Last year saw some incredible boxing action, with top fighters laying it all on the line for fight fans worldwide. While there was fierce competition, the men’s fight of the year goes to Oleksandr Usyk’s victory over Tyson Fury on May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This was the fight we’d all been waiting for, and watching two of boxing’s biggest superstars go toe to toe was everything we hoped it would be. Momentum shifted throughout the fight, but Usyk turned it around in the ninth round to earn a split-decision victory and become the world’s undisputed heavyweight champion.
2024 Fights of The Year:
Oleksandr Usyk vs.Tyson Fury
Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol
Kenshiro Teraji vs. Carlos Canizales
Kazuto Ioka vs. Fernando Martinez
Otabek Kholmatov vs. Ray Ford
Ray Ford vs. Nick Ball
Michael Magnesi vs. Masanori Rikiishi
Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia
Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Serhii Bohachuk
Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano
Luckily, 2025 is shaping up to be even better. With so much to look forward to, here’s our round-up of the bouts you can’t miss this year.
Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn
When: April 26
Where: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
British fight fans of the 90s will remember Chris Eubank Snr and Nigel Benn squaring up in the ring for the World Middleweight and Super-Middleweight titles in high-profile box-office bouts. Thirty-five years later, on April 26, 2025, the latest chapter in this 35-year-old family feud will be written at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London.
Benn and Eubank Jr – the sons of great rivals Chris Eubank Snr and Nigel Benn – will finally get it on after their October 2022 bout was canceled when Ben controversially failed two drug tests and revoked his license by the British Boxing Board of Control. However, the ban has since been lifted by the National Anti-Doping Panel. Now, Benn and Eubank Jr will finally get the chance to settle their differences in front of a 60,000 sell-out crowd, and the latest sports betting suggests this one will be a classic.
Jaron Ennis vs. Eimantas Stanionis
When: April 12
Where: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
ESPN’s top two boxers at 147 pounds, Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Eimantas Stanionis will meet in a welterweight title unification bout on April 12 in Atlantic City. The undefeated Ennis will defend his IBF Belt for the third time after he defeated Karen Chukhadzhian in a November rematch. The unanimous decision saw Ennis extend his unblemished record to 29 KOs in 33 fights.
Lithuania’s Stanionis is also undefeated, with 9 Kos in 15 fights. He beat Gabriel Maestre in Las Vegas in May to retain the WBA regular title that he won in 2022. When Terence Crawford vacated the WBA belt, Stanionis was elevated to full champion in August 2024.
This welterweight unification fight against two big hitters looks unlikely to go the distance, but fireworks are guaranteed in what could be the fight of the year.
Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach
When: March 1
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York.
The WBA Lightweight World Boxing superstar Gervonta “Tank” Davis returns to the ring to defend his title against WBA Super Featherweight World Champion Lamont Roach on March 1 in Brooklyn, New York.
Davis is widely regarded as one of boxing’s biggest stars, and his 30-0 record featuring 28 KOs is a testament to that. The man from Baltimore is ranked ESPN’s No. 1 lightweight and No. 8 pound-for-pound boxer. His last fight was back in June 2024, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, but his impressive eighth-round KO of Frank Martin means he’ll be feeling very confident going into this bout.
Roach is moving up from 130 pounds to take this fight, but he’s only tasted defeat once in 27 bouts and has 10 KOs to his name. Lamont is the current WBA Super Featherweight title holder and will be looking to defy the odds and write his name in lights despite the big step up in weight.
Moses Itauma versus?
While there has been no announcement yet on the Slovakian-born Brit’s next opponent, there is no denying that whoever he gets into the ring with next will be a spectacle you won’t want to miss.
Having just turned 20, Itauma already boasts an impressive record with 11 wins, no defeats, and nine knockouts. Of his four stoppage victories in 2024, including an impressive TKO first-round victory over Demsey McKean, none of them went past the second round.
He will face more formidable opponents in 2025, but the youngster has announced himself to the boxing world with his performances. We expect 2025 to be an even more exciting year for Moses Itauma as he looks to build on those performances and potentially challenge the heavyweight title in 2026.
