Boxing stock watch: September’s biggest winners and losers, from dream endings to rude awakenings
September is over, Billie Joe Armstrong has woken from his slumber, and we have some winners and losers to anoint across the boxing month.
Across 30 days of action inside and outside of the ring, we witnessed Katie Taylor's retirement party, 265 seconds of Garcia vs. Benn, and Dana White trying to elbow his way to the top table of the recently announced "Battle of Britain" between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
But where do they sit on our list? Keep scrolling to find out.
WINNERS
Katie Taylor
The "Emerald Isle's" darling waved goodbye to boxing on her own terms in September, headlining an emotional evening of action inside Dublin's historic Croke Park.
Taylor got the nod over France's Flora Pili to capture the undisputed world super lightweight titles in her farewell fight, 27 professional bouts into a historic career.
It was a truly remarkable setting for one of Ireland's most revered athletes.
Addressing the buoyant crowd post-fight, she said: "Croke Park! We did it! I don't know of any other country that would sell 80,000 tickets. The people of Ireland gave me a dream end to a dream career. Nothing can top this. This was definitely the highlight of my whole career."
Ryan Garcia
There's an argument to suggest that Ryan Garcia recorded the biggest win of his career in September.
All boxing eyes were on his welterweight clash with Conor Benn, and Garcia blew his adversary away inside an electric two rounds.
The keys to Garcia becoming the new "face" of boxing are within reach. If he's able to lock down headline events on Mexican holidays, keep himself out of trouble and lure the biggest names into world title fights, then there is no limit to Garcia's superstardom.
"King Ry" wants to stay active and is open to fighting again before the end of the year. And the 28-year-old could well find himself in the conversation for Fighter of the Year honors if he can make it to three wins in 2026, having first claimed the WBC welterweight world title against Mario Barrios before successfully defending it against Benn.
With the popularity and eyeballs that Garcia brings to fight nights, he won't be short for suitors as opponents.
Eddie Hearn
Eddie Hearn has been smiling like a Cheshire cat in September.
First, he basked in the love of a nation after Katie Taylor's historic night at Croke Park. Then he dug in his heels and got Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua to British shores, sticking two fingers up in the process to everyone on the other side of the deal who wanted Madison Square Garden to host the heavyweight blockbuster.
Oh, and third, let's not forget the heavy dose of schadenfreude he experienced as he witnessed his former client turned enemy, Conor Benn, lose in such a comprehensive style to Ryan Garcia.
Sure, Hearn spends more hours in front of a camera than he does asleep across a normal 24-hour day, but even with his continued attempts to control the boxing narrative, it's hard not to paint the Matchroom mogul as a big winner in September.
Takuma Inoue
The first time was so nice … he had to do it twice.
Ten months after beating Japanese superstar Tenshin Nasukawa for the WBC bantamweight title, Takuma Inoue did it again in September, again by unanimous decision, and again inside Tokyo's Toyota Arena.
But the sailing wasn't as smooth this time around.
Inoue, 30, had to climb off the canvas in the seventh round en route to a narrow decision on the scorecards, all but ending — for now — Nasukawa's ambitions to challenge Takuma's older brother, Naoya Inoue, in what would be a Japanese superfight.
But Inoue has ambitions of his own. With just the WBC title to his name, the 118-pounder made it clear post-fight where he sees his immediate future by stating: "I'm not satisfied with just one belt, I want to collect more."
Pat Brown
The Pat Brown bandwagon gained more momentum in September, as the likable and well-followed Mancunian bulldozed his way to the British cruiserweight title.
Brown, 26, moved to a pretty green 7-0 (7 KOs) against John Hedges inside the Co-op Live, inflicting Ricky Hatton-inspired body shots onto the big frame of Hedges, closing the argument in the sixth round.
Brown's ceiling is extremely high in the cruiserweight division, but so is the talent above him. His promotor, Eddie Hearn, claimed post-fight that his charge will "dismantle [Jai] Opetaia" if they fight, saying that they want a meeting with the Australian world champion "next year."
But Hearn and Team Brown may be wise to learn the lessons that his compatriot Moses Itauma learned at the end of August. Time is on the side of the "Bomber," and his journey will be worth keeping a very close eye on.
