Sometimes fans receive the fights they crave. Usually they don’t.
We remain optimistic, though, always hoping the best fighters in the world will face their equals instead of obscure mandatory title challengers or stay-busy foes.
With that in mind, here’s a list of the 20 fighters on the Boxing Junkie pound-for-pound list — the Top 15 and five honorable mentions — and the one opponent we most want to see them fight in the coming year.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed that politics or unreasonable demands sink the potential matchups you see below.
- Terence Crawford – Jermell Charlo. The biggest challenge for the best fighter in the world — and 147-pound champion — is at 154 pounds.
- Naoya Inoue – It seems no one in or around the 122-pound champion’s weight class can compete with him. Murodjon Akhmadaliev might have the best chance.
- Oleksandr Usyk – Tyson Fury. And it’s happening on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia. We’ll have our first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis barring something unforeseen.
- Dmitry Bivol – Artur Beterbiev. What’s better than a meeting between unbeaten, highly respected fighters for an undisputed championship?
- Juan Francisco Estrada – Jesse Rodriguez. “Bam,” one of the hottest fighters in the world, called out Estrada for could turn out to be a passing-of-the-torch matchup.
- Canelo Alvarez– David Benavidez. Duh.
- Jermell Charlo – Crawford. We like Charlo vs. Tim Tszyu, who has earned the opportunity to face the top 154-pounder. However, Charlo-Crawford would be a next-level matchup.
- Gervonta Davis – Shakur Stevenson. This would be a pairing of two profoundly gifted fighters, both of whom have the ability to become No. 1 pound-for-pound one day soon.
- Tyson Fury – Oleksandr Usyk. This is Fury’s opportunity to end all debate about who is the best heavyweight of the post-Klitschko era.
- Devin Haney – Teofimo Lopez. Haney is in talks with Ryan Garcia — who would make for a big event — but a victory over Lopez would do more for his legacy.
- Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez – Estrada. Rodriguez already has three significant victories but a date with the future Hall of Famer would be his ultimate test.
- Errol Spence Jr. – Jaron Ennis. Spence needs to prove that he’s better than he looked in his knockout loss to Crawford. Ennis, as talented as anyone, needs a big fight. Perfect.
- Vasiliy Lomachenko – George Kambosos Jr. The Aussie probably isn’t a significant threat to Loma but a victory in the fight, which is in the works, would get him a title. He deserves the opportunity.
- Artur Beterbiev – Bivol. The classic matchup of boxer vs. puncher arguably would determine the best 175-pounder since Hall of Fame Andre Ward retired.
- Shakur Stevenson – Davis. Stevenson is one significant victory away from becoming a superstar. This matchup would give him that opportunity.
HONORABLE MENTION
- David Benavidez – Canelo Alvarez. Benavidez has earned the right to face the man he has been chasing.
- Jermall Charlo – Benavidez or Alvarez. If the two 168-pound stars don’t fight one another — or perhaps after they do — either would make the biggest fight of Charlos’ career.
- Roman Gonzalez — “Bam” Rodriguez said in so many words that he has too much respect for “Chocolatito” to fight him, but, man, this would be an amazing matchup of special little men.
- Kazuto Ioka — Juan Francisco Estrada. Ioka and Estrada were headed for a meeting in 2023 until talks broke down. The title-unification matchup would be fabulous if Estrada doesn’t fight Rodriguez.
- Teofimo Lopez — Haney. Lopez’s victory over Josh Taylor was a step back to his pre-Kambosos status. He’d be all the back — and then some — with a victory over Haney.
