20 Fights of 2020

[bobcatbox]

2020 was a challenging year for boxing fans. COVID shutdowns. Missing out on big fights. Hardly any in-person fans. Despite all the bad, we still had some good fights to root for. The below list is not intended to represent the best 20 fights or even the most entertaining. This is to represent the 20 fights that I felt were the most significant for fans, fighters, or the sport in general. There's no set criteria for making the list. It matters that the fight mattered so to speak. That being said, I give you the 20 fights of 2020:


1) Tevin Farmer vs Joseph Diaz, Jr. (1-30-20)

The term is “snake bit.” It was used on a podcast nearly a year ago following JoJo Diaz’s unexpected come from behind win against Tevin Farmer. It means that a fighter, despite being talented enough and connected enough to be put in line for a shot, just can’t seem to win a world title. Diaz lost his shot at the belt against the skilled Gary Russell, Jr. He captured a WBA belt in a clash with Jesus Rojas, but he lost it on the scales. Now, in the second round of his third chance to become a world champion, his eye looked like it had literally been “snake bit” and peeled open from the inside with a piece of jagged glass. A “curse,” it seemed, was upon him. But Diaz is not quitter. Sensing the urgency, he gathered himself and boxed through the cut to win the IBF Super Featherweight championship. The display was gutsy and entertaining boxing.


2) Ryan Garcia vs Francisco Fonseca (2-14-20)

On a Valentine’s Day card in California, King Ry stepped up an inch to face seasoned journeyman Francisco Fonseca. Any notion that Fonseca was going to challenge the young lightweight was quickly extinguished. Garcia blindsided Fonseca eighty seconds into fight with a sizzling left hook. The resulting KO qualified as an instant Knockout of the Year contender. Garcia’s highlight played well to boxing casuals and his horde of social media followers. The influencer rose both in relevance and apparent danger in the flash of a second. He is stepping up much, much more in his next fight against two-time world title challenger Luke Campbell.


3) Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury II (2-22-20)

Fury said he would knock Deontay Wilder out. He switched trainers to knock him out. He changed styles to knock him out. He said he would knock him out again. And he said it again. And again. And again. He sang “Crazy” on his way to the ring. And then, brutally busting an eardrum along the way, he knocked him out. Fury’s win elevated him to the Ring Magazine heavyweight championship. His return to the throne was dampened some by Costumegate, COVID-19, a mandatory rematch clause, uncertain negotiations with Anthony Joshua, and another letdown year for boxing fans clamoring for an undisputed heavyweight champion.


4) Roman Gonzalez vs Khalid Yafai (2-29-20)

Chocolatito is back. He dominated undefeated WBA Super Fly champion Khalid Yafai in vintage style, ending the fight with a beautiful 1-2 combination in round nine. He followed up this return by masterfully outclassing Israel Gonzalez. His rematch next spring with Juan Francisco Estrada is currently the most highly anticipated agreed-upon fight for 2021.


5) Clay Collard vs David Kaminsky (6-18-20)

COVID-19 shut down the sport after a promising start to the year. No fights were scheduled. As sports fans watched replays on ESPN, nobody was certain if we would see another live fight in 2020. And if they did, would it even be worth watching? Boxing fans desperately needed something to believe in. Enter Clay Collard. A part-time MMA fighter and newly minted journeyman boxer, “Cassius” Clay Collard started his career 1-1-3 and had faced almost exclusively undefeated competition by the time he appeared on ESPN this June. He has boxed at Light Heavyweight, Middleweight, Junior Middleweight, and Welterweight. David Kaminsky, undefeated, was expected to manhandle him. The fight was one of the earliest held at the MGM Top Rank “bubble,” a product Bob Arum’s Harvard-genius-level apocalyptic brainstorming. Collard rocked Kaminsky over six competitive rounds, busting him up and earning an upset split decision win. The fight provided fans with something to crack a smile at after a long COVID drought. Collard went on to win two knockouts on ESPN over Lorawnt T. Nelson and Maurice Williams, and some boxing observers (half) jokingly expected him to get a ballot or two for Fighter of the Year before his disappointing loss to Quincy LaVallais. Collard is returning to MMA full time.


6) Joshua Franco vs Andrew Maloney I (6-23-20)

The first fight between Franco and Maloney was the best of the early COVID-era fights. Sadly overshadowed by its controversial rematch and the ensuing instant replay drama, this first fight was a quality upset win for Franco whose talent is better than his record would suggest. Hopefully, a third fight is on its way to settle the score.


7) Alexander Povetkin vs. Dillian Whyte (8-22-20)

Old man Pov strikes again. Alexander Povetkin was knocked down twice in the fourth round in a back-and-forth contest. Crafty footwork set up a clobbering uppercut that left Whyte motionless on the canvass in round five. The Russian Big Man’s savage knockout provided many boxing fans’ picks for KO of the Year.


