Momentum Carried: Boxing in 2024 Is Off To A Good Start

2024 is off to a good start for the sport of boxing with many important and intriguing fights scheduled. The Anthony Joshua – Francis Ngannou battle being an example of such.

Although this matchup falls more on the side of intriguing than important it brings an element of both.

Should Joshua handle the former UFC heavyweight champion and do so in impressive fashion then a huge showdown with the winner of the upcoming Fury-Usyk fight in May could be next.

Should Fury and Usyk get tangled up in a rematch depending on how the first encounter turns out then Joshua won’t have to look far for his next opponent.

On the Joshua- Ngannou undercard is another high profile Heavyweight fight with big stakes between Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker.

Riydah, Saudi Arabia: Zhilei Zhang v Joseph Parker Weigh in ahead of their Interim WBO World Heavyweight Title by Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing

Both men are coming off impressive upset victories, over Joe Joyce and Deontay Wilder respectively, the winner here would also be in line for the victor of either of the two aforementioned matchups.

Boxing Promises Solid Scraps

Outside of the heavyweights we have a number of big fights on the horizon, such as Tim Tszyu- Keith Thurman, Devin Haney-Ryan Garcia, Naoya Inoue- Luis Neary, Vasyl Lomachenko-George Kambosos and perhaps the most important fight that can be made in the sport, Artur Beterbiev- Dmitrii Bivol.

The return of boxing’s biggest star Canelo Alvarez looms for the first weekend in May with an opponent yet to be announced as well.

In a sport that more often than not has deprived the fans of the foremost fights of interest the sport delivered big in 2023.

Crawford- Spence, Davis-Garcia, Inoue- Fulton, Haney-Lomachenko, Haney-Prograis, Alvarez -Charlo, Benavidez- Plant, Benevidez- Andrade, Rodriguez-Edwards are just a handful of the bright spots for the sport from last year.

Boxing Featured Upsets

A good deal of major upsets transpired such as Criel starching undefeated world champion Nontshinga in 2 rounds, Parker handily defeating Wilder over 12, Zhang knocking out the previously undefeated Joyce not once but twice, Rafael Mendoza pulling off a decision over Ramirez and Brian Mendoza stopping Fundora.

Former prospects turned into stars, with the lights of Devin Haney and David Benavidez shining the brightest. Both turned in two dominating and impressive performances each in 2023 with big fights immement in 2024.

The sport has a ton of prospects to watch out for such as Keyshawn Davis, Xander Zayas, Abdullah Mason, Bruce Carrington, Troy Isley, Jared Anderson, Diego Pacheco, Richard Hitchins, Floyd Schofield and Richard Torrez Jr.

Last week produced a fight which will be hard to top in the comeback of the year category.

In a battle of undefeateds, Raymond Floyd summoned the will and firepower to stop Otabek Kholmatov with all of 7 seconds remaining in the 12th and final round of a fight in which Ford was behind on the scorecards.

Ford, who entered the fight as an underdog, showed the resolve and character of a fighter on the brink of a breakout year.

A week prior, Junto Nakatani at only 26 years of age captured his third world title in as many weight classes becoming the first fighter to stop Alexandro Santiago.

Expect Nakatani’s star to rise and his name to be frequently mentioned from here on out with his countrymen Inoue as Japan continues to produce world champions and in the case of these two, superstars.

2024 is looking very promising, heavyweight all the way south to bantamweight are top heavy with mouth watering matchups. The trend that began in 2023 with major fights coming to fruition isn’t letting up.

The influx of major boxing events arriving in Saudi Arabia continues this weekend and overall it now appears that fighters and promoters are more so looking to make the best possible matchups in the sport.

The momentum from an exciting 2023 boxing year has seamlessly continued into 2024 and appears here to stay.