FanSided’s 2020 boxing awards and greatest moments of the year

Boxing in 2020 was a rollercoaster due to the pandemic and its comeback with enhanced safety measures. Here are some of boxing’s outliers from the year.

Boxing in 2020 will be remembered because of the impact the pandemic had on the sport and life. COVID-19 briefly stopped boxing, but it came back in the summer and continued throughout the year.

The historic rematch between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder was supposed to set to tone for boxing in 2020. FanSided made that observation in our 2019 boxing awards list, yet the pandemic’s emergence changed everything.

With no sports from March until June, boxing’s future for the remainder of the year was in limbo, along with so many other elements. Those months were a sad, isolated time, however, things slightly improved at the start of summer.

Top Rank and ESPN and “the bubble” brought boxing back in June. It wasn’t long before PBC, FOX, Showtime, Matchroom, DAZN, and others returned to the ring.

The ebb and flow of boxing’s presence didn’t deter fans from the sport. The last few months of the year generated some of the biggest boxing events of the year. Fans are starting to make their way back into arenas, but social media and technology apps like Zoom helped the sport carry on remotely. We’re not out of the woods yet in terms of COVD-19, although things are looking up for 2021.

Many fights were canceled or impossible to make due to a lack of funds or travel restrictions. Still, magnificent bouts like Teofimo Lopez vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko, Gervonta Davis vs. Leo Santa Cruz, and the exhibition between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. grabbed the spotlight and helped the sport continue to grow.

Some of these contests will be a part of the awards. Still, there are numerous fights, boxers, and individuals behind the scenes that deserve tons of credit. We honor them here with our boxing awards for 2020.