones out with 1 prediction per article, and going more in depth than we have in the past.  PREDICTION number 17 - More world title unification bouts
One thing we've been very, very happy to see in 2019 was the amount of world title unification bouts that took place through the year. The fighters seem to have the ambition to unify rather than just doing what their promoters want them to do, and this has lead to a number of amazing fighters in 2019. Fights like Naoya Inoue Vs Nonito Donaire, Josh Taylor vs Regis Prograis and Daniel Roman vs TJ Doheny were among the very, very best of what we got in 2019. In 2020 we predict we'll see more unifications, and we've already seen a lot being mooted. There's talk of Naooya Inoue facing one of the other Bantamweight champions in Spring, WBA Featherweight champion Can Xu has called for a bout with IBF champion Josh Warrington, WBC Light Flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji has made it clear he wants to unify, and was scheduled to defend with IBF champion Felix Alvarado, likewise Hiroto Kyoguchi has stated he intends to unify at Light Flyweight and the Minimumweight division is ripe for a unification bout. Of course it's not as easy to get unification bouts as it should be, and talk is very cheap in this sport, but it does seem like there is, finally, ambition among the fighters to hold more than one belt. We are seeing a lot more fighters looking to prove they are the best, to fight the other top fighters and to build their profiles. We don't ever expect to see all divisions unified, and we don't expect to end 2020 with undisputed champions all over the place, but we do expect to see a lot more unification bouts. Be it through tournaments, like the WBSS, or fighters both wanting bouts we expect to see the champions clashing, and we hope that by the end of the year we begin to know who really is the #1 fight in more and more divisions. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) 20 Predictions for 2020: PREDICTION number 16 - WBSS Season 3 to feature a smaller weight class12/20/2019 As we head towards a new year we've decided to look into our glass balls, our tea leaves and our palms to come up with 20 predictions which will be posted over the coming weeks for what we think will happen in 2020. So far our predictions haven't been the best though they've not all been wrong. In 2013 we predicted that Naoya Inoue, his brother Takuma and Kosei Tanaka would all win world titles. Between them they've won a few world titles, though Takuma has yet to win a proper world title. That same year we also predicted a growth in Chinese boxing, and this arguably happened despite the fact the Macau side of things has died off. We also predicted a growth in Asian fighters making a name for themselves in the US, this was before Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Naoya Inoue or Kazuto Ioka had fought on US soil, and before the wave of Uzbek's had began to attract US attention. Unlike the past, where we have made all of our predictions in 1 article, we'll be spreading these ones out with 1 prediction per article, and going more in depth than we have in the past.  PREDICTION number 16 - WBSS Season 3 to feature a smaller weight class
Recently we predicted more tournaments, and have regularly confessed our love of tournaments and what they stand for in boxing. Be it tournaments at the very highest level, such as the WBSS of the lower level, with novice tournaments like Rookie of the Year, we love the idea behind tournament boxing. We know their has been issues with Season 2 of the WBSS, with rumoured financial struggles, and pretty obvious issues with scheduling, which almost every finalist has complained about, but in the end the tournaments at 140lbs and 118lbs both delivered. They may not have been as smooth as we'd have all liked, but they were worth the wait! Given the eventual successes of the WBSS Season 2 finals, and the eventual linking up of WBSS and Sky Sports in the UK, we're expecting a third season and it makes sense for the team behind WBSS to again try to build the brand across various geographical fan bases. In Season 2 we had the Bantamweight tournament involving fighters from Japan, Australia, Puerto Rico, the UK, South Africa, Russia, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic. Amazingly 8 different countries were accounted for by the nationality of the fighters and all 8 men were entering the competition with the belief they could win. We could have something very similar if we again allowed the little men to shine. For example at Flyweight we could easily end up with Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Ukraine, Nicaragua, Philippines, China and Pakistan. Or at Light Flyweight, arguably the best division for a WBSS tournament, we could have fighters from Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Cuba, South Africa, Panama, Nicaragua and Venezuela all mixing. The lower weight classes are also, financially, less risky, and promotionally probably more simple. The fighters get paid less, so will expect less, their promoters are typically less about games and more about making names. Fighters like Kenshiro Teraji, Carlos Canizales, Hiroto Kyoguchi and Felix Alvarado, all at Light Flyweight, and Flyweights like Kosei Tanaka, Moruti Mthalane, Cristofer Rosales and Muhammad