There is real potential for some of the biggest fights in boxing to be made over the next 12 months, with massive bouts involving the heavyweight title and more on the table.
However, such is the way of the sport that we will almost certainly have to sit through a few wacky match-ups to get to the big fights that we want to see. For example, it's likely that we're going to end up with an Anthony Joshua fight that nobody wants before we get to his bouts with Dillian Whyte or Deontay Wilder.
And there's no doubt that one of Errol Spence or Terence Crawford will try to squeeze out one more payday before they move on to the undisputed fight, if that's even on the table. We've already seen Crawford paid a monstrous purse to fight David Avanesyan, so expect a few more like that before we ever get undisputed.
Here's a few fights nobody wants to see, but we may end up getting in 2023...
1. Anthony Joshua vs Chris Arreola
It appears that Joshua will return in April with a tune-up fight before Whyte and Wilder follow later in the year. If that's the case, fans will still want a name that excites them, and that wouldn't be perennial heavyweight gatekeeper Arreola who hasn't won a fight in what will have been four years.
Arreola last fought Andy Ruiz Jr in 2021, and while he did put down the former heavyweight champion, he ended up losing a relatively one-sided decision. Since then, he has been training in silence but would be seen as a stepping stone for Joshua if he returned against the Brit.
2. Jake Paul vs Mike Perry
There are two fights that fans want to see Jake Paul have this year; Tommy Fury and KSI. So it was a little bit of a surprise to see former UFC star and bare-knuckle boxer Perry put his name in the hat, claiming that he had been sent, and signed, a bout agreement for the pair to fight.
Paul just defeated Anderson Silva after knocking out Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren, both of whom are former world champions in MMA and were UFC-ranked when they retired. Perry has never been in the top 15 at welterweight, and despite a successful bare-knuckle career would seem to be a random choice for Paul, and a big step back.
3. Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather 2
The world was a very different place back when McGregor and Mayweather first squared off back in the summer of 2017. After a year of intense activity, the Irishman was the two-weight world champion of the UFC while Mayweather had been retired less than two years, with fans intrigued about a prospective match-up between the pair.
In 2023, McGregor is around 40lb heavier than he was the first time around, and has won just one fight since their initial meeting. Meanwhile, Mayweather has been competing in legacy-damaging exhibition bouts with YouTubers, MMA fighters and sparring partners, making neither man as intriguing a prospect for viewers as they were for their first meeting.
4. Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 4
The WBC have told Deontay Wilder that he will become the mandatory challenger to their world heavyweight title if he can beat Andy Ruiz Jr in a final eliminator. If that happens, then there is a very real possibility that Fury is ordered to face him once again if he wants to keep the famous green belt.
There's nothing at all intriguing about a Fury vs Wilder tetralogy, with those sorts of events generally reserved for trilogies that were competitive throughout. The universal belief amongst experts is that the Brit won their first bout, which was deemed a draw, and he viciously stopped Wilder twice in their two rematches to leave no doubt over who is the better fighter of the pair.
5. Terence Crawford/Errol Spence Jr vs Manny Pacquiao
Is there anything at all appealing about Manny Pacquiao coming back to the ring for serious professional bouts at the age of 44? He just had an exhibition with YouTuber DK Yoo, whom he battered in a six-rounder that ended with no winner despite multiple knockdowns, but he was clearly off the pace after over a year out of the ring.
During the build-up to that fight with DK Yoo, Pacquiao teased a full return to the sport, telling Crawford and Spence that if they don't fight each other, he will happily get in with either of them. Given how his last fight against Yordenis Ugas went in 2021, it would not be wise for Pacquiao to compete at the top of the welterweight division any more.
