BERNSTEIN ON BOXING By Al Bernstein The Year To Come I t is fairly well-known that I will never predict a winner for a boxing match I’m announcing. I just don’t believe in it. I am perfectly happy, however, to make other predictions, and I have a spate of them for the year 2025. Consider this your guidepost to the coming year in boxing.
Andy Cruz will go from 4-0 to title contention in the lightweight division by the end of the year. He is a unique talent and he’s fighting experienced foes. We will see virtually every important match we yearn for in women’s boxing this year. I know that because women’s boxing does that every year. It is remarkable. The Carlos Adames vs. Hamzah Sheeraz title match will be a catalyst to more excitement in the middleweight division this year. It is a fascinating fight.
Al says women’s boxing will deliver again in 2025, including Taylor- Serrano III.
The first three months of this year will be the most exciting first quarter of any year for boxing fans in decades. The February 22 card headlined by Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol will set a new standard for promoters. That show goes seven deep in exciting and meaningful fights. There are four title fights plus three more important bouts in different weight divisions. At some point this year, Nick Ball will be in a fight that it looks like he absolutely can’t win … and he will win. Naoya Inoue will fight Junto Nakatani by year’s end. It will be an epic battle in the ring and the biggest fight Japan has ever had. I think it will also resonate well in the rest of the world. The over/under is three on how many major fighters in the prime of their careers will post on social media that they are retiring … and unretire within two weeks to announce a new fight. Alexis Rocha and Raul Curiel will fight a rematch and it will be just as good as the first one. The 140-pound division will continue to produce great fights, with champions changing at an alarming rate. The division has more depth than any other in boxing.
promotional group were the primary force for getting Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren together, they will continue to work together even without the Saudi involvement. It has been beneficial to both of them and they have worked together well. Finally, the easiest prediction for the year. No matter what happens in the sport in 2025, some sports media pundits (especially likely in America) will say loudly and decisively that boxing is dead. They will, of course, be wrong. The sport is often damaged, sometimes by self-inflicted wounds, but it doesn’t die. I assure you there will be prediction columns like this one being written about the year 2026. So, enjoy boxing in 2025. As always, it will be interesting. Hall of Fame broadcaster Al Bernstein has been the voice of boxing on ESPN, then Showtime. He now announces the Big Time Boxing USA series on DAZN and hosts his own YouTube show.
The over/under is 2 1/2 on how many A-side fighters are saved by referees in major fights this year.
Sandy Ryan will be a champion again before the year ends.
Adrien Broner will not attend any of my music shows in Las Vegas.
By the end of 2025, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez will already have the resume necessary for induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He will just need to take care of that pesky detail of finishing the last 10 years or so of his career. The new Grand Prix tournament for young prospects around the world – recently announced by the WBC (with the backing of Turki Alalshikh) and focusing on the featherweight, junior welterweight, middleweight and heavyweight divisions – is going to be a fascinating and successful innovation. Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano will complete their trilogy with yet another exciting match, and it will be remembered as one of the best trilogies in boxing history.
The next wave of heavyweights – Agit Kabayel, Martin Bakole and Lenier Pero – will all have a productive year in 2025. Promotional companies like MVP, Overtime, Salita Promotions, Red Owl Boxing and others will continue to make important contributions to boxing with shows that provide opportunities to fighters on all levels. The Brandon Figueroa-Stephen Fulton rematch will be as exciting as the first fight. For that to happen, though, Fulton must rebound from recent struggles. Otherwise, the pressure from Figueroa will eat him up.
The Beterbiev-Bivol rematch headlines the first “mega” pay-per- view card of 2025.
Though the resources of Turki Alalshikh and his Riyadh Season
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