8) Eleider Alvarez vs Joe Smith, Jr. (8-22-20)

How can you not root for Joe Smith, Jr.? A legitimate blue-collar working-class hero who walks into the ring with his heart on his sleeve every fight, Smith is an American fan-favorite for a reason. He not only rocked light heavyweight contender Eleider Alvarez; he dominated him, scoring a ninth round TKO. Smith is slated to fight Maxim Vlasov in February of next year in what should be a highly entertaining fight.


9) Yuniel Dorticos vs Mairis Briedis (9-26-20)

After Oleksandr Usyk moved up to bigger and better fights at Heavyweight there was a legitimate question as to who would fill the role of best Cruiserweight in the world. This fight provided a definitive – albeit brief – answer to that question. Tough guy Mairis Briedis, known for controversial and deliberate elbow to the head of Kryzstof Glowacki, was the favorite in this matchup for the Ring Magazine and IBF Cruiserweight titles and the coveted World Boxing Super Series Muhammad Ali Championship Trophy. Hardcore fans enjoyed a very technical chess match that resulted in a majority decision for Briedis. The status at the top of the 200-pound division appears to be short lived as rumor has it that Briedis will also be heading to the heavyweight division.


10) Jermell Charlo vs Jeison Rosario (9-26-20)

Jermell Charlo entered this fight the WBC junior middleweight titleholder and emerged as the one true world champion of the 154-pound division. Rosario – nicknamed “Banana” – entered the bout coming off an upset stoppage win over Julian Williams where he captured the WBA and IBF 154-pound straps. To say that he came into this fight a game challenger would be an understatement. He was winning the fight on all three scorecards when Charlo turned up the gas and smashed a power jab to his abdomen. The shot crippled Rosario in the eighth round for a surprise body shot knockout. This unification was enticing, exciting, and impactful.


11) Jose Zepeda vs Ivan Baranchyk (10-3-20)

This fight brought the fans out of their seats, well, off their couches anyway. The only negative thing that can be said about the slugfest between 140-pound challengers Jose Zepeda and Ivan Baranchyk was that sadly no fans were present for the fight of the year. Both fighters were down four times each in a five-round battle. Zepeda picked himself off the canvass in the fifth round, and his gloves were barely dusted off when he landed a short counter-left-hand that crumpled the unrelenting Baranchyk.


12) Teofimo Lopez vs Vasyl Lomachenko (10-17-20)

The takeover is here. The “Matrix” was brought down by the “One” – “Teo” – get it? Like Neo… Okay that’s bad. You know what’s not bad? Teofimo’s hand and foot speed. The super-focused, super-charged young lightweight stacked up points as Vasyl Lomachenko inactively bounced about for half of this megafight. Lopez, by contrast, looked razor sharp and lightning fast in a clear and decisive points victory. A rematch is likely, but a clash with WBC “non-franchise” champ Devin Haney is favored.


13) Juan Francisco Estrada vs Carlos Cuadras II (10-23-20)

The second of three fights at 115 pounds to make this list was a highly anticipated rematch between pound-for-pound talent Juan Estrada and hard-hitting threat Carlos Cuadras. Estrada was dropped in round three and looked to be in peril, but he recovered to pound out Cuadras in round 11 of what was a thrilling fan-friendly fight. The fight cemented the course for the now agreed-upon fight between Chocolatito and Estrada.


14) Gervonta Davis vs Leo Santa Cruz (10-31-20)

Don’t mess with “Tank” Davis. He played with Leo Santa Cruz for five rounds before the two began to exchange some punches. In the words of the beloved prostitute portrayed by Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman: “Big mistake. Huge.” After Santa Cruz hit him flush with a pair of right hands, Davis turned the lights off with a vicious left uppercut at the end of round six. Fans are ready to see him take on the best in the world at 130 or 135 pounds. Is Tank?


15) Chayaphon Moonsri vs Panya Pradabsri (11-27-20)

Moonsri (also known as Wenhang Menayothin (also known as the GOAT)) was the undefeated minimumweight champion of the world. By age 35, he accumulated a record of 54-0. He finally met his match in a very close fight with challenger Panya Pradabsri (also known as Petchmanee CP Freshmart). All three cards went against him 113-115. Perhaps it was Panya’s persistence or perhaps it was father time, nevertheless, the GOAT’s “0” was lost in the most important minimumweight fight in memory.


