Golden Boy/Top Rank truce will do wonders for boxing!

Ever since the executives of Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank have called a truce and squashed their beef (at least momentarily), it appears that boxing has taken a turn for the better.

Now that the beef is squashed, Golden Boy and Top Rank will be able to work together to bring boxing fans the most significant and exciting match ups that can be made in the sport. As many of you probably know, most of the best boxers in the world fight under the banners of Golden Boy and Top Rank.

Since the truce, many of the matches that can be made, but couldn't be made prior to the bad blood between the two firms, are either in the process of being signed or are set to happen. On October 6th, Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera are set to fight their rematch at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV. Pacquiao is a Top Rank fighter. Barrera is a Golden Boy fighter. This is a fight that could not happen, had Golden Boy and Top Rank refused to come together for their meeting and agree to work with each other rather than remain prideful and bitter towards each other's success, accomplishments, and boxers fighting under each other's banners.

Another fight, between fighters who fight under the two respective banners, is set to happen at Madison Square Garden on November 10. As I reported at this site a couple days ago, WBA Welterweight Champion Miguel Cotto will defend his title against Former Welterweight and Super Welterweight Champion Sugar Shane Mosley. As you probably realize, Cotto is Top Rank's latest bread and butter boxing attraction, while Mosley is one of the executive partners who works with Golden Boy as well as fights for Golden Boy. Yours truly is delighted that this matchup is happening, due to it's significance and and potential for being a great fight. Both fighters let their hands go, so they're great for each other stylistically in terms of producing an action packed fight.

On September 8th, Champion Joan Guzman and Humberto Soto will most likely be facing off for Guzman's WBO Super Featherweight Championship. The fight will likely be televised on HBO World Championship Boxing and could be staged in Atlantic City, NJ. Soto is a fighter who has made noise in the sport, following his upset win over Rocky Juarez a couple of years back. Joan Guzman is one of the most talented boxers in the game today. He won the title with a narrow split decision victory over Jorge Barrios last September. Most importantly, Guzman is a product of Golden Boy, while Soto fights for Top Rank and this is yet another attractive matchup.

Although both are Golden Boy fighters, WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Juan Marquez and Rocky Juarez will fight each other on September 15 on an HBO PPV card. Originally, it was Jorge Barrios who was set to face Marquez, but he was forced to withdraw due to a physical condition that would've prevented him from passing his physical for that fight. Enter Juarez, who was originally going to fight IBF Featherweight Champion Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero for his title.

How does the Marquez vs Juarez fight contribute to the great news of the Top Rank/Golden Boy truce? It contributes immensely, because the winner of that fight will be able to face the winner of the Pacquiao/Barrera rematch regardless of who the winners are. Logic says that Pacquiao will repeat his victory over Barrera from four years ago and Marquez will beat Juarez to retain his title. That could set up a big rematch between Marquez and Pacquiao in 2008.

Just as Marquez and Pacquiao were the two best Featherweights when they squared off against each other in May of 2004 in a fight that ended in a draw, they are now the two best Super Featherweights in the game. This is a fight that I would love to see happen, should they both emerge victorious in their respective bouts this fall.

This could just be the beginning of great fights that are made between Golden Boy fighters and Top Rank fighters. Any progress that is made that places boxing under a bright light is great news for us as fans.