What a year it’s been inside the squared circle in 2021. We saw Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez cement himself as a modern great, Tyson Fury end his trilogy with Deontay Wilder in emphatic fashion and Josh Taylor write his name in the history books by becoming an undisputed champion. But what does 2022 hold in store for us? Here are five fights we want to see next year.
Terence Crawford vs Errol Spence Jr
Without a doubt, one of the biggest fights that could possibly be made in 2022. Boxing NEEDS to see these two supremely-talented welterweight champions go head-to-head over the next 12 months. A clash between the two pound-for-pound stars has been mooted for years, but was hindered by promotional red tape. Now Crawford is a free agent, having left Top Rank in the aftermath of his win over Shawn Porter in November, this fight should be easier to make. Spence is set to face WBO champion Yordeins Ugas in early 2022 - should he win that and face Crawford later in the year, we could also have the tantalising prospect of an undisputed clash.
Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua
Could we see the biggest fight in British boxing history next year? Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have been on a collision course for years now and we came agonisingly close to seeing these two finally meet in the ring in the summer, only to see Fury ordered to face Deontay Wilder for a third time. AJ’s career meanwhile was derailed while Fury closed out his trilogy with the American, losing his titles to Oleksandr Usyk on the judges’ scorecards.
A Battle of Britain between the two heavyweights is still possible, but with Fury due a mandatory and Joshua needing to beat Usyk in a rematch (and maybe even a third fight) before we see these two finally duke it out, it's probably best to temper expectations.
Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano
Quite simply the biggest fight in women’s boxing. Two weight-champion and undisputed lightweight Katie Taylor has a plethora of excellent potential fights ahead of her in 2022, but the one that sits on the top of the list in terms of magnitude has to be a showdown with Amanda Serrano. ‘The Bray Bomber’ made no secret of her desire to face the seven-weight champion, who is a bona fide icon of the sport, calling out the Puerto Rican after beating Natasha Jonas in May.
George Kambosos Jr vs Vasyl Lomachenko
George Kambosos Jr stunned the world by outboxing and outclassing Teofimo Lopez in November to pick up the lightweight WBA, WBO, IBF and The Ring belts. The Australian is now the top dog at 135lbs, and has a number of incredible options in front of him throughout boxing’s most stacked division. But what better way to prove that the win over Lopez was no fluke, than to take on the man who held the belts before the American?
Lomachenko is still one of the finest fighters on the planet and proved against Richard Commey earlier this month he still means business. The Ukrainian will be chomping at the bit to reclaim the belts he lost to Lopez, though he’ll probably have to travel down under and take on the champion in front of a hostile home crowd.
Jake Paul vs literally any boxer
Jake Paul is big business in boxing whether we like it or not. We’ll likely see more of ‘the Problem Child’ in 2022 than ever before but fights against retired NBA stars and over-the-hill former UFC champions with no boxing ability, must end. Thankfully, Tommy Fury is still in the frame to fight the YouTuber and Paul is also reportedly in talks with former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Promising.
