It’s fair to say that 2023 was a year like no other as boxing delivered dazzling drama, hit both the front and back pages, and crowned six undisputed champions. 

Gervonta Davis kicked off the year by forcing the tough Hector Garcia into retirement - a big win, but certainly not the Garcia victory that would crown Tank’s splendid year. 

A January 2022 suspension meant that the 2023 chapter could only be better for boxing on British shores. And the first chapter certainly didn’t disappoint. 

Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith opened their short yet bitter rivalry, and it was Beefy who came out on top with a vicious beatdown of a discomposed Eubank. Four rounds and done. 

Then, it was time for a Beast to come to town. Artur Beterbiev landed in London, and landed enough on a brave Anthony Yarde to stop their thrillingly violent contest in the eighth round. 

February saw the ladies take centre stage, as both Amanda Serrano and Alycia Baumgardner made history by becoming undisputed champions on the same night in New York. 

There was hometown heartbreak for Leigh Wood, who despite navigating his way through six tricky rounds, was left on his back in number seven by the unrelenting Mauricio Lara. 

February finished with Tommy Fury triumphing over Jake Paul in Saudi Arabia. It wasn’t one that came easy, as Fury had to rise from the deck to win via split decision. 

Ohara Davies made a March statement by dispatching of Lewis Ritson in nine rounds to position himself in the world title picture - he fights for the WBA ‘interim’ title in just six days’ time. 

Lawrence Okolie and David Light just, well, existed in their 12-round world title snoozefest. 

David Benavidez and Caleb Plant’s war of words, meanwhile, was settled as the pair produced a cracking 12 rounds to conclude a distasteful build-up. This night belonged to the brilliant Benavidez.  

Into April, where Anthony Joshua opened his busiest year in a long time by outpointing Jermaine Franklin in London. A post-fight scuffle between the two teams produced more hostility than much of the fight itself. 

Bam Rodriguez became a two-weight world champion as he got his hands on the WBO flyweight title, overcoming a broken jaw in the sixth to beat the tough Cristian Gonzalez. 

One of the shocks of the year came in London, as the seemingly unbreakable Joe Joyce was knocked, rocked, and shocked by the devastating straight left hand of Zhilei Zhang. 

Then, boxing flexed its muscles, reminding the sporting world that when it gets it right, it’s hard to top, as Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia faced off in Las Vegas. 

A crunching bodyshot left Garcia wriggling, backing up Davis’ pre-fight stoppage prediction. 

Joe Cordina regained the title he never lost, after a furiously paced war of attrition with Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in Cardiff. 

Then came May, and our first glimpse of Canelo Alvarez. 

His first fight on Mexican soil in over a decade was against the long-deserving John Ryder, who showed real cojones in standing toe-to-toe with Alvarez, especially after being knocked down in the fifth. Canelo, however, had too much quality and eventually claimed victory via a unanimous decision.

KSI knocked out Joe Fournier with his forearm. The less said, the better. 

Then, an undisputed type of weekend, in which two marble sets were defended. 

In Las Vegas, Devin Haney boxed his way to victory over Vasyl Lomachenko, whilst Katie Taylor’s Dublin dream was shattered by a regimented Chantelle Cameron. 

As May came to a close, Britain had a bank holiday banger of its own, with the featherweights taking centre stage. 

It was a brutal night in Belfast for Mick Conlan, whose world title dream was uppercut into actuality by a spiteful Luis Alberto Lopez. 

Whilst one Mexican flourished, another failed, as Mauricio Lara had a week to forget in Manchester. Having lost his title on the scales, he then lost almost every round to a vengeful Leigh Wood. 

Halfway through the year, but nowhere near halfway through the action, June began with Sunny Edwards’ Matchroom debut, and a clean points win over Andres Campos. 

Across the Atlantic, Teofimo Lopez ended Josh Taylor’s four-year title reign, and surprisingly his own career, after announcing retirement in the wake of an impressive victory. 

July saw Savannah Marshall underpin her legacy as a female great, as she beat Franchon Cruz-Dezern to grab hold of all four super-middleweight belts. 

Andy Cruz’s debut lived up to the hype, as he displayed just about everything against Juan Carlos Burgos in Detroit. This is a man whose fight dates you must mark on your 2024 calendar. 

Robbery of the Year award goes to George Kambosos. No fault of his own, of course, but his points win over Maxi Hughes was probably as expected as it was disgraceful. 

There’s something boxing didn’t change in 2023. 

