After some superb late-December action, another terrific year for boxing is drawing to a close. Metro.co.uk looks back on some of the sport’s best moments of 2023, handing out our awards for the year.
Fighter of the year: Naoya Inoue
But the Japanese phenomenon Naoya Inoue stands out as the best of the best this year.
The 30-year-old became just the second male boxer in the four-belt era after Crawford to become undisputed champion in two weight divisions with his Boxing Day victory over Marlon Tapales.
His destructive stoppage of Stephen Fulton in July was even more impressive, winning every single round against an elite opponent before finishing him off in the eighth round.
Having now won world titles in four divisions, Inoue has looked levels above everyone he has shared the ring with. That trend shows no signs of changing.
Performance of the year: Terence Crawford against Errol Spence Jr
Inoue has a case for scooping this award too after his victory over Fulton in July. But less than a week later, that was eclipsed by Terence Crawford’s systematic beatdown down of long-time rival Errol Spence Jr.
The undisputed welterweight title clash pitted the two very best, undefeated operators in their division against each other with the boxing world divided over who would succeed. Spence, who held the IBF, WBA and WBC titles heading into the fight, was made look like a novice in a brutally one-sided affair.
In a bout regarded as perhaps the most important for the sport since Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao eight years ago, Crawford battered, bruised and bloodied his closest rival with his combination of perfect timing and spiteful counterpunching, with the referee mercifully stepping in towards the end of the ninth round after three knockdowns.
The pummelling ended Spence’s six-year reign as world champion and saw Crawford become the first man to rule as undisputed champion in two weight classes. History aside, the sheer domination from the Omaha fighter against a man considered his equal before the opening bell was just staggering.
Fight of the year: Artur Beterbiev vs Anthony Yarde
Going all the way back to the start of the year, Artur Beterbiev and Anthony Yarde set the bar incredibly high in their classic.
Four years ago, Yarde went out to Russia to challenge Sergey Kovalev, then still one of the top operators in the light-heavyweight division, and gave a superb account of himself before being halted in the 11th round.
In January, not many gave him a chance against the fearsome IBF, WBC and WBO champion Beterbiev who has retained his remarkable 100 per cent knockout record this year. But the east Londoner turned in an incredible effort, setting the pace and leading on the cards before being dropped in the eighth when it all unravelled.
In a gripping, level contest, Yarde gave Beterbiev perhaps his toughest ever examination before the champion’s power and experience finished him off.
A close runner-up is Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron II. Taylor’s first ever professional defeat in May meant we returned to Dublin in November with Cameron’s super-lightweight titles again on the line. Across 10 enthralling, high-level rounds, the Bray fighter secured her redemption.
Comeback of the year: Jordan Gill
After a vicious knockout defeat to Kiko Martinez last year, Jordan Gill returned with a bang in December, travelling to Belfast to blast out hometown favourite Michael Conlan in his own back yard.
It was the biggest victory of the Cambridgeshire fighter’s career with just how seismic it was coming to light in his emotional post-fight interview.
Following his defeat to Martinez, Gill struggled to cope and fell into a downward spiral, left contemplating suicide. ‘On 30 June I was in a field … and I was going to kill myself. Somebody came and saved me that day,’ he said in a post-fight interview with DAZN.
After stopping two-time world title challenger Conlan, Gill’s prospects are brighter than ever.
KO of the year: Zhilei Zhang in Joe Joyce rematch
Zhilei Zhang came to London in April to test the strongest chin in boxing. Joe Joyce developed a reputation for shrugging off the sort of shots that would flatten most men but is began falling apart that night as the Chinese heavyweight blasted his way though, with his southpaw stance bewildering Joyce who went out on his feet in the sixth round.
Joyce immediately took the rematch and in his bid to avoid the lefts that chiselled away at him six months earlier, was smashed with a right hand that sent him face-first to the mat. Pictures of the Putney heavyweight prone on the canvas would have been difficult to comprehend a year earlier but ‘Big Bang’ Zhang made it a reality.
Upset of the year: Joseph Parker beats Deontay Wilder
Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder was signed, sealed and ready to be delivered in March next year before Joseph Parker spectacularly ripped up the script.
The former WBO champion had picked up three wins heading into his meeting with Wilder on 23 December. Wilder, by contrast, had less than one round under his belt in the previous 26 months. It showed.
Parker’s blend of craft and power bewildered Wilder who looked a shadow of his former self in Saudi Arabia. The New Zealander, still just 31, arguably looked better than he ever did during his reign as world champion and is now right back among the elite in his division.
While Saudi Arabia had grand plans to end the six-year wait for Joshua vs Wilder, Parker’s win proved absolutely nothing can be taken for granted in the sport.
Prospect of the year: Adam Azim
It was three fights and three more wins for Adam Azim in 2023. After a deluge of KOs in 2022, the 21-year-old got some valuable rounds under his belt in going the distance with Santoa Reyes and Aram Faniian in step-up fights before stopping Frank Petitjean late on to claim the European title.
In winning that belt in just his 10th professional fight, he became the quickest Englishman to win the European title, surpassing the achievements of former champions Spencer Oliver and ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed.
One of the best young talents in the country has no plans to slow down with big plans for 2024.
Story of the year: Francis Ngannou against Tyson Fury
No one gave Francis Ngannou a chance.
His non-title meeting with Tyson Fury in October was viewed as nothing more than a huge payday for ‘The Gypsy King’, a chance to cash in with Saudi Arabia ahead of his undisputed world title meeting with Oleksandr Usyk. As we all now know, it didn’t go to plan.
Ngannou flooring Fury in the third round that night was perhaps the most iconic sporting image of the year with the WBC champion left dazed and dumfounded by what had just happened.
While always considered one of the most ferocious strikers in MMA, no one expected the Cameroonian to land anything of note on Fury, who was guilty of taking his eye off the ball and underestimating the former UFC champion.
While losing the fight on a controversial split decision, Ngannou emerged as a legitimate force at the top of the heavyweight division – an unfathomable scenario for someone with one professional fight under their belt.
The performance earned him a no10 ranking with the WBC – placing him ahead of Filip Hrgovic, Joe Joyce and Daniel Dubois to name a few.
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