The year 2022 is over and it's time to look back and recount the best moments in boxing. Let's take a look back at the year 2022 and some fighters who deserve a standing ovation for their talent and display of passion for boxing as a sport.
I am starting off with the most prestigious award on the table and that is, the men’s fighter of the year. I think 3 names stand out in this category for this year; Dmitri Bivol, Shakur Stevenson and Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez. However, this year’s male fighter of the year goes to Russia’s Dmitri Bivol. Bivol ticked all the boxes on his New Year resolution and made what other boxers can only dream of his reality. Bivol ended the year by adding 2 more wins to his winning streak. He successfully defended his WBA light heavyweight title against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and handed Mexico’s Gilberto Ramirez his first career loss by a unanimous decision.
This year saw an interesting performance from the camps of the world’s most elite female boxers and Claressa Shields was not left behind. Shields proved herself as the GWOAT she has always seen herself to be. Shields scored a unanimous decision against Ema Kozin before heading out to defeat the then-undefeated ‘Silent Assassin’ Savannah Marshall to become the undisputed women's middleweight champion.
We saw a number of classic matchups like the iconic Claressa Shields vs. Savannah Marshall clash. However, none surpasses this year’s women’s fight of the year winner; Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano. It took a long time to get the pair in the ring but once it happened, the duo made history for women's boxing and boxing in general. Katie Taylor took Amanda Serrano down by a split decision to hand Serrano her first career loss in 10 years to retain her undisputed lightweight crown. If you missed this fight, you should probably search for it.
Leigh Wood’s 12th-round knockout earns his clash with Michael Conlan the spot of the best fight of the year in the men’s division this year. Wood made himself a true embodiment of the saying “light at the end of the tunnel” after he won his bout against Michael Conlan at Nottingham Arena. Conlan took control of the fight right from the start and sent Wood to the floor in the first round. Wood made it back on his feet and outboxed Conlan to score a knockdown in round 11. Just as his name goes, Leigh-thal pulled a lethal one on Conlan sending him out over the robes for a perfect finish.
UK’s Leigh Wood saw the ring only once this year. However, any fan who saw this bout will never forget how the 34-year-old ended the night to prove himself as the most lethal (Leigh-thal) opponent in 2022. Leigh Wood made an incredible comeback after suffering a brutal first-round knockdown to put Michael Conlan on the canvas in the 11th round before totally blacking him out with a spectacular KO and sending him out of the ring head-first in the 12th round. If that doesn’t deserve the knockout of the year, I don’t know what else should.
Keyshawn Davis set himself up as one of the young fighters to look out for and the future of boxing. The Businessman as he likes to call himself ended the year with 3 wins with 2 coming in by way of knockout. Davis knocked out Esteban Sanchez, Omar Tienda Bahena and scored a UD against Juan Carlos Burgos – boxers with at least 2x more wins than himself.
Skye Nicolson set herself apart from the many female boxers we saw this year. For one she proved her love for the sport and stayed active all throughout the year with 5 bouts. She has a rather unique style of attack comprising of foot feints and dynamic body movements, which makes her very unpredictable. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her go for a world title shot next year.
Dmitri Bivol takes home another award for scoring the biggest upset of the year over Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. Bivol entered the ring at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas against the then No.1 pound-for-pound, Canelo Alvarez to defend his WBA light heavyweight title. Even in his prime, Canelo could only land 84 punches out of 495, nearly half of Bivol’s total punches landed (152). In short, Bivol gave Canelo a run for his money using his brilliant defenses coupled with his quick and powerful shots and carried the night by a unanimous decision.
The trainer of the year award goes to Derrick James. In case you are in doubt, James is the man behind undisputed WBC/WBA/IBF and WBO super welter Champion Jermell Charlo and unified WBC/WBA and IBF welterweight Champion Errol Spence Jr.
Nothing screams patriotism more than the love and dedication displayed by Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko to their homeland, Ukraine. Lomachenko abandoned his quest to regain the lightweight championship title from Teofimo Lopez to defend his country after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February. Similarly, Usyk abandoned a chance to relive his triumph over Britain’s Anthony Joshua to fight the Russian forces that had invaded his home. Months later, Usyk returned to the ring to outbox AJ in August with Lomachenko scoring a unanimous decision over Jamaine Ortiz 2 months later.
Boxing is not a sport for the faint-hearted so we at ACE TV Boxing respect and appreciate the effort of each and every boxer out there stepping into the ring despite knowing the risks.
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