Widely considered Fighter of the Year, and undoubted P4P number one, Naoya Inoue put a beating on Stephen Fulton to add super-bantamweight world titles to his ludicrous resume. 

Then, the jewel in the crown. Terence Crawford and Errol Spence’s undisputed welterweight clash had boxing in a frenzied chokehold. This was a fight we thought we may never see. 

When we did, it was the brilliance of Crawford that shone brightest. 

August isn’t normally a bustling month on the boxing calendar, but it did bring us two heavyweight fights with British interest. 

Firstly, AJ’s right hand returned home as he slept Robert Helenius - the Fin having been bought in as a late replacement after Dillian Whyte failed a third career drug test. 

As the month closed out, so should have Oleksandr Usyk’s hold on his three heavyweight world titles, on a controversial night in Poland. 

In amongst a sea of Ukrainian flags, Daniel Dubois sunk in a bodyshot that should have seen him walk away as the division’s king. He didn’t, and even to this day, I couldn’t tell you why. 

September came around and, even after the 10-minute demolition job in January, so did the perhaps unwarranted rematch between Liam Smith and Chris Eubank Jr. 

But it would be a case of sweet revenge for Eubank, who dominated Smith to hold the tongues of the Liverpool crowd. 

That wasn’t the only rematch of the month, but it was the only one in which revenge was had, as Zhilei Zhang and Joe Joyce played out the same fight as their first duel in April. 

October, and a disappointing display from Jermell Charlo, as he failed to make any impact against Canelo Alvarez in their undisputed collision. 

Britain got its first glimpse of Jai Opetaia, who dipped into London, demolished Jordan Thompson, and then left as the cruiserweight division’s new bogeyman. 

Behind, bruised, and beaten, it was a mortal six punch combination that gave Leigh Wood a huge comeback win over Josh Warrington on a boisterous night in Sheffield. 

Elsewhere, it was finally time for KSI and Tommy Fury to throw it down, although on actual viewing it was a fight worth throwing to the back of the pile, never to be watched again. 

Thankfully boxing did edge YouTube, but only just. 

Tommy wasn’t the only Fury who struggled that month, as Tyson found himself on the seat of his pants against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in their exhibition bout. 

The Gypsy King did scrape through, but only by the skin of his teeth. 

As the year came to a close, boxing still had a few treats left in its locker. First, November. 

Frank Warren’s ‘Magnificent 7’ card gave us one of the domestic stories of the year, as Nathan Heaney defeated Denzel Bentley to become British champion, achieving his late father’s dream. 

Katie Taylor enjoyed arguably her finest moment, when she flipped the swansong script to take Chantelle Cameron’s undisputed status in their thrilling rematch. 

David Benavidez battered Demetrius Andrade for six heavy rounds, sending a minacious message to Canelo Alvarez in the process. That fight is one that HAS to happen in 2024. 

Jordan Gill had his best night in enemy territory, as he stunned Mick Conlan on his Belfast return. It was as devastating in execution as it was in consequence, leaving Conlan far out from the featherweight world title picture. 

Devin Haney continued his trend of being involved in big fights only, and delivering in them too. He staged one of the great boxing clinics to sweep aside Regis Prograis in his first fight at 140lbs. 

Bam Rodriguez and Sunny Edwards finally got their hands on each other. 

In fact, it was more Bam getting his hands on Edwards, as he took apart the valiant Brit who was eventually pulled by trainer Grant Smith before the 10th round. 

And then, of course, who could forget The Day of Reckoning?

Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder fighting on the same night seemed unimaginable. Granted, it wasn’t against each other, but Riyadh Season’s boxing pinnacle felt like a step in the right direction. 

Unfortunately for Wilder, he couldn’t take a single step away from a Joseph Parker punch, rendering the future fight with Joshua all but immaterial. 

Joshua did his job, and he looked good doing it too. His beating of Otto Wallin bringing belief that perhaps the best version of Joshua is still yet to come. Credit to Ben Davison. 

On the same card, Daniel Dubois stopped Jarrell Miller, which unsurprisingly went down well in many a boxing circle. 

The Day of Reckoning. What a way to bring the curtain down on 2023. 

For a sport we are constantly told must be shamed for its inability to deliver, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that 2023 was actually a very successful year. 

A year in which longtime rivals Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren became friends (well, sort of). 

Who saw that one coming?

So, as 2024 begins, let’s hope that our sport - the one under constant scrutiny - manages to deliver the type of matchups we enjoyed throughout 2023. 

If so, it will be another year to remember.

Let’s get it. 

Oscar Bevis