The Ten Worst Performances In Boxing In 2023
Highlights
- Dillon Danis landed only ten punches in fifteen full minutes of boxing, resulting in a disappointing performance and disqualification.
- Errol Spence Jr. had no answers for Terence Crawford's masterful performance, showcasing a lack of skill and offering little offense.
- Regis Prograis lacked the bite and ability to mount an offense during his dominating defeat against Devin Haney.
It's tough for a boxing person to give an MMA fighter serious credit, but it was, in fact, retired MMA fighter Vitor Belfort who said that "The worst thing in life was not to die, but to live in bitterness." For these ten boxers, they turned in some of the most disappointing, most surprising, or just straight up worst performances in the sport of boxing in 2023. Whether they live in bitterness may not be determined yet, but it goes without saying that this year has closed the book on these poor performances, and sadly their stench still lingers on.
10 Dillon Danis Turns A Boxing Match Into An Influencer Fight Farce
Not Like The Bar Was Very High To Begin With
NAME | Dillon Danis |
RECORD | 0-1 (0 KO) |
RESULT | L by DQ |
Whether the reputation is fair or not, one of the highlights of "influencer boxing" is not its wealth of skill and prowess; the main draw is its potential for a train wreck. So it's not like the Logan Paul vs. Dillon Danis fight was chock-full of goodness, ready to set the world of boxing on fire. But Danis, an MMA fighter who converted to boxing for the grudge match, didn't put up much of an offense. According to ESPN, Danis managed to land only ten punches in the first five three-minute rounds. To reiterate: Dillon Danis landed only ten punches in fifteen full minutes of boxing. To top that non-effort off, Danis was penalized not once, but twice for illegal takedowns in a boxing ring, with the first costing him a point and the second straight up disqualifying him,
Fighters, a shovel has been found and the bottom has been dug out once again. There's now bad, and then there's Dillon Denis kinds of bad. Fortunately, when you're the main event of an influencer boxing card, you're still in the bargain-basement territory of influencer boxing,
Circus Of The Stars: Fury Edges Out KSI, Danis Disqualified Against Logan Paul
Another jewel in the cardboard crown of influencer boxing goes down as both the KSi/Tommy Fury and Dillon Danis/Logan Paul fights have controversy.9 Errol Spence Jr. Had No Answers For Terence Crawford's Questions
No "Truth" Bombs Dropped After Crawford's Pugilistic Replies Either
NAME | Errol Spence Jr. |
RECORD | 28-1 (22 KO) |
RESULT | L by UD (79-70, 79-70, 79-70) |
The July 2023 bout between Errol Spence Jr., bringing three of the four welterweight titles to the ring and Terence "Bud" Crawford, with just one little trinket, was exactly what boxing fans wanted: arguably the two best welterweights in the division, refusing to duck each other and put all the gold on the line to determine an undisputed champion. A lot of back and forth was expected in the bout between the two champions.
For what it's worth, Crawford pulled his weight. Spence, seemingly the other top dog in the welterweight division, could not offer anything remotely useful to combat Crawford's double-fisted arsenal and his angled ring generalship. Any time Spence Jr. even tried to mount an offense, Crawford used his high ring IQ to adapt and quell the threat. It was a masterclass in boxing, and unfortunately Errol Spence Jr. had to be the test subject that night. With a rematch clause activated yet without a finalized date, the next quiz question Spence Jr. will have to study for is if he'll have learned anything from the previous assignment, or if this will just be Boxing 102.
8 Regis Prograis Had The Bark, But Lacked The Bite
The Dominating Defeat At The Hands Of Devin Haney Made Up For Haney's Own Lackluster May Outing
NAME | Regis Prograis |
RECORD | 29-2 (24 KO) |
RESULT | L by UD (120-107, 120-107, 120-107) |
As much as the public hates to admit it, one of the reasons we liked to watch "The Jerry Springer Show" is that we would look at the people airing their dirty laundry live, and secretly we would think, "Well, at least I'm not them." Similarly, after a mediocre performance in May against Vasiliy Lomachenko, Devin Haney was saddled with the stench of doubt. Fortunately for him, Prograis's non-performance in December allowed the boxing world to shift their ire off of Haney and think, "Well, at least Haney's no Prograis."