LOSERS
Conor Benn
Conor Benn lasted just a round and a half against Ryan Garcia in a failed attempt to land the WBC welterweight world championship.
It was a bit of a reality check under the Las Vegas lights for the plucky Briton, who was stopped by the referee after an unanswered assault on the ropes by Garcia, having previously tasted the canvas after a vicious right hand sent him tumbling.
Where Benn, 30, goes from here is anyone's guess.
He now faces the sharper end of the double-edged sword after skipping British and European level opposition in favor of chasing the bigger paydays and brighter lights.
Another crack at welterweight gold? Middleweight? Super middleweight? A rubber match with family rival Chris Eubank Jr.?
He's still a big name in the sport, but after blowing millions on the signature of "The "Destroyer," Zuffa Boxing might be at a loss for how to successfully — and, more importantly, lucratively — match him over the next couple of years.
Andy Ruiz Jr.
Andy Ruiz Jr's return to the ring after a two-year layoff ended in defeat in September, but the loss may not even be the most concerning part.
It's more that the victor of this heavyweight fight, Damian Knyba, was so heavily fancied across the sport's landscape as an underdog heading into this fight, underlining the lack of belief and relative interest that the boxing world has left for Ruiz.
Ruiz dropped a unanimous decision loss to the Polish-born New Yorker, handing the former unified heavyweight world champion the third loss of his professional career.
Ruiz has vowed to continue in the sport and, indicative of his new perceived level, has since been called out by a man who you'll read a little more about if you scroll down: Dave Allen.
Dana White
Dana White's standing in the announced Dec. 11 heavyweight fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua unraveled in 17 minutes of questioning in September.
White has repeatedly dubbed himself as one of the biggest and most important players involved in getting this long-awaited fight over the line, but in the post-fight press conference of Zuffa Boxing's latest event, the UFC CEO became increasingly frustrated with journalists as he cracked under the lightest of pressure.
It turns out White doesn't know much about Dec. 11.
"We'll see how this thing plays out" was his repeated attempt to move the scrutiny on, but the optics weren't good for the multi-millionaire who is used to getting things his own way.
In reality, White has no business sticking his nose in the promotion of this fight. Netflix clearly wants him and TKO involved to some capacity, but at the expense of breaching contracts and the fight falling out of bed, again? I doubt it.
Dave Allen vs. Thomas Carty
Thomas Carty didn't appear to fancy life as a heavyweight boxer in September.
Eighty-two seconds into his shift inside Dublin's Croke Park on the Taylor-Pili undercard, and the 30-year-old southpaw appeared to jump out of the ring and clock off from his heavyweight bout with British journeyman/comedian Dave Allen.
OK, the Dubliner did take a clubbing blow to the back of the head from Allen, but you'll need to come at me with a multitude of physics degrees and letters after your surname to convince me that what followed was a natural reaction to such an event.
Carty, channelling Iyo Sky's suicide dive, went spilling into the laps of photographers and ringside dignitaries, giving Dave Allen a no-contest on his record, but more importantly, the chance to headline Wrestlemania 43. That's how it works, right?
Most jokes aside, thankfully, Carty wasn't seriously injured. Allen is still lobbying for a win to appear on his record, but in all honesty, this one is probably worth filing in the "did that fight actually happen?" document.
Right next to David Price vs. Kash Ali.
Hamzah Sheeraz
If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then, unfortunately, it's probably a duck.
And that's the accusation that former WBO super middleweight world champion Hamzah Sheeraz had to stand up to in September, after he dropped his world title rather than facing the mandated challenge of Janibek Alimkhanuly.
Now granted, Janibek's position as the mandatory challenger for this 168-pound title is extremely controversial. Last December, the Kazakh returned a positive test for the banned substance meldonium, resulting in a 12-month ban from the WBO.
Sheeraz has made his feelings known on the situation, stating on "The Ariel Helwani Show" that, "I think what the WBO has done here is disgraceful to the sport of boxing," which is fine, but the contradiction lies in the number of times Sheeraz has called for a fight with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez — another fighter who has a history of failed drugs tests.
Janibek is a dangerous fighter. Sheeraz — rightly or wrongly — weighed up the pros and cons of mixing it with the Kazakh and has opted for an easier route in the pro game under the protected wing of Turki Alalshikh.