The year in boxing in 2025 comes down to just one fight and the forthcoming news that Zuffa Boxing is coming and attempting to make changes to the inudstry.
Of course, the fight was Terence Crawford-Canelo Alvarez this past September in Las Vegas. Crawford won the fight and retired later in 2025 as part of a theatrical production in which he protested paying a sanctioning fee which is an industry standard. He then was stripped of the belt he won in September. Later that week, the first Congressional Hearing on the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act jumped on this false narrative to argue the need for a change to the Ali Act. Then, Crawford retired a week or so later.
Certainly, Crawford will be back. There’s no way he leaves boxing now that there’s more money to be made (allegedly) with Zuffa Boxing.
There were inferences at the beginning of the year including TKO mouthpiece Mark Shapiro with Pat MacAfee at The Super Bowl.
The most pertinent part of the new law is that it would allow Zuffa Boxing the chance to operate as promoter and sanctioning body granting it the right to acknowledge just one titleholder for its company. The Universal Boxing Organization concept is mainly an ideal for Zuffa Boxing, although at some point, other companies might attempt it. But, it would allow for Zuffa Boxing to create a “UFC for Boxing” in which it would have its own universe without dealing with others.
Proponents of the new bill include Andy Foster of the California State Athletic Commission. Prior to the congressional hearing, the state of California voted to support the changes to the existing law. He has touted the insurance and mandatory pay for boxers. While admirable, it’s clear that this could have been done without the need to create UBOs.
It’s worthy to note that not many people watched the hearing which may be rammed through by a Republican majority in both the Congress and Senate then signed by the president who is personal friends with TKO’s Dana White.
While we can discuss the end of Top Rank on ESPN, the Jake Paul fight, Gervonta Davis’ legal issues, the return of Manny Pacquiao and the bomb that was the Times Square Boxing Card featuring Ryan Garcia, 2025 will be marked by a potential seismic shift in the industry in 2026.
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