8 Fights We Want To See in 2022

Keith Thurman is a former welterweight champion who not that long ago was considered the best at 147 pounds, was absolutely one of the most entertaining fighters to watch when he owned a couple of belts, and never pulled any punches in interviews.

He hasn’t fought in two-and-a-half years since losing to Manny Pacquiao and now Thurman will headline a Pay-per-view Feb. 5 in his return to the ring. He’ll meet Mario Barrios, who is coming off a loss to Gervonta Davis, in a fight nobody is clamoring to see.

I’m not trying to pick on Thurman or shade Barrios here, but their showdown is yet another example of how boxing more often than not doesn’t do its fans any favors. Forcing them fork over additional dollars for a fight they don’t need—which will go up against other interesting cards that same evening—is just par for the course.

Boxing fans, of course, know that the sport’s problems stack higher than the bricks of $100s Floyd Mayweather loves to stunt with on Instagram. No. 1 on that list is the lack of marquee matchups being made between boxing’s superstars, mostly because the politics of the sport—with its warring promotions and network exclusivity—always get in the way of delivering what fans demand: highly consequential and attractive matchups between the best in the world. Barring some sort of industry-wide exorcism, boxing will continue to under-deliver and disappoint.

But that’s not going to stop fans of the sweet science from dreaming about mega-fights that should be made. So we’re back for another edition highlighting eight bouts that—fingers crossed—we’d really like to see happen in the new year. Notably, none of the eight we wished for at the beginning of 2021 were consummated. Some of the ones highlighted here are nothing but a pipe dream, while others could legitimately go down. But from my perspective, these are the eight I’d be most hyped to see in 2022. And I’d like to think most fans would agree.

Just missed the cut: Naoya Inoue vs. Nonito Donaire II, Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol, Shakur Stevenson vs. Oscar Valdez, Jermell Charlo vs. Brian Castano II, Jermall Charlo vs. Demetrius Andrade

Jake Paul vs. A Real Boxer

Division: Cruiserweight

There’s no denying Jake Paul’s draw, even if he’s not fighting real boxers. The YouTuber’s knockout of Tyron Woodley was flashy, and you have to give Paul credit for taking boxing seriously and showing he possesses some power. While we can debate whether he and his brother Logan are actually good for the sport, it’s impossible to take Jake seriously until he steps into the ring with a professional and not some washed up former MMA star looking to cash in on fighting a social media influencer. Paul haters want to see him get KOed by someone with legitimate credentials—which many predict happens if he steps into the ring with a pro—while Paul supporters want to see him prove said haters wrong. Bottom line: until Jake Paul fights somebody who can touch him up—and he actually has to put the skills he’s (allegedly) been working on for years now against someone who’s been committed to boxing, not fighting—he’s a sideshow unworthy of attention.

Josh Taylor vs. Teófimo López

Division:Super Lightweight

Records:Taylor 18-0, 13 KOs | Lopez 16-1, 12 KOs

Complain all you want about Teófimo López remaining in our pound-for-pound rankings after his surprising loss, but I’m still waiting for somebody worthy to step into the top 10 and oust him. Since it looks like López is done with 135 pounds, here’s hoping Top Rank can easily make a López-Josh Taylor showdown for the summer or fall since both fight for the promotion. Of course, that’s predicated on Taylor—the fifth man in the four-belt era to be an undisputed champion—taking care of Jack Catterall in February. Watching Taylor—the superior boxer looking to further cement his legacy at 140 pounds—take on López—the bigger puncher looking to bounce back from his first career loss—would get fight fans ultra-hyped. Side note: the trash talking between these two expert insulters would be superlative.

Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia

Division: Lightweight

Records: 26-0, 24 KOS | Garcia 21-0, 18 KOs

No titles on the line here—or at least a belt that actually matters since Gervonta Davis owns a secondary WBA strap—but this one has plenty of juice. The trash talking between the rivals hasn’t subsided despite the fact Ryan Garcia—the popular lightweight who Canelo Alvarez told us earlier this year is wasting his talents—hasn’t been in the ring in almost a year. Davis, meanwhile, remains one of boxing’s biggest Pay-per-view stars despite possessing a résumé some boxing observers (like yours truly) aren’t overly impressed with. Regardless, Davis and Garcia are both huge draws and easily among the top fighters in boxing’s best and most interesting division. What’s going to prevent this one from going down is the sport’s politics, since Golden Boy Promotions (Garcia) and Mayweather Promotions (Davis) don’t appear overly inclined to do much, if any, business in the new year.