Waseem, have all looked to increase their name recognition in one way or another. Having them in global tournaments would be huge for their profiles. The best thing about tournaments in these lower weights is that they could be much, much easier to stage. If the WBSS team worked with the bigger promoters in Japan, like Watanabe, Teiken and Hatanaka, the shows could, in theory, essentially feature 2, if not 4, of the knockout bouts in 1 super show, or 2 smaller yet still great shows. This would make scheduling things a little bit easier. Imagine, if you will, a spring card featuring 4 quarter-final bouts for one tournament, a summer card with the semi-finals and then a winter show with the finals in. It would be clear, coherent, and clean. It would be simple to follow, and within 12 months we would have found out who the best fighter in a division is. Alternatively 2 shows for the quarter finals on back to back weekends, the semi finals on the same as each other then the final. We can't get that type of thing in the higher weights, where ego and promotional conflicts cause issues, but in the lower weights this is a possibility, and a money saving one. One that doesn't involve as many moving parts, such as booking double the venues and working on double the TV dates. We predict that one of the lower weights, and more specifically a weight class below Bantamweight, will be run in the next WBSS. We would prefer the Light Flyweight division to the Flyweight one, but either would be great. The division won't appeal to the US audience necessarily, but given the reception the "Drama in Saitama" got it's obvious the US doesn't need to be the primary target for the WBSS. If the march ups are good enough, and the promotional work is strong enough, and the narrative is clear enough, fans, world wide, will care. Also some of the money saved by doing the little guys could be invested in to some shoulder programming, to try and educate the wider boxing audience about the fighters involved, their stories, their styles and their ambitions. There is a whole market out there for for fans who simply haven't been exposed to the little guys and the WBSS has the power to change that. As we head towards a new year we've decided to look into our glass balls, our tea leaves and our palms to come up with 20 predictions which will be posted over the coming weeks for what we think will happen in 2020. So far our predictions haven't been the best though they've not all been wrong. In 2013 we predicted that Naoya Inoue, his brother Takuma and Kosei Tanaka would all win world titles. Between them they've won a few world titles, though Takuma has yet to win a proper world title. That same year we also predicted a growth in Chinese boxing, and this arguably happened despite the fact the Macau side of things has died off. We also predicted a growth in Asian fighters making a name for themselves in the US, this was before Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Naoya Inoue or Kazuto Ioka had fought on US soil, and before the wave of Uzbek's had began to attract US attention. Unlike the past, where we have made all of our predictions in 1 article, we'll be spreading these ones out with 1 prediction per article, and going more in depth than we have in the past.  Prediction number 15 - Tournaments Galore!
One thing that we have seen a lot of in 2019 is boxing tournaments. We've had the WBSS, as well as Rookie tournaments, the God's Left Tournament, the Knockout Dynamite Tournament, the Hajime No Ippo tournament, The Fighter in Thailand, the Ultimate Boxing Series in the Philippines and MTK's Golden Contract tournaments. What all these tournaments have done is deliver excitement and action. None of the bigger tournaments have been flawless, with the WBSS scheduling being one of the most frustrating things about boxing in 2019, but all of them have had great bouts, interesting match ups and been worth following. That is the key. For too long boxing shows have been sold on the main event and little else. There hasn't been a reason to care about a whole show very often, but in tournaments, such as the Rookie of the Year, there is a reason to care about every bout. As a fan you can follow a longer narrative, a story that goes past today and into the future. A story you can emotionally invest in, especially if the fighter has had to dig deep to get to the next round. Even in case where a tournament "goes wrong" we can still invest, with Nonito Donaire's route to the WBSS Bantamweight final giving us a story, that made Donaire seem lucky and like he didn't deserve to be in the final, but he put on one of his career best performances, showing he really did belong there. In fact watching Donaire's final in the WBSS there's a good chance he had more than enough in the tank to have gotten there on merit, even if he had had to go through a fully fit Ryan Burnett and Zolani Tete. Tournaments, if done right, can sell not only themselves, and the fighters involved, but also a longer term boxing story. They give us a reason to care, about more than just a one off fight. Whilst tournaments come with their own issues, such as injury, weight problems, scheduling, they do add structure to boxing and that is something the sport could do with having more off. Something rigid, something to work off of. Something that gives us something to