I think we can all agree that the 2022 year of boxing has made you feel like a shepherd in the Walmart checkout line.
I don’t want to and without a thorough online check I can’t think of a big fight that would satisfy all year. I mean, yes, there have been good, smaller fights. But blockbusters or even selling blockbusters? Blockbuster/semi-blockbuster movies that make me eagerly look forward to and post-reality satisfaction? No. And the rest of the year isn’t as hot either. This certainly isn’t a good look for a year where all the subscription fees and pay-per-view costs have made it too expensive to be a boxing fan.
But, call it eternal spring hope or rather the sports fan’s equivalent of battered wife syndrome, I have some hope that my beloved sport might change. change.
Optimists can look to the next year as the perfect opportunity for that change.
2023 already has a big, exciting battle scheduled for March – David Benavidez vs. Caleb Plant. Having said that, Benavidez-Plant wasn’t a huge blockbuster, but it was an even match between two legitimate high-profile contenders at the height of their careers. It’s also a match that has been hanging like a carrot in front of fighting fans for a while and, as we all know, boxing rarely lets donkeys take a bite out of a hanging carrot. floating today.
There are also a few other major wars that look possible next year.
A Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk four-belt heavyweight unification bout, despite not being able to finish it this year and the slurs hurled between the sides, looks like a course for 2023. Fury and Usyk seem less likely to beat around the bush and wallow in fondue than many of their current pug colleagues.
Similarly, the unification of the four-belt world lightweight belt between Dmitry Bivol (who beat Gilberto Ramirez in an impressive, decisive match on Saturday) and Artur Beterbiev looks realistic next year. The two Russians both seem to want this legacy fight, most likely the biggest all-Russian world title unification ever.
The battle between the top heavyweights and the former world champion in Deontay Wilder vs. Andy Ruiz also looks like a course for 2023. Both big boys have their flaws, but both are honest, serious and legitimate fighters Top 5 strong contenders to enter current time.
Honestly, with Fury-Usyk, Bivol-Beterbiev, Benavidez-Plant and Wilder-Ruiz, we might have gotten past these tedious 2022 top-flight matches.
There are other “big” battles for the new year. Canelo Alvarez always strives for “greatness” and even if his “greatness” in 2023 is on par with his 2022 Bivol/Golovkin matches, that’s fine. Honestly, even one step below Bivol/Golovkin would be fine. Former 3-belt champion Anthony Joshua is also back and, whether he wins or continues his losing streak, he’s been great for some fans and haters alike. Jermell Charlo and Devin Haney are unified champions in their respective middleweight and lightweight divisions and seem to be in line for nothing but big things in 2023 (Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora for Charlo and Vasiliy Lomachenko for Haney).
Then we reach the dream that is the frontier of rationality at this point.
The Errol Spence-Terence Crawford may have been capsized, with half a corpse washed up on the shores of social media, but I happen to believe this solder-weight fusion isn’t dead yet. In fact, I feel that both sides got into such a fight after the skirmish ended this year, to the point where both the boxers and their respective teams would be almost embarrassed to do the fight on Sunday. 2023 (finger cross).
Now, let’s be really optimistic.
Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Ryan “King Ry” Garcia is starting to really look like that could happen. However, I will preface that, by saying that it certainly will NOT happen if Garcia’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya continues to “fuel” the animosity between the two sides.
I swear to god, there were times when “Golden Boy” seemed to be doing such a horrible job of closing the gap and building bridges with Davis’ team that it made me think he didn’t really want this fight. for his guy. Then I reminded myself that Oscar is Oscar – the best boxer, not so great a human or a businessman, but fortunately there is a good team behind him to fix it. the GBP ship every time he makes his mistake almost destroys the whole operation.
Golden Boy Success DESPITE The Golden Boy and I believe it will be the case to get a big fight for “King Ry”, whether it’s against Davis or some other big name in the 135-weight division- 140.
I just happen to feel that Tank Davis and his men, needing a really big fight, can win to elevate his stardom even further after a slightly “falling” year. could show up and make this fight before Garcia gets better or retires himself.
So you have it. I plunge into optimism. 2023 could really be a good boxing year. Either way, it can’t be worse than 2022, can it?
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