Was 2022 a good or a bad year for boxing?

For immoderate fans, 2022 was 1 of the astir underwhelming years of the period successful boxing, with conversations astir star-studded bouts starring to nothing. Others whitethorn presumption the athletics arsenic having sizeable agleam spots, similar undisputed title fights, upsets and the rebirth of women's boxing.

A fewer notable fighters had breakout years (Dimtry Bivol, Devin Haney, Seniesa Estrada). Collectively, nary 1 had a amended twelvemonth than women's boxing, which featured the biggest bouts the athletics had to connection and finished 2022 with 5 undisputed champions (Franchon Crews Dezurn astatine 168; Claressa Shields, 160; Jessica McCaskill, 147; Chantelle Cameron, 140; and Katie Taylor, 135).

So what does 1 marque of the year? ESPN.com boxing writer Ben Baby and ESPN boxing expert Timothy Bradley Jr., recently inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, instrumentality a look astatine what went close and incorrect successful boxing successful 2022.

Baby: First, let's applaud Tim connected being named to the IBHOF due to the fact that that was 1 of the fewer bully things to hap successful the athletics this year.

There's nary mode astir it -- 2022 was an implicit dud. Once again, boxing fans had to endure done respective disappointments. The twelvemonth was filled with questionable matchmaking and endless speech of high-profile fights that ne'er came to fruition.

Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk, Errol Spence Jr.-Terence Crawford and Ryan Garcia-Gervonta Davis were respective of the megafights that were talked astir arsenic possibilities this twelvemonth but ne'er materialized for immoderate reason. I recognize that Tim disagrees with my appraisal of the year, and I respect his thoughts connected immoderate of the fights that did get made, but it's inactive not capable to deem 2022 palmy for a large reason.

Any bully athletics is defined by the level of its championship-level matches -- the Super Bowl successful football, World Series successful baseball, NBA Finals successful basketball, etc. Boxing, however, is 1 of the fewer sports wherever the 2 apical contestants successful a value part whitethorn ne'er look each different during a fixed season.

And without that, the athletics remains stale. Look astatine however galore large fights were made successful the United States successful 2022. No antheral fighters headlined New York's Madison Square Garden. T-Mobile Arena, the astir notable combat venue successful Las Vegas, hosted thing extracurricular of 2 Canelo Alvarez bouts. Spence arguably had the biggest lawsuit of the twelvemonth erstwhile helium stopped Yordenis Ugas wrong AT&T Stadium, the location of the Dallas Cowboys.

All of this points to a bigger contented from this year: Boxing failed to determination forward. In 2021, coming disconnected the pandemic, it felt similar the athletics was gathering momentum successful antithetic ways. Canelo became an undisputed champion astatine ace middleweight. Spence and Crawford inched toward a superfight. Josh Taylor, besides undisputed astatine 140, emerged arsenic a imaginable star.

Instead, it each fizzled. The apical 5 fighters successful ESPN's pound-for-pound ranking had conscionable 7 fights combined. That averages a ridiculous 1.4 bouts per combatant -- which reaches a Gary Russell Jr. level of inactivity.

And erstwhile the apical boxers person been successful the ring, their bouts haven't carried capable buzz to marque this consciousness similar a large year. It leaves galore fans clamoring for much and respective others wondering if this athletics is truly worthy the trouble.

Bradley: I accidental boxing has had a large twelvemonth -- due to the fact that of competition. Every combatant wants to beryllium the adjacent globally recognized boxer connected the planet. Promoters, networks and managers are successful hunt much than ever of bringing amusement to unafraid ratings. I recognize what you're saying, Ben, that the biggest fights successful boxing haven't been made, similar a Spence-Crawford oregon a Fury-Usyk, and you're right. But 1 oregon 2 matches don't marque oregon interruption boxing.

We person had much undisputed champions successful boxing and much fighters consenting to unify championships successful 2022 than successful the past 20 years. Boxers similar Spence, Shakur Stevenson, Naoya Inoue, Artur Beterbiev, Oleksandr Usyk, Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Kenshiro Teraji person go unified champions successful their men's divisions this year. At the aforesaid time, Inoue, Devin Haney and Jermell Charlo person go undisputed champions. And don't hide astir women's boxing, Ben, it helps assistance boxing arsenic a whole. This was the twelvemonth of pistillate boxing.

The maturation has been astronomical. Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano sold retired Madison Square Garden successful April, and Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall filled up London's O2 Arena successful mid-October, the second 2 warring for undisputed supremacy successful the women's middleweight division. It was an epic showdown and a masterclass buildup that superseded each expectations. And let's not hide Alycia Baumgardner and Mikaela Mayer's unification bout that aforesaid nighttime astatine O2 Arena. Many experts, including myself, had trouble choosing a victor for some battles beforehand.

To headdress this off, Ben, "COMPETITION" fuels a boxer and everything astir the sport. Anyone progressive successful and retired of the ringing loves this sport. However, being the precise champion is indispensable to all. Even contributors are egotistical. Last clip I checked, contention pushes america each and makes america better, truthful I judge boxing has had a fantastic twelvemonth due to the fact that of the contention endowment and fighters pushing their marque to the adjacent level.