build from. As you can probably tell, we are fans of tournaments, and hopefully we'll see a bigger variety of them pop up, each with their own identity. The WBSS tournaments are clearly about finding the best fighters in the world in a particularly division, the Rookie of the Year tournaments are clearly to help bring novices into the sport and get them some attention. The Knockout Dynamite Tournament was a smart and unique 5 round idea with a bonus structure to encourage knockouts. The sport can also have more 1 night tournaments, like the Prize Fighter Tournaments, a tournament to find contenders for titles, like the old Strongest Korakuen tournaments, more B class tournaments, title determination tournaments to fill vacancies and so much more. Not every tournament needs a flashy name, just a good concept, good match ups, a reason for fighters to want to win and a reason for fans to care. We predict that we will see more tournaments in 2020, with various tournaments in Asia. A 1-night tournament at Korakuen Hall would be great, as would ESPN5 getting on board with a 1-night tournament in the Philippines. Maybe even a tournament of tournaments, with various countries all running tournaments to find their participant in a wide regional competition. There are hundreds of options for promoters to work with, and we feel the tournament market in professional boxing is very much an untapped market, and one that copuld be cracked wide open in 2020. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) As we head towards a new year we've decided to look into our glass balls, our tea leaves and our palms to come up with 20 predictions which will be posted over the coming weeks for what we think will happen in 2020. So far our predictions haven't been the best though they've not all been wrong. In 2013 we predicted that Naoya Inoue, his brother Takuma and Kosei Tanaka would all win world titles. Between them they've won a few world titles, though Takuma has yet to win a proper world title. That same year we also predicted a growth in Chinese boxing, and this arguably happened despite the fact the Macau side of things has died off. We also predicted a growth in Asian fighters making a name for themselves in the US, this was before Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Naoya Inoue or Kazuto Ioka had fought on US soil, and before the wave of Uzbek's had began to attract US attention. Unlike the past, where we have made all of our predictions in 1 article, we'll be spreading these ones out with 1 prediction per article, and going more in depth than we have in the past.  Prediction number 14 - A world title fight to be held in Taiwan in 2020!
A second straight outlandish prediction sees us prediction that Taiwan will host a world title fight at some point next year, building on the baby steps the country has made in the sport in last year. It's inevitable that growth in boxing in Taiwan is a key thing for the OPBF, who are essentially running the current shows in the country, and with the economy in Taiwan being a strong and stable one it only makes sense that the country will, eventually, become a hub for boxing. It's an economy that is growing, that will be able to bankroll world title fights and is a country that has strong import and export business with Japan and the US, both of whom have strong boxing backgrounds, as well as China, which is a growing boxing market it's self. A bit like Vietnam the country has an untapped market for boxing, and it's a market that could explode in the coming years. If a promoter can plant their flag there, lay down the marker and begin to make a splash there then they will be in on the ground floor and make the most of the boom we suspect will happen in the coming years. Although combat sports do take place in Taiwan, and the country has hosted things like K1 in 2008 and the 2008 East Asian Judo Championships, it has yet to host a major boxing event. That will change, it's just a matter of when, and why should they wait? World title fights, to us boxing fans, might be the key bouts but in reality to countries they are also status symbols. The Thrilla in Manila, The Rumble in the Jungle, the Clash on the Dunes are all status symbol events, for a country to tell the world they are something big. A show in Taiwan would do something similar and prove that it's a viable player for major sporting events going forward. We suspect that the country won't host any super fights any time soon, but we are predicting a world title fight, likely a women's world title fight, ends up in Taiwan in the back of the year of the country makes a statement and as promoters look for new regions to swarm to. The Chinese market is growing, the Vietnamese market is opening up and the Taiwanese boxing market, sponsored by microchip companies, could use the sport to sell the country as being something very special. As we head towards a new year we've decided to look into our glass balls, our tea leaves and our palms to come up with 20 predictions which will be posted over the coming weeks for what we think will happen in 2020. So far our predictions haven't been the best though they've not all been wrong. In 2013 we predicted that Naoya Inoue, his brother Takuma and Kosei Tanaka would all win world titles. Between them they've won a few world titles, though Takuma has yet to win a proper world title. That same year we also predicted a growth in Chinese boxing, and this arguably happened despite the fact the Macau side of things has died off. We also predicted a growth in Asian fighters making a name for themselves in the US, this was before Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Naoya Inoue or Kazuto Ioka had fought on US soil, and before the wave of Uzbek's had began to attract US attention. Unlike the past, where we have made all of our predictions in 1 article, we'll be spreading these ones out with 1 prediction per article, and going more in depth than we have in the past.  Prediction number 13 - Korea will develop a new Star
