2019 delivered big on some blockbuster fights.
We were treated to three unification thrillers in Errol Spence Jr vs Shawn Porter, Josh Taylor vs Regis Prograis and Naoya Inoue vs Nonito Donaire.
Andy Ruiz Jr shocked the world before Anthony Joshua restored order with a punch-perfect performance in Saudi Arabia. And the evergreen Manny Pacquiao rolled back the years again, stunning Keith Thurman to take the WBC welterweight strap at 40 years old.
Naturally, our expectations for 2020 are already sky high. Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury 2 in February is a good start, but it is just the tip of the iceberg.
Terence Crawford vs Errol Spence Jr
The two finest welterweights on the planet have so far been separated by the familiar obstacle of rival promoters – Spence aligned with PBC who control most of the talent on show at 147lbs and Crawford contracted to Top Rank.
Spence holds the IBF and WBC belts – taking the latter off Shawn Porter last September – with Crawford the WBO king. A meeting not only offers the chance to almost sew up the division but it could serve as a bout that determines the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing.
Stylistically, it is one to thrill both casual and hardcore boxing fans. If the sport’s age-old problems can be solved, it will be the biggest welterweight fight since Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao.
Anthony Joshua vs the winner of Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury
Anthony Joshua has mandatory challenger commitments to see to before we can begin talking about dates for a fight that will crown the heavyweight division’s first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis.
Kubrat Pulev and Oleksandr Usyk wait in the wings respectively for their crack at IBF and WBO gold but Joshua has insisted the Wilder or Fury fight ‘has to happen’ in 2020.
We concur. Boxing fans have demanded a unification fight to no avail with talks between the Joshua and Wilder camps persistently breaking down in 2018 and early 2019. Fury is now in the mix and after his controversial draw with Wilder last December, many will back him to walk away with the WBC belt when the two meet again in Las Vegas in February.
While we are less than two weeks into the year, 2021 is already looking more realistic. Joshua cannot be expected to vacate his belts and will presumably fight Pulev and Usyk this year. To complicate matters, there is already an agreement in place for a third Wilder vs Fury fight. The wait could go on.
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez vs Billy Joe Saunders
Canelo crowned a superb 2019 with victory over Sergey Kovalev, taking the Russian’s WBO light heavyweight title. The Mexican has already vacated that belt however, ready to return to super-middleweight and middleweight where he retains the right to challenge for both WBO belts – respectively held by Billy Joe Saunders and Demetrius Andrade.
Saunders ended 2019 in successful but uninspiring fashion on his US debut against Marcelo Esteban Coceres in November. Callum Smith did likewise, securing a controversial split decision win over John Ryder in Liverpool two weeks later.
Both however are in the frame for the Canelo fight – perhaps the richest in boxing right now outside the heavyweight division – with the 29-year-old eyeing a return to the ring on one of boxing’s most revered dates, Cinco de Mayo weekend. One of the two Brits should get the call.
Josh Warrington vs Shakur Stevenson
It was always going to be hard for Josh Warrington to top his 2018. Those thrilling wins over Lee Selby and Carl Frampton that year were followed up with successful title defences against Kid Galahad and Sofiane Takoucht but it has been a frustrating period for the Leeds fighter, denied his dream Las Vegas fight and the chance to become a unified world champion.
Having won all 30 of his professional fights and proven his world class credentials, Warrington has been on a collision course with the recently-crowned WBO champion Shakur Stevenson. The hugely talented American is also ready to travel to the UK.
Warrington might have to wait for his American dream, but we imagine he might settle for Elland Road.
Daniel Dubois vs Joe Joyce
Daniel Dubois is perhaps the most feared young fighter in boxing. The 22-year-old has left a devastating trail of destruction behind him, moving to 14-0 at the end of 2019 with another brutal stoppage win over Kyotaro Fujimoto.
Frank Warren is hoping to move the Londoner into a mandatory position in 2020 and unleash him against one of the division’s belt holders but before that there could be the small matter of a huge domestic dust-up with Joe Joyce.
Joyce, also undefeated, underlined his own credentials with an impressive win over former world title challenger Bryant Jennings in July.
The two Londoners have been on a collision course since Joyce also joined the Frank Warren stable last summer. Meetings between the two camps are already underway for a major domestic showdown in 2020.
Vasyl Lomachenko vs Teofimo Lopez
The man widely regarded as the pound-for-pound best in boxing right now has a host of young fighters looking to usurp him as lightweight king.
Teofimo Lopez stormed to the top of that particular list with a statement-making knockout win over Richard Commey in December, overwhelming the Ghanaian with his blistering power and speed to take the IBF strap in the second round.
Lomachenko holds the WBA and WBO belts and was also elevated to the WBC’s ‘Franchise’ champion last year. A unification bout surely beckons.
Josh Taylor vs Jose Ramirez
Despite Joshua’s victory in Saudi Arabia, Josh Taylor ended 2019 as British boxing's biggest success story, becoming a unified super-lightweight champion after just 16 fights.
The Scot won the IBF strap from Ivan Baranchyk before his classic with Regis Prograis in October, taking the American’s WBA title in a bout that also served as the final of the World Boxing Super Series. Both Baranchyk and Prograis were undefeated champions.
Ramirez holds the other 50 per cent of the gold on offer at 140lbs. The WBC and WBO champion has more immediate commitments of his own – namely Viktor Postol in February.
Taylor meanwhile has ditched Cyclone Promotions to link up with Top Rank, a move that should remove any stumbling blocks in making the Ramirez fight and a host of other huge bouts – with Terence Crawford among the names mentioned should he wish to make the step up. Taylor vs Ramirez in the second half of 2020 would do nicely.
Naoya Inoue vs Nordine Oubaali
‘The Monster’ climbed the pound-for-pound list in 2019, blowing away previously undefeated world champion Emmanuel Rodriguez inside two rounds in May, a win that opened everyone’s eyes to his fearsome ability – just in case they weren’t already aware.
His thriller with Nonito Donaire was many people’s shout for fight of the year, going to war over 12 rounds with the Future Hall of Famer before getting the unanimous decision win that saw him add the WBA bantamweight belt to his IBF crown.
Having also signed up with Top Rank, 2020 is the time to promote the Japanese phenomenon in the United States. Unification fights will be on his list and while John Riel Casemiro will be hoping to get the nod after blasting through Zolani Tete to claim the WBO belt in December, a meeting with another hard-hitting bantamweight champion in Oubaali would be just the ticket.
For added spice, WBC champion Oubaali outpointed Inoue’s younger brother Takuma in Japan in November.
Honourable mentions: Gervonta Davis vs Devin Haney, Anthony Yarde vs Joshua Buasti, Katie Taylor vs Delfine Persoon 2, Leo Santa Cruz vs Gary Russell Jr, Ryan Garcia vs Jorge Linares, Carl Frampton vs Jamel Herring
