Boxing in the 2000s


Boxing in the 2000s includes notable events about boxing which occurred between 2000 and 2009.

Lists of notable fights and other key news by year

2000

February

March

April

June

July

August

September

November

December

2001

January

March

April

  • April 7 - After a fourteen-minute introduction, Naseem Hamed loses to Marco Antonio Barrera by unanimous decision. Barrera, then known as a brawler, surprisingly easily out-boxed Hamed, who later retired after his next bout.
  • April 22 - Hasim Rahman defeats Lennox Lewis via 5th-round KO in South Africa and wins the WBC and IBF heavyweight titles. Rahman lands a hard right hand for the upset knockout.

May

June

September

November

December

  • December 15 - John Ruiz and Evander Holyfield fought to a draw for the WBA Heavyweight Championship

2002

January

February

March

April

May

  • May 18 - Micky Ward defeats Arturo Gatti in a very competitive non-title light welterweight bout. After getting knocked down in the ninth round Gatti came back and traded power punches with Ward. The fight was later named the 2002 [Ring Magazine fight of the year|Ring Magazine fight of the year].

June

July

September

November

  • November 23 - Arturo Gatti defeats Mickey Ward by unanimous decision in their second fight

December

2003

January

March

June

  • June 21 - Lennox Lewis defends his title as he defeats Vitali Klitschko by technical knockout in 6 due to a cut in Klitschko's left eye. Klitschko was up on all of the scorecards at the time of the stoppage. There is talk of a rematch, but Lewis instead retires.

July

  • July 12 - Ricardo Mayorga successfully defends his WBA and WBC welterweight belts as he defeats Vernon Forrest by controversial majority decision.
  • July 17 - Jeff Lacy defeats Richard Grant to win the vacant NABA Super Middleweight title as well as the USBA and WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight titles.

September

November

December

2004

January

March

April

May

September

November

December

2005

February

March

May

June

July

September

October

November

December

2006

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

2007

January

February

March

  • March 3 - Chris John defeats Jose Rojas by unanimous decision to retain the WBA featherweight title.
  • March 3 - Miguel Cotto defeats Oktay Urkal by 11th round TKO to retain WBA welterweight title.
  • March 3 - Rafael Márquez moves up in weight class and defeats Ring Magazine and WBC Super Bantamweight champion Israel Vázquez by 7th-round technical knockout. Vazquez did not answer the bell after badly breaking his nose and having trouble breathing.
  • March 10 - Wladimir Klitschko defends his IBF Heavyweight title by defeating Ray Austin by 2nd-round knockout.
  • March 10 - Souleymane M'baye defeats Andreas Kotelnik by split decision to retain the WBA light welterweight title
  • March 17 - Jean-Marc Mormeck defeats O'Neil Bell by unanimous decision in their rematch to win the WBA, WBC, The Ring and lineal cruiserweight titles.
  • March 17 - Juan Manuel Márquez defeats Marco Antonio Barrera by unanimous decision to become the WBC Super Featherweight champion. In the seventh round there was controversy, as Marquez thoroughly dominated the round then got knocked down by Barrera. Referee Jay Nady ruled this a slip, then penalized Barrera for hitting while Marquez was on the canvas.
  • March 24 - Mikkel Kessler defends his WBA and WBC Super middleweight titles by defeating Librado Andrade by a shutout unanimous decision.

April

May

June

July

August

  • August 4 - David Díaz defeats Erik Morales by unanimous decision to win the vacant WBC lightweight title. This was Morales' fourth consecutive defeat and he would not fight again until 2010.
  • *Ulises Solis defeats Rodel Mayol by 10th round KO to retain the IBF light flyweight title.
  • August 4 - Israel Vázquez defeats Rafael Márquez by technical knockout in the 6th round of their rematch to recapture the WBC super bantamweight title. The two traded punches throughout the fight before Vázquez dominated Márquez in the sixth round, causing the referee to stop the fight.
  • August 25 - Iván Calderón defeats Hugo Fidel Cazares in a split decision to win the WBO Light Flyweight title and to become The Ring Magazine Jr. Flyweight champion. This was Calderon's first fight at Light Flyweight.

September

  • September 1 - Ricardo Torres defeats Kendall Holt by 11th-round TKO to retain the WBO light welterweight title.
  • September 7 - Junior Witter defeats Vivian Harris by 7th round KO to retain the WBC light welterweight title.
  • September 29 - Clinton Woods defeats Julio César González by unanimous decision to retain the IBF light heavyweight title.
  • September 29 - Kelly Pavlik upsets Jermain Taylor by 7th round TKO to win the WBC, WBO and universally recognized middleweight championship. Pavlik was knocked down in the second round but rallied back against a tired Taylor.
  • September 29 - Chad Dawson defeats Epifanio Mendoza by 4th round stoppage to retain the WBC light heavyweight title
  • *Joseph Agbeko defeats Luis Alberto Pérez buy 7th round RTD to win the IBF bantamweight title

October

November

December

2008

January

February

March

  • March 1 - Israel Vázquez successfully defends the WBC and Ring Magazine titles as he defeats Rafael Márquez by split decision.
  • March 8 - David Haye unifies the WBA, WBC, WBO, The Ring and lineal cruiserweight titles as he defeats Enzo Maccarinelli by a 2nd-round technical knockout.
  • March 8 - Samuel Peter wins the WBC Heavyweight title as he defeats Oleg Maskaev by 6th-round TKO.
  • *Nate Campbell upsets Juan Díaz by split decision. Campbell becomes the unified WBA, IBF and WBO champion.
  • March 15 - Manny Pacquiao becomes the Ring Magazine and WBC super featherweight champion as he defeats Juan Manuel Márquez by split decision.
  • March 22 - Andreas Kotelnik defeats Gavin Rees by 12th round TKO to win his WBA light-welterweight title
  • March 22 - Joel Casamayor defeats Michael Katsidis by 10th-round technical knockout to defend the Ring Magazine Lightweight championship. In a thrilling back-and-forth fight, Casamayor knocked down Katsidis twice in the opening round, only to have Katsidis come back with a knockdown in the 6th. Casamayor knocked Katsidis down again in the 10th, hurting him in the process, and the referee called a halt to the contest.
  • March 27 - Verno Phillips defeats Cory Spinks by split decision to win the IBF light-middleweight title

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

2009

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December