Taylor vs Serrano, Marshall vs Shields and more: Women’s boxing set to steal the show in 2022…
- Lewis Oldham
- 21 January 2022
This year is huge for the likes of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, but women’s boxing is primed to outshine everything else in 2022…
Despite the limitations brought about by Covid-19, 2021 still managed to be a strong year for boxing.
But now *hopefully* with most of these restrictions out of the way, 2022 is set to be a mammoth year for the sport.
There are exciting match-ups to be found in men's boxing. This mostly revolves around the heavyweight title scene with Tyson Fury-Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua-Oleksandr Usyk II in the pipeline.
The lightweight division is also on fire at the moment after George Kambosos Jr shocked the world to take Teofimo Lopez's belts.
The likes of Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney and Vasily Lomachenko are all vying for the titles and the hope is that the top contenders fight each other throughout the year.
There is also the prospect of 2022 being the year boxing fans finally get gift-wrapped the highly anticipated fight between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.
Hearn leading the way
Despite all of this, women's boxing is capable of surpassing anything from the men's side.
A big complaint that purists have is that not enough mega fights happen. Either that or they happen too late, as is the case with Amir Khan vs Kell Brook.
Eddie Hearn has been a major advocate of women's boxing and one of his main 2021 successes was his 'Road to Undisputed' tournament.
The three-bout competition will crown an undisputed world super lightweight champion. Chantelle Cameron and Kali Reis advanced to the final as they beat Mary McGee and Jessica Camara respectively.
Best Fights of 2021;
— 𝙏𝙖𝙝𝙟 𝙍. (@BoxingJournaIs) December 27, 2021
Chantelle Cameron UD10 Mary McGee.
10/30/2021.
Full Highlights.https://t.co/oVL6OCGti8 pic.twitter.com/LOZIn9LtEF
Cameron and Reis are now set to battle it out for all of the belts. The tournament was a brilliant idea and it was something that should be adopted throughout the sport.
A couple of issues with boxing at the moment is that there are too many belts and the champions often avoid the other titleholders.
But tournaments like Matchroom's Road to Undisputed is a great way to avoid this while putting on entertaining world title bouts in the process.
Meanwhile, Sky Sports 2.0 are to deliver the elusive fight between middleweight world champions Savannah Marshall and Claressa Shields in another undisputed match-up.
Marshall previously beat Shields as an amateur and they have been chasing one another for a while. It was once difficult to make, but they are now both signed with Sky Sports and BOXXER.
The two fighters are unquestionably the best in their weight class and there is legitimate bad blood between the pair.
This will make for a superb fight as both will be desperate to win. This clash may well define their careers and it is a bout you cannot afford to miss.
Cameron-Reis and Marshall-Shields are tantalising and in any other year, they would be difficult to match in terms of anticipation and pure quality.
Taylor vs Serrano super-fight
But 2022 is different as both will be topped by Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano.
This fight has been talked about for years and barring any late hitches, we are finally getting it.
As it often is with boxing, money has come in the way of it happening previously. But the unconventional promotional pair of Hearn and YouTuber Jake Paul are the ones putting this together.
They have a grand vision in mind as they are planning to host this enticing clash at Madison Square Garden in the next couple of months.
Taylor and Serrano cannot be praised enough for what they have done for women's boxing. Both have been at the forefront as they have legitimised the female side of the sport.
They are the best of the best as pound for pound operators and now we are all desperate to find out who is better.
It also goes to show how women's boxing has come that no one is batting an eyelid that this fight is taking place at Maddison Square Garden.
Taylor and Serrano have worked tirelessly for this spotlight and this stage is befitting of the biggest women's fight of all time.
These are the fights we know are close to being confirmed. Depending on the Taylor-Serrano outcome, the 'Bray Bomber' may also rematch Jessica McCaskill this year.
After they drew at Fight Camp in 2020, Terri Harper and Natasha Jonas could face off again as they have both made the step up to lightweight.
All of these fights are exciting and hopefully, they all do happen. As women's boxing continues to make strides and grow, these are the level of bouts that will stimulate the remaining naysayers.
Last year was notable for female fighters but 2022 will be when they make a statement and capitalise on the attention on them.
Do not sleep on women's boxing this year, because you will be making a grave mistake if you do…
