Top Boxing Fights of 2021: Joshua vs Fury, Spencer vs Crawford

The year 2020 finished on a strong note in boxing, with the heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev worth every second of anticipation. Yet, that wasn’t the only fantastic boxing bout to see the year off, with Canelo Alvarez taking on Callum Smith and Gennady Golovkin making a return against Kamil Szeremeta. With so many great fights happening just in December, we are all looking for worthwhile bouts as soon as possible.

Thankfully, the boxing calendar has quite a few spectacular promises and starting right this Saturday, the bout between Luke Campbell and Ryan Garcia should give us all a great start to the year. Yet, there are more worthwhile bouts we will discuss right here.

Ryan Garcia vs Luke Campbell

• Fight date: Saturday, January 2

Ryan Garcia (20-0) is going up against Luke Campbell (20-3) who is defending the WBC lightweight title on Saturday, January 2. It’s an early start to boxing in 2021, and definitely, a worthwhile bout to see.

Campbell is an experienced opponent with over 140 career rounds, going up against Ryan Garcia’s much better overall KOs percentage at 85% and his flamboyant personality. Garcia must win this fight so that a sceptical boxing community can start taking him seriously.

Then again, Campbell will fight tooth and nail to preserve his title and defeat a contender that is by any measure a worthy challenger.

Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury

• Fight date: Negotiated

Tyson Fury has long been in the head of Anthony Joshua, poking fun at him and calling him a “finished fighter” after his surprise loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. Yet, Joshua returned in his bout against Kubrat Pulev in December, and he is now more confident in his ability than ever.

After a brief exchange on social media during which Fury suggested that Joshua “should grow a pair,” AJ accepted Fury’s challenge and a fight is happening this year. Now, hosts are looking to find a way to fit in 100,000 live fans to what is going to be one of the best fights of this decade. Details are still being negotiated.

Errol Spence Jr. vs Terrence Crawford

• Fight date: Negotiated

Fighting for a chance to unify the welterweight titles Errol Spence Jr .and Terrence Crawford are going to have a big fight this year. Both men are some of the best pound-for-pound fighters in competitive boxing. The fight is not yet carved in stone, though, because Spence isn’t anywhere near happy with the proposed split of the purse and Crawford is stuck with promoters and political convictions that are getting in the way of hosting the bout.

However, Crawford is expected to sever all ties with Top Rank in the summer and he can then perhaps move into a fight with Spence Jr, with both men negotiating a fair overall split of the purse.

Canelo Alvarez vs Jermall Charlo

• Fight date: Negotiated

Following a fiery defeat against unscathed WBC and WBA Super Middleweight Champions, Canelo Alvarez is looking to take on his next challenge. The Mexican ace is 54-1-2 and he has been one of the most prolific fighters in history.

Alvarez split from Golden Boy Promotions in 2020 to become a free agent, because he was unhappy with how Oscar De La Hoya was planning his opponents for him, trying to arrange fights with inferior opponents.

Yet, Alvarez is only looking to up the ante and take on worthwhile challengers if anything. A bout against Jermall Charlo could be precisely what Canelo needs and he’s definitely focused on unifying titles, something that can come to pass in 2021.

For his part, Charlo has gone 31-0 undefeated, and he is slowly, but steadily catching up to Alvarez’s own immaculate score. Charlo is posting 70.97% KOs over 159 rounds, meaning he can both go the distance and deliver powerful punches.

Having these two fighters square up in 2021 can be fun, having Canelo put up with an opponent who is known for his foot speed and well-timed attacks.