Most fans can list great fights that they would love to see, from the lower weights all the way up to Heavyweight.
Sadly, for many reasons such as promotional differences and network loyalty, these fights will never take place.
Due to these reasons, most of the fights on this list have very little to no chances of getting done.
Treat this more of an obituary of sorts, to remind you what we are really losing out on some great potential fights in our generation of boxing.
Read on for the top 10 fights that are never going to happen.
10. Nonito Donaire vs. Abner Mares
Photo by Esther Lin/Showtime
After being embarrassed by Guillermo Rigondeaux, Nonito Doniare went life-and-death with already beaten foe, Vic Darchinyan to get a ninth-round KO while being behind on the scorecards.
Meanwhile, Abner Mares, basking in the Doniare meritocracy, lost in a shocking first-round KO to Jhonny Gonzales.
After both below-par performances from each fighter, this matchup would be big.
Their names alone are big draws and would make for an exciting build-up and great fight.
9. Brandon Rios vs. Lucas Matthysse
Photo by Esther Lin/Showtime
There are stories of sparring sessions between these two warriors. The more and more I hear about them, the better they sound.
It goes that Brandon Rios used his size over Lucas Matthysse; while Matthysse used angles to put together punches, with not one stepping back.
Some people say Rios was hurting him, some say the opposite, but all agree it was a sparring war.
All this hoopla and these guys were wearing protective gear and heavy set gloves.
Just imagine the thud and smack of each punch between these two in an actual fight!
8. Floyd Mayweather vs. Sergio Martinez
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Floyd Mayweather is almost unanimously recognized as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world today.
He is the man at Welterweight and pretty damn good at Junior Middleweight.
Sergio Martinez, after spending most of his early career campaigning at Welterweight and Junior Middleweight, has finally found his home as the king of the Middleweight division.
The prospect of Mayweather winning a title in six divisions could make this fight possible.
Would Mayweather prove to be what he claims as “TBE” or “The Best Ever”, by defeating the bigger and stronger Martinez?
Or would the Argentinian be too much for the man who started his career at Junior Lightweight?
It would be a legacy fight for Mayweather, if he were to win; it would cement him as the best fighter of his generation if not overall.
7. Peter Quillin vs. Gennady Golovkin
Photo by John Garita/Round By Round Boxing
One set of fans say Gennady Golovkin is the heir apparent to Middleweight King, Sergio Martinez, others say it is Peter Quillin.
They both hold championship belts in their division and have a knack of knocking out their opponents.
GGG seems the better of the two, with the better amateur pedigree and a higher KO percentage nearing 90 percent.
Both have seen and sparred each other in the past, most saying GGG got the better of the session. Making this matchup now would mean thrusting Quillin in with a concrete block on his shoulder and nothing to lose.
One thing is for certain, it would be a great fight, while it lasted.
6. Leo Santa Cruz vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
The phrase, “styles makes fights” is one of the most overused phrases in boxing today, but it is never wrong.
Leo Santa Cruz is never in a boring fight, since his style is one of a traditional Mexican, always coming forward as a true “guerrero.”
Guillermo Rigondeaux’s style is also taken from his national blueprint. Most fighters from Cuba only fight in the amateur system, making their style one of “hit and make them miss.”
One fighter can evade a thousand punches and the other one throws a thousand.
The Cuban gold medalist is considered one of the greatest amateur boxers of all time. He is undefeated and may be one of the best pure boxers in the sport today.
It all sounds great until one realizes that pure boxing doesn’t fill seats.
From what we’ve seen from Santa Cruz, the two division champion never backs down from a fight.
With not only the looks of Antonio Margarito, but the style, one can only expect this fight to be filled with constant pressure and punches.
Santa Cruz would do things we’ve never seen a Rigondeaux opponent do making this a great matchup.
5. Brandon Rios vs. Victor Ortiz
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Childhood friends turned bitter enemies, both telling stories of betrayal.
It sounds more like a plot to a Hollywood film then a true story between two kids from Garden City, Kansas.
It shows shades of Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas, but with a better background with two fighters who actually hate each other.
Brandon Rios, the brawler with no filter, is the type of fighter who will take two punches just to hit you with one.
Victor Ortiz, is the pretty boy boxer who has all the skills, but could never fully put it all together.
The fight has lost a bit of luster since Ortiz split with long-time trainer and brother of Rios’ trainer, Danny Garcia.
With Ortiz infamously and abruptly leaving Robert Garcia’s camp to go with Danny the background stories run deep. The press conference alone could sell tickets.
There is no doubt that Ortiz is the more skillful boxer, but Rios beats him in two important categories, his heart and will.
