In 2025, the ancient sport endured the shocking death of a hero, the absence of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua’s Carnival win just days before a tragic accident.
It’s been an extraordinary year, with highs and lows, and plenty of absurdity on both sides. There have been high-profile defections, sell-out stadiums and shocking eliminations. There were also accusations of set fights, men withdrawing from major fights and too many people dying on the safe side.
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There are three large stadium boxing matches taking place in the UK throughout the year, with a total attendance of around 220,000 people; there are smaller stadium matches, and there may be 10 matches in indoor arenas with 15,000 fans in attendance. In September, the World Amateur Championship came to the UK for the first time since its inception in 1974; the action at Liverpool was brilliant, but the coverage was terrible.
Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr’s Round of 24 tie at Tottenham Hotspur was filled with excitement, tears and pain. Their first fight was brutal and ended with both men barely walking. Eubank Jr got the decision and he deserved it. Ben was in tears and little Eubank sat in the back of the ambulance, dehydrated and exhausted. Seven months later, they did it again; Ben won handily and Eubank Jr. never fought. It’s fascinating, but not the first savage battle they’ve had. Boxers have boundaries and they know them, especially against old foes; Benn and Eubank had nothing to prove in their second fight.
In July, more than 90,000 spectators gathered at Wembley to watch Oleksandr Usyk defeat and stop Daniel Dubois in the fifth round; Usyk once again became the undisputed champion that night. Du Bois was accused of many things in his defeat, some of which were malicious and untrue. To me, from six feet away, he looked seriously injured. The criticism was harsh.
In fact, criticism of losing boxers reached a nadir in 2025. In decades of covering this noble sport, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard so many boxers called cowards, useless or worse. This is a disturbing trend in boxing’s modern media.
British heavyweight boxing champion Daniel Dubois is stopped again by Oleksandr Usyk (Getty Images)
Conor Benn (left) and Chris Eubank Jr during the Round of 24 match at Tottenham Hotspur in 2025 (PA Wire)
Nick Ball defended his WBA featherweight title twice; Liverpool’s Jezza Dickens was promoted to the WBA super featherweight title, and the same thing happened to Fabio Wadley. It’s been an amazing year for Wardley. He knocked out Justis Huni in the 10th round when trailing badly and then dramatically stopped Joseph Parker for the interim WBO heavyweight title. About a week later, Usyk vacated the WBO title and Wadley became the official champion.
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The vacant British Heavyweight Championship was won by Jeamie TKV in a brawl with Frazer Clarke live on BBC 2; for the BBC it was both a great return after 20 years and a reminder of how bloody and tough the sport can be. In many ways, TKV and Clark’s fight on terrestrial television was a timely reminder that boxing is not about boxing. love island Refuse to fight incompetent influencers in so-called boxing matches. Clark’s commitment was total. His loss is devastating. Watching a game from the sidelines is a dubious privilege.
Anthony Yarde lost a world title fight in Saudi Arabia and Hamza Shiraz earned a controversial draw in a world title fight at the same venue. A few months later, Shiraz scored a big win in New York, setting the stage for a major event in 2026. Lewis Crocker defeated Paddy Donovan to win the vacant IBF welterweight title in his beloved Belfast. Sandy Ryan lost a world title belt fight in Las Vegas and Catford’s Ellie Scotney added a world title belt to her collection in New York. Lauren Price defeated Tasha Jonas at a gala night at the Royal Albert Hall to claim three welterweight world titles, as did Caroline Dubois before defending her WBC lightweight title in Miami. Terri Harper has only defended her WBO lightweight belt once. This has not been a good year for women.
Lauren Price (left) takes the women’s torchbearer and welterweight world title from Natasha Jonas (PA Wire)
Fabio Wardley delighted after stopping Joseph Parker from returning (Getty Images)
Some family struggles are extraordinary; Callum Smith’s victory over Joshua Buatsi in Riyadh in February was a strong contender for Fight of the Year, and Conah Walker’s last-round victory over Pat McCormack in Monte Carlo was also a fantastic fight. The Walker fight was supposed to be for the British title, but it was overseas and outside domestic jurisdiction. Walker is a champion. The hype and anticipation surrounding the rematch between heavyweight boxers Dave Allen and Johnny Fisher was incredible; Allen got revenge, stopping Fisher in the fifth round.
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One of Britain’s greatest heavyweights, Joe Bugner, died in September. He was 75 years old and had faced giants in the boxing ring in the ’70s and ’80s, losing twice on points to Muhammad Ali. The deaths of forgotten icons and British champions Mark Keller and James Cook deserve more publicity.
When Ricky Hatton’s death was announced in September, it felt like the entire sport was put on hold and left in a state of despair as people tried to make sense of the loss. His funeral was held at Manchester Cathedral and had a grand feel. Hatton dominated the sport and his death was both justified and senseless. He is only 46 years old but is still loved by thousands of viewers who follow his every game. It’s a tragedy that so few of us watched Ricky play another game, one he lost on a lonely night at home.
Suddenly and tragically, boxing loses Ricky Hatton (PA Wire)
Anthony Joshua (right) returns on short notice to block YouTuber Jake Paul (Netflix Getty Images)
Joshua had a crazy and tragic end to the year. Six days before Christmas he knocked out Jake Paul in a glorious carnival fight in Miami, and ten days later he was injured in a fatal car accident in Nigeria. Joshua lost two close friends in the accident: members of his team.
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Paul’s fight was watched by 30 million people on Netflix; more than $100 million was shared between the boxers. They are all winners. Ultimately, just two days before New Year’s, the entire Miami sideshow was forgotten; it didn’t matter to Joshua that he survived the massacre, that’s all that really mattered.