Boxing in 2022: Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia, Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence Jr. among top fights to make
The sport saw some of its best matchups in 2021 with even bigger business possible in the new year
 |
| BOXING IN 2022 |
Not only was there a consistent set of big fights being scheduled, more often than not they exceeded the expectations coming in. From big-time heavyweight and welterweight matchups on the pay-per-view level to history being made in the form of multiple undisputed champions, boxing was hot over the past 12 months.
It's only natural to enter the new year with a fresh new list of must-see matchups. Let's take a closer look at the five topping this writer's wish list for 2022.
Can't get enough boxing and MMA? Get the latest in the world of combat sports from two of the best in the business. Subscribe to Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell for the best analysis and in-depth news, including what could be coming down the road for boxing in 2022 and beyond below.
1. Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia
Pick your poison from the standpoint of which matchup would make you the most excited within a star-studded lightweight division that also features the likes of Teofimo Lopez Jr., Devin Haney, George Kambosos Jr. and former unified champion Vasiliy Lomachenko. As long as any of the top lightweights square off against one another, boxing will be in a healthy place in 2022. But the fight to make at 135 pounds that offers the most in-ring excitement just might be the multi-division champion and pay-per-view star Davis against the fellow unbeaten Garcia, who brings a massive social media following with him to each fight. Not only do their styles contrast perfectly with Davis an efficient counter puncher and Garcia an aggressive stalker with frightening hand speed, both go for the knockout the entire fight. Rare is it in modern boxing for two young stars backed by rival promoters to face off while they are this young with Davis at 27 and Garcia having just turned 23. But the fight would undoubtedly do big business and it's hard to imagine it not delivering in the ring, as well. This one would come down to which gunslinger could land the big one first and those are the type of fights that create boxing fans for life.
2. Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence Jr.
Considering their respective ages (Crawford is 34, Spence is 31) and the multiple career-threatening injuries Spence has faced in recent years (from a scary car accident to surgery on a detached retina), there's a growing number of critics who have pondered whether the prime window for this superfight has already closed. A perennial choice for this list for years, boxing's unfortunate political and network divide has prevented fans from seeing such a pivotal matchup between what appears to be two all-time great welterweights. But Crawford's exit from his Top Rank promotional deal into free agency has brought back some optimism that 2022 could be the year. Both fighters are ranked in the top five pound-for-pound and both can do it all as scientific boxers or power punchers. Spence, the IBF and WBC champion, will need to first unify belts against WBA champion Yordenis Ugas to open the year. Crawford would also need to likely sign with Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions, which represents Spence, to make the fight happen. Better late than never, this is the fight that the historically deep welterweight division has long needed and could be this generation's version of Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns.
0 Comments