play1:47Conor Benn: Victory over Chris Eubank Jr. is on par with winning a world titleConor Benn believes his victory over Chris Eubank Jr. will be on par with the feeling of winning a world title.
play1:01Mayer retains WBO women’s welterweight title via unanimous decisionMikaela Mayer defeats Sandy Ryan by unanimous decision to keep the WBO women’s welterweight title.
Conor Benn: Victory over Chris Eubank Jr. is on par with winning a world titleConor Benn believes his victory over Chris Eubank Jr. will be on par with the feeling of winning a world title.
Conor Benn believes his victory over Chris Eubank Jr. will be on par with the feeling of winning a world title.
Mayer retains WBO women’s welterweight title via unanimous decisionMikaela Mayer defeats Sandy Ryan by unanimous decision to keep the WBO women’s welterweight title.
Tyson Fury is back after yet another retirement, and that means talk of a long-awaited mega-fight with Anthony Joshua is heating up once again. The two have been linked since 2021; could this be the year it finally happens?
Claressa Shields had already achieved what no fighter — man or woman — had before, becoming undisputed in three divisions (Terence Crawford reached the same achievement seven months later). What she still lacks is a true grudge match against a marquee opponent, and a showdown with Shadasia Green could provide exactly that.
Ryan Garcia is set to challenge WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios in February. If Garcia wins, a unification bout with WBA titleholder Rolando “Rolly” Romero would be both explosive and irresistible, with a build-up guaranteed to match the chaos in the ring.
Andreas Hale, Nick Parkinson and James Regan look at some fights already on the calendar — and the matchups boxing still needs to make this year.
The all-British heavyweight showdown has lost some of its shine, with both Fury and Joshua suffering defeats and relinquishing their world titles since the matchup was first discussed in June 2020, but it is undoubtedly still the biggest fight in British heavyweight history. And the stakes are arguably higher now that both fighters are on the tail end of their respective careers. Sometimes, pride is bigger than world titles.
Fury and Joshua have lost their veil of invincibility, which would likely lead to a showdown marked by significant intrigue due to their newfound vulnerabilities. Even without world titles, both are still massive stars, and Joshua’s profile has been raised significantly among the U.S. audience after the former two-time unified heavyweight champion’s brutal knockout of Jake Paul in December.
Fury seems to be interested in taking a tuneup fight before facing Joshua, but if it all lines up, Fury-Joshua would serve as an absolute spectacle, hopefully staged in the confines of London’s Wembley Stadium, which can pack more than 90,000 fans. It may be past its original expiration date, but the fight will still be well received by boxing fans.
Although it appears that both Joshua and Fury are on board for the matchup, there may be new complications that prevent the fight from happening once again. Joshua was involved in a car crash in Lagos, Nigeria, in late December that killed two of his close associates and team members. Joshua has since been discharged from the hospital with minor injuries, but it is not yet known when or if the former two-time unified heavyweight champion will return to the ring. — Hale
The Japanese rivals look set to face each other in May in a fight that matches two of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world.
Inoue, a four-division world champion and arguably the best fighter in the world following the retirement of Crawford, produced the better performance on Dec. 27 when both boxed in separate bouts on the same card. However, Inoue has shown vulnerability recently — he was floored once in 2025 and once in 2024 — and if he fails to repel Nakatani’s pressure fighting, he could find himself on the canvas again.
Inoue, the undisputed junior featherweight champion, was majestic in a unanimous decision victory over David Picasso, and three-division champion Nakatani will have to produce something special to win what could be one of the biggest fights of 2026.
Based on both fighters’ styles, the fight will be contested at a ferocious pace and Nakatani’s punch output could make it unforgettable. — Parkinson
Conor Benn: Victory over Chris Eubank Jr. is on par with winning a world title
If Garcia wants to become a true global star and the face of boxing, he should consider traveling abroad to the U.K. British boxing is on the up, and Garcia now has a credible, big-name potential dance partner in England’s Benn.
A welterweight clash between the two would bring fireworks and easily sell out a soccer stadium in the U.K. Garcia is scheduled to fight Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title in February, and win or lose, a fight against Benn could propel both men into the mainstream.
Both are quick and ferocious in the ring, and while Garcia is better technically, Benn showed he can box smartly and stick to a plan in his win over Chris Eubank Jr. in their November rematch.
If the two-time heavyweight champion jumps straight into a world title fight in his latest comeback, taking on Wardley in April or May, it would make for an entertaining storyline.
