Boxing Awards: Countdown to 2024’s Top 5 Strongest Shows

Would Paul R. Jones: With awards season in full swing and 2024 in store, I’m counting down the top 5 boxing performances of 2024 and handing out the hardware to honor the fighters who got us here.

(⚠WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES OF BOXES THAT SOME READERS MAY DISTURB. VIEWER DISCRETION IS RECOMMENDED.)

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Photo © DAZN on Ks
NOMINATED: BEKTEMIR MELIKUZIEV

• Date: 20.04.2024
• Place: Barclays Center (Brooklyn, New York)

ranked candidate, BEKTEMIR MELIKUZIEVand undefeated challenger, PIERRE HUBERT DIBOMBE, ended in April on HANEI vs. GARCIA undercard for the VBA Intercontinental Super Middleweight Title. What followed was a bloody mess, partly because MELIKUZIEV and DIBOMBE suffered deep cuts over their eyes, caused by accidental headbutts and elbows exchanged in close quarters. Although DIBOMBE suffered a manageable cut in the first round, MELIKUZIEV’s gruesome cut in the 5th stanza, thanks to a nasty clash of heads with DIBOMBE, was far worse, leaving the self-proclaimed “BULLYER” bleeding profusely from his eyelid for the rest of the fight. Fortunately for MELIKUZIEV, he had plenty of money in the early rounds and was comfortably ahead when he was stopped in the 8th round by the ringside doctor due to an accidental headbutt. And it was no surprise when MELIKUZIEV won by technical unanimous decision over DIBOMBE when the final results were read.

No. 4. THE MOST INTELLIGENT PERFORMANCE

Photo © World Boxing Association/@vbabokingofficial

NOMINATED: JOHNNY CARROLL

• Date: 24.07.2024
• Location: IBA Colosseum (Serpukhov, RUS)

In a fun fight against a tough underdog, JTHAT CARROLLagainst former Olympic gold medalist, ALBERT BATIRGAZIEVfor the WBA (Interim) super welterweight title, CARROLL started off hot during the first quarter of the fight, even buzzing BATIRGAZIEV badly in the 3rd round. However, for the rest of the fight, BATIRGAZIEV systematically battered CARROLL, hitting CARROLL to the head and body, and eventually ended the Irishman’s night in the 9th round with wild body shots.

After the fight, CARROLL said: “I’m going to have to put my modeling career back for a while. That’s an understatement considering the boxing transformation BATIRGAZIEV gave CARROL. For CARROLL’s bravery and his ability to persevere despite having both of his eyes nearly shut – the likes of which we haven’t seen since GUERRA vs BERT 2012 – CARROLL earns the #4 spot on our list.

Photo © Jae C. Hong/AP

No. 3. THE MOST DIFFICULT PERFORMANCE

Photo © NETFLIX
🥉3. PLACE: AMANDA SERRANO

• Date: NOVEMBER 24, 2024
• Venue: AT&T STADIUM (ARLINGTON, TX)

Our third place, AMANDA SERRANOpushed him to the max TAYLOR VS. SERRANO – II (consensus FIGHT OF THE YEAR in women’s boxing), fights KATIE TAILOR with a nasty cut over his right eye for the last 3 rounds. Although SERRANO struggled against TAILOR throughout his 10-rounder, SERRANO’s ability to step up his performance in the clutch stood out — with the Boricue legend stopping 285 of his 734 punches (39%, per COMPUBOX) after taking a punch head from TAILOR in the 8th round. And with 4 world titles on the line, and despite struggling with blood constantly seeping into her eyes during the championship rounds, SERRANO proved her mettle once again here when she came within a hair’s breadth of a controversial loss to TAILOR (score: 95 -94 (three times)) – a struggle that many are believed that SERRANO had won.

No. 2. FAVORITE PERFORMANCE

Photo © Esther Lin/PBC
🥈SECOND: SEBASTIAN FUNDORA

• Date: 30.03.2024
• Venue: T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas, NV)

Signing up at number 2 on our countdown is late fill, SEBASTIAN FUNDORAwho defeated the former WBO world champion, TIM TSZIU, split decision in March, which represented half of the bloodiest battle of 2024. TSZIU vs. FUNDORA.

Photo © Esther Lin/PBC

Despite having nasty cuts and bleeding covering his face and body, and at times obscuring his vision, including FUNDORA’s nose and mouth leaking like a faucet — ‘THE TOWERING INFERNO’ managed to fire over 700 of a combined 1,100 blows exchanged in this one bo . Equally important, FUNDORA’s history-making victory over TSZIU by split decision to become the Unified World Super Featherweight Champion (WBC/WBO) helped give the current FIGHT OF THE YEAR contender a deserving second-place finish. A match that left fans looking for a rematch of this ‘bloody-good’ affair.

No. 1. FAVORITE PERFORMANCE

Photo © @MIKAELALAUREN76/Instagram

🏆WINNER: MICHAELA LAUREN

• Date: 30.11.2024
• Venue: Hotel InterContinental (Vienna, AUST)

Finally, the most daring performance of 2024 came from former world champion, MICHAELA LAURENfrom Sweden. In the November fight for the championship against the current title, MICHAEL KOTASKOV48-year-old LAUREN proved that she really is a “warrior”, fighting until the last bell despite the terrible swelling of her face. LAUREN’s swelling reportedly stemmed from a crack in her skull, which was the result of several accidental headbutts delivered as early as the 1st round.

To make matters worse, the younger KOTASKOVA beat up LAUREN with the cumulative effects of KOTASKOVA’s punches and accidental headbutts, leaving LAUREN’s face virtually unrecognizable after the match, reminiscent of a non-central character in The Elephant Man.

Although LAUREN said after the fight that she “looked (looked) like a show freak,” her bravery is undeniable, as she fought an undefeated and world-ranked contender 13 years her junior, at an age when more people are worried about their 401Xs than which is the leather trade. And for these reasons, as well as the significant physical day endured by MICHAELA LAUREN, she tops the list with THE HOTTEST SHOW OF THE YEAR! 

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About the author:

Paul R. Jones! is a longtime boxing writer and ringside photographer for Boxing News 24. Scientist by day and writer by night, he covers the funny, quirky and absurd in the sport of boxing. His articles, photographs and commentary have appeared in many online media outlets (such as Booking News 24/7, Round bi Round Booking, Booking Insider and Medium.com), as well as in print and scholarly journals.
Send him an email or tip at prjones1@hotmail.com.