That’s what makes this fight most exciting.
4. Floyd Mayweather vs. Timothy Bradley
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
After Tim Bradley won a hard, but decisive fight versus Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez, many writing pundits said he could be the only boxer alive at the moment to dethrone the pound-for-pound champion, Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Now that may be a bit of a stretch, seeing how in this writers opinion, no one in this decade or the next can beat the man they call “Money.”
But that is not to say Bradley would just get steamrolled. He’s not the undefeated WBO World Champion for no reason.
Bradley has speed that Mayweather hasn’t seen since the first few rounds of the Shane Mosely fight or the Zab Judah.
Both of these fighters were not on the same “world level talent” as Mayweather with Mosely’s old age and Judah’s midget mind, but Bradley is a tough SOB who is in his prime and has never been accused of lacking heart or the will of a champion ala Victor Ortiz or Zab Judah.
Mayweather does beat him with overall intangibles such as power—Bradley’s KO percentage is 37.5; Mayweather’s KO percentage is 57.8—and overall experience—Bradley has 31 fights; Mayweather has 45 fights.
It would be a great fight, with it being a title unifying Welterweight matchup as well, but it would likely die down towards the end turning into the Mayweather show.
3. Bernard Hopkins vs. Adonis Stevenson
Photo by Action Images/Peter Cziborra
One of the most skillful boxers to ever grace the boxing ring, Bernard Hopkins has seen it all. Hopkins, who has fought the best and is considered one of the best, has reached the ripe age of 48.
Holding a belt in the Light Heavyweight division, he no longer has the power that once knocked out Tito Trinidad. Instead, he now has to use his ring intellect and any attribute available to him to win fights against his younger opponents.
But like any old champion, there is always that young hungry lion that wants and yearns for that recognition and glory.
For Hopkins, that young lion takes the form of WBC and lineal Light Heavyweight champion, Adonis Stevenson.
The Haitian born Canadian had one hell of a 2013, topping many Fighter of the Year lists.
With the shocking one punch KO of Chad Dawson to claim his titles, to the systematic destruction of Tavoris Cloud and spectacular knockout of Tony Bellew, Stevenson has always talked of a Hopkins showdown.
Does the old man still have one more great performance left in him and the ability to silence another loud young pup?
Or would we see a great old champion fall to a younger one?
That’s one question most want answered.
2. Danny Garcia vs. Ruslan Provodnikov
Photo edit by John Garita/Round By Round Boxing
You can call Danny Garcia boxing’s version of Rodney Dangerfield.
Garcia is the Jr. Welterweight kingpin; he is undefeated and has beat everyone his promoters put in front of him in exciting fashion. Yet, he gets no respect from most boxing fans and critics.
Going into most fights with a chip on his shoulder, as an underdog, he has always come out the victor.
On the other end of the Jr. Welterwieght spectrum is the savage Siberian with the name of a James Bond villain, Ruslan Provodnikov.
Provodnikov busted into the mainstream boxing world in 2013 in a losing effort against Tim Bradley in a fight of the year classic.
Both Garcia and Provodnikov have a rough style, with Garcia being the more defined boxer.
Both have great power, but differ when it comes to the way they get the knockout.
Provodnikov has a more mauling style that will wear you down until you can’t take anymore. Garcia can also wear you down, but his left hook is one of beauty and can put an end to a fight with one solid connection.
They aren’t the best defensively either and all these qualities equal out to one exciting fight.
With not one taking their foot off the pedal, it’ll play out to more of a battle of attrition.
Will it be the God fearing, serious faced Siberian or the rough, hard-nosed Philly native?
Who will come out on top and reign supreme in their division? I don’t know, but I’m praying we will find out.
1. Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao
Of course you knew this was going to be here, didn’t you?
Yes, even though it is no longer 2009-2010, this fight is still the most relevant and important matchup in the sport of boxing.
This fight needs to happen not only to settle the long standing dispute over who is the better fighter of his generation, but to usher in new mainstream fans as it will be the most lucrative fight in the sport.
Yes, even two years past its expiration. Now, the current version of Manny Pacquaio has shown signs of being past his prime, with his knockout loss to longtime rival Juan Manual Marquez, to his less than stellar fight with Brandon Rios. The exact opposite is the case with Floyd Mayweather, who for the first time time since 2007 fought twice in 2013 by easily beating Robert Guerrero and dismantling Junior Middleweight superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September.
Could we see flashes of a prime Pacquaio if this bout were to come into fruition?
Yes, as all great fighters always have one last great fight left in them.
But between promotional disputes and utter pride and ego in the way, this match up will most likely go down in history as the greatest fight that did not happen.
