Even though boxing fixtures over the last year haven’t been as frequent as we would have liked, 2021 is looking much more exciting. Although we did see Anthony Joshua beat Kubrat Pulev in December at Wembley Arena, albeit without a crowd. We hope to see fans back in stadiums and gyms soon. Once that happens, if you’re after some new equipment Punch Prime offers reviews of the best boxing gear available. So which boxing fights are already booked in and going ahead in 2021? Well, that’s what we’re going to look at now!
Canelo Alvarez vs Billy Joe Saunders
The first scheduled fight to mention is that of Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders. They only have 1 loss between them out of 88 fights. That loss is from when Alvarez took on the legendary Floyd Mayweather Jr when he was 23. Although Alvarez is a year younger than Saunders, he’s had almost double the number of fights in his professional career (58 vs 30).
With so much on the line, it’s going to be one of the best fights of the year. Saunders will want to join Mayweather in beating Alvarez, and with his tricky southpaw stance, he might have what it takes to defeat the Mexican. Yet, the Brit has only fought twice each year since 2013 so it’s a tough fight to call. The date has been set for the 8th of May but the venue is still to be confirmed. Between them, they hold the WBA, WBO, and WBC super-middleweight titles.
Alexander Povetkin vs Dillian Whyte II
This rematch looks to be the first big fight of the year. The date got pushed by 3 weeks to the 27th of March due to Povetkin contracting coronavirus. But now the date and venue are confirmed. It will take place in Gibraltar, which isn’t your normal venue but it’s the best place during these times.
Whyte will be out to win as he had Povetkin on the canvas twice in their previous fight, only to lose by knock-out in the 5th round. Whyte needs to win if he wants to get a shot at the WBC title as Povetkin is the current interim champion.
Lawrence Okolie vs Krzysztof Glowacki
The week before the Povetkin Whyte fight, there’s a WBO cruiserweight title up for grabs on the 20th of March. Okolie vs Glowacki was planned to go ahead on the undercard of Joshua vs Pulev, but Glowacki tested positive with coronavirus before the fight so it had to be canceled.
Jezewski stood in for Glowacki and got defeated with ease in two rounds. Fans watching this will hope that it lasts a bit longer than that. The fight is going ahead at the Wembley Arena in London without supporters, but it will be live on DAZN in America.
Artur Beterbiev vs Adam Deines
This unification fight has been on the cards for some time now. However, it’s been rescheduled five times due to various issues and injuries. But, the date is set for 20th March in Moscow, Russia and it looks set to be an explosive bout. Although it’s argued that Deines isn’t a match for Beterbiev and that the latter should be fighting Meng Fanlong, the Chinese boxer. Still, at this point, the fight is going ahead and who knows maybe Fanlong and Beterbiev will get their bout at a later date this year. We’ll have to wait and see.
Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury
Last, but certainly not least is the much-awaited fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. Verbally the fight has been agreed upon, we’re just waiting for the contracts to be signed and the date to be announced.
We expect that this fight will take place at Wembley Arena once restrictions for sporting events have been reduced. In recent news, it sounds like June will be the date set, but that’s still a rumor. These are two of the greatest British heavyweight boxers of this generation so it’s no doubt going to be a show-stopper. Fury has even come out to say that he wants to fight twice in 2021, and we’re certain that one will be against Joshua. But with nothing confirmed, we’re still eagerly waiting for the date.
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