2024 boxing schedule: Teofimo Lopez vs. Jamaine Ortiz and Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou

Boxing had a great year in 2023, as almost all of the big fights that fans had wanted to see actually happened. The biggest fight among those that fell through was a matchup between Oleksandr Usyk of the WBA, WBC, and IBF and Tyson Fury of the WBC to determine who would be the first heavyweight champion to go unbeaten in the four-belt era.

Even though the fight didn’t work out for 2023, it is still scheduled as the main event for the 2024 boxing schedule. On May 18, Fury and Usyk will square off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with all four heavyweight world titles at stake. The battle was originally scheduled for February 17, but it had to be postponed after Fury cut himself while training, only a few weeks prior to the match.

Both fighters come into the bout fresh off scares in their 2023 campaigns; when Daniel Dubois drops Usyk, the referee calls the shot a low blow, giving Usyk time to recover. In Round 9, he then halted Dubois. After his perfect record was just preserved in a bout with the former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in October, Fury found himself in a far more difficult situation. Ngannou won a number of rounds and scored a knockdown, but Fury prevailed via split decision in the end. considerably, though Fury’s title was not in jeopardy; losing would have been considerably more humiliating than just about coming out on top in a battle that everyone expected him to win.

There will be a significant fight in Saudi Arabia this summer where the undisputed light heavyweight champion will be crowned. On June 1, Artur Beterbiev, the unified titleholder, will face WBA champion Dmitry Bivol, with all four championships up for grabs.