16) Joe Joyce vs Daniel Dubois (11-28-20)

At beginning of the year Daniel Dubois was understood to be the best heavyweight prospect on the scene. That illusion was shattered by the hammering jab of Olympic Silver Medalist Joe Joyce. In a one-dimensional albeit effective attack, Joyce chipped away at “Dynamite” Dubois’s surprisingly fragile face. The fight ended on a stiff jab to Dubois’s closed-shut eyeball that appeared to sap DDD of any remaining will to win. Controversy ensued as the word “quit” was thrown around and debated upon. This fight answered important questions for both heavyweight up-and-comers. Joyce now has a path to the title and his desired rematch with Tony Yoka. Dubois has a lot to prove when he comes again.


17) Errol Spence, Jr. vs Danny Garcia (12-5-20)

After years in the hard-knock sport of boxing, Errol Spence’s only worthy foe turned out to be himself and his very fast sportscar. All joking aside, Spence was lucky to survive being hurled from his Ferrari in October 2019. Boxing fans wondered if he could seriously return to the sport in prime fighting shape. That question was answered in a PPV fight against welterweight contender Danny Garcia: He did. The fight laid the groundwork for the long-anticipated clash between Spence and Terence Crawford. Will it happen? Time will tell.


18) Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev (12-12-20)

Anthony Joshua is an enigma. Body beautiful and bountifully talented, you would expect a bit more brash behavior from the British Bigman, but when asked if he was ready to take on Tyson Fury in the wake of his knockout win over Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev, he was decidedly non-committal. AJ at least hushed critics who claimed he would never be the same following his KO loss to Andy Ruiz when he skillfully outboxed and then bludgeoned Pulev for a late round knockout. The performance reinstated some faith in AJ’s ability and provided further buildup for his (we hope) 2021 fight with Tyson Fury.


19) Canelo Alvarez vs Callum Smith (12-19-20)

This was Canelo’s second fight of 2020. His first was an escape from his contract with his promoter Golden Boy and marriage to broadcast app DAZN. Now a free agent, Alvarez has his sights set on dominance of the 168-pound division. He started by shrinking down 6’ 3” Callum Smith. Skillful defense, a solid chin, and world-class punch accuracy guided Canelo to a lopsided decision win over the Ring Magazine and WBA Super Middleweight Champ. Despite fans insistence that he fight GGG for a third time at 160 pounds, Alvarez looks to be keying in on fights with beltholders Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant. His dominant win over Smith was the beginning of what may prove to be a historic run at 168 pounds.


20) Kazuto Ioka vs Kosei Tanaka (12-31-20)

There’s a more than decent chance that Kazuto Ioka is the most talented boxer you’ve never watched fight. His style is impeccable. His defense is impregnable... Okay let’s not go that route, but seriously, he is an immensely talented fighter. He is a four-division champion, and his eighth round TKO win on New Year’s Eve prevented countryman Kosei Tanaka from achieving the same feat. Ioka won the fight on slick defense that left Tanaka – a legitimate pound-for-pound talent – missing over 80% of his shots. Ioka dropped Tanaka twice before he landed a crushing left hook to the jaw that put Tanaka out on his feet. The two were in a fairly one-sided albeit back-and-forth fight before the knockout. Ioka, in what is possibly to coolest move ever, taunted Tanaka to bring it on just prior to exchanging a pair of combinations that ended the fight. What’s next for Ioka? Let’s hope for an East-meets-West a clash with the winner of Chocolatito and Estrada.


Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next year for the 21 fights of 2021.

[gilgamesh]

The Teofimo Lopez vs Lomachenko fight wasn't really all that good. It was a big win for Teo, but until Round 8 it was boring as sh*t as a fight.

[DrDuke]

The Teofimo Lopez vs Lomachenko fight wasn't really all that good. It was a big win for Teo, but until Round 8 it was boring as sh*t as a fight.

It wasn't particularly sh!t, but it indeed was worse than expected.

[Onetimeonly]

The Teofimo Lopez vs Lomachenko fight wasn't really all that good. It was a big win for Teo, but until Round 8 it was boring as sh*t as a fight.

Yeah, it was tense and dramatic. Still better than fury/wilder. Not sure what I missed there, I don't recall deontay landing a significant punch.

[gilgamesh]

The Teofimo Lopez vs Lomachenko fight wasn't really all that good. It was a big win for Teo, but until Round 8 it was boring as sh*t as a fight.

Yeah, it was tense and dramatic. Still better than fury/wilder. Not sure what I missed there, I don't recall deontay landing a significant punch.

He got a decent shot in there in the 3rd as I recall. Fury took it just fine.

I really only recall one particularly decent shot landing for Wilder.

[Onetimeonly]

The Teofimo Lopez vs Lomachenko fight wasn't really all that good. It was a big win for Teo, but until Round 8 it was boring as sh*t as a fight.

Yeah, it was tense and dramatic. Still better than fury/wilder. Not sure what I missed there, I don't recall deontay landing a significant punch.

