This is Rummy’s Corner.
Good evening boxing fans and welcome back. As 2022 nears an end, I wanted to provide you with
my personal Top 10 boxing wish list for 2023. So regardless if any of these fights are practical,
with rival promoters, rival networks, and the damn alphabet bodies - in a perfect world,
if I could guarantee 10 fights would happen in 2023, for better or worse, these are the
10 that jump to mind for me. #10 Andy Ruiz Jr vs Joe Joyce.
The former unified heavyweight champion has won 2 in a row since losing his rematch against AJ.
And the 37 year old undefeated Joyce is coming off his first high profile win against former
Ruiz conqueror, Joseph Parker. I think it’s an interesting sink or swim match-up for two
heavyweights who could find themselves in title contention sooner than later,
but the winner would prove a worthy future challenger in this current landscape.
#9 Shakur Stevenson vs Frank Martin With the undefeated former unified junior
lightweight champion primed to make the jump up to 135, and with so many would-be opponents
declining the opportunity to face him, I believe Frank Martin makes for a logical
option here in 2023. The Ghost is coming off a tremendous win against Rivera recently,
and I think a showdown between Stevenson and Martin would be a real crowd pleaser.
#8 Jaron Ennis vs Vergil Ortiz Jr In theory this is an absolutely
perfect match-up. You have two up and coming undefeated welterweights, both in their mid-20s,
and both possessing a great abundance of skills and talent. In an earlier era this one may have
already happened, and while it feels like this one is an impossibility right now for various
reasons - it is still a match-up I would personally love to see sooner than later.
#7 Canelo Alvarez vs David Benavidez This one has generated a great deal of
fan interest for quite some time already, and I think the timing for this one is becoming more
and more ideal. Canelo remains the undisputed super middleweight world champion, and the
undefeated Benavidez is widely perceived as his biggest threat at 168. Given Canelo’s inability
to cope with Dmitry Bivol at light heavyweight last year, it definitely feels like he’s better
suited to stay at 168 - and Benavidez represents the most compelling challenger available.
#6 Stephen Fulton vs Nayoa Inoue Inoue claimed he is looking to move up to
122 after recently earning undisputed supremacy at bantamweight. Stephen Fulton is the reigning
undefeated champion at 122 with plans of moving to 126, perhaps sooner than later. Regardless,
a fight between these two undefeated champions at 122 would provide a most intriguing clash
of styles, and I for one definitely hope it comes together in 2023.
#5 Devin Haney vs Vasyl Lomachenko Haney is the undefeated undisputed
world lightweight champion, and Lomachenko is a former 3 division champion, and not too
long ago he held the unified championship at 135. With Haney emerging as the top
dog at lightweight following back-to-back victories against Kambosos, a showdown with
Lomachenko represents what is arguably the most interesting challenge out there for The Dream
in a stacked 135 pound landscape. #4 Deontay Wilder vs Anthony Joshua
These two bottled it more than 4 years ago when they were both undefeated reigning heavyweight
champions. Now that they have each lost multiple times since, the stage is still set up perfectly
for what would undoubtedly be a mega bout showdown between two former champions. With
their respective 2-time conquerors emerging as the two top heavyweights today, a match-up between
Wilder and Joshua still holds great historical significance as these two try and leverage their
way toward another chance at heavyweight glory. #3 Dmitry Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev
These two undefeated light heavyweight champions could have, and probably should have already
fought. But right now, a big time showdown between Bivol and Beterbiev would produce an undisputed
world light heavyweight champion, and it would be a hell of a clash where these two couldn’t be more
different in terms of contrasting styles. Bivol is coming off a huge year that saw him outmaneuver
Canelo in a boxing masterclass, and Beterbiev continues exhibiting extraordinary power. This one
could potentially become an instant classic. #2 Errol Spence Jr vs Terence Bud Crawford
This one is a no-brainer that could have and should have already happened. Indeed,
these two could be in the midst of an epic trilogy right now had they reached terms earlier. You have
two undefeated welterweight champions who hold all of the major world titles at 147. The winner would
produce an undisputed world welterweight champion. The demand for this one has dragged out so long
that these guys are already perhaps in the early stages of decline, but right now - the match-up
still holds tremendous historical significance, and it’s a fight the fans most certainly deserve.
Hopefully these two can make the necessary compromises to finally make it happen in 2023.
And finally, #1 Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk This one is another no-brainer. Both undefeated,
Fury and Usyk have emerged as the two best heavyweights in the world today. This is
easily the most logical fight that can be made right now in all of professional boxing. The
winner of this one would produce the first undisputed world heavyweight champion since
the great Lennox Lewis - more than 20 damn years ago! Hopefully Fury and Usyk have taken note of
the way Wilder and Joshua bottled it before them, and hopefully they don’t follow the
same misguided path in terms of not making the biggest fight out there when it matters most.
In an ideal world, these are just 10 fights I would love to see happen in 2023,
but like I said - with the nature of boxing politics today, far too often
the most interesting fights never happen when they matter most. If I had to venture a guess,
I definitely believe there is a greater chance that NONE of these fights happen than there are
of all 10 happening. But hope runs eternal! And I ain’t no Quasimodo! In fact, since the Rummy
Curse seems to be a real thing, I’m tempted to make an official prediction right now - NONE
of these fights will happen in 2023. But damn it, I sure hope at least a few of them do!
So what fights are on your wish list for 2023? Please share in the comment
section. And thank you very much for watching everyone! I hope you all have a happy, safe,
and healthy New Year! May 2023 bring you great joy and merriment, and hopefully 2023 will bring
us some damn good boxing along the way. Cheers everyone! Happy New Year! This is Rummy’s Corner.