Boxing enthusiasts and boxing betting sites have had a year filled with intense competition, mystery, and contentiousness in 2023. This year has exemplified the sport’s highest and lowest aspects more prominently than any other year in recent history.
Considering the aforementioned factors, let us now examine the current state of affairs as we approach 2024, focusing on the year’s five most exceptional boxing bouts.
5. Jamie Munguia vs. Sergey Derevyanchenko
WBC Silver Super Middleweight Championship
June 6, 2023, California
Amid a tumultuous bout, Jaime Munguia withheld his most impressive moves until the final stages of his bout against Sergiy Derevyanchenko, who is now a contender for fight of the year status.
Approaching the twelfth round, trailing by a point on two scorecards, Munguia delivered a vicious and incapacitating body blow to Derevyanchenko, thereby inverting the cards in his favor and securing a unanimous decision.
Excluding the knockdown, the most favorable outcome for the susceptible Munguia (42-0, 33KOs) would have been a majority tie. This would have required him to win the twelfth round on both Villarreal’s and Barragan’s scorecards if he had not dropped the Ukranian.
Prior to the dramatic twelfth round, both pugilists exhibited remarkable courage and traded countless forceful blows. Both fighters also displayed strong and resilient chins, but Derevyanchenko’s physique ultimately let him down in this closely contested match.
4. Devin Haney vs. Vasyl Lomachenko
Undisputed Lightweight Championship
May 30, 2023, Las Vegas
The bout showcased exceptional technical prowess; however, it concluded under controversy, with Haney securing a victory that numerous spectators believed he had not earned.
The fight, which featured two highly skilled lightweights competing for the undisputed championship, lived up to expectations. Both pugilists exhibited their peak performance, captivating the audience with a thrilling and captivating confrontation. Haney ultimately retained his titles through a unanimous decision.
The fight’s judges’ scorecards generated ongoing fan discussions for weeks following the event. Irrespective of your prediction, the bout was captivating and materialized into a Fight of the Year contender.
3. Artur Beterbiev vs. Anthony Yarde
WBC, WBO, IBF World Light Heavyweight Championship
January 28, 2023, London
Artur Beterbiev, the sole reigning world champion in boxing who has achieved victory in every professional fight by knockout, preserved his impeccable record after defeating Anthony Yarde in the eighth round of an exhilarating world light-heavyweight championship match.
Beterbiev, with his relentless performance, achieved his 19th consecutive triumph without requiring the judges’ intervention. However, Yarde displayed remarkable talent and unwavering determination as he persistently challenged the Russian fighter in grueling conditions. Their faces exhibited lacerations, bleeding, and inflammation. However, despite the savagery, both guys showed exceptional bravery and determination in equal proportions.
At the start of the concluding round, Yarde had the advantage on two scorecards with scores of 68-65 and 67-66, while the third official had Beterbiev leading by a mere one point. Once again, Beterbiev demonstrated his consistent dominance by decisively concluding the event and successfully defending his IBF, WBC, and WBO championships via KO/TKO.
2. Terrance Crawford vs. Errol Spence Jr.
Undisputed Welterweight Championship
July 29, 2023, Las Vegas
Unlike the previously highlighted fights on our top-five list, this highly anticipated contest provided a lobsided beating to become one of the year’s most impressive performances.
Terence Crawford delivered a stunning defeat to Errol Spence in their highly anticipated battle for unifying the welterweight titles. This victory makes Crawford the first undisputed welterweight champion in almost forty years and solidifies his position as the world’s greatest, regardless of weight class.
Crawford successfully knocked down Spence in the second round and repeated this feat twice in the seventh round. Referee Harvey Dock interfered and stopped the match at the 2:32 mark of the ninth round. Had he intervened earlier, no person in the capacity audience of 19,990 at the T-Mobile Arena would have objected.
This was a long-awaited confrontation that had been anticipated for the last five years. It was a contest that we consider the most meaningful of 2023. Before the bout, many critics regarded both competitors as among the top five elite boxers globally. But on July 29, Crawford successfully dominated the whole encounter, ultimately securing the title of undisputed welterweight champion of the world.
1. Amanda Serrano vs. Erika Cruz
Undisputed Women’s Featherweight Championship
February 2023, New York
Serrano and Cruz engaged in a fierce battle, risking their respective crowns, to determine the undisputed featherweight champion. The bout served as the main event of a fight card held at the Hulu Theater located at Madison Square Garden. Blood spills occurred extensively during this protracted conflict. Serrano emerged as the victor with a unanimous decision, achieving undisputed status for the first time in her career.
It was a blood bath, continuously flowing from the upper part of Erika Cruz’s forehead, over her arm, and also affecting Amanda Serrano. During a post-fight news conference, traces of Cruz’s blood were still present on the shirt of Serrano’s trainer, Jordan Maldonado, even after an hour had passed since the bout.
The level of defense displayed was negligible. In the highly anticipated featherweight championship bout, these fighters exchanged blows relentlessly for ten rounds (over 1,900 strikes thrown), resulting in a brutal and intense battle that might perhaps be considered for Fight of the Year in women’s boxing.
