Sadly we did not get Tyson Fury vs Anthony before the end of 2022, in fact maybe we never will, but there is still plenty to look forward to when it comes to boxing’s marquee heavyweight division.
The British world champions had been due to meet in Saudi Arabia last August with potentially an immediate rematch in November or December. But then Wilder won an arbitration ruling to force Fury to accept their trilogy match after all.
Now though the dream is that Fury instead will fight Oleksandr Usyk for all the marbles either in February or March 2023. That after Fury duly retained his titles with an easy defeat of Dereck Chisora in their trilogy fight.
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There are plenty of other great upcoming fights to look forward on a Friday or Saturday night – but here is the heavyweight schedule as it stands.
Upcoming boxing fights: Heavyweights
Here is how the heavyweight division currently looks from a scheduling perspective – including every major heavyweight fight. As you can see none of the top names have bouts scheduled now – we’ll update this page as soon as they do:
Tyson Fury (32-0-1) vs Dereck Chisora (33-12) 3
Date: Saturday December 3, 2022
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England
TV: BT Sport Box Office (UK), ESPN (U.S.)
Odds: 1/20 Fury, 9/1 Chisora, 33/1 Draw
Result: Fury won TKO R10
Fury produced an absolute masterclass to deliver a brutal beating on Chisora in the trilogy fight that nobody wanted. ‘The Gypsy King’ though was peerless in front of 60,000 fans to unleash spiteful shots all night before referee Victor Loughlin mercifully called the show off very late in Round 10.
Daniel Dubois (18-1) vs Kevin Lerena (28-1)
Date: Saturday December 3, 2022
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England
TV: BT Sport Box Office (UK), ESPN (U.S.)
Result: Dubois won TKO R3
Dubois overcame a major scare to retain his WBA regular heavyweight title after being knocked down three times in the opening round. ‘Dynamite’ was caught by a counter to the top of the head from Lerena and appeared to hurt his knee as he stumbled back. Dubois somehow survived and gradually fought his way back into the fight before landing a lovely right in the third which turned the fight back in his favour before he closed the show at the end of the session.
Jared Anderson (12-0) vs Jerry Forrest (25-6-2)
Date: Saturday December 10, 2022
Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
TV: ESPN, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes (U.S.)
Odds: –
Result: Anderson won TKO R2
Anderson was sensational again as he blasted out the durable Forrest inside two rounds on the Teofimo Lopez vs Sandor Martin at Madison Square Garden. He landed an astonishing 39 power punches in Round 1 alone to set up Forrest for an early night. The finish came in the second with a brutal overhand right to the top of the head, and now ‘Big Baby’ can look forward to bigger and better things.
NB: You can get the latest boxing TV schedules for the major broadcasters by checking out our guides for:
Boxing Schedule: Heavyweight fighters without a confirmed next fight date
Oleksandr Usyk (20-0): The brilliant Ukrainian successfully defended his IBF/WBA/WBO titles in a rematch with Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia in August 2022. Usyk came through significant peril in Round 9 before coming on strong in incredible fashion to claim a split decision victory. Next up hopefully is Fury in early 2023 for all the heavyweight marbles.
Deontay Wilder (43-2-