Five best boxing performances of 2022 including the brutal Tyson Fury, the skillful Oleksandr Usyk and the classy Claressa Shields

BOXING at its best is two equally powerful heroes going head-to-head against each other for as many rounds as possible.

But occasionally one side of the show puts on such a sublime performance that what looks like a 50/50 nail biter on paper turns into a one-page walk in the park.

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In 2022, we’ve sat down for dozens of hard-to-name fights.

And we were treated to some humdingers that went all the way to the wire.

But on a few spectacular occasions, a warrior had too much skill, strength, or spirit for his rival and made his fight a formality.

SunSport takes a look at the top five individual performances of 2022…

Jack Catterall vs Josh Taylor – February 26th

Scotland’s tartan tornado was set to rip into his hometown show, knocking out understated southpaw Catterall.

But the Manchester southpaw put on a masterclass in boxing, winning almost every round in the 20-20 eyes of all the sane people watching.

But scandalous strikes from Ian John Lewis and Victor Loughlin robbed Catterall of the win and handed Taylor a poisoned win.

The bitter rivalry is now almost a year old and still neither man has returned to the ring but hopefully it will be settled in February.

Claressa Shields vs. Savannah Marshall – October 15

This was a decades-old rivalry, dating back to an amateur fight in 2012 that Hartlepool’s Marshall won.

It was to be an affair in which the lumbering Briton would pose a serious threat to the smaller two-time Olympic queen.

Instead, Shields danced in the ring like Queen B Beyonce and ravaged Marshall like Queen Boudica.

Shields has garnered some criticism for calling herself the greatest woman of all time. But the nickname GWOAT fits perfectly now.

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Kell Brook vs Amir Khan – February 19

Both brilliant British welterweight heroes were well past their prime, with a combined age of over 70 years. As a result, neutral fans struggled to pick a winner.

But Brook came out utterly dominating the decades-long rival who had made him feel underappreciated and disrespected.

Sheffield star Brook’s sensational sixth-round stoppage will hopefully be the last action we’ll ever see these two men in a boxing ring.

…Especially when Brook was treated as a B-side and had to jump through hoops surrounding the 149-pound catch weight and cruel rehydration clause and potential penalties.

It was a retirement moment almost as perfect as Carl Froch’s.

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Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II – September 20th

AJ greatly improved on his initial display against the Ukraine southpaw.

But he was still outwitted, overwhelmed and overwhelmed by the absolute sensation.

The former undisputed cruiserweight king again bullied a man who was four inches taller and almost two heavier.

It’s a testament to Usyk’s skill and resilience that he rarely tries to stop his heavyweight opponents, but manages to be in almost complete control and never in danger when mixing it up with giants.

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Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte – April 23

The Brixton body snatcher had been waiting for his WBC heavyweight title for so long that Britain was expecting something special… a slugfest worthy of the 94,000 tickets sold to unwrap Wembley.

But the hulking Gypsy King kept his KO streak going by detonating a nauseating uppercut that felled Whyte like an oak.

Mandatory World Cup title defenses – especially in the top division – should not be as easy as the showman made it look.

It was impressive enough to even plaster the last bogus retirement he revealed shortly after.

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