Boxing in 2024: The good, the bad and the WTF!

Oleksandr Usyk is the KevinIole.com 2024 Fighter of the Year after his sensational year in which he scored a pair of decisions over Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. On May 18, Usyk won a split decision to claim the undisputed heavyweight title after nearly stopping Fury in the ninth.

In the rematch on Dec. 21, Usyk won a unanimous decision that punched his ticket to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

He established himself as one of the greatest boxers of the 21st century, arguably the best. He won a gold medal as a heavyweight at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. He claimed the WBO cruiserweight title in his 10th pro bout, in 2016. He became undisputed cruiserweight champion by defeating Murat Gassiev on July 21, 2018, and won the undisputed heavyweight title a bit less than three years later.

Usyk is No. 1 or No. 2 on most pound-for-pound lists and was the star of a very good and interesting 2024.

Here's a further look at the good, the bad and the WTF from 2024 in boxing:

Good: Artur Beterbiev defeats Dmitriy Bivol for undisputed belt

The Usyk-Fury bout was one of two undisputed championships contested in 2024. Unified champion Artur Beterbeiev became a four-belt champion when he won a split decision over Dmitry Bivol on Oct. 12 in Riyadh. It was an outstanding figiht, and the good news is, they'll meet again in a much-needed rematch on Feb. 22.

Bad: Israel Vazquez succumbs to cancer

Good guy Israel Vazquez, a former world champion known for his intense rivalry with Rafael Marquez, died of cancer on Dec. 3 at just 46 years old. Vazquez was a sensational fighter whose post-fight life was marred by health issues. He lost the sight in one of his eyes, battled multiple sclerosis and finally died of cancer.

A true class act, Vazquez is good far too soon.

WTF: Sandy Ryan attacked before Mikaela Mayer fight

Sandy Ryan lost her WBO welterweight title to Mikaela Mayer by split decision on Sept. 27 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The big news, though, was what happened as Ryan left her hotel to make her trek to the arena.

Someone got out of a car and threw a can of red paint on her. Ryan believes it was someone from Mayer's team, though Mayer has denied it.

It was a bizarre scene that preceded a fantastic fight. Hopefully, the perpetrator or perpetrators are brought to justice.

Good: AJ and Daniel Dubois pack Wembley Stadium

More than 96,000 fans jammed Wembley Stadium in London on Sept. 21 for an IBF heavyweight title fight between champion Daniel Dubois and former unified champion Anthony Joshua. 

It's further proof that when the right matches are made, the tickets are priced properly and the shows are promoted aggressively, boxing fans will respond by showing up.

Bad: 58-year-old Mike Tyson returns to box Jake Paul

Mike Tyson was do dominant early in his career that he remained a fascinating figure to boxing fans 19 years after his final bout and nearly 40 years since he first won the heavyweight title. In November, Tyson fought Jake Paul in a fight that, of course, should never have happened.

The crowd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, was announced as 72,300 on fight night on Nov. 15, but the box office report showed it was less. Still, the crowd of 59,666 tickets sold with an attendance of 66,103 when included comps is highly impressive.

The sad thing is, the fight should never have occurred. It only did bad for boxing. Many think the fight was rigged and that Tyson was pulling his punches. Numerous boxing writers said before the fight that Tyson was shot in 2005 when he was beaten by Kevin McBride and had nothing left. Still, fans who saw the fight thought Tyson was pulling punches and not throwing at Paul.

It's common for older fighters not to be able to pull the trigger, especially because they know when they do throw, they're vulnerable to being hit. That's what happened with Tyson and Paul, but the public at large is uneducated on boxing and saw the fight as a fix.

What we learned in that fight is that 58-year-olds have no business fighting and that Jake Paul stinks.

WTF: Netflix stream in Tyson-Paul fight was horrible

There was a lot of excitement among boxing fans when it was announced the Tyson-Paul fight would be streamed live on Netflix. The streaming service has more than 283 million subscribers worldwide and it had a chance to present boxing in a new and unique way to a massive audience.

Instead, it utterly failed as the 65 million concurrent streams proved too much for the servers being used.

On top of that, it was a horrendous broadcast that did nothing new or innovative and used the same tired old formula that fans are shunning more and more.

