BoxRec

With all the big fights for 2025 done for the year its time to start looking foward to 2026 and dreaming of just how good boxing could be (and then likely being bitterly disappointed)...

So what matchups do you wanna see 2026?

good to have a bit of a base in reality on the list, but nothing wrong with a few dreamy/unorthadox/never-going-to-happen ones...

My rushed list from big to small...

-AJ vs Fury
-Usyk vs Jai
-Moses vs torrez
-DDD vs Wardly
-chisora or whyte vs wilder
-Teremoana Teremoana vs soko, Dovbyshchenko, franklin, dave allen...
-Dave allen vs zhang.
-opeitia in unifications.
-opeitia vs beterbiev
-Every combo of UK domestic light heavyweight matchup.
-Benevidez vs bivol.
-canelo vs benivedez
-Boots vs ortiz (winner vs craw)
-Tim tszyu vs connor benn.
-nikita tszyu vs keith thurman.
-Shakur vs tank
-Abdulla mason vs floyd scofield.
-Mauricio Lara vs Hayato Tsutsumi
-nick ball vs Rafael Espinoza
-Inoue vs nick ball
-Inoue vs espinoza.
-inoue vs nakatani
-Jessie Bam rodrigez vs Takuma inoue.
-Bam vs Nayo inoue (118)
-and just all the lil mexicans and lil japanese fighting each other on undercards.

Boxing is in a funny spot. turki era feels like a good time for wish list succses, but my other wish is consistant activity for people in the middle not just waiting around for a pay day... it feels like a bad time for that wish.

AJ vs Fury
Wardley vs Dubois
Bakole vs Zhang
Errol Spence vs Vergil Ortiz
Jai Opetaia making his Heavyweight debut

And yes I'd like to see hot prospects like Moses Itauma be much more active. If he's not going to fight the big fights next year, I hope he at least fights 4 or 5 at the level he's already been competing at. It's probably not good for an up and comer to be so inactive.

Usyk vs Wardley or Kabayel
Canelo vs Mbilli
Stevenson, Davis and Davis fight each other
Beterbiev vs Benavidez
Ennis vs Ortiz

Here is my (rushed as well) list. I just looked up the P4P ranking

Usyk vs Opetaia
Inoue vs Nakatani (not really a wish, because it's gonna happen)
Bivol vs Opetaia/Benavidez
Bam vs Inoue/Nakatani winner
Beterbiev vs Opetaia/Benavidez/Ramirez
Tank vs Stevenson/Lopes winner (~0% it's gonna happen)

Don't really have one for Haney, because his current weightclass is very weak.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑27 Dec 2025, 19:18 AJ vs Fury
Wardley vs Dubois
Bakole vs Zhang
Errol Spence vs Vergil Ortiz
Jai Opetaia making his Heavyweight debut

And yes I'd like to see hot prospects like Moses Itauma be much more active. If he's not going to fight the big fights next year, I hope he at least fights 4 or 5 at the level he's already been competing at. It's probably not good for an up and comer to be so inactive.

Is Spence still fighting?

Doesn't seem that way, but I don't doubt he may make a comeback at some point in the next few years.

Benavidez v Beterbiev

Evander wrote: ↑06 Jan 2026, 02:18 Benavidez v Beterbiev

Offt, id love that at cruiserweight if benavidez beats ramerez... (id be sad to delay a jai unification but still, thats an incredible fight).

I wonder if benivezez could try his flashy combos with an acurate powerpuncher opisite him.

Puello v Mercado at Super Lightweight

Conor Benn v Keyshawn Davis at 147
They're both moving to Welterweight

Adam Azim v Arthur Biyarslanov at 140

Inoue Vs Nakatani, Rodriguez, Espinoza and Ball
Stevenson Vs Lopez Vs Tank Vs Haney
Boots Vs Ortiz
Conor Benn Vs Zhilei Zhang
Bivol Vs Benavidez Vs Beterbiev Vs Smith
Opetaia Vs Zurdo vs Benavidez vs CBS
Usyk Vs Kabayel
Joshua Vs Fury
Dubois Vs Wardley

joshj909 wrote: ↑06 Jan 2026, 06:08 Conor Benn Vs Zhilei Zhang

catchweight with clauses?

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑06 Jan 2026, 06:16

joshj909 wrote: ↑06 Jan 2026, 06:08 Conor Benn Vs Zhilei Zhang

catchweight with clauses?

Catch-weight with no rehydration clauses. 8oz gloves. 16 foot ring.

Evening Chaps and Happy New Year, what fights do you want to see happen this year?

gregregegg wrote: ↑06 Jan 2026, 03:02

Evander wrote: ↑06 Jan 2026, 02:18 Benavidez v Beterbiev

Offt, id love that at cruiserweight if benavidez beats ramerez... (id be sad to delay a jai unification but still, thats an incredible fight).

I wonder if benivezez could try his flashy combos with an acurate powerpuncher opisite him.

Love to see it, it sure won't be a walk in the park against Beterbiev.

Azim - Dalton Smith

Some really good ones I've been reading here.

Here's a few that enter my mind immediately...

- Bahkrum Murtalaziev vs Janibek Alimkhanuly (Everyone's too scared of these two, so may as well have the Battle of the Boogeymen , I guess..?)

- Bohachuck vs Karen ChuckHadzhian

- Madrimov vs Mean Machine(Edijius Kaviliakus)

-Beterbeiv vs Benevidez

-Ituama vs Torrez

These all seem like very potentially entertaining bouts.

And Yes, I know I'm badly misspelling those epic Slavic names. Oh well.