WHAT will you remember about the 2022 boxing year?
As always, there are enough heart-stopping moments to remind us why we gave those hearts to boxing years ago. Leigh Wood’s final win over Michael Conlan was thrilling from start to finish, their efforts were astounding.
We thought no one could compete with the violent dance of Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano until Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall locked arms to get close to them.
In Japan, Kenshiro Teraji overtook Hiroto Kyaguchi in a thrilling bout while in the US, boxers like Dmitry Bivol and Shakur Stevenson emerged as the awaited superstars. Returning to his hometown, Tyson Fury defeated Dillian Whyte with such confidence that people referred to the “King of Gypsy” like the heavyweight legends of the past. Not long after beating Anthony Joshua for the second time, Oleksandr Usyk joined that discussion.
However, what I miss most is the morning of Friday, October 7, when I tried to explain to the front desk staff at a hotel in North Greenwich why I needed to check out early. For a number of reasons, both personal and professional, I didn’t attend nearly as many boxing events as I usually do during the year, but I believed in the Chris Eubank Jnr-Conor Benn showdown so much that everyone something else – family and the pressure of endless deadlines – will have to wait. It’s a real crossover event and people are watching. You can taste the anticipation in the air.
In my heart, I knew that the weight that Eubank Jnr not only had to lose, but had to keep until competition day was not right. What I hadn’t considered remotely, however, was that Benn failed a drug test. What happened after that news on October 5 was even worse. Much worse.
Apparently Benn also failed another test.
We discovered that promoters were aware of both trials while organizing lavish events to promote the fight. The British boxing control board also knew. Their inability to act faster – or, more likely, their inability to act faster – played a huge role in the chaos, but when they declared the contest impossible, it seemed is the only possible conclusion. But suddenly there was a battle for power, a war that the Board of Directors ultimately won, but in fact there was a war, when promoters explored other ways to organize the contest, which talk a lot about the shortcomings of our sport.
By the time the last bout was canceled by promoters on October 6, it looked like boxing and its power brokers had, this time, gone too far. Not because of the failed tests or the protracted battle – that should have been decided long ago – but because of the horrible, protracted way in which the whole grotesque incident was handled.
I feel empty and depressed. A sport to which I have dedicated my life has once again put me to shame. I’m not the only one feeling so low. It’s like the horrible feeling one gets when they realize the relationship they’ve been in for so long is wrong. In that moment, as I left the hotel, I felt like the damage was truly irreparable.
Never again, I remember telling myself. Never repeat.
Last week, Benn’s prized team of lawyers and scientists presented a 270-page document to the World Boxing Council (WBC) that the boxer claims will prove what two tests certainly don’t. proved: that he was an innocent, or at least, a misunderstanding. The UK Anti-Doping Agency and Council (UKAD) are continuing their own investigation, so we can lead to a situation where WBC allows Benn – who gave up his UK driving license following the scandal. parents – have their driver’s license reinstated. rankings while he is serving a stay-at-home order. For now, such a messy scenario is not even conjecture. It is merely a fear.
Chris Eubank Jnr (left) and Conor Benn (right) meet at the press conference to announce their October 8 match (Photo by Leigh Dawney/Getty Images)
But, no matter what happens, it looks like Benn’s return is inevitable. He has become a more attractive commodity in the eyes of many as a result of this whole story. Josh Kelly is calling him out, Eubank Jnr still wants a part. Advertisers will line up for his return. But if he comes back, explain why. Don’t take it personal, turn off questions or roll your eyes when people interested in the sport are trying to do their job.
There are other horror stories. Daniel Kinahan’s presence is still deeply felt, even after US sanctions were imposed on him in April. We were informed that he was gone forever. However, photos of the boxers celebrating with the Irishman’s known associates suggest he really isn’t that far away.
We had a fight with Fury-Derek Chisora III earlier this month in which one boxer hit another boxer virtually at will for 10 ugly rounds. When it was all over, the apologetic massacre masterminds stood in the ring and laughed and laughed as if it were a job well done. None of them will listen to Dave Harris, head of the Ringside Charitable Trust, when he asks for support in his campaign to help former boxers.
In the context, largely ignored, is the growing possibility that boxing will lose its status as an Olympic sport after the 2024 Olympics. Why? Miserable management at the top.
Many people reading this will say that it’s not fair to focus solely on the bad. There is a lot of truth in it. After all, what is done is done. Instead, we should focus on rising prospects, like Adam Azim, like Ben Whitaker, like Sam Noakes, like Caroline Dubois. We should remember others who have made great progress, like Chris Billam-Smith, like Hamzah Sheeraz, like Ellie Scotney, like Dalton Smith. The pool of talent in this country is arguably deeper than ever.
But we owe it to those fighters, along with all the young people on the rise, to make sure the sport is as fair and honest as possible as we head into the new year.
So even though my overarching memory of 2022 comes from a bleak place, my wishes for 2023 are simple, real, and much brighter: That by this time next year, the achievements overcame scandals.
There’s nothing we can do about 2022’s shortcomings, but it’s not too late to learn from them.
