The boxing business outside the ring in the United States remains as fluid as it has been for most of recent history.
Decades of stability through free network coverage gave way to decades of stability through premium cable with ESPN and HBO. ESPN has been in and out of boxing since its launch, spending more time in than out. The time has changed.
HBO disappeared a long time ago. Showtime has come to the showers. ESPN still has Top Rank, Amazon Prime will now be the home of PBC and DAZN has Golden Boy and Matchroom. This is how things will be in 2024. Who knows where everything will be in three or four years.
Fans can follow what happens outside the ring, but it’s what happens inside that provides the real entertainment. In 2023, boxing was a winning company. We may not have seen every fight on the wish list, but boxing delivered more than it didn’t. There were unexpected gems like Artur Beterbiev-Anthony Yarde and Rafael Espinoza-Robeisy Ramirez; excellent contests from stars like Devin Haney-Vasyl Lomachenko, Teófimo López-Josh Taylor and David Benavidez-Caleb Plant; superfights in the form of Naoya Inoue-Stephen Fulton, Terence Crawford-Errol Spence and Gervonta Davis-Ryan García; and massive surprises like Joseph Parker-Deontay Wilder.
That’s a very good year.
Can 2024 maintain the momentum inside the ring?
There are some positive signs.
A positive is the fight signed for February 17.
The two best heavyweights in the world will face each other. All belts will be at stake. The crown of history is at stake. The story of a generation will be told.
If Tyson Fury wins, the only big name from his era left is Anthony Joshua. He toppled Wladimir Klitschko to capture the lineal throne and, despite much external turbulence and a two-year retroactive suspension for banned substance use, he has remained undefeated in the ring.
Usyk cleared cruiserweight and defeated Joshua twice. A victory over Fury would make him the best big man of his era.
Both come after difficult performances, so this fight could happen under stronger circumstances. Fury looked terrible coming off the court to score a victory over Francis Ngannou, an MMA fighter making his boxing debut. It was embarrassing. Still he won.
Usyk also won his last out, dominating almost every moment against Daniel Dubois.
Except for that moment.
It was a Zapruder movie about boxing. Did Dubois land a little low or was it a clean body shot that left Usyk in a sore heap on the ground? The referee ruled a low blow and Usyk scored the knockout.
Imperfect circumstances don’t make this the least suitable fight. Fury-Usyk is on the way. What can fans expect coming together to make this another exciting year? Let’s look at some of the fights that should be realistic for next year.
At light heavyweight, the obvious fight is Dmitry Bivol against the winner of Beterbiev-Callum Smith. Bivol and Beterbiev have been champions in their weight for half a decade without fighting. It’s more than absurd at this point. If 2024 passes without a clash of champions at 175 pounds, the division will waste another year.
Super middleweight has some good options, but only one right answer: In 2024, we need to see Saúl Álvarez-David Benavidez. It’s been the best possible fight at 168 pounds for a couple of years, but there was a strong argument that Benavidez could do more to earn it. Victories over Caleb Plant and Demetrius Andrade in 2023 cemented his place as the most deserving contender for the undisputed king.
Terence Crawford is the king of welterweight, but his future plans may more directly impact junior middleweight. Assuming we don’t get something wild like Crawford-Alvarez, junior middleweight gives Crawford a chance to join Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao as the only four-division lineal champions in boxing history. Jermell Charlo might have failed to chase Alvarez for the super middleweight crown, but he remains the rightful king at 154 pounds. A perfect year for the weight class would see Charlo-Tim Tszyu take the winner against Crawford.
Jumping straight to Crawford-Charlo would also be nice.
Former lightweight champions Devin Haney and Teófimo López won junior welterweight belts in 2023. López is now the lineal champion. Ryan Garcia and Haney are talking about each other, which would mean a lot of money. López and champion Subriel Matías have had some words in the media. Both fights would keep the fire burning in a red-hot weight class. Haney-Lopez would also be welcome as would mixing contender Gary Antuanne Russell with either of them.
All of this assumes Davis remains at lightweight. The best fight there on paper is Davis-Shakur Stevenson, but that might not be a destination in the immediate future. Davis versus Frank Martin would be a solid matchup. Stevenson versus William Zepeda would do it too. Davis is one of the sport’s true rainmakers, so a big fight is likely sometime in 2024. We just don’t know where it happens yet.
Below lightweight, one can expect to see some unifying action at featherweight that sets the stage for a Naoya Inoue weight move later in the year or in 2025. In the meantime, Inoue will continue to work on a featherweight cleanup junior now that he is their only and clear king. Further down the ladder, Bam Rodriguez’s rise should continue and at least one of the old Hardcore Four may be in his sights at junior bantamweight.
There is every reason to believe that 2024 can deliver results in the ring in the same way that 2023 did. There is a lot to look forward to if the stars align in the right way.
Cliff Rold is the Editor-in-Chief of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be contacted at [email protected]
