2023 has been an incredible year for boxing. Nearly every fight fans have been clamoring for over the past few years has either been scheduled or has already happened in this calendar year, with some of boxing’s elite pound-for-pound talents turning in performances that have proven just how great they truly are. Sprinkle in a list of fantastic Fight of the Year contenders and 2023 has been the sport’s best year in decades. Despite all the high-level action, crossover events are still big business and one of the biggest of the year goes down on Oct. 28 when WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury takes on former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.
Gervonta “Tank” Davis won boxing’s first “megafight” of 2023, stopping Ryan Garcia with a body shot in a April meeting of two of boxing’s brightest — and most popular — young stars. Devon Haney outlasted Vasil Lomachenko to remain undisputed lightweight champion in a tactical thriller in May. July delivered two more incredible showings, with Naoya Inoue blasting through Stephen Fulton to win two world titles in his first fight at super bantamweight and Terence Crawford handing Errol Spence Jr. a one-sided beatdown to become undisputed welterweight champion.
The most recent elite pound-for-pound fighter in action was Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Alvarez defended his undisputed super middleweight crown against undisputed junior middleweight champ Jermell Charlo to close out September. Charlo was never competitive as Alvarez scored a knockdown and took a wide unanimous decision.
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Everything in October has been leading up to Oct. 28 when Fury battles Ngannou in Saudi Arabia. Fury has already signed on for a bout with WBA, WBO and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk to crown boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt era. That fight will either happen in late 2023 or early 2024, partially depending on any damage done by Ngannou.
Note: This will be updated constantly with changes and additions.
Date | Location | Main event | Weightclass/title | Network |
---|---|---|---|---|
Oct. 21 | Liverpool, England | Jack Catterall vs. Jorge Linares | Super lightweight | DAZN |
Oct. 27 | Managua, Nicaragua | Jonathan Gonzalez (c) vs. Gerardo Zapata | WBO junior flyweight title | ESPN |
Oct. 27 | Orlando | Amanda Serrano (c) vs. Danila Ramos | Undisputed featherweight title | DAZN |
Oct. 28 | Riadyh, Saudi Arabia | Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou | Heavyweights | ESPN+ PPV |
Oct. 28 | Cancun, Mexico | O’Shaquie Foster (c) vs. Eduardo Hernandez | WBC super featherweight title | DAZN |
Nov. 4 | Monte Carlo | Joe Cordina (c) vs. Edward Vazquez | IBF super featherweight title | DAZN |
Nov. 4 | Miami | Adrien Broner vs. Chris Howard | Welterweight | TBA |
Nov. 4 | Lake Tahoe, Nevada | Efe Ajagba vs. Joe Goodall | Heavyweight | ESPN |
Nov. 15 | TBA | Takuma Inoue (c) vs. Jerwin Ancajas | WBA bantamweight title | ESPN |
Nov. 16 | Las Vegas | Shakur Stevenson vs. Edwin De Los Santos | Vacant WBC lightweight title | ESPN |
Nov. 18 | Inglewood, California | Diego Pacheco vs. Marcelo Coceres | Super middleweight | DAZN |
Nov. 25 | Las Vegas | David Benavidez vs. Demetrius Andrade | Super middleweights | Showtime PPV |
Nov. 25 | Dublin | Chantelle Cameron (c) vs. Katie Taylor | Undisputed super lightweight title | DAZN |
Dec. 2 | San Francisco | Devin Haney vs. Regis Prograis | Junior welterweights | DAZN |
Dec. 16 | Glendale, Arizona | Jesse Rodriguez (c) vs. Sunny Edwards (c) | WBO, IBF flyweight titles | DAZN |