Boxing landed on the canvas because of punishing blows the coronavirus pandemic inflicted on society in 2020. Social distancing restrictions curtailed sporting events during the year and boxing was no exception.
What began as a promising start with Tyson Fury’s knockout win over Deontay Wilder in their highly-anticipated heavyweight title rematch on Feb. 22, boxing shut down three weeks later. The sport went dark for the spring and early summer.
Boxing reached its feet but with obvious limitations. When the sport resumed during the COVID-19 pandemic, bouts were showcased in studio type backdrops devoid of spectators. Those initial broadcasts featured prospects while boxing’s elite remained idle. Fight fans wondered about the next appearances by the needle movers.
An event was needed to make the proverbial splash and Vasyl Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez provided it with their lightweight title unification bout Oct. 17. Under other circumstances, Lomachenko-Lopez would have received a pay-per-view tag because of Lomachenko’s status as one of boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighters and the unbeaten Lopez’s extreme confidence in fight hyping.
Yet, the fight landed on ESPN. Both fighters are promotionally linked to Top Rank, which has broadcast rights with the cable network. Lopez, a former Davie resident, backed his pre-fight talk with a unanimous decision victory. The fight drew strong ratings and gave boxing the necessary boost to continue its navigation through COVID times.
By dethroning Lomachenko and capitalizing on his breakthrough opportunity, Lopez now can argue he also belongs on the short list of boxing’s best fighters. Many of the pound-for-pound elite took cues from the Lopez-Lomachenko event and eventually made ring appearances.
Welterweight champion Terence Crawford retained his title with a fourth-round TKO over former titleholder Kell Brook on Nov. 14. Like Lopez-Lomachenko, the bout was aired on ESPN.
Fans have clamored for a unification match between Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. The bout remains elusive because of the fighters’ conflicting promotional and TV network tie-ins. Further uncertainty was added after Spence sustained serious injuries in an automobile accident in October 2019.
But Spence shook off any possible aftereffects from the accident in his return bout Dec. 5. Spence out-boxed and won a convincing decision over Danny Garcia.
Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua retained his multiple titles with a ninth-round knockout victory over Kubrat Pulev on Dec. 12. Joshua’s dominant performance intensifies the hype of a unification bout with Fury and the promotional bonanza featuring two British-born world champions.
