Boxing has always been an unpredictable sport, from results in the ring to what fights can even get made. Mix in a host of sanctioning bodies with world championships across a wide range of weight classes and it can be hard to know what a new year will bring for the sport.
Looking back at 2023, the year proved unpredictable in huge ways. Fights that never seemed as though they would get made came together, great fighters rose their performances to new levels and upsets were sprinkled in throughout the year.
Knowing the chaos of the sport and with such a huge year now in the rear-view mirror, it is time to take a look ahead and think about what 2024 could bring.
With so much to choose from, the writers at CBS Sports took it upon themselves to answer some of the biggest questions at the forefront as a fresh 12 months of fighting is set to begin this weekend.
Let’s dive right in now to the questions and predictions from “Morning Kombat” host Brian Campbell as well as staff writers Brent Brookhouse and Shakiel Mahjouri.
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With many superfights going down in 2023, what is the biggest unification fight of 2024?
Unanimous: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury
The short answer is that, from a historical standpoint, there likely won’t be a bigger fight in 2024 than the Feb. 17 heavyweight unification between unbeaten champions Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, which will crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era. It’s a fight between two of the top pound-for-pound boxers of the day and a definitive matchup set to crown the best heavyweight of this era. But what happens after that fight, including the possibility of an immediate rematch, could get interesting. Former unified champion Anthony Joshua, who will face former UFC star Francis Ngannou in March, could stumble into a title shot if the IBF follows through on its threat to strip the Fury-Usyk winner after the fight should they seek a rematch and avoid mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic. If Joshua defeats Hrgovic for the title, him facing Fury in a long-awaited meeting between global stars based in the U.K., would be an even bigger unification given the star power of both. — Campbell
Who is primed for a breakout year?
Campbell: David Benavidez
Although he came up short as a finalist for boxer of the year in 2023, unbeaten super middleweight David Benavidez is primed to become a global superstar if things go his way in the new year. Fresh off of dominant wins over Caleb Plant and Demetrius Andrade, both of which established him as a legitimate pay-per-view star, Benavidez has his eyes set on undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez. Most believe a title showdown is inevitable for September, during Mexican Independence Day weekend in Las Vegas. But Benavidez has even gone the route of saying he’s willing to fight any of Alvarez’s potential May opponents just to remove them as possibilities for the champion’s spring return. Either way, the “Mexican Monster,” which is the moniker Benavidez was given by none other than Mike Tyson, is the only fighter south of 175 pounds that one would consider favoring against Alvarez. Benavidez has the size, hand speed and demeanor to be a problem against anyone.
Brookhouse: Xander Zayas
Zayas closed out 2023 with his third win of the year, raising his pro record to 18-0 with 12 KOs. In his final fight of the year, Zayas was put in the featured undercard bout on the card that featured Rafael Espinoza scoring his shock win over Robeisy Ramirez in the Fight of the Year. Zayas made the most of the spotlight, scoring two body shot knockdowns of Jorge Fortea, the second of which finished the fight. Zayas’ team has taken a solid path in moving him up through the ranks and grabbing some fringe belts, but after the win, he called for a fight with former world champion Patrick Teixeira. That’s a great step for Zayas to take as he looks to make a bit more noise at 154 pounds. At just 21 years old, Zayas is someone who could be making a lot of noise before the end of 2024.
Mahjouri: Junto Nakatani
Nakatani cruises into the New Year with the wind in his sails. Nakatani’s vicious stoppage of Andrew Moloney won CBS Sports’ 2023 Knockout of the Year and hopefully exposed him to a new audience. The WBO junior bantamweight can become a three-division champion by beating Alexandro Santiago on Feb. 24. It took longer than it should have for the North American audience to recognize Naoya Inoue’s brilliance. Inoue’s success has drawn international eyes to Japan, hopefully drawing attention to brilliant fighters like Nakatani who are primed for big things.
How many times does Francis Ngannou appear in the ring?