Fury’s inactivity may prompt him to take an interim fight, but let’s hope we get Fury vs. Wardley at some point this year — it has all the ingredients to be a classic. Wardley has been entertaining to watch the past two years with three consecutive knockout victories, including a thrilling Round 10 KO of Justis Hunis in a fight he was losing on the scorecards, and an 11th-round stoppage of Joseph Parker in a shocking upset in October.
This could be the best fight in the heavyweight division this year, if we don’t get Fury vs. Anthony Joshua. — Parkinson
Although neither is a titleholder at 154 pounds, this is the biggest fight in the division and easily one of the most anticipated fights, regardless of weight class. — Hale
Ramirez, the WBO and WBA cruiserweight champ, who relies on his movement and volume of punches, has not fought since undergoing shoulder surgery in July. Ramirez has scored impressive victories in the past two years against Yuniel Dorticos, Chris Billam-Smith and Arsen Goulamirian.
MVP’s Green represents the perfect foil to Shields. “The Sweet Terminator” has a raw skill set but has made up for it with her grit and punching prowess. She’s been asking for a fight with Shields and staked her claim with an emphatic come-from-behind win over Marshall last July to become the unified super middleweight champion. As great as Shields is, she still hasn’t been featured on a high-profile boxing event, and a showdown with Green would remedy that. — Hale
Both these U.K. fighters keep their pre-fight talk to a minimum, but Wardley and Dubois would make for an intriguing and likely brutal clash in the ring.
Wardley, the WBO champion, would be within his rights to pick his next opponent following his incredible KO victory over Joseph Parker in October. He also has shown interest in a fight with Tyson Fury, who recently announced his return. Dubois is looking to bounce back from defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in July. If he were to get a run out early in the year, a fight with Wardley in the summer would be exactly what the heavyweight scene needs.
With former champions such as Fury and Anthony Joshua near the end of their careers, the next generation needs to step up and give people a reason to watch the glamour division. A clash between the big, heavy-hitting Dubois and knockout artist Wardley would do just that. — Regan
Mayer retains WBO women’s welterweight title via unanimous decision
Mikaela Mayer defeats Sandy Ryan by unanimous decision to keep the WBO women’s welterweight title.
This would be a feisty fight to crown an undisputed welterweight champion and would be arguably one of the best fights to make in women’s boxing in 2026.
Both had dominant wins in 2025: Mayer won a rematch against Sandy Ryan in March, then stepped up a division to unify three titles at junior middleweight; Price beat British rival Natasha Jonas in March to unify three welterweight world titles.
Price, who hasn’t fought since that fight, will have to get beyond Mayer’s impressive jab. At 5-foot-9, Mayer has a 4-inch height advantage, but Price’s footwork and counterattacks can earn her a decision. It’s a tough one to call, which makes it a must-watch. — Parkinson
It’s been almost two years since Haney and Garcia met in a highly anticipated and volatile clash that saw Garcia’s decision win erased due to a failed drug test. The rematch was on the table for 2025, but first they needed to win their respective fights in May. Garcia couldn’t hold up his end of the bargain and was upset by Rolando “Rolly” Romero, disrupting their plans, and Garcia hasn’t fought since then. Meanwhile, Haney is now the WBO champion at welterweight with his brilliant dismantling of Brian Norman Jr. in November.
Even though Haney and Garcia are trending in opposite directions, there is still an appetite for a rematch, as there are still unanswered questions surrounding their first meeting, when Garcia dropped Haney three times with left hooks. Did Haney underestimate an erratic Garcia? Did Garcia truly have Haney’s number or need the help of PEDs? They could potentially meet in a title unification bout should Garcia win the WBC title when he faces Barrios. If Garcia wins, the stakes would be significantly higher in the Haney rematch, with championships and pride on the line. The build-up to the fight would be incredibly volatile and would lead to an emotionally charged showdown between two stars who simply cannot afford to lose.
Fury, 37, has not fought since a unanimous decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024. But at this stage of his career, Fury doesn’t need a warm-up against a little-known opponent, plus, as he should know, warm-ups can be a risk. In 2019, Fury required 47 stitches to close a gruesome cut above his right eye sustained in an eventual decision victory against Otto Wallin. It was supposed to be an easy fight for Fury, but it threatened to derail his planned world title rematch against Deontay Wilder five months later.