November was a busy month across the boxing landscape, seeing bitter rivalries reignited, world championships defended and new stars born onto the biggest stage. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing.
With the smooth, must come some rough, and as you must know by now: Where there are winners, there are losers. Let’s see who won and who lost in November.
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Devin Haney
Devin Haney has split opinion throughout his 33-fight career, receiving constant criticism for his defensive, almost amateur-esque style of combat. But as Floyd Mayweather Jr. taught us throughout the “Money May” period of his unbeaten career, there are multiple ways to skin a cat in this sport.
And up at welterweight for the first time, the 27-year-old gave us a small glimpse of what a 147-pound Haney could look like over the next few years. “The Dream” won a unanimous decision over Brian Norman Jr. in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, dropping the dethroned WBO champion in the second round before cantering toward the finish line.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThis brief flourish of aggression from Haney against a top, powerful operator will have turned a few heads in the division, despite him retreating to type in the rounds that followed and winning on the scorecards for the 18th time in his career.
Haney is now a three-weight world champion, a genuine pound-for-pound top-10 contender and still very green in a career where the ceiling is still limitless.
Conor Benn
Conor Benn was able to exorcize his demons over 36 minutes of near-perfection against Chris Eubank Jr., leveling the slate against his born rival, and notching the first Benn victory over a Eubank in four combined attempts between two different generations.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBenn’s career has been defined by his rivalry with Eubank Jr. over the past three years, culminating in an emotional outpouring of relief as he declared their conflict over — for now.
As underwhelming and physically shot as Eubank Jr. was inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Benn was still impressive in the adjustments he was able to make in this middleweight contest.
The jury is still out on whether Benn can make waves at world level somewhere between 147 and 160 pounds, but he has finally delivered an eye-catching win on his record, making it impossible to ignore him as a November winner.
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez added another world title to his collection with a stunning knockout of Fernando “Puma” Martinez in November.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe American entered as the favorite to get the job done against the Argentinean, who had arrived hoping to dethrone the division’s most complete operator. But Rodriguez didn’t just win — he produced the kind of performance that makes reputations feel outdated the moment the final punch lands.
From the opening bell, “Bam” was first, last and everywhere in between. He beat Martinez to almost every exchange, stepping around him with ease, punishing every reset and stitching together combinations that left the Argentine swinging at shadows.
It was as one-sided a unification as you’ll see, a complete masterclass built on timing, creativity and that trademark sting in his left hand.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAnd once he appeared to break Martinez’s nose, Rodriguez showed no interest in dragging out a foregone conclusion. He closed the show with the ruthlessness of a fighter who understands exactly where he sits in the pound-for-pound conversation.
Anthony Joshua
Have you ever received a phone call worth close to a reported $50 million?
The closest I have personally come is calling up British radio station Radio X to answer a quiz question about the band Gorillaz. The only differences are: A) I didn’t get through, B) I would have gotten the answer wrong, and C) the prize on offer was a ticket to a music festival that I didn’t particularly want to go to.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn comparison, the only question Anthony Joshua had to answer was: “Do you want to fight former YouTuber-turned-cruiserweight Jake Paul in just over a month's time for an eye-watering sum of money?”
The former two-time unified heavyweight champion of the world’s answer was a resounding yes, and here we stand just under three weeks out from one of the most bizarre fights of the decade.
Anthony Joshua’s gain is Francis Ngannou’s (who was offered the fight before "AJ") and Gervonta “Tank” Davis’ (who was scheduled to fight Paul before another brush with the law) loss.
Joshua is an unequivocal winner in November and it’ll take something seismic for him not to be a winner in December as well.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementVergil Ortiz Jr.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. didn’t give Erickson Lubin even a glimmer of daylight to pull an upset at the start of November, dispatching him with a ruthless second-round TKO in Texas and all but punching his ticket to a major 2026 showdown with Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
Ortiz Jr. retained his interim WBC super welterweight title with an impressive stoppage, pinning Lubin on the ropes and unleashing hell with cold efficiency.
There were no wild flurries, no wasted motions — just precise, punishing shots that left the 30-year-old southpaw upright but completely disconnected.
It was a timely reminder of why Ortiz sits on the doorstep of boxing’s elite.
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Brian Norman Jr.
Team Brian Norman Jr. will be kicking themselves as November draws to a close.