Similar to Crawford/Spence Jr., this bout was another case of Regis Prograis not being there, and Haney firing on all cylinders. On the occasions Prograis attempted to mount an offense, Haney shut him down at every chance, resulting in a eye that began swelling as early as round three, a knockdown in the third round, and a meager 38 punches landed in the entire fight as recorded by CompuBox.
7 Devin Haney's Win Over Vasiliy Lomachenko Left Much To Be Desired
How Great Is A Winning Performance When Half The Boxing Fanbase Thinks The Other Guy Won?
NAME | Devin Haney |
RECORD | 31-0 (15 KO) |
RESULT | W by UD (116-112, 115-113, 115-113) |
It was a great break that Haney gave an A+ performance against Regis Prograis in December, because back in May, many fans and pundits were left wondering if Haney deserved the win against Vasiliy Lomachenko, or if Loma had fought back and dug deep enough to turn the judges' scorecards around. Haney only managed a razor-thin unanimous decision, with judges giving Haney the fight by mere points (116-112, 115-113, 115-113).
Vasiliy Lomachenko had never found himself out of the fight, but really stepped on the gas come the middle of the fight. The crowd was exploding any time Lomachenko landed, which may have held some sway with judges, but the competitive nature of the bout led even ESPN's Mike Coppinger to call the fight a "tough fight to score." All three judges would give a scattering of rounds to both Haney and Lomachenko; despite Haney's strong showing in early rounds, lingering doubts remained questioning if Haney's championship performance was indeed enough, with even fellow lightweight contender Shakur Stevenson saying "Lomachenko should be the undisputed champion. He won. He won that fight."
6 Erickson Lubin Won The Fight But Wasted Everyone's Time
Lubin Actually Landed 53 Fewer Punches Than The Man He Beat
NAME | Erickson Lubin |
RECORD | 26-2 (18 KO) |
RESULT | W by UD (117-111, 116-112, 115-113) |
High school students around the country all seem to have that unified, unexplainable experience: in the last period, as time slowly marches toward the end of the school day, a mysterious happening occurs - the minute hand on the clock seems to go backwards. What could be worse than last period geometry than the clock rewinding time?
It was the same bizarre experience fans felt watching the junior middleweight bout between Erickson Lubin and Jesus Ramos Jr. Time must have seemed to go backwards as the ten-round bout was like suffering through that last period of the day.
Ultimately, Lubin's win finds a spot on this list not only from being aggressively dull, but also providing a second round of "Did the right winner win?" as the judges' unanimous decision was received with a hearty round of boos from the crowd in attendance. Viewers believed that while Ramos Jr.'s performance was pretty weak as well, it was enough to squeak out the win over Lubin. The judges disagreed with cards of 117-111, 116-112, and 115-113. Ultimately, like a last period pop quiz, everyone comes out defeated in this case.
5 Jesus Ramos Jr. Lost That Very Fight Against Erickson Lubin
If You Thought Erickson Lubin's Performance Was Bad...
NAME | Jesus Ramos Jr. |
RECORD | 20-1 (16 KO) |
RESULT | L by UD (117-111, 116-112, 115-113) |
Even though the crowd was firmly in his corner, Jesus Ramos Jr. takes the position below Lubin because according to three of boxing's "finest," Ramos and his superior punch output (barely) took the L in the fight. And though Lubin was able to deflect most of Ramos' offense, Lubin offered very little in retaliation.
And yet Ramos still lost. Reports of the bout claimed Ramos Jr. simply didn't have the urgency to snatch up the late rounds. Ringside reports point to Lubin's ninth and tenth rounds, which may have earned him just enough momentum, along with a well-placed right to Ramos Jr.'s body, that may have swayed critical late rounds in Lubin's favor.
4 Scot England Proved That Age Isn't Always Just A Number
Still, He Pulled Off Something Most Of Us Couldn't Get Close To Accomplishing
NAME | Scot England |
RECORD | 0-1 (0 KO) |
RESULT | L by KO |
If the name Scot England doesn't instantly strike bells of recognition, worry not. Scot England is a welterweight hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, and he just made his pro debut. However, there's a very notable fact about Mr. England that has to be addressed as it pertains to his involvement in boxing: Scot England is making his professional boxing debut at the age of 59.
It went about as well as could be expected.
