2023 fight schedule, what we know and what we can wish for!

With the turn of the year, we take a look at the current 2023 fight schedule with clashes that are already locked in, those which are rumoured to be in the works and those which we are dreaming of!

First up we have the Chris Eubank Jr (32-2, 23 KO\’s) vs Liam Smith (32-3, 19 KO\’s) BOXXER card on January 21st in Manchester. This will be a much anticipated clash, especially after the disappointment of the fight week collapse of Eubank Jr\’s October bout with Conor Benn. It should be an interesting match with Smith having a resurgence in his career the last 18 months but he is stepping up a weight to 160lbs so will this play a key factor? Eubank Jr will be hoping to win in good fashion to finally earn clashes with the likes of Golovkin or Canelo.

SOURCE: Eubank vs Smith Fight Planned To Take Place On The 21st Of January At Manchester’s AO Arena

A week later and Queensbury kick off their 2023 with the WBO Light-Heavyweight World title clash between Artur Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KO\’s) and Anthony Yarde (23-2, 22 KO\’s) at Wembley Arena. This fight is a tall order for Yarde but he will be hoping that he can dethrone the, Russian born, Canadian sensation and finally reach his potential. For Beterbiev he will be looking to come through this and set up a potential 50-50 undisputed blockbuster against fellow country born Russian and Canelo conqueror Dmitry Bivol (21-0, 11 KO\’s) for later in the year. Bivol will also be looking to cash in on a rematch with Canelo so it will be interesting to see which fight we get later in the year.

CONFIRMED: Beterbiev vs Yarde Set For Jan 28 In London

A fight set to land in March is the highly anticipated Super lightweight rematch between Josh Taylor (19-0, 13 KO\’s) and Jack Catterall (26-1, 13 KO\’s). 1 year on from their controversial undisputed clash, Taylor will put his WBO and IBF titles on the line (since relinquishing is WBA and WBC titles) and look to win in more convincing fashion in front of his home crowd in Glasgow. Many people, myself included, felt Catterall was robbed of a decision that night and he has had to wait in the wings for a whole year in order to get his shot at payback.

SOURCE: Taylor vs Catterall 2 Rematch Now Targeted For March 4

One of the most mouth watering fights this year will be the much anticipated Lightweight super fight between Ryan \”KingRy\” Garcia (23-0, 19 KO\’s) and Gervonta \”Tank\” Davis (27-0, 25 KO\’s) in April. Although there has been no official announcement yet, both fighters have confirmed it\’s agreed. Before that they have both announced they will have \”warm up fights\” with Davis going first this Saturday against Hector Luis Garcia (16-0, 10 KO\’s). This is a potential banana skin for Tank who will no doubt be distracted with his personal life outside of the ring at the moment. He will need to remain focused to keep the Ryan Garcia fight on track by avoiding defeat to the unbeaten Southpaw from the Dominican Republic.

RYAN GARCIA VS GERVONTA DAVIS 50-50 FIGHT GIVES BOXING ENCOURAGEMENT!

Staying with the lightweight division, Bob Arum has declared that a clash between undisputed champion Devin Haney (29-0, 15 KO\’s) and former WBA, WBO and The Ring champion Vasiliy Lomachenko (19-2, 11 KO\’s) is close to being confirmed, with sites and dates being looked at. Haney will be looking to pick up where he left off from in 2022, with his back to back impressive wins over George Kambosos Jr in Australia to claim the titles, by taking out the Ukrainian who not so long ago was regarded as the pound for pound number 1 before he lost to Teofimo Lopez in October 2020.

One clash we will all be hoping to see this year is the much talked about undisputed Welterweight world title super fight between WBA, WBC and IBF champion Errol Spence Jr ( 28-0, 22 KO\’s) and WBO champion Terence Crawford (39-0, 30 KO\’s). This fight has been speculated for a number of years now but every time it looks close, another setback derails it from happening. Hopefully encouragement can be drawn from the other 50-50 fights being made at the moment and we can finally see the 2 undefeated pound for pound superstars clash in the ring in 2023.

Pound for pound or £ for £! The Struggle To Make Big Fights!!

Probably the most anticipated fight this year will be the undisputed Heavyweight clash between Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24 KO\’s) and Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KO\’s). This fight looks as if it will arrive in the Spring with Saudi Arabia the front runner to host the blockbuster fight. In December Fury\’s promotor Frank Warren claimed the fight was agreed in principle following the two champions meeting face to face on either side of the ropes after Fury defeated Dereck Chisora at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. If, as expected, they do meet in the ring this year, it would see (failing a draw) an undisputed heavyweight world champion crowned for the first time since Lennox Lewis in 1999!

Another man who joined Usyk in confronting Fury that night was Joe \”Juggernaut\” Joyce (15-0, 14 KO\’s) who has gone from strength to strength in the last couple of years. Following his 11th round stoppage of Joseph Parker in September, Joyce now sits as the mandatory challenger for Usyk\’s WBO world title. Considering he is also promoted by Frank Warren, stepping aside to allow the undisputed fight to take place will not be an issue but with the belts more then likely to start being relinquished after, it is a real possibility we see Joyce get a world title shot in late 2023.

Sticking with the Heavyweight division it is going to be interesting to see what former world champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KO\’s) does in 2023. Following back to back defeats against Usyk, AJ will be looking to reignite his career this year with a rumoured summer domestic clash against long term rival Dillian Whyte. Eddie Hearn has stated that he expects AJ to fight 3 times this year. It is expected that Joshua will have an interim fight in March/ April before a stadium rematch against the \”body snatcher\”. If he comes through both of these then maybe, just maybe we finally see him face Tyson Fury (if he beats Usyk) at the back end of the year although this would more likely land in 2024 if a deal can be agreed.

AJ has also been linked to a long awaited match with fellow former champion Deontay Wilder but he looks set to take on Andy Ruiz Jr in a WBC final eliminator later this year.

The 2023 fight schedule is shaping up nicely and with many fights still in the pipeline and hope for some mega 50-50 fights to be made, this year is shaping up to be a truly memorable one for boxing!

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By Lee Browne