Five Blockbuster Boxing Fights We Could See In 2026

Last year brought us a once-in-a-lifetime showdown between all-time greats Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford for the undisputed super middleweight title.

It was the first Zuffa Boxing event promoted by Dana White in conjunction with Saudi promoter Turki Al-Sheikh and Riyadh Season. White, the CEO of the UFC, has big plans for his new boxing venture, as does Al-Sheikh, the man who has given fans several superfights over the past few years.

Hopefully, their efforts, along with those of the sport’s other top promoters such as Bob Arum, Eddie Hearn and Oscar de la Hoya, will see these five box-office bouts take place this year:

Tyson Fury v Anthony Joshua

Never have two titans in the same orbit seemingly destined to fight each other taken what feels like forever to face off like Fury and Joshua.

The much-anticipated battle of the legendary British behemoths has been discussed for years, with negotiations falling through every time. Now that Fury has confirmed he’ll be coming out of retirement this year, and with both men being out of the title picture for the time being, now is the time for the pair to finally meet inside the squared circle.

After back-to-back losses to unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, Fury shocked the world by calling it a career this time last year. It wasn’t the first time “The Gypsy King” had done so, so many expected him to return, including me.

Joshua, meanwhile, bounced back from a shock knockout loss to then-IBF titleholder Daniel Dubois in 2024 by knocking out and breaking YouTuber-turned boxer Jake Paul’s jaw in December. “AJ” is still recovering from a horrific car crash, which took the lives of his personal trainer, Latif Ayodele, and strength coach, Sina Ghami, and according to his uncle, the 36-year-old has told his family he plans to retire.

If he doesn’t, though, no other fight makes sense than for these two former heavyweight kings to collide.

Oleksandr Usyk v Fabio Wardley

Staying in the heavyweight division, 2026 could be the final year of unified champion Usyk’s legendary career. The undefeated Ukrainian isn’t just a genius inside the ropes, he’s also highly intelligent when it comes to managing his career and adding to his legacy as the greatest of his generation.   

Having beaten Fury and Joshua not once, but twice, “The Cat” wants to add the third big-name former champion of his era Deontay Wilder’s scalp to his collection, even though the American knockout artist hasn’t done much to warrant a title shot.

Usyk should get past Wilder to start off his year, and would like to retire as the undisputed king of the heavyweights. To hold that title for a third time, he’ll have to beat WBO champion Wardley. The Brit, who’s never tasted defeat, won the title with a stunning knockout victory over Joseph Parker in October and would be a fresh and exciting matchup for Usyk.

Top 10 Boxing Knockouts Of 2025

Dmitry Bivol/Artur Beterbiev v David Benavidez

One of just three men to defeat Mexican megastar Canelo Alvarez, Bivol is a generational great who bounced back from his first loss to Artur Beterbiev by winning the rematch to become undisputed light heavyweight champion in February.

With the series tied at 1-1, a trilogy fight makes sense, but we’re no closer to it almost a year after their last meeting. Still, it’s the fight Al-Sheikh wants next, so hopefully it happens early this year. The winner should fight just one man, Benavidez, who holds the WBC title that Bivol vacated.

“The Mexican Monster”, who holds the record as the youngest super middleweight champion in history, has had no issues moving up to light heavyweight and plans on bulking up even more to fight WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramirez in his 2026 opener.

Win, lose or draw, he has to return to light heavyweight after that to face the winner of the Bivol-Beterbiev trilogy to crown an undisputed champion.

Devin Haney v Ryan Garcia II

Heated rivals since their junior days, these two superstars’ first fight in 2024 was a stunner. Garcia dropped “The Dream” three times en route to a majority decision win to become the new WBC super lightweight champion.

However, the aftermath of the bout saw Garcia testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug and being suspended for a year. His victory was turned into a no-contest, meaning Haney went back to being unbeaten, but both men’s reputations took a hit.

In his comeback fight last year, Garcia suffered an upset decision loss to Rolando Romero, which put the rematch with Haney on the back burner. Such is his mainstream star power, though, that “King Ry” will reportedly be challenging for Mario Barrios’ WBC welterweight title in February, and a victory would pave the way for the sequel with Haney, who holds the WBO welterweight title.

Five Highest-Paid Boxers In 2025

Naoya Inoue v Junto Nakatani

The world has been waiting patiently for this one, and with both undefeated champions having secured wins on the same card in December, the time has come for these warriors to face off in the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history. 

Inoue defended his undisputed junior featherweight title against David Picasso, while Nakatani moved up to super bantamweight and beat Sebastian Hernandez, clearing their respective recent hurdles to line up a seismic showdown for Inoue’s 122-pound crown.

For casual fans, these are two of the pound-for-pound best fighters on the planet. Inoue is a four-division champion, while Nakatani rules three divisions. If you’re not familiar with them, I’ve been trying to educate South African fans by covering Inoue’s recent bouts, but I highly suggest you look into both men.