Date: October 8. Venue: The O2 Arena, London. Broadcaster: DAZN PPV.
Why watch it: In one of the biggest boxing shows Britain can offer, the sons of all-time great boxers Chris Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn continue a family rivalry, as Chris Eubank Jr. will drop down in weight to exchange blows with Conor Benn at 157 pounds.
Benn is one of the most-improved UK fighters in the last five years and has been earmarked as a potential superstar by his promoter Matchroom, and broadcaster DAZN. However, a bright future could potentially unravel should Eubank win what is surely going to be a hot fight in front of a raucous atmosphere. Date: October 15.
Venue: Barclays Center, New York City. Broadcaster: Fox Sports PPV. Why watch it: Deontay Wilder is arguably the most thunderous puncher in all combat sports and one of the finest knockout artists in boxing history.
He returns to the ring in October, looking to bounce back from successive defeats to Tyson Fury. Those close to Wilder told Insider that they’re hopeful of a highlight-reel finish so the heavyweight reestablishes himself at, or near, the top of the division, where big events against Andy Ruiz Jr. and Oleksandr Usyk await .
Date: October 15. Venue: The O2 Arena, London. Broadcaster: ESPN+ in the US, and Sky Sports in the UK.
Why watch it: Interest in a world championship unification bout between America’s gold medal magnet Claressa Shields and rising British star Savannah Marshall had been building rapidly in recent months, culminating in a viral clip which seemed to show Shields trash talk her opponent in such a personal manner that Marshall didn’t appear to know what to say, or do. The Queen of England’s death on September 8 saw the show pushed from its initial date of September 12 to October 15, where Marshall will hope to have the last word. If the headlining bout were not enough, boxing firm Boxxer also added an elite co-main event to the bill, pitting American stars Alycia Baumgardner and Mikaela Mayer against one another.
Three promoters — Mick Hennessy, Dmitriy Salita, Benjamin Shalom — worked together to deliver this landmark, 11-fight, all-women card that could easily become the most significant women’s boxing event in history. Date: October 16. Venue: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne.
Broadcaster: ESPN+. Why watch it: Devin Haney , one of the best boxers in America, is a generational talent. He’s gone to Australia once already to dominate George Kambosos in June, and brought all of the world’s major lightweight championships back to the US.
Per contractual obligations, he has to do it all again in a rematch. Should he be as successful as he was earlier this year, expect Haney to end up being paired with other monsters in Top Rank’s lightweight and super lightweight rosters, like Shakur Stevenson, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and Teofimo Lopez. Date: October 22.
Venue: Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Broadcaster: ESPN PPV. Why watch it: Khabib Nurmagomedov protégé Islam Makhachev is in the fight of his life in mid-October, when he travels to the United Arab Emirates to challenge Charles Oliveira for the UFC lightweight championship.
Makhachev, who hasn’t been beaten since a 2015 knockout to Adriano Martins, is riding a 10-bout winning streak, including victories over Drew Dober, Dan Hooker, and Bobby Green, to the fight. Oliveira, 32, hasn’t lost since 2017 and has beaten a who’s who of top-tier lightweights, including Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje. For both fighters, victory at the Etihad Arena could be the win that defines their respective careers.
Date: October 29. Venue: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona. Broadcaster: Showtime PPV.
Why watch it: Like it or not, Jake Paul is one of the best-known faces in boxing . And he’s recently been seeking out challenges that could silence even his biggest critics. By wanting to fight Tommy Fury, and Hasim Rahman Jr.
, Paul would have been in the position to score the biggest win of his career against an actual pro boxer — something he’s not done yet. But both of those opponents pulled out, for their own reasons, leaving the content creator frustrated and looking for something new. Little did we know, he’d look for something even bigger.
In Anderson Silva , Paul is fighting someone with a decorated history in winning fights with his hands, as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. Silva, too, has a pro boxing record of his own. If you want to see Jake Paul lose, or get beaten up, that might happen here.
If you want to see Jake Paul secure the most significant win of his career, well, that might happen, too. Date: November 1. Venue: Saitama Super Arena, Saitama.
Broadcaster: ESPN+. Why watch it: Japan has one of the richest combat sports cultures on the planet, and there’s a loaded, midweek card taking place at the beginning of November that is a must-see if you like professional face-punching. Kenshiro Teraji and Hiroto Kyoguchi both hold a portion of the world light flyweight championship, and so their headliner represents a huge unification clash.
Their fight tops a card that also features Junto Nakatani against Francisco Rodriguez, and Shuichiro Yoshino against Masayoshi Nakatani. Date: November 5. Venue: Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi.
Broadcaster: DAZN. Why watch it: Dmitry Bivol is a pound-for-pound athlete and ranked by Insider as one of the best fighters in boxing today. Having bamboozled Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez with feints and triple jabs in May, Bivol returns to the ring to defend his WBA light heavyweight championship in another elite fight.
In the opposite corner, is undefeated Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez — a fighter who has numerous physical advantages over Bivol and may prove to be a superior foil than Canelo was. Date: November 12. Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York City.
Broadcaster: ESPN PPV. Why watch it: Israel Adesanya has been one of the best fighters in the UFC roster for years, and though a lone venture into the light heavyweight division was unsuccessful, he hasn’t ever been beaten at middleweight. Challenging him for the UFC middleweight title on November 12 is Alex Pereira, who has two kickboxing wins over Adesanya.
There is an intriguing, built-in rivalry here, with Pereira being one of the few people to ever knock Adesanya out. Pereira has undeniable knockout power in his strikes and could be the one to trouble Adesanya at 185 pounds. The middleweight match caps an incredible card for UFC 281, which also features a brilliant lightweight bout between American lightweights Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler, as well as other must-see attractions Zhang Weili, Dan Hooker, and Molly McCann in separate bouts.
Date: Rumored for November 19, according to Insider sources. Venue: The MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, per sources. Broadcaster: To be announced, but likely Showtime PPV.
Why watch it: Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford are two of America’s best fighters, and this bout would determine the No. 1 boxer at welterweight and, likely, the entire sport.
Insider understands that this fight is approaching completion, and organizers expect a big boxing show to be the floor for this match up. The hope is that a fight of this magnitude would break through into the wider sporting consciousness, akin to the way that Floyd Mayweather , Conor McGregor , and Manny Pacquiao fights always did. If it happens, this fight would undoubtedly be one of the biggest combat sports events of the year.
Date: Potentially before the end of 2022. Venue: To be determined. Broadcaster: To be determined.
Why watch it: Though not as certain as the prospective Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford match, there are rumblings that organizers are working on a mega-fight between young American rivals Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia.
Davis, with his Wilder-esque knockout power and underrated boxing smarts, is a must-see attraction and has been built into a national star thanks to Mayweather Promotions. Garcia, meanwhile, also possesses a fan-friendly style and is rarely, if ever, in a dull fight. A match between them, which would bring together two young and undefeated fighters, would be nothing short of explosive.
Date: December … if it happens. Venue: England. Broadcaster: To be determined.
Why watch it: The heavyweight division is thriving in boxing and nowhere is that more apparent than in Britain, home to fighters like Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Joe Joyce, Dillian Whyte, and Frazer Clarke. A battle of big men involving Fury and Joshua has been talked about for years and, even though Joshua is on a two-fight losing skid, interest in this fight remains high. It would likely shatter all British box office records.
.
From: insider
URL: https://www.insider.com/biggest-fights-of-the-year-jake-paul-spence-crawford-ufc-2022-9