George Kambosos Jr. vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko

Division:Lightweight

Records: Kambosos 20-0, 10 KOs | Lomachenko 16-2, 11 KOs

The best amateur boxer of all time—that would be Vasiliy Lomachenko—is also the best lightweight in the world and still easily one of the best pound-for-pound boxers. Despite being 33 years old, Loma reminded everyone that he should be considered the top fighter at 135 pounds a few weeks ago after pounding Richard Commey. Meanwhile, George Kambosos Jr. showed a skillset many didn’t think he possessed during his massive upset of Teófimo López in November that earned him unified lightweight champion status. What better way to find out if Kambosos’ win was a fluke than by throwing down against Loma, the two-time Olympic gold medalist who is one of the best athletes in the ring and a tactician with the gloves? While Lomachenko’s probably better served at 130 pounds since he’s not a big man, he wants to stay at 135 and capture the belts he lost to López in 2020. Considering Kambosos is a TV free agent—meaning he’s not tied to a network the way Lomachenko is attached to ESPN via Top Rank—there doesn’t seem to be a good reason why this fight can’t be made as long as the money is right and Lomachenko is willing to travel to Kambosos’ native Australia as many expect will be a requirement for Kambosos’ first defense.

Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

Division: Heavyweight

Records: Fury 31-0-1, 22 KOs | Joshua 24-2, 22 KOs

All respect to Oleksandr Usyk who became the unified heavyweight champion of the world after he out-boxed Anthony Joshua in September, but a hypothetical matchup between two of the biggest heavyweights (we’re talking about their size and popularity) in the world is the fight we all want to see in the sport’s most glamorous division. Fury vs. Joshua probably would be the biggest fight the UK’s ever seen, but unfortunately it feels like it has a snowball’s chance in hell of happening since Fury has a mandatory title defense he must make early in 2022 and where he goes from there remains to be seen. Meanwhile, it’s tough to envision Joshua suddenly solving the splendid Usyk when they meet in a rematch and AJ might have to beat Usyk twice before he could be steered toward a showdown with the Gypsy King.

Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Román “Chocolatito” González

Division: Super Flyweight

Records: Estrada 42-3, 28 KOs | Gonzalez 50-3, 41 KOs

Didn’t expect this one to be this high? Maybe you should’ve. When these two fought for the second time last February (their first fight went down nine years ago), it was a brutal but scintillating 12-round slugfest full of fireworks. They landed a combined 649 power punches which is bonkers and that’s why it’s my 2021 Fight of the Year. While Chocolatito, who just a few years ago looked completely washed, should’ve won in the eyes of many, Juan Francisco Estrada earned a controversial split decision. Regardless, Estrada and Chocolatito were supposed to square up for the third and final time this past fall, but Chocolatito reportedly came down with COVID and now the hope is the fight—verbally agreed upon—will happen early in 2022. Fighters weighing in at 115 pounds often get ignored by the public, but a third bout between the small sluggers cannot be missed.

Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennadiy Golovkin

Division: Super Middleweight

Records: Alvarez 57-1-2, 39 KOs | Golovkin 41-1-1, 36 KOs

Do I need to see this fight? No, because I’m worried about Gennadiy Golovkin’s age (he’ll be 40 in April) while Canelo’s in the middle of his prime and only getting better. Plus you can make the argument—while I disagree with it—that Canelo should have two wins over GGG instead of a win and a draw. Regardless, boxing loves itself a trilogy (see above) and it would be a shame if we couldn’t get one more fight between these bitter rivals since it would attract a ton of mainstream attention and (ideally) be a good look for the sport for a change. While boxing fans and observers would rejoice if this fight is made, Alvarez continues to indicate he’s not particularly interested—he’s all about chasing and making history—while Golovkin isn’t overly concerned with adding a final link to rivalry’s proverbial chain.

“I’ll be honest with you, if it doesn’t happen, no big deal,” Golovkin told us in November before his Dec. 29 fight with Ryota Murata was postponed due to Japanese travel restrictions. “I’ve had a great career, I have Canelo as part of my career. Of course it would be better if those links of the chain would have a somewhat different tint.”

If they ever got serious about it, assume Canelo makes GGG come up to 168 pounds, instead of fighting at 160 where the first two installments went down. While the chances of this one happening sadly appear to be slim to none, crazier things have happened in boxing and fans would be super hyped for 12 more rounds.

Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence Jr.

Division: Welterweight

Records: 38-0, 29 KOs | Spence 27-0, 21 KOs

Still the fight to make in boxing. The two best welterweights and two of the top 10 pound-for-pound best boxers in the world have been circling each other for years and now that Terence Crawford is reportedly a free agent, and not tied to a promotional body, maybe this fight can finally be made before Spence outgrows 147 pounds. While that isn’t the sole reason why we’ve been robbed of #CrawfordSpence, the putrid politics of boxing—Top Rank (Crawford’s former promoter) and PBC (Spence’s promoter) never showed a big desire to work together to make it happen—have certainly played a huge role in preventing this historic matchup from being finalized. Should Spence get past Yordenis Ugas in a unification matchup that reportedly could be made for March or April, maybe, just maybe, he’s steered toward a super showdown with Crawford that would crown an undisputed champion at welterweight for the first time in the four-belt era. When I asked Crawford if a fight for undisputed status in 2022 was possible before his showdown with Shawn Porter this past fall, he said, “I think that’s what we’re working towards.” But if we’re being honest here, the Knicks probably have better odds of winning the NBA title than boxing fans do of seeing Crawford and Spence in 2022.