England was wrecked with the first punch from the 0-6 welterweight opponent Jashawn Hunter. Granted, the entire fight took less than a minute and wound up with England facing the arena lights. But what keeps this from being our top spot is that England managed to do what many boxing fans wished they could do, an achievement that for most boxing fans strictly sits as a pipe dream: he had a professional bout. How many of us wish we could claim the same thing? Scot England actually did it. So while it definitely stands as one of the worst performances of 2023, it was better than you or I accomplished.
3 "King" Ryan Garcia Kneels Before The True Lightweight Crown
Gervonta Davis' Perfect Liver Shot Delayed Its Reaction Well Beyond Garcia's Ten Count
NAME | Ryan Garcia |
RECORD | 24-1 (20 KO) |
RESULT | L by KO |
For the most part, Ryan Garcia's performance against lightweight champion Gervonta Davis was not hideous. It was laudable. Garcia attempted to utilize his natural speed to work his way past Davis' power punches, and although it didn't work all the time, it had some effect. However, Davis had the overall more effective fight plan, using his combination of speed and power to lure Garcia into trap after trap.
It was in the seventh round when things went from bad to worse for Garcia. With a perfectly-placed liver shot from Gervonta Davis, Garcia dropped to a knee in shock and in pain. Those who have been hit in the liver know that it is a pain that is not shaken off easily, and getting up by the count of ten would have been a monumental task for any fighter.
But the specific moment when things hit terminal velocity for Ryan Garcia is that, to many eyes, he did not even try to recover from the liver shot. This, of course, is up to interpretation, and Garcia, for what it's worth, claims he tried, though the punch caused him to be unable to breathe. To many spectators, however, it looked like Garcia simply stopped. Though one only gets one chance to make a good first impression, sometimes it's what you leave behind as a parting shot that defines you.
How Gervonta Davis's Rough Childhood Built Him Up to Today's Boxing Superstar
Tank may be a pound-for-pound great but life wasn't always great. This is how the champ's childhood built him up, and sometimes still brings him down.2 Tyson Fury Runs Head Long Into Francis Ngannou's "Beginner's Luck"
And You Claim You're The Heavyweight Champion?
NAME | Tyson Fury |
RECORD | 35-0 (24 KO) |
RESULT | W by SD (96-93, 95-94, 94-95) |
It can be somewhat embarassing to discover that you are, unintentionally, training your replacement. On his first day in the heavyweight ranks of boxing, retired MMA fighter Francis Ngannou spanked the WBC heavyweight champ, knocked him down in the third round, and herded a throng of boxing fans into cheering for the MMA guy.
It's crystal clear that Fury looked past Ngannou. Maybe he didn't bother to train 100% or wanted to chase the Usyk contract. Maybe Fury, like us, saw a chunky, retired MMA dude. And maybe, just maybe, we were all eating humble pie that evening in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ngannou went from written off to player in the heavyweight division, and it came at the cost of some of Tyson Fury's immense bravado.
Despite Losing, Francis Ngannou Disrupts The Narrative With Performance Against Tyson Fury
Everyone expected the easiest of nights for Tyson Fury. Nobody informed Francis Ngannou of this.1 Jermell Charlo's Stand-And-Deliver-Nothing Performance Against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez
2023's Most Flagrant Display Of Showing Up To Collect A Paycheck
NAME | Jermell Charlo |
RECORD | 35-2-1 (19 KO) |
RESULT | L by UD (119-108, 118-109, 118-109) |
In the leadup to his bout with the man who arguably stands as the current face of boxing, Jermell "Iron Man" Charlo was highly commended for climbing up not one, but two weight classes up to super middleweight to take on the undisputed champion. It was a definite weight encumbrance, but Charlo was certain he could handle it with the athletic capability he carried to become undisputed champion in his own weight class. The product that was promised, however, was far from the product that was delivered.
Instead, Canelo shut Charlo out and shut Charlo down. Any offense was neutralized by Canelo's counters, with additional body work to boot. The compilation of body work eventually chopped down Charlo, with his legs giving way in the seventh round. After that knockdown, it seemed like Charlo essentially gave up trying, instead warm in the embrace of the guaranteed $1.5 million dollar bills that would be hugging his bank account moments later. Towards the end of the fight, Canelo was even mildly frustrated that Charlo's lack of activity prevented him from sticking to his counter-heavy game plan.
