
Top sports events of January-February 2025: from football to biathlon
Kyiv • UNN
An overview of the most important sporting events in early 2025. Highlights include European Cup matches, the Biathlon World Championships, and three professional boxing title fights.
The year 2025 is going to be full of sporting events. Grandiose events are expected in the winter. So, what will happen in the world of sports in the next month and a half - further in the review of UNN.
2025 is not an even year. This is an absolute and clear fact. However, in the world of sports , this means that there will be no Winter or Summer Olympics and no World or European Football Championships. Whatever they say, these four tournaments are the most popular among other championships. Although fans of, for example, basketball or volleyball or other sports will disagree. But we don't want to offend anyone in any way, and we are proceeding purely from the fact of viewership and the excitement of the general audience.
Despite the absence of the Big Four, the world of sports will still offer fans a lot of interesting and even grandiose events. UNN has compiled a list of the best events of January-February 2025 in the sports world.
Football
In soccer, all the championships of the Old World, especially the top three: the championships of Spain, England, and Italy, continue unabated. The tournaments have already crossed their equator. Their second half has started. It is the most interesting, as potential contenders for the championship and teams that may leave the league are being formed.
Most anticipated matches
Spain:
Round 23 (09.02). Sevilla - Barcelona
Round 25 (02/23). Real Madrid - Girona
Round 25 (02/23). Atletico Madrid - Valencia
England:
Round 23 (01/25). Manchester City vs Chelsea
Round 24 (02.02). Arsenal vs. Manchester City
Round 25 (02/16). Tottenham - Manchester United
Round 26 (02/23). Manchester City vs Liverpool
Round 27 (02/26). Liverpool - Newcastle
Italy:
Round 21 (January 18). Juventus - Milan
Round 22 (January 26). Lazio - Fiorentina
Round 23 (02.02). Milan - Inter
Round 24 (09.02). Inter - Fiorentina
Round 25 (02/16). Juventus - Inter
The Ukrainian championship is currently on a break. It will last until February 22. The 18th round will start. Currently, Dynamo, Oleksandriya, Shakhtar and Kryvbas are the favorites.
In addition to the national championships, the last two rounds of the European Cups will take place at the end of January. Below are the most interesting matches.

Champions League
Round 7:
22.01. Shakhtar vs Brest
22.01. PSG - Manchester City
Round 8:
29.01. Borussia Dortmund vs. Shakhtar
29.01. Girona - Arsenal
Europa League
Round 7:
21.01. Galatasaray - Dynamo Kyiv
23.01 Porto vs. Olympiacos
23.01 Manchester United - Rangers
Round 8
30.01. Dynamo Kyiv - Riga Football School
30.01. Steaua - Manchester United
Winter football matches are essentially preparatory to the main ones that will take place in the spring. From March, we should expect the playoffs in European cups and the final games in national championships.
Boxing
In the first two months of the new year, there won't be many high-profile boxing fights. Nevertheless, fans of fisticuffs will definitely enjoy a few of them.
Denis Berincik vs Kishawn Davis
14.02. Fight for the WBO world title in the first lightweight division (up to 61.2 kg)

Our champion Denis Berinchik will defend his world title for the first time. The fight will take place in New York, USA. This will be the first time the Ukrainian has entered the ring since May last year, when he sensationally won his championship by defeating the favorite American Emanuel Navarrate on points.
His current opponent is the talented Kishawn Davis. An interesting fact is that Davis and Berincik are silver medalists at various Olympics (2020 and 2012). The American is the favorite among bookmakers and analysts. He is predicted not only to win this fight, but also to become one of the best boxers of the future.
Experience and character speak for the Ukrainian. Davis has never met a fighter of Berincik's caliber. So we will find out whether the Ukrainian will win on February 15 in the morning.
Artur Beterbiev vs Dmytro Bivol 2
22.02. Fight for the WBC, WBA Super, IBF and WBO light heavyweight title (up to 79.4 kg)

The boxers are both Russians. However, when the full-scale war began, they began to fight under other flags. Beterbiev for Canada, Bivol for Kyrgyzstan. We would not have written about this match as an editorial, but we cannot ignore it, because the sports part plays a big role here. This is a fight for the status of the absolute world champion. That's why the whole world will be watching. The winner can claim a place in the top 3 best fighters in boxing regardless of weight category.
The boxers already met in October last year. Back then, Artur Beterbiev won a controversial split decision in a very difficult fight. Many experts saw Dmytro Bivol as the winner. With this in mind, the officials decided to hold a rematch. It is difficult to predict how it will end. Both fighters are equal in strength.
Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker
22.02. Fight for the IBF world title in super-heavyweight (up to 90.7 kg)

This fight should determine the future rival of our Oleksandr Usyk. Dubois has already met with the Ukrainian. In the summer of 2023 in Poland, he knocked him out in the 9th round. But there is one thing. In the middle of the fight, the Briton hit Oleksandr either in the belt or below the belt. The hit was, let's say, in the middle of these two concepts. Experts are still arguing whether this punch was actually not according to the rules. Then, during the fight, the referee decided that the Briton hit below the belt and did not open the score for a knockdown. Usyk took several minutes to recover.
Theoretically, if the punch had been judged legal, it could have been a knockout and a loss for the Ukrainian. In the end, Usyk pulled himself together and ended the fight early in the 9th round. Dubois did not lose heart after that. He defeated the elite Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic and knocked out the star Anthony Josh, becoming the champion according to one version.
On February 22, he will face another super boxer, Joseph Parker. The New Zealander is on a roll right now. He has also won a number of important victories. So, who will win the fight is a mystery. Analysts believe that the winner should be the young Dubois. However, Parker has always been an unpredictable fighter, always ready to make a sensation.
Tennis
January is always full of impressions for tennis fans. In the middle of the month, the first Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open, takes place every year (the following: French, English (Wimbledon), and US Championships). In the men's category, many see Yannick Zinnek, Carlos Alcaraz Garcia, and Taylor Fritz as favorites. Among the women, Arina Sabalenko, Iga Svientek, and Coco Goff are the favorites.
The finals are scheduled for January 26.
Basketball
In winter, national regular basketball championships and games in European tournaments continue. For true connoisseurs, there are daily NBA (National Basketball Association) matches. It is too early to make accurate predictions in basketball championships. After all, the vast majority of them have not even passed their equator, and some are only at the very beginning. All fans are also waiting for the European Championship. However, it will have to wait. The championship will be held early this fall.
Biathlon
For fans of winter sports, January and February will be magical months for events. The World Cup starts in Switzerland. It will be held from February 2 to 23. And before it, you can watch the European Championships, which will take place in the mountains of Italy. Although it will last only 4 days: from January 29 to February 2. Ukraine will also be represented at the competition and has high chances of winning awards. Moreover, the blue and yellows have won 83 medals in their history at European championships, 29 of them gold.
Figure skating
It's early in the year, and figure skating has two top tournaments. Estonia is looking forward to the European Championships. It will start on January 28. And the main championship, the World Championships, will be held in Boston. However, we have to wait for that. It starts in the spring, on March 25.

Handball
The game of handball is already boiling with passion. The World Men's Championship has begun. It is hosted by Croatia, Denmark and Norway. The matches will be played until February 2, when the final will take place. Unfortunately, Ukraine is not participating.
We look forward to spring
Major sporting events will take place in the spring. These include the end of football tournaments, major boxing matches, the start of track and field championships, and basketball and hockey finals. Especially hockey, as the World Championship will be held in Denmark in May. However, you can read more about spring in our next article, which will be published in early March.