Top 10 boxing matches that never happened

The history of world boxing is full of cases when, due to conflicts between promoters, TV channels, and refusals by the boxers themselves, many fights eagerly awaited by fans remained only in dreams. While fans could only speculate about what might have been in the ring, platforms like Slotozen Casino no deposit allow boxing enthusiasts to stay connected with the sport in other ways, enjoying betting, predictions, and virtual matches. Here is a list of the top 10 boxing matches that never happened:

Arturo Gatti – Julio César Chávez

Two legendary boxers, fan favourites in the late 1990s, were no longer at the peak of their careers, but they still had plenty of fight left in them. At that time, they were in neighbouring weight categories. Their meeting could have gone down in boxing history as a meeting of two of the most unyielding boxers, two fighters with incredible character.

Deontay Wilder – Volodymyr Klitschko

After his older brother ended his professional career, Volodymyr was one belt short of becoming the undisputed champion. For three years, the WBC title changed hands, and in 2015, it was won by the brutal knockout artist Deontay Wilder. If, instead of fighting Tyson Fury, the Ukrainian had managed to reach an agreement with the American, we would have seen the first heavyweight in history to hold four of the most prestigious belts at once.

Gennady Golovkin – Andre Ward

Gennady Golovkin is now 37 years old, and he began his brilliant professional career almost 14 years ago. During this time, he became a popular boxer and was even the leader of the P4P rating at one point. Unfortunately for him, he never became one of the greatest in boxing history. Why? Because he fought all his fights in the middleweight limit. Golovkin also critically lacked big names on his list of defeated boxers. A meeting with American Andre Ward could have helped in this regard. Ward is an Olympic champion, world champion in two weight categories, and leader of the P4P rankings in 2017. Their fight could have been the biggest in the super middleweight division in the past decade.

Vasyl Lomachenko – Mikey Garcia

Despite the fact that both boxers continue to actively compete and are in their prime, their fight is almost unrealistic. The whole problem lies in the boxers' weight. Lomachenko fights in the lightweight division, which is uncomfortable for him, and after winning all the titles, he plans to move down to the lower division. Mikey Garcia is currently in the welterweight division and is no longer able to drop down to the 61 kg limit.Read also: Top 10 most anticipated boxing matches of 2020

Floyd Mayweather – Kostya Tszyu

In 2003, the young Floyd moved to welterweight, at which time the Russian-Australian Kostya Tszyu was the champion in two versions of this weight class. This boxer had once defeated Floyd's uncle, Roger. Tszyu was one of the biggest stars in professional boxing at the time. A victory over him could have greatly accelerated the rise of the then young Mayweather. However, Mayweather did not risk fighting the unified champion right away, and two years later, Konstantin ended his career.

Roy Jones – Chris Byrd

In 2003, Roy Jones achieved one of the greatest feats in boxing history. The middleweight boxer was able to move up to heavyweight and defeat the then champion John Ruiz. At the same time, other heavyweight champions included Lennox Lewis, Corey Sanders and Chris Byrd. The latter was the most suitable stylistically, as he also began his career in the super middleweight division, which was comfortable for Jones. According to Roy, his team wanted to organise this fight, but Chris was against it.

Mike Tyson – David Tua

Two legendary super heavyweights of the 90s became famous for their unreal physical strength, in particular their powerful punches. Both are not tall, approximately the same height, boxers with a bright attacking style. Mike Tyson is a formidable puncher, the youngest heavyweight world champion. David Tua was a fighter who had a left hook in his arsenal, possibly the most powerful punch the world has ever seen. It is unlikely that the fight would have gone all 12 rounds, but it would certainly have provided unforgettable emotions for the fans.

Vitali Klitschko – Nikolai Valuev

After his return in 2008, Vitali won all his fights. However, he did not have any worthy opponents in these confrontations. Nikolai Valuev could have solved this problem for the Ukrainian champion, but the Russian did not agree to fight the Ukrainian.

If Valuev had agreed to the fight, the combined height of the boxers in the ring would have been 4 metres 14 centimetres, a record for a championship fight.

Lennox Lewis – Riddick Bowe

The boxers met in the amateur ring in the final of the Olympic Games in Seoul. Lewis won that fight. After that, both turned to professional boxing and won championship titles. They regularly spoke about each other in a manner typical of boxers, which was not the most civilised. However, their fight never took place. In 1992, Lewis became the official challenger for the WBC title, which belonged to the American. Ridick refused to defend the title and demonstratively threw it in the trash.

Lennox Lewis – Vitali Klitschko (rematch)

The ‘Battle of the Giants’, which took place on 21 June 2003, is considered the best heavyweight fight of the past decade. The fight, in which Klitschko landed more punches and led on the judges' scorecards, ended in defeat after six rounds due to a cut inflicted by Lennox. Immediately after the fight, the Brit agreed to a rematch, which never took place. At first, Vitali said he needed six months to recover from the cut, and then Lewis announced that he was ending his professional career altogether.