Boxing in 2020: Top 3 bouts to jumpstart the new year

With 2019 in the books, here are the three bouts that offer the potential for the most action in 2020. They are sure to start the new year right.

It’s now 2020, and that means a fresh start for boxing. There was a lot of success to celebrate in 2019, but how will the new year stack up in comparison? If the first few months are any indication, then it should start with a bang.

The first significant action of 2020 goes down on Friday, Jan. 10, and features Claressa Shields against Ivana Habazin for the WBO and WBC super welterweight titles. This fight was supposed to happen in October but was canceled after Shield’s brother attacked and seriously injured Habazin’s trainer James Ali Bashir.

It’s a bout surrounded in drama, but Habazin doesn’t have the credentials to pose much of a challenge to Shields. For that reason, it lacks the muster to be a competitive contest.

That same weekend former WBO super welterweight champion Jaime Munguia moves up to middleweight to fight former title challenger Gary O’Sullivan. It’s a significant moment in Munguia’s career, but O’Sullivan’s poor performances against prime competition make this contest uneventful.

On Jan. 18, former light heavyweight champion Eleider Alvarez meets Michael Seals. Alvarez is an elite fighter in the division, but he’s 35, and Seals is 37 years old. With both men at an advanced age, neither is likely to regain a top position in the division after this fight.

All of these matchups are worth watching, but they’re not the most intriguing of the new year. This list takes a closer look at the three bouts that should be the most engaging and contentious. There’s also the chance that one of these matches could be an early Fight of the Year frontrunner.

Pay attention and make sure to watch these fights when they occur early on in 2020.