A bit of an outlandish one this time, but we suspect 2020 will be the year that Korea finally sees a new boxing star emerge. They may not go all the way to the top in 2020 but they will create the buzz and excitement that we've missed from the countries fighters in recent years. Whilst it does seem like a wild prediction, especially given that Ye Joon Kim is the only Korean man in the world rankings, it does feel like there is real positivity in Korean boxing right now, thanks in part to the way BoxingM have managed to add stability and structure to the Korean boxing scene. There is a lot that still needs to be done in Korean boxing to develop it to the point where the country will start churning out world title level fighters on a regular basis, but there are hall marks of a system that is working, and is developing genuine talent. In 2019 we were impressed by youngsters like Han Bin Suh, Jeong Seon Kang, Min Jang, Da Won Gang and Sung Min Yuh. As well as the youngsters we were really impressed by Jae Woo Lee, who's win over Tsuyoshi Tameda really surprised us, and he stood out as an old school Korean fighter with toughness, aggression and energy. He looked like the type of fighter who could lead a spearhead of Korean boxing renaissance. We do believe Korean boxing is still a very fractured mess, and has too many people playing too many political games rather than building the Korean boxing scene, but it is certainly showing signs of moving in the right direction and we look like we have a good generation of hopefuls emerging from the country, with a nice of styles. Thanks to how good BoxingM have been and how influential their Battle Royale tournaments are we see BoxingM becoming the dominant force of Korean boxing in the years to come, and the ones who will create the stars of Korean boxing. We suspect that begins in 2020 with at least one of their fighters making a mark internationally and breaking into the world rankings with a big win on foreign soil. Expect Korean boxing to continue it's struggle for a while, but it only takes one break out star to set the platform for fighters to emerge. That might be Jae Woo Lee that plays that role, or Ye Joon Kim or someone else entirely, but in 2020 we expect to see someone lead the charge in that very manner! (Image of Han Bin Suh courtesy of BoxingM) As we head towards a new year we've decided to look into our glass balls, our tea leaves and our palms to come up with 20 predictions which will be posted over the coming weeks for what we think will happen in 2020. So far our predictions haven't been the best though they've not all been wrong. In 2013 we predicted that Naoya Inoue, his brother Takuma and Kosei Tanaka would all win world titles. Between them they've won a few world titles, though Takuma has yet to win a proper world title. That same year we also predicted a growth in Chinese boxing, and this arguably happened despite the fact the Macau side of things has died off. We also predicted a growth in Asian fighters making a name for themselves in the US, this was before Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Naoya Inoue or Kazuto Ioka had fought on US soil, and before the wave of Uzbek's had began to attract US attention. Unlike the past, where we have made all of our predictions in 1 article, we'll be spreading these ones out with 1 prediction per article, and going more in depth than we have in the past.  Prediction number 12 - India to claim 3 medals at the Olympics
Next year will be a huge year for fight fans, and part of the reason why is the fact that next year is an Olympic year, and Olympic boxing is, for many, the only amateur tournament they actually watch. With that in mind we've take a prediction from contributor Marcus Bellinger (@marcusknockout), who knows a lot more about amateur boxing than we do! Marcus made 3 predictions to us for the 2020 Olympics, the most interesting of which was that India would go on to claim 3 medals in boxing at the Tokyo games. This might seem rather outlandish, given that India took home 0 medals at the 2016 Olympics and only sent 3 fighters there, but it's a prediction that's made with some good thought process behind it. In 2019 India took 2 medals in the AIBA World championships, a silver and a bronze, and 4 in the AIBA Women's World Championships, with a silver and a bronze. This sort of success is likely to be built on through to the Tokyo games and if India do take 3 medals from the boxing it wouldn't be a massive surprise. Another of Marcus' predictions for Tokyo 2020 was Eumir Marcial to win a bronze medal. We suspect this really depends on the draw, but at the recent World Championships he reached the final, and