The year of the heavyweight

From Usyk’s epic encounters with Fury to Dubois’s shocking and brutal win over Joshua, the sport’s biggest hitters served up a vintage 12 months in the ring

- Steve Bunce

Three world heavyweight title fights, fortunes earned, critics silenced, 96,000 at Wembley, one of the most dramatic rounds and one of the great champions left standing proudly at the end. It was a good year for the heavyweights in 2024.

At the very top, Oleksandr Usyk looks untouchable now, holding three of the four recognised belts; Daniel Dubois shocked the boxing world when he dropped and stopped Anthony Joshua in September at Wembley Stadium to keep the fourth version. It was another sold-out stadium fight for the heavyweight world championship between two British boxers.

Usyk and Fury fought each other to a physical and emotional standstill over 24 rounds of exceptional craft in Riyadh, separated by seven months and a dozen heavyweight brawls. The debate about Usyk’s position in the heavyweight pantheon is raging, distracting in some ways from his formidable year. Meanwhile, Fury still believes he won both fights.

The chasing pack is arguably led by Joseph Parker, who beat Zhilei Zhang in Riyadh. Joshua had knocked out Francis Ngannou in March before the Dubois loss. Agit Kabayel stopped the Cuban enigma Frank Sanchez in the seventh round; Sanchez had been unbeaten in 24 fights. Kabayel is too often ignored in these conversations and that is an error. Zhang knocked out Deontay Wilder in June, and he and Kabayel fight for the WBC interim title in March, after Parker fights Dubois in February. The matches are relentless.