With 2011 officially behind us, it’s time to look forward to everything that 2012 has to offer. There is a load of intriguing and hopefully excited matches already on the docket for the year. In fact, there’s at least 10 big-time fights to look forward to in the first two months of the year alone.
Here are the top 10 fights to look forward to in the first two months of 2012. You can check our boxing schedule for the details on all of these fights and everything else planned for the year thus far.
- Eddie Chambers vs. Sergei Liakhovich – January 21 – NBC Sports Fight Night debuts with this match-up of heavyweight contenders. They have very different styles, and if either wants to sniff a title shot, they better get the win here.
- Erik Morales vs. Danny Garcia –Moved to March 24th – Morales showed in 2011 that the tank wasn’t on empty yet, and in fact, he can still deliver exciting, fun fights. He’ll have a tough night in store for him though against Garcia, who’s ready to break out on the big stage.
- James Kirkland vs. Carlos Molina – January 28 – Kirkland vs. Molina is going to be an explosive, super-fun fight for however long it lasts. Expect to see 200 punches thrown per round until Molina or Kirkland ends up on the canvas.
- Nonito Donaire vs. Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. – February 4 – Donaire moves up to super bantamweight and makes his debut against Vazquez Jr, who suffered his first loss last year, but is hungry for a big-time win. A worthy title fight, and Donaire will be looking for another spectacular showing to get his year started off right.
- Yoan Pablo Hernandez vs. Steve Cunningham II – February 4 – Their first fight ended in controversial fashion, and what else is new for the hard-luck USS Cunningham? He’ll have a chance for redemption here though in a meeting of two of the top three cruiserweights in the world.
- Victor Ortiz vs. Andre Berto II – February 11 – A rematch of 2011’s Fight of the Year is certainly a great way to get things going in 2012. Berto came back from his loss to Ortiz by picking up another welterweight strap, but he dropped it in order to secure the rematch and his chance for revenge. It will be Ortiz’s first fight back since the Mayweather debacle.
- Vitali Klitschko vs. Dereck Chisora – February 18 – Chisora showed up like a lean, mean fighting machine against Robert Helenius, and was robbed of a win in Helenius’s hometown. The effort got him a date with big brother Vitali though, and he will come into the match as a stern, tough test for Klitschko to get past.
- Alexander Povetkin vs. Marco Huck – February 24 – Povetkin vs. Huck is creating controversy as Povetkin will be circumventing his mandatory against Hasim Rahman (Really? Hasim freaking Rahman is a mandatory challenger? WTF?) to make the match. Nonetheless, it pits the best cruiserweight in the world against a top 5 heavyweight, and they’re fairly equal in stature as well.
- Devon Alexander vs. Marcos Maidana – February 25 – 2011 was a year to forget for Devon Alexander, with a loss to Timothy Bradley and a controversial win over Lucas Matthysse. All of that will be erased if he can get a win against Marcos Maidana, but he’ll likely find that easier said than done.
- Adrien Broner vs. Eloy Perez – February 25 – Two young, hungry and undefeated fighters battling one another with a title on the line. Sounds pretty juice. Right now, Broner is #6 and Perez is #8 in our super featherweight division rankings.
