Barak Bess 3 burning questions for boxing in 2023
DAZN’s Barak weighs in with his top requests for the new year.
We asked DAZN’s Barak Bess for his 3 burning questions for boxing in 2023 and here are his answers:
Will Canelo’s rematch with Dmitry Bivol be at 175 or 168?
We know Canelo is a very proud fighter and he feels he’s been beaten at 175. So he doesn’t want to be challenged by moving up the weight class because he feels he won’t get the credit he deserves. But at the same time, I’m sure he knows that he was the one who dared to be big and that he doesn’t really belong at 175 kg. Even Eddy Reynoso said that after they beat (Sergey) Kovalev.
This fighting Bivol, I think no one who has ever fought at 154 would fight Bivol. No. So if Bivol is asking for this fight at 168 so he can be uncontested, I don’t know where they’re going to go with that. I’m really dying to see if Canelo would cave in and fight him at 168.
Will Oleksandr Usyk Fight Tyson Fury?
Oh my God! I’m almost sick of this back and forth, WWE stuff. I’m really tired of this. I guess we as fans have accepted Fury as someone who says what he wants to say. It doesn’t have to be true because he has gotten in the ring and actually backs up what he says. But damn… we just need an undisputed champion in the heavyweight division.
In this era, in the last few years, we’ve had seven undisputed champions in six weight classes. I’m only talking about men’s boxing. That’s a lot in the four-belt era. There is a lot to be had in recent years. But what we really need is an undisputed heavyweight champion. A heavyweight champion is what we need.
Will Anthony Joshua fight Deontay Wilder?
People still want to see this fight. These are two popular guys who hit very, very hard. Both are cut from the same cloth in that they started late, became Olympians and medaled in the Olympics. So it’s still a highly anticipated fight. You talk about crossroads and the road back to the top…it just makes sense. They both cannot beat a man. Both lost twice to a man. This is truly the recipe for a great fight. It really is their popularity.
They could both sell a fight. Anthony Joshua, all he has to do is come out and people will watch his fight. He has a whole country behind him. He is a celebrity in the UK. Wilder is a popular heavyweight but he is no Denzel Washington. Joshua in the UK is like a Denzel Washington – everyone knows him. He is so well known, he is so loved.
Wilder is our most famous American heavyweight who has been the most dominant since 2015. It only makes sense that the two countries collide. I think they are in the same position in their careers and still very dangerous.