The 25-year-old became an overnight sensation after blitzing Jin Sasaki in a Knockout of the Year contender back in June, but just five months later surrendered his WBO welterweight title in fairly limp fashion to Devin Haney.
Norman struggled to negate the defensively tight style of Haney, getting dropped in the second round and spending 36 minutes looking pretty exposed by “The Dream.”
Norman, known for his explosive one-punch power, perhaps proved he isn’t adequately equipped — yet — playing the role of a pressure fighter at the top table of welterweights.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementChris Eubank Jr.
A Eubank losing to a Benn hadn’t been seen prior to November this year.
Eubank, who edged his first meeting with Conor Benn on points back in April, looked unusually gun-shy this time around and had no answer to a relentless, heavy-handed Benn.
This defeat leaves him standing at a crossroads at age 36, coming off a flat, subdued display in a fight loaded with personal significance.
"I've been through hell and back to get to this night — it is what it is," Eubank reflected.
"It's 1-1, I have to go away and deal with some of the things I've been dealing with over the past few months. I tried my best, the kid fought hard, he has power. We put on a show, Benn was the better man tonight."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTenshin Nasukawa
I was in Tokyo a couple of years back to see Kenshiro Teraji vs. Hekkie Budler for the unified junior flyweight championship, inside Tokyo’s Ariake Arena. On the undercard that night in September was a 1-0 Tenshin Nasukawa.
The former kickboxing champion — and widely regarded greatest of the modern age — was greeted to a rapturous ovation for his eight-rounder against Luis Guzman Torres, dancing, gyrating and swaggering with arrogance to the ring that is seldom seen from Japanese fighters.
In just his second professional boxing contest, Nasukawa dominated every second against his Mexican opponent, shuffling and posturing throughout the 24 minutes with dropped hands that were, perhaps, learned from Floyd Mayweather following their underwhelming 2018 exhibition.
A majority of the crowd were there to see Nasukawa and he was well aware of the role he had to play. T-shirts, glow-sticks, towels, key-rings and flags had his face plastered on across the arena, with mobile phones videoing every second of his appearance.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThere wasn’t an empty seat inside the arena as the then 25-year-old cruised to a shutout victory via three perfect scorecards, with a couple of flashy knockdowns for good measure.
At the time, this was seen as a springboard to the very top for Nasukawa, but just two years later, he's hit a major speed-bump in his promised career.
Nasukawa dropped the first loss of his career to Takuma Inoue for the WBC bantamweight world championship via a unanimous points decision, now forcing the 27-year-old southpaw to rethink his next steps in an ever unforgiving sport.
Subriel Matias
WBC super lightweight champion Subriel Matias had an adverse finding detected in a recent VADA drug test, jeopardizing his slated title defense against mandatory challenger Dalton Smith on Jan. 10 in New York.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe banned substance ostarine was detected in his sample, and the champion has until today — Monday, Dec. 1 — to request analysis of his B sample. Matias reclaimed the 140-pound title just four months ago in New York, surviving a grueling battle with Alberto Puello to become a two-time champion at the weight.
The 33-year-old addressed the situation publicly for the first time last week, posting an Instagram video in response to the adverse finding:
“Never in my life, listen carefully, never in my life have I needed to cheat to stand out in a ring."
“Thank God, teamwork, my balls, and God’s mercy have brought me to the top. So, whatever, no big deal. Everyone who spits upwards, beware, because it’s going to fall right in your face. I’ve never needed to cheat to stand out, not in any way. Everything I’ve done, I’ve done it with sweat. For those who know, know.”
Frazer Clarke
As boxing returned to the BBC for the first time in more than 20 years, British heavyweight Frazer Clarke had a huge opportunity to stick his flag in the sand as the man to lead BOXXER through this new venture.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe had the chance to win the coveted British heavyweight title this past Saturday night against Jeamie TKV in front of home fans in Derby, but dropped a split decision loss to the Tottenham-based underdog, leaving massive question marks hovering above his head.
It’s hard to frame this as anything other than the end of the road for Clarke. The 2020 Olympian turned pro late, already past age 30, and tried to make up for lost time with an accelerated climb — but Fabio Wardley detonated those plans in last year’s rematch. Now, with a loss against a limited Jeamie TKV, Clarke will have to start asking himself some serious questions.
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