- The rise of Anthony Joshua
Britain has a rising heavyweight star on its hands. Drawing big crowds, he’s fought five times in 2015, blitzing most of them quickly, including former world title challenger Kevin Johnson and then in December having a thrilling British title rumble with Dillian Whyte.
- Michael Conlan wins amateur gold
Conlan is a superb boxer. He finished a stellar year qualifying for the Olympic Games, winning the European championships and then becoming Ireland’s first male amateur World championship gold medallist. “The Conor McGregor of boxing,” he dubbed himself, not without reason.
- The magnificent Smiths
Liam Smith became the first of his boxing brothers to become a world champion when he won the WBO super-welterweight crown. With Callum Smith knocking out Rocky Fielding in a round to win the British title, he became the fourth Smith sibling to win the Lonsdale belt. Wonderful achievements for the toughest family in Britain.
- Roman Gonzalez menaces the flyweights
Flyweights rarely get much attention but Roman Gonzalez has managed to bring the division to the forefront of fans’ attention, winning three times in 2015 including an outstanding performance against Brian Viloria at Madison Square Garden. Gonzalez is skilled, aggressive and a joy to watch.
- James DeGale makes history
DeGale became the first GB boxing Olympic gold medallist to win a professional world title when he beat the very tricky Andre Dirrell for the IBF super-middleweight crown in Boston.
- Anthony Crolla wins world title
Almost the perfect Christmas story, a year ago Crolla foiled a burglary in his neighbour’s house only to be hit over the head with a concrete slab. It fractured his skull and left his career in doubt. In 2015 he got his dream shot at the WBA lightweight title only to draw controversially with Darleys Perez. He got the rematch and made sure of victory, completing the fairytale with a spectacular body shot knockout.
- Gennady Golovkin unifies titles
Gennady Golovkin is a nightmare for any middleweight out there. He fought three times in 2015 with his trademark brutality, culminating with a dissection of David Lemieux to unify the IBF and WBA titles. Now he’s all set for a mega-fight with Saul Alvarez.
- Saul Alvarez versus Miguel Cotto
Two tremendous fighters clashed in the second biggest fight of the year. Miguel Cotto, experienced, brilliant at times brought the best out of the bigger, heavier handed Mexican star in an excellent 12-round contest.
- Tyson Fury upsets Wladimir Klitschko
Klitschko has been the world’s leading heavyweight for a decade. Fury brought madcap mayhem to Dusseldorf and in the process unseated the heavyweight king with an inspired, if idiosyncratic performance. No one expected Fury to win on points in Germany. But Tyson did just that.
- Floyd Mayweather makes fight with Manny Pacquiao
It’s easy to forget, in the underwhelming aftermath of the fight itself, how big a deal it was when Mayweather actually secured the fight with Pacquiao. The biggest event in boxing bar none, the anticipation for it was off the charts. There was a mad scrum just to get into the weigh in, which filled a stadium itself and the gloriously surreal sight of witnessing Manny Pacquiao and Mayweather share a stage and then finally the ring.
