We witnessed some breath-taking bouts in 2019, including plenty of non-title boxing fights. There were upsets and surprises in equal measure, but some of the action will be remembered for years. We look at some of the most exciting fights that took place between January and December 2019, not necessarily in any particular order.

Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua (June 1)

The world of boxing had known upsets, but none greater than underrated Hasim Rahman flooring Lennox Lewis in 2001. Andy Ruiz Jr. was picked as a last-minute replacement for Jarrell Miller to face the then WBA/WBO/IBF heavyweight defending champion. Very little was expected of Ruiz, as most fans expected a routine win for Joshua. It wasn’t to be as Ruiz beat the fancied champion in the seventh round for the biggest upset of the century. Joshua would attain his revenge in Saudi Arabia later in December, but Andy Ruiz Jr. had built his name.

Naoya Inoue vs. Nonito Donaire (July 7)

The Inoue-Donaire reminded everyone of how dramatic a boxing match can be. It was short of the twists and turns witnessed in the Ruiz-Joshua bout, but for the 36 minutes the young Inoue took on an experienced Donaire could easily pass as the best boxing moments of the year. Donaire was less than 10 days short of his 37th birthday, but he showed how dangerous his left hook is as he backed the young Inoue down repeatedly. In the end, Inoue won it, but was left nursing a broken orbital.

Errol Spence Jr.  vs. Shawn Porter (Sept 28)

This was a fight pitting two totally different prospects. The young Spence touted as the king of PBC welterweights was going up against a veteran in the game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Earlier in March, Porter had defeated Yordenis Ugas in what remains controversial to date, but in this September night Porter activated his beast mode. He gave Spence a scare with a wave of rough-ups, but the tactical prodigy took his moment with a vicious left that took Porter to the floor on the 11th round.

Errol Spence Jr. vs. Shawn Porter (Sept 28)

This was a fight pitting two totally different prospects. The young Spence touted as the king of PBC welterweights was going up against a veteran in the game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Earlier in March, Porter had defeated Yordenis Ugas in what remains controversial to date, but in this September night Porter activated his beast mode. He gave Spence a scare with a wave of rough-ups, but the tactical prodigy took his moment with a vicious left that took Porter to the floor on the 11th round.

Daniel Roman vs. TJ Doheny (April 26)

It took four good months for boxing fans to witness something of this sort since the beginning of 2019. This was a unification fight where the two boxers were putting their 122-pound titles on the line in Inglewood, California. Roman and Doheny gave a starved audience a tremendous experience, with Doheny falling a couple of times in the second and eleventh rounds. His incredible resilience of containing the younger Roman meant that only a majority decision would give Roman the win to unify the IBF and WBA titles.

Josh Taylor vs. Regis Prograis (Oct 26)

Interestingly, this fight almost never happened after Prograis threatened to withdraw from the World Boxing Super Series tournament. After being saved by the matchroom, the duo did not disappoint when they took to the ring. The fans had hoped for a competitive match, and that is what Taylor-Prograis served. The fight took place in London, meaning that Taylor, a Scotsman enjoyed more backing from the crowd. He went on to win it via a majority decision, but Prograis did not accept the outcome immediately, claiming the fight was “pretty even”.