He got a decent shot in there in the 3rd as I recall. Fury took it just fine.

I really only recall one particularly decent shot landing for Wilder.

Mystifying to see that top 5 even in this abysmal year.

[gilgamesh]

Yeah, it was tense and dramatic. Still better than fury/wilder. Not sure what I missed there, I don't recall deontay landing a significant punch.

He got a decent shot in there in the 3rd as I recall. Fury took it just fine.

I really only recall one particularly decent shot landing for Wilder.

Mystifying to see that top 5 even in this abysmal year.

In fairness I don't think this guy's list is about match quality, he just has them all listed in Chronological order.

[brilo33]

2 of the heavy weight world champions both 0.0 fighting , come on ,that was a top fight it was , teo v loma was dull as you expected loma to throw a punch which he never till the 8th

[margaret thatcher]

nice review of this f@cked up year my man

[gilgamesh]

2 of the heavy weight world champions both 0.0 fighting , come on ,that was a top fight it was , teo v loma was dull as you expected loma to throw a punch which he never till the 8th

it was Hopkins vs Taylor all over again. Where he seemed to put all his faith in coming on in the 2nd half of the fight and winning by KO.

He should've known better than that. Even when he won by late stoppage it's not like he started fighting in the 2nd half of the fight.

Hopkins too. He almost never won by KO, and yet he banked on winning by KO after not even fighting for 7 rounds. For such an experienced and smart fighter as Hopkins and Loma clearly are, this was absolutely moronic strategy both times.

[Onetimeonly]

He got a decent shot in there in the 3rd as I recall. Fury took it just fine.

I really only recall one particularly decent shot landing for Wilder.

Mystifying to see that top 5 even in this abysmal year.

In fairness I don't think this guy's list is about match quality, he just has them all listed in Chronological order.

Yeah, but I wouldn't even put it there and there is more than one list.

[gilgamesh]

Mystifying to see that top 5 even in this abysmal year.

In fairness I don't think this guy's list is about match quality, he just has them all listed in Chronological order.

Yeah, but I wouldn't even put it there and there is more than one list.

Off the top of my head I'd be hard pressed to come up with 20 fights this year to be honest. I watched several more than that, but not a lot of them stuck in my memory.

[Onetimeonly]

2 of the heavy weight world champions both 0.0 fighting , come on ,that was a top fight it was , teo v loma was dull as you expected loma to throw a punch which he never till the 8th

it was Hopkins vs Taylor all over again. Where he seemed to put all his faith in coming on in the 2nd half of the fight and winning by KO.

He should've known better than that. Even when he won by late stoppage it's not like he started fighting in the 2nd half of the fight.

Hopkins too. He almost never won by KO, and yet he banked on winning by KO after not even fighting for 7 rounds. For such an experienced and smart fighter as Hopkins and Loma clearly are, this was absolutely moronic strategy both times.

Good analogy, though I thought Hopkins clearly won the rematch. Lopez is better than loma, at least h2h.

[Onetimeonly]

In fairness I don't think this guy's list is about match quality, he just has them all listed in Chronological order.

Yeah, but I wouldn't even put it there and there is more than one list.

Off the top of my head I'd be hard pressed to come up with 20 fights this year to be honest. I watched several more than that, but not a lot of them stuck in my memory.

Me too, but if I was getting to fury/wilder for a foty list I'd cut down the numbers.

[brilo33]

2 of the heavy weight world champions both 0.0 fighting , come on ,that was a top fight it was , teo v loma was dull as you expected loma to throw a punch which he never till the 8th

it was Hopkins vs Taylor all over again. Where he seemed to put all his faith in coming on in the 2nd half of the fight and winning by KO.

He should've known better than that. Even when he won by late stoppage it's not like he started fighting in the 2nd half of the fight.

Hopkins too. He almost never won by KO, and yet he banked on winning by KO after not even fighting for 7 rounds. For such an experienced and smart fighter as Hopkins and Loma clearly are, this was absolutely moronic strategy both times.

yea i agree,it looked liked loma was doing the usal 1st rd trying to gauge his oppos distance , speed ,power, maybe he underestimated the fitness of teo and strengh and also the boy could boy box,it got to 7th 8th loma realised he couldnt claw it back he also got buzzed by a teo punch as loma looked to hold 8th or 9th i think

[brilo33]

4) Roman Gonzalez vs Khalid Yafai (2-29-20) forgot about this fight, very good

[margaret thatcher]

roman put in a great performance and ended it in style, kal tried to bully him but got taken apart

[bobcatbox]

nice review of this f@cked up year my man

Thanks pal

[DrDuke]

A nice article. However, I'd mention Helenius-Kownacki instead of Garcia's fight.