Campbell: Twice. Not only will Ngannou face Anthony Joshua in March, it’s very possible — win or lose — that he goes on to gain a rematch against Tyson Fury before the year is done. Whether Fury ends up defeating Oleksandr Usyk or not in their February unification, there will still be a market for a second Fury-Ngannou fight after the former UFC champion shocked the world last fall when he dropped Fury in Saudi Arabia and nearly won their non-title bout, which ended via disputed split decision. The biggest loser in this scenario would be PFL, which signed Ngannou to a massive MMA deal. But at 37, there is simply too much money available at the moment for Ngannou in heavyweight boxing, particularly because of Saudi Arabia’s generous financial interest in bringing promoters together to make big events.
Brookhouse: After pushing Fury to the brink and now landing a fight with Anthony Joshua, Ngannou is making the best of his stint as a boxer. If Ngannou can beat Joshua, he almost certainly boxes again before the end of 2024, possibly even for the IBF championship if the sanctioning body follows through on stripping the Fury vs. Usyk winner as their contractually obligated rematch will prevent them from following through on the obligation to fight their mandatory challenger. Filip Hrgovic is that mandatory challenger and the rules would state a No. 1 vs. No. 2 fight, which would likely be Hrgovic vs. Joshua after the next ranking update. With a win over Joshua, Ngannou could be put into that slot. Or, there would be money in a rematch with Joshua. If Joshua wins, however, I’d expect Ngannou to shift back to MMA for a fight or two. A potential fight with Deontay Wilder still has a bit of shine for Ngannou, but Wilder’s terrible performance against Joseph Parker didn’t inspire a lot of confidence that Wilder plans to continue fighting much longer. It’s hard to say that Ngannou would stick around boxing for fights with men who don’t have a lot of name value. To answer the question: Ngannou boxes twice in 2024 if he beats Joshua and only once if he does not.
Mahjouri: Credit to Ngannou, he seeks the biggest names and toughest opponents in heavyweight boxing. He will face Anthony Joshua in March. Ngannou can keep himself in high-profile boxing fights as long as he looks competent. A valiant effort in defeat leaves room for Ngannou to box Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury, should the latter lose to Oleksandr Usyk. There is also the opportunity for Ngannou to step back and fight the ranks of Zhilei Zhang, Joseph Parker, Daniel Dubois, Joe Joyce or Jarrell Miller. A win puts him in line for just about anything. Ngannou has more options in boxing than MMA. If he fights Joshua in March as expected, Ngannou can fit a second boxing bout in 2024.
Who disappoints/fails to meet expectations?
Campbell: Jaime Munguia
For all of the talk surrounding how close the 42-0 Jaime Munguia is from potentially facing Canelo Alvarez in an All-Mexico showdown in May, there’s next to no guarantee he even gets there. Munguia, a former 154-pound champion, has fought continuously woeful competition at middleweight and super middleweight since moving up from junior middleweight in 2020. He saved himself from a split-decision loss in his toughest fight to date last June against 38-year-old Sergiy Derevyanchenko by scoring a knockdown on a body shot in the final round. But Munguia must first survive another difficult test to close January when he welcomes John Ryder, a durable super middleweight who went the distance last year against Alvarez in Mexico. Munguia has always been an exciting fighter to watch but hasn’t shown the want to be great by taking on the best opposition. It wouldn’t be a shocker if it all caught up with him in 2024.
Brookhouse: Gervonta Davis
I hate that I’m saying this given he’s one of the most popular, dynamic and exciting fighters in the sport, but if Gervonta Davis doesn’t fight an elite fighter in 2024, there will be some serious questions. Davis fighting Ryan Garcia was a massive fight at the box office and he showed just how good he is in dispatching another young star. Despite Garcia’s popularity, he isn’t on the tier of truly great fighters around Davis’ weight. With men like Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson — to name the “big two” potential Davis opponents — within reach and boxing suddenly hitting an era of massive and important fights happening at a rapid clip, Davis needs to see those types of fights come together. This isn’t a knock on Davis but rather a desire to see someone with incredible skills get in with someone who can push him. If 2024 is a year of fights like Davis vs. Isaac Cruz 2 and nothing more, that would be a severely disappointing campaign for one of the sport’s best.
