Despite pandemic, boxing produced its share of memorable moments in 2020
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, LomachenkoLopez 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 LopezLomachenko, 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 ninthround knockout victory over Kubrat Pulev on Dec. 12. Joshua’s dominant performance intensifies the hype of a uni
fication bout with Fury and the promotional bonanza featuring two British-born world champions.
Middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin wanted to remind skeptics he far from resembled the fighter who looked vulnerable in his previous ring appearance against Sergey Derevyanchenko in Oct. 2019. When he returned Dec. 18 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Golovkin stopped Kamil Szeremeta in seven rounds, giving the native of Kazhakstan a record-breaking 21 successful middleweight title defenses.
A night after Golovkin’s victory, former nemesis Saul “Canelo” Alvarez won a supermiddleweight belt with a lopsided decision over Callum Smith. The fight was also Alvarez’s first without former promoter Oscar De La Hoya. Alvarez, the sport’s most popular fighter, sued De La Hoya in September and their promotional partnership ended last month.
The pandemic heightened economic hardship, yet payper-views were designated to several noteworthy fights, including Spence-Garcia and the Gervonta Davis-Leo Santa
Cruz match on Oct. 31.
And not even the pandemic limited legendary heavyweight champion Mike Tyson’s popularity. Retired for 15 years, Tyson, 54, participated in a pay-per-view exhibition against 51-year-old Roy Jones Jr., the sport’s top fighter of the 1990s. The event on Nov. 28 generated a reported 1.6 million buys.
The local boxing scene began the year with optimism as Great Britain-based Matchroom Boxing showcased three world title fights at a temporary facility on Watson Island during Super Bowl week. South Florida had not hosted a world title fight since 2014.
Middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade retained his belt while challengers Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Joseph Diaz became world champions in their respective bouts. Andrade stopped Luke Keeler in nine rounds, Akhmadaliev dethroned super-bantamweight champion Daniel Roman with a split decision victory and
Diaz won a unanimous decision over defending superfeatherweight titleholder Tevin Farmer.
In February, Miami-based All-Star Boxing renewed its association with Miccosukee Resort and Gaming with a card that featured 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Robeysi Ramirez. All-Star Boxing had a 10-year run of cards at the West-Miami Dade venue that concluded in 2010.
When pandemic lockdowns loosened in the fall, promoters utilized South Florida facilities for a flurry of shows. Matchroom Boxing presented three cards without spectators at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, culminated by Golovkin’s win over Szeremeta.
Local promoters also showcased cards with limited attendance at the Manuel Artime Center, Dade County Youth Fair Expo and the Airport Hilton Hotel and InterContinental Hotels in Miami.