really impressed on his way there, before losing in the final to local hopeful Gleb Bakshi. Marcial, from the Philippines, has a long been tipped as a star for his homeland and it would be a massive disappointment if he failed to medal. Of course the Olympics is often hard to predict, with some atrocious decisions marring every Olympics, but with his experience and skills Marcial will be among the medal favourites and will look to add to a collection of other international medals. One thing that has always been notable about the Olympics is the success fighters from the host nation have, and Marcus has also predicted a looser decision that Japan will take a medal. We'll however go one step further than that and predict that Japan will take home at least 1 gold medal. On paper that looks like a wild prediction, given they took home 0 medals from the two World Championships in 2019, but home nations always get the rub of the green at Olympic tournaments and we suspect that will be the case against here. 20 Predictions for 2020: PREDICTION number 11- A portion of boxing fans turn on Naoya Inoue12/10/2019 As we head towards a new year we've decided to look into our glass balls, our tea leaves and our palms to come up with 20 predictions which will be posted over the coming weeks for what we think will happen in 2020. So far our predictions haven't been the best though they've not all been wrong. In 2013 we predicted that Naoya Inoue, his brother Takuma and Kosei Tanaka would all win world titles. Between them they've won a few world titles, though Takuma has yet to win a proper world title. That same year we also predicted a growth in Chinese boxing, and this arguably happened despite the fact the Macau side of things has died off. We also predicted a growth in Asian fighters making a name for themselves in the US, this was before Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Naoya Inoue or Kazuto Ioka had fought on US soil, and before the wave of Uzbek's had began to attract US attention. Unlike the past, where we have made all of our predictions in 1 article, we'll be spreading these ones out with 1 prediction per article, and going more in depth than we have in the past.  Prediction number 11- A portion of boxing fans turn on Naoya Inoue
One thing we, as fans, often say is that we want to see the best fight the best. We want champions to face each other, or champions to go in against legitimate top challengers. We don't want to see fighters pussy footing around challenges to just keep their titles, and have a look reign against badly mismatched opposition. One fighter who has often faced tests, looked for challenges, and thrown down the gauntlet to the boxing world is Japanese star Naoya Inoue. In just his 4th fight he took on Japanese champion Ryoichi Taguchi, in fight 6 he won his first world title, became a 2 weight champion in fight #8 before moving up to Bantamweight in 2018. Then winning the WBSS at Bantamweight in 2019. He is a fighter who has done everything he can to get universal acclaim, and whilst his record at Super Flyweight didn't feature the best fighters he didn't wait too long to move up again whilst the WBC title went through a bit of a mandatory mess. It would, of course, have been great to see Inoue fight Roman Gonzalez, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Jerwin Ancajas, Kal Yafai or Juan Francisco Esrrada, but it takes 2 to tango and for whatever reason, be it mandatories, circumstance or something else, those bouts never came off. Since moving to Bantamweight Inoue has already notched wins over Jamie McDonnell, Juan Carlos Payano, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Nonito Donaire. He has created history by becoming the first Asian fighter to win the Muhammad Ali trophy and the first Japanese fighter to ever score a win in a world title fight in Europe. After just 19 fights he has almost certainly staked a claim as being in the top 3 Japanese fighters of all time, if not the #1 position. Sadly success in boxing brings hate, and with Inoue recently signing with Top Rank he will get a lot more exposure to the US market. That will bring with it a new group of haters, a group that easily ignored him to this point as he was out of site and out mind. In 2020 we predict there will be a surge of anti-Inoue backlash from fans who are unhappy about everything in his career. Even things that aren't his fault. An obvious example of this will be Inoue not fighting Luis Nery, a PBC fighter who has repeatedly shown an unprofessional attitude. Sure the bout would be great, but with Nery unable to consistently make weight it's likely a bout between the two would be cancelled due to Nery missing 118lbs, not for the first time. Likewise fans calling for him to move up, rather than face the other leading Bantamweights, like Nordine Oubaali, and hating him for wanting to face the best at his own weight. Whether he faces easy opponent, tough opponents or unifies we suspect there will be a small, but very vocal, surge of anti-Inoue comments online. Those comments will come no matter what he does and who against. (Image courtesy of Ohashi Gym) |
Oriental Opinions
This is just an opinion, maaaan! It's easy to share our opinions, and that's what you'll find here, some random opinion pieces Archives
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