2023 Boxing: A Flat Start to the Year

Professional boxing has had a lacklustre start to 2023, Will Rogers reports

Will Rogers Sport Editor

2023 began as an exciting year within the world of professional boxing, with the potential for exciting fights, rising talents and considerable drama. However, despite the few big fights living up to expectation so far, there is no doubt that the limited appearances of the global stars has left fans wanting more.

lighter weight divisions. Yet outside of this, there’s been very little.

For fight fans it’s not necessarily the fights that have occurred that are causing unrest, it’s the lack of superstars with scheduled fights in the future. Of the top 30 pound-for-pound fighters according to BoxRec, only three of them have fights in the diary, and they’re not the ones that people long to see. Anthony Joshua is facing Jermaine Franklin in his long-awaited return, Joe Joyce moves to the brink of a world title fight against Zhilei Zhang, and Shakur Stevenson faces the relatively unknown Shuichiro Yoshino.

larger paydays, as they see novices earn large purses. Jake Paul and Tommy Fury are the pinnacle of the YouTube boxing world, as their fight in Saudi Arabia will rake in millions for the pair of them. The move to Diriyah, rather than the UK or USA, highlights the search for wealth.

put the fans first, so this fight seems likely this year, with Wembley hopefully, and most likely, to be the venue.

So far the UK has seen two excellent headliners, with Artur Beterbiev defending his light heavyweight titles against rising prospect Anthony Yarde. After eight brutal rounds, the CanadianRussian came out victorious, stopping the Londoner and cementing his place as a poundfor-pound star.

Liam Smith threw the punch of his career to stop Chris Eubank Jr, whilst in America Gervonta Davis showed his power in stopping Hector Luis Garcia. There have also been wins for Emanuel Navarrete and O’Shaquie Foster, showing the array of talent in the

Questions must be raised about why the lack of action is happening. Firstly, many, but certainly not all, had busy 2022s, as the boxing world welcomed back fight fans following the covid restrictions. The year ended on a strong note, with fights for Tyson Fury, Saul Alvarez and Naoya Inoue showing the star power that still exists within the sport.

Moreover, there is a desire for mega-fights to take place in the summer rather than in the colder months. This allows for the hiring of larger venues and stadiums and therefore more ticket sales. Yet Fury fought Derek Chisora at the Tottenham Stadium in December, so it can be done.

Highlighting the need for money, the rise of YouTube boxing has pushed boxers to seek the

Finally, many of the weight divisions have an established star, with few unification fights actually feasible. Inoue has established himself as the foremost fighter at bantamweight, Josh Taylor at super lightweight, Stephen Fulton at super bantamweight, the list goes on.

The two major fights that the global audience craves are Tyson Fury versus Oleksandr Usyk and Beterbiev versus Dmitrii Bivol. Fury and Usyk have been on a collision course ever since the Ukrainian defeated Anthony Joshua for the second time in August. Fury has dominated the division in recent years, and a victory over Usyk would cement his legacy as one of the greatest ever. Both of these fighters have often

On the other hand, Beterbiev and Bivol is the fight for the purists, as the two Eastern Europeans are not as glamorous and won’t bring in as much money as their heavier counterparts. Bivol came to prominence on a global scale after beating Saul Alvarez last year, whilst Beterbiev has racked up wins against some top talent. What’s promising is that this fight is also fairly likely to happen, given a place in history as an undisputed champion is at stake. It’s hard to criticise many fighters for the slow start to the year, but let’s hope the pace picks up and builds on an exciting 2022. With the right fights and results, this could become a year to remember.

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