How is it still January. Seriously? As I write this it literally feels like January 74th.
If you have stuck to your New Year’s resolutions, then all power to you.
For the rest of us it might be time to stop making resolutions that we break within two weeks. I actually cannot believe it is been a whole year since I did not become a better person.
The hype and razzmatazz surrounding Christmas and the New Year – and indeed Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2 before that - already feels like a lifetime ago and the fact that it has been a fairly uninspiring month on the boxing front (apologies to Jai Opetaia, Dalton Smith, Diego Pacheco and Naoya Inoue if you are reading this) has not helped.
Thankfully, in terms of excitement, things are about to go into overdrive when the calendar flips to February. Indeed, February is one of the busiest fight months in recent memory and seems to be just dripping with quality action.
In the lower weight divisions Stephen Fulton vs Brandon Figueroa II (for Figueroa's WBC featherweight title) should be a barnburner while pound-for-pound star Junto Nakatani vs David Cuellar at bantamweight will also be fascinating.
On DAZN there is also a really solid match up in the shape of Jack Catterall vs unbeaten American Arnold Barboza Jr on February 15, while earlier in the month GWOAT Claressa Shields is also in action on DAZN against fellow American Danielle Perkins.
The pair – who have engaged in plenty of verbal sparring already ahead of their February 2 date - will meet for Shields's WBC women's heavyweight title and WBO women's light heavyweight title. The vacant WBA women's heavyweight title is also on the line in that one as Shields gets another run out in her hometown of Flint, Michigan.
A gift from the Gods
As well as all this there is of course that fight card from the sporting Gods. The eyes of the boxing world will once again be on Saudi Arabia thanks to Turki Alalshikh’s latest, scarcely believable, February 22 card which in truth contains seven fights that on another night could al be main events in their own right, all live on DAZN PPV.
Top of the bill that night in Riyadh we have Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2. Another ‘Undisputed’ light-heavyweight title fight, for Beterbiev's WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and The Ring belts.
Beterbiev 21-0 (20) and Bivol 23-1 (12) renew acquaintances for the second time in just four months. Their first fight was a technical masterclass. A contest of rare skill, shifts of momentum and high drama.
It was just the type of fight that showcased all that was good about boxing. The scoring/result may have been slightly contentious depending on whether you liked the ring generalship of Bivol or the stalking, front foot aggression of Beterbiev.
So, one hopes that the result in their return fight leaves no room for debate.
David Becker/Getty Images
Fight fans are rightly hyped for that match up, which is nailed on to be another high boxing IQ duel, but what’s going slightly under the radar is the fact there are two mouthwatering headline pay-per-views just three weeks apart at 175lbs.
Before the main course we have a very tasty light-heavyweight hors d'oeuvre in the shape of David Benavidez vs. David Morrell on February 1.
Boxing fans are desperate to see Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez fight Benavidez, a prodigiously gifted American who has streaked to 29-0 (24) and reigned as WBC super-middleweight champion twice between 2017 and 2020.
However, the Mexican superstar has shown no interest in the challenge at all thus far, and instead boxed Edgar Berlanga in Las Vegas last time out and punched out a fairly routine unanimous decision win on the cards.
If we cannot have Canelo vs Benavidez just yet this should do very nicely in the meantime. Put simply, Benavidez vs Morrell is a sensational fight, and the victor should be well placed for a crack at the winner of Beterbiev v Bivol 2 at some point in 2025.
Benavidez and Morrell were outstanding super-middleweight title holders and are meeting while very much in their fistic prime (Benavidez is 28, while Morrell is 26).
It is encouraging that this is another fight between two unbeaten stars, and the light-heavyweight division is red hot currently with British stars Joshua Buatsi, Anthony Yarde and Callum Smith also right in the mix.
They say February is short and very sweet and when you look at the boxing schedule – particularly in the light-heavyweight division – that is pretty much on the money.
So, as boxing fans, let us bite down on the gumshield and get through the rest of January. After weeks of relative quiet, take comfort in the fact that big things are on the horizon as we settle in for another huge year.
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