Heavyweight fights we want to see in 2026: Fury-Joshua, more

The scenery of the heavyweight part is changing arsenic champions and erstwhile champions attack retirement, truthful who tin we expect to beryllium progressive successful the biggest fights moving forward?

Some of the accustomed names are inactive looking for a rubric accidental oregon a large payday. Both of those opportunities volition beryllium connected the enactment erstwhile WBO heavyweight interim champion Joseph Parker takes connected Fabio Wardley successful London connected Saturday, with the victor positioned for a rubric combat successful 2026 against undisputed champ Oleksandr Usyk.

Since Turki Alalshikh, chairperson of the Saudi Arabia General Entertainment Authority, became the astir almighty fig successful boxing a fewer years ago, matchups that marque consciousness to fans nary longer stay a phantasy and are made acknowledgment to the heavyweight purses.

Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) holds each 4 (WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO) heavyweight titles, but determination are galore large fights the part tin marque to commencement 2026 -- not conscionable rubric fights -- that would drawback combat fans' attention.

Here are immoderate of the champion heavyweight fights that could get made done 2026.

Oleksandr Usyk vs. Joseph Parker

Let's commencement with the king, who said precocious helium intends to combat until helium is 41. Usyk, 38, is coming disconnected a objective fifth-round KO of erstwhile IBF champion Daniel Dubois successful July, which erstwhile again crowned Usyk arsenic undisputed champion. Former champ Tyson Fury, 37, is keen connected different ace astatine Usyk, but what mightiness travel archetypal is Usyk vs. Parker, assuming Parker defeats Fabio Wardley connected Saturday.

Parker, 33, a erstwhile WBO champion, has looked crisp successful caller performances and is the WBO mandatory challenger. Parker (36-3, 24 KOs) has been waiting for immoderate clip for a rubric changeable and looks to beryllium the astir apt to look Usyk archetypal successful 2026. Parker mightiness person been facing Usyk now, but Usyk suffered a backmost wounded and that led to Parker taking the combat against Wardley instead.

Can Parker, with the astute boxing helium showed successful victories implicit Deontay Wilder (2023) and Zhilei Zhang (2024), disrupt Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) and origin him immoderate discomfort? Usyk, who volition bring truthful overmuch much question and boxing accomplishment than Zhang oregon Wilder, volition beryllium powerfully favored to bushed Parker. If Wardley, a boxer with virtually nary amateur experience, upsets the likelihood against Parker, could helium beryllium the astonishment adjacent hostile for Usyk?

Whether it is Parker oregon Wardley next, watching Usyk -- possibly the champion heavyweight since Lennox Lewis -- is simply a unrecorded lawsuit not to beryllium missed.

Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

While Usyk vs. Fury 3 could happen, the combat that grabs the astir attraction and could astir apt make the biggest pay-per-view income is Fury against Joshua.

This is simply a combat that has been 5 years successful the making, and we are inactive hopeful we volition spot Fury vs. Joshua successful 2026. But what if Fury decides to look Usyk adjacent twelvemonth instead, past retires for bully -- triumph oregon suffer -- aft the fight? Despite its entreaty and value, we inactive can't beryllium definite astir this one.

Successive attempts to lucifer Fury and Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) person failed since 2020, and the megafight has mislaid immoderate gloss present that neither is simply a satellite champion. But determination is inactive immense involvement to spot the English rivals look off. Frank Warren, Fury's promoter, said precocious that Fury wants to marque a comeback adjacent year, but Fury has not boxed since Usyk outpointed him successful December.

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn told ESPN that Joshua, 36, wants the Fury fight, but a batch needs to autumn into spot earlier we tin beryllium definite of it happening. Heavyweight boxing is unpredictable, and successful a imagination scenario, Fury...