30 Days in Boxing: October Decisions and Results
The month of October 2023 was a wild ride for boxing fans with a stacked event calendar. We saw championship bouts, exhibition fights and intense media coverage of the subsequent results.
Leigh Wood Triumphs in Sheffield
The British featherweight division can be a congested affair with many fantastic fighters all vying for success at any given moment. Two of the elite boxers, Leigh Wood and Josh Warrington, representing two Northern English towns, met in Sheffield, equidistant from Nottingham and Leeds.
The bout played out according to the form book as Wood made it two consecutive victories while Warrington slumped to the canvas in the seventh round. The future is bright for Nottingham’s own as he is set for bigger fights off the back of this result.
Harper Retains Belts via Draw
The Wood-Warrington card wasn’t just about the main event, as the fans in attendance also got to see a championship fight with the WBA and WBO female super welterweight titles hanging in the balance.
Terri Harper entered the bout as the champ and left the same, albeit without a win. The challenger was the First Lady of boxing, Cecilia Brækhus. The match was adjudged to be a majority draw at the end of 10 rounds. Harper tightened her grip on the division while the Norwegian showed she’s still relevant even at the age of 42.
Tommy Fury Beats KSI
The social media crossover boxing scene was busy with the PRIME card from Misfits Boxing and DAZN. KSI headlined the show as he fought Tommy Fury on a night when the lines between entertainment and combat sports were well and truly blurred at the spectacle trying to make online boxing news.
The YouTuber was handed his first professional loss by the younger Fury brother across a six-round fight that went to the judges. KSI contested that Tommy wasn’t landing enough punches. While one judge initially gave the fight to the social media man, he would later change his mind so that Fury would be awarded a unanimous decision instead of a majority.
Tyson Fury Beats Ngannou
The biggest heavyweight crossover fight transpired in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as Tyson Fury defeated Francis Ngannou courtesy of a split decision. The Cameroonian even knocked down Fury during the fight.
After this, there’s been a lot of speculation as to whether the judges could have gone the other way. The WBC has since announced that it will be listing the debuting fighter in its top 10 rankings. Ngannou is now widely expected to pursue a boxing career, with Eddie Hearn even hinting at a fight with Anthony Joshua in heavyweight boxing news. However, Ngannou may need to consider his contractual obligations to the PFL.
Richardson Wins Title at BKFC 52
The BKFC 52 card in mid-October was headlined by Reggie Barnett, Jr. and Keith Richardson. The bantamweight championship changed hands as Keith Richardson scored a KO victory to extend his unbeaten run in bare-knuckle boxing to 4-0 and win the title belt. Barnett, Jr. has been very quiet in the aftermath of the fight but will be expected to contest a re-match for the championship in the near future.
Usyk-Dubois Result Upheld After Appeal
Just before October, Oleksandr Usyk defended his heavyweight title against Daniel Dubois. The only problem was that on the night in Wrocław, Poland, Usyk went down after a punch was deemed to be a low blow. Since then, there’s been an awful amount of conjecture about where the punch actually landed, which dominated many Boxing News Latest Headlines at the time – with the Dubois camp lodging a formal appeal to the relevant bodies. In mid-October, the process came to an abrupt end as the complaint was rejected.
Since then, Dubois has enjoyed a much more active media following, as some pundits claim he could have won the fight. Whether or not he will get another title fight in the near future is up for discussion, but he certainly proved he’s ready for these big fights
A Look Ahead
Taylor is Confident About Cameron Re-match
The re-match between Chantelle Cameron and Katie Taylor is on for November. In the build-up to the fight, the Irishwoman spoke to the media. While remaining amicable throughout, she stated that she was confident of securing a win in front of the home crowd in Dublin, Ireland. Later, she added that winning this fight would help her secure a better legacy if she could avenge her singular career loss to date.
Chantelle Cameron has also been relatively reserved during the build-up, noting that she understands it will be an emotional night for Taylor as she will want revenge for the prior result. She still does, however, believe that Katie is the best women’s boxer of all time.
Serrano Continues to Set Trends
Amanda Serrano’s fight with Danila Ramos made history for having three-minute rounds, which were before reserved for men’s boxing. Serrano retained her titles in the history-making fight while continuing to smash glass ceilings throughout combat sports as more and more female boxers will demand three-minute rounds going forward.
Serrano, however, has continued her silence on a potential re-match with Katie Taylor after she lost to the Irishwoman back in April 2022. Should both women be successful in their fights in November, then the conversation could be back on the table.
Rowdy Bec Gets Championship Re-Match
‘Rowdy’ Bec Rawlings was announced by the BKFC as the challenger for the Women’s Flyweight Championship at BKFC 56. This is a re-match with Christine Ferea, as the two fought at BKFC 41 in April 2023.
The former UFC and Bellator MMA star re-joined the BKFC after three years out and has been down on her luck, having lost her last two fights since returning. She even gained notoriety when she refused to shake Britain Hart’s hand after a fight. While she didn’t impress her opponent, she certainly gained interest from the wider combat sports world.
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