Legendary boxing commentator, ‘The Colonel’ Bob Sheridan is one of the most respected boxing personalities in the sport and he will be inducted into his third boxing Hall of Fame in June, when he joins the 2016 class in Canastota, New York. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Sheridan to get his thoughts on the announcement of Khan vs. Canelo and got his views on how he expects the fight to play out. He also breaks down the Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter bout and Martin vs. Joshua. In addition, Bob speaks on Manny Pacquiao’s possible retirement and a fight with Terence Crawford. Here is what Bob Sheridan had to say.
Robert Brown: Amir Khan is going all the way up to 155lbs to fight Canelo Alvarez, what are your thoughts on that fight?
Bob Sheridan: The reason that fight was made is because the Alvarez fight is a much bigger fight for Khan, so it’s a great opportunity for him to get some instant recognition. Could he knock off Canelo Alvarez? I don’t know, Alvarez is very strong at 155lbs — of course this is supposed to be a middleweight fight at 160lbs but somehow or another he has a middleweight belt and they make these catchweight fights at 155lbs, so Khan’s gonna move up to that weight level, which gives him a shot at the middleweight title.
This is a business, it’s more than a sport, and the business dictates that that’s the fight for him, so I think it will be an interesting fight. I don’t know how Amir will do against Canelo but we know Canelo is a big banger and he puts on very interesting fights and he’s hugely popular fighting in Las Vegas.
Robert Brown: Do you think it’s a smart gamble on Khan’s part to fight Alvarez?
Bob Sheridan: Yeah I do because he needs to get a big name. They tossed his name around with Manny Pacquiao for years and he hasn’t got the big marquee fight. This is a marquee fight, it will be huge back in the UK, so I think it’s a good move on his part.
Robert Brown: What’s your prediction for the fight?
Bob Sheridan: Over the years I haven’t been very good at predicting fights. I think that Canelo Alvarez will be too strong for him when it’s all said and done. So I would predict that Alvarez wins the fight. After I saw and called a fight where Canelo Alvarez beat James Kirkland in Houston a year ago, I thought that the power of Canelo was amazing at the point and Khan may have to face some of the power that this guys has during the fight.
In the Kirkland fight, Kirkland was considered to be the big puncher and you saw what Alvarez did to him. I think that Canelo will win the fight, and the fact is that Khan has got to look good in the fight and perform like a world class fighter that I believe that he is.
Robert Brown: We got a huge fight at 147lbs coming up between Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter. What are your thoughts on this fight?
Bob Sheridan: Porter is an excellent fighter and I think he’s just beginning to come into his own and I like him a lot in that fight.
Robert Brown: So you’re picking Shawn Porter to win that fight?
Bob Sheridan: Yes, I think he’s a very strong fighter. I think he will win by knockout.
Robert Brown: Anthony Joshua is set to face Charles Martin for the IBF heavyweight title. What are your thoughts on this fight being made?
Bob Sheridan: I would have thought that the Martin people would have taken a softer fight, maybe somebody in the next level down. There are mandatories involved here, so this was the money fight and they took it right away and they’re gonna let the chips fall where they may. It’s a great fight for Joshua, he has the opportunity to become a world champion.
The heavyweight division is real interesting right now. I think from what I’ve seen of Joshua, he’s a very powerful guy and Martin was fortunate that he caught Glazkov with an injury and won the title, and that happens in boxing. But I think Joshua is very strong and I think that Martin is going to have a very difficult time in defeating this young powerhouse and I think that’s good for the heavyweight division. I’m very happy for the fight.
Robert Brown: Manny Pacquiao has repeated to the press that he plans to retire after the Bradley rematch. If he beats Bradley and looks good, do you think he could return maybe against a Terence Crawford?
Bob Sheridan: I don’t believe that this is Pacquiao’s last fight, although it’s sort of being built that way. I think that if Pacquiao wins the Senate seat, there’s no reason why he couldn’t come back and fight in another six or seven months. I think Terence Crawford is the guy that they wanted to really wanted to promote, he’s a terrific fighter. Crawford is the future of Top Rank boxing and there could be a change of the guard provided Timothy Bradley could very well knock off Manny Pacquiao.
Bradley is right in the peak of his career right now and he’s a very good fighter. He was very disappointed in the way he was treated after the first fight when he was declared the winner of the fight and a lot of people didn’t think he won the fight. In the second fight he wasn’t impressive at all but now with his new trainer, Teddy Atlas, he’s looking very good and you can be sure he’ll be in the greater shape of his life to fight Pacquiao for a third time.
If Bradley wins this fight then I think the collision course could be the two Top Rank fighters, Tim Bradley and Terence Crawford. We’ll see what happens, it all depends on what happens between Bradley and Pacquiao.
Pacquiao winning the senate seat is a big if. He has not done a great job. He should stick to fighting.
I wonder if Bradley can really do it. Maybe I am buying into the hype, but the Bradley that beat Marquez was really good, and if that Bradley is even more focused, he will win.