- Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk/Anthony Joshua
Here we are again, and we’ll probably be back saying the same thing this time in 2023.
If common sense prevails, we should have an undisputed heavyweight champion this year but it’s doubtful.
2. Tyson Fury-Dillian Whyte
Dillian Whyte has as many detractors as anyone in boxing.
What they won’t tell you is that he has as many top 10-15 wins as any active heavyweight, and is one of the only interesting fights Fury could realistically take in the interim between now and fighting the divisional #2.
Add to that the fact that Whyte is Fury’s mandatory, and, barring a belt being vacated or some more sanctioning body shenanigans, we should see this next.
It’s a fight worth making, and one I’d really like to see.
3. Andy Ruiz-Luis Ortiz
Andy Ruiz has done little aside from sit on his ass (training with Eddy Reynoso notwithstanding), and get dropped on his ass by Chris Arreola, since he lost his titles in a desultory performance against Anthony Joshua. But the man has talent and it’s worth seeing if he can put it together again in a way that proves Joshua at MSG was not a once-off fluke.
Luis Ortiz is coming off an exciting shootout win at New Year’s over Charles Martin, and, while he may be (very) old, he is still technically proficient and powerful.
Pairing them off to see which one remains at the level of top contender, in what can only be an action fight, sounds fun.
4. Jake Paul-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Fight a real boxer, you say?
The funny thing is that Julio Jr. (a former middleweight titlist in the distant past, don’t forget) looked so incredibly bad in his loss to Anderson Silva last year that I would favour Paul to find a way to beat him.
Please let this happen, and please let it live up to the label of 2022’s biggest freakshow boxing event.
5. Canelo Alvarez-Dmitry Bivol/Joe Smith Jr./Artur Beterbiev
Canelo Alvarez is a man with options.
A mooted fight for a cruiserweight belt is intriguing, but personally I’d like to see him fight the best at 175 or 168lbs.
I wonder if he will find a way to squeeze 3 fights out of 2022.
At light heavyweight, the chances of Beterbiev in the immediate future seem remote, but Bivol and Smith Jr. fights would be legit challenges against larger men.
6. Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin III/Jermall Charlo/David Benavidez
Super middleweight is where, for me, the gold lies.
With every year that passes, the third Golovkin fight gets less interesting. Many fans have already given up on it. If it doesn’t happen this year, so will I. GGG has hardly done himself any favours with just one fight in 2 1/2 years, by the way.
Charlo is another middleweight who could move up and give Canelo a marketable mega fight opponent.
Benavidez is the clear number one contender to Canelo’s undisputed 168lb. status.
7. Jermell Charlo-Brian Castano II
A disputed draw in an exciting fight with every junior middleweight title at stake should lead to an immediate rematch, right?
Thankfully, this one is boxing made simple, and we are set to get Part II in the coming months.
8. Errol Spence-Terence Crawford
Maybe it will finally happen.
It remains to be seen what will become of Crawford’s newfound free agency, and Errol Spence will first have to win an intriguing unification with Yordenis Ugas.
This is another fight that is at risk of going past its sell-by-date and there is absolutely no reason now that it should not happen in 2022 if Spence, and perhaps Crawford, win their fights in the first half of the year.
9. Keith Thurman-Gervonta Davis
This is a wildcard pick, but there are a few clues that make me think this fight might be in the pipeline.
Thurman’s comeback fight next month will be against Mario Barrios, a recent Davis opponent, and a hard fight that Thurman is by no means guaranteed to come through.
There has been some trash talk sent Thurman’s way by Davis recently in the media, for no apparent reason.
Finally, we know that PBC/Mayweather promotions will keep Davis fighting in-house opponents, even if that means he won’t fight any of his peers at lightweight.
10. George Kambosos Jr.-Devin Haney/Vasyl Lomachenko/Ryan Garcia
How fun was it to see Kambosos Jr. punish Teofimo Lopez for his hubris and gatecrash the ‘light-wait’ scene?
With Lomachenko looming as a mandatory, Garcia an outside possibility for making the biggest money fight towards the end of the year, and Haney being dangled for a mega fight in Australia to crown an undisputed (no, really undisputed this time) champion, Kambosos is one of the most sought after men in the sport.
All of these options make me salivate.
11. Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano
This might be the biggest women’s fight in boxing history, and it looks close to being made for MSG in the Spring.
It’s a chance for Serrano to prove that her weight-hopping exploits over lesser boxers for vacant belts were not mere smoke and mirrors. Certainly, she can punch and is a highly talented boxer.
And it is a chance for Taylor to further cement her status as the pound for pound best, and silence some naysayers who are still there from the first Delfine Persoon fight (also at MSG).
12. Naoya Inoue-Nonito Donaire II
You’d have been forgiven for thinking, going into their first battle in 2019, that Donaire was heading into the final major fight of a hall of fame career.
But after Inoue came through a war with a broken eye socket and a unanimous decision, not only was Donaire’s rep somehow further bolstered, but he has gone on to, at age 39, score two knockouts in 2021 and win another bantamweight title.
A rematch now would be even bigger than their World Boxing Super Series final, and would likely crown a new lineal champion.
13. Juan Francisco Estrada-Roman Gonzalez III
Good things come in small packages.
The dream rematch fans had been clamouring for since 2012 finally happened last year, somehow living up to every expectation.
The result was disputed, most feeling Gonzalez had done enough to continue his Indian summer and move the rivalry to 2-0. Estrada won a razor thin decision. Personally, I scored a draw. There was no such thing as a loser that night.
The pair are set to fight again, probably for the final time, in March, however this has not yet been confirmed.
Estrada versus Gonzalez is as solid a lock as boxing can offer for war at the highest skill level. This is appointment television for any real boxing fan.
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