Good: Bam Rodriguez shows he's elite

Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez took the next step toward stardom in 2024, knocking out Juan Francisco Estrada in seven and then getting rid of Pedro Guevara in three. He's now a pound-for-pound staple on most lists and is a guy to watch in coming years as a potential No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter overall.

He's a super flyweight and that might limit his drawing power, since Americans show scant interest in bouts lower than 135, but Rodriguez is a mega-talent and proved that again in 2024.

Bad: Riyadh Season fights are dragging on way too long

I'll be the first to say promoters need to do something different in order to regain their fan base. Making intriguing matches, promoting them wisely and lowering pay-per-view prices are all good pieces of the puzzle.

But Riyadh Season's idea of putting concerts on during the middle of a fight card just makes them go on way too long. On the Aug. 3 card in Los Angeles headlined by Terence Crawford defeating Israil Madrimov, there was a concert by Eminem. 

When people choose to attend a concert, they know who is playing and they presumably like the artist. Boxing fans are going to see the fights and so while there may be some Eminem fans, there may be a lot who do not like him. And given they slow the pace of the fights to a crawl and make the shows last 8 or 10 hours, it'd be a wise move to eliminate the concerts.

WTF: Canelo Alvarez ducks David Benavidez twice

One of the many reasons Canelo Alvarez has become so beloved by boxing fans over the last decade-and-a-half has been his willingness to take on all comers. In the last two years, though, that changed. In 2023, Alvarez fought John Ryder and Jermell Charlo, who had been competing two divisions below him.

In 2024, he fought Jaime Munguia and Edgar Berlanga when David Benavidez was available both times. Benavidez is a far better opponent than either Munguia or Berlanga and would have created a memorable event. Instead, Alvarez opted for the easier route in a pair of really disappointing choices.

Good: Ryan Garcia looks sensational against Devin Haney

Ryan Garcia dropped Devin Haney three times in their bout on April 20 in New York and looked like one of the best fighters in the world. Certainly, he looked like a guy everyone wanted to see again after that performance. But ...

Bad: Ryan Garcia fails post-fight drug test

Garcia's win over Haney was changed to a no-contest and he was suspended for a year by the New York State Athletic Commission when he failed his post-fight drug test.

WTF: Ryan Garcia was expelled by the WBC

Garcia's behavior became so bizarre, making racist and anti-Muslim comments, that he was expelled by the WBC. This came after a bizarre year in which he missed weight against Haney, was arrested for vandalism and was publicly drunk while attending the Gervonta Davis-Frank Martin fight in Las Vegas.

Good: 'Boots' reminds us Philly is a boxing town

Jaron "Boots" Ennis fought twice in his hometown of Philadelphia in 2024 and proved his city remains a key market in the U.S. for the sport. Ennis drew 14,119 to the Wells Fargo Center for his July 13 TKO of David Avanesyan. It had a gate of $1.2 million. That was the biggest attendance in Philadelphia since Marvelous Marvin Hagler defeated Bennie Briscoe over 10 rounds at The Spectrum on Aug. 24, 1978.

Bad: Deontay Wilder hits the end of the line

Deontay Wilder was never the most skilled boxer and was never really close to it. He wasn't when he won a bronze medal in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and he wasn't as he became WBC heavyweight champion and started his pro career 40-0 with 39 KOs. His extraordinary punching power made him the threat that he was.

Those three bouts with Tyson Fury, in which he went 0-2-1, seemed to have taken the fight from him.

Since his 40-0 start, he's gone 3-4-1, but he looked completely shot in 2024. He was stopped in the fifth round by Zhilei Zhang and looked like had nothing in the tank. 

He's made a ton of money and hopefully he retires and enjoys life with his family. Given his defensive issues, it could be ugly if he continued to fight elite heavyweights.

WTF: Three boxers died due to fight-related injuries

In 2024, three boxers died as a result of injuries suffered from fights in the ring. Bantamweight Kazuki Anaguchi suffered brain injuries in a Dec. 26, 2023, bout against Seiya Tsutsumi. He passed away on Feb. 2. 

Ubayd Haider (aka Nathan Singh) fought Runqi Zhou on Oct. 26. He was knocked out and fell unconscious. He died on Nov. 10.

Sherif Lawal was knocked out in the fourth round of a May 12 bout against Malam Varela and died later that day.  

May they all rest in peace.