By: Sean Crose
I have been writing for this publication for more than ten years… and 2023 was, without a doubt, the strongest of all those years. Technically, I shouldn’t use the word “was,” because here in Connecticut we still have almost nine hours before we enter 2024. Still, since there are no more major fights until next calendar year, I’m going to go with the past tense. here. But what a year 2023 was for sport! There were big fights, some of which really deserved a pay-per-view, incredible performances and some exciting fights.
And while there were certainly depressing moments, not even the loss of Showtime could affect boxing’s upward trajectory over the past twelve months. What’s more, 2023 leaves the sport primed for a promising 2024. With Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk set to fight in February, and Devin Haney in serious talks to face Ryan Garcia, next year looks to be heading in the right direction. Naturally, this being boxing we’re talking about, disappointments are bound to arise, just as they did in 2023. Big fights won’t be made, cherries will be picked, and potentially big fights will be pushed aside to make room for rude chatter on social media. .
And yet, the overall momentum started last year is likely to remain intact in 2024. The reason for this is quite simple: after a veritable dry spell, in which ambition itself went out of fashion, boxing has returned to a place where daring to be great is something that must be encouraged. Terrance Crawford faced Errol Spence in 2023, Naoya Inoue faced Stephen Fulton, Garcia faced Gervonta Davis, David Benavidez faced Demetrius Andrade and Katie Taylor faced Chantelle Cameron for the second time; All of those were fights that could have been avoided by the security fighters. Fortunately, fighters looking for easy touches in 2023 seemed to become less prominent.
We hope that such unambitious fighters change their tune in 2024 by taking risks. If 2023 taught us anything, it’s that boxing is much more exciting when big-name fighters are actually at risk of losing. However, let’s keep in mind that in 2024, top fighters who suffer a loss or two should not be counted out. That kind of thing leads to the kind of security that the sport was trapped in for so long. Plus, boxing is full of stories of fighters coming back after a loss and achieving glory. Many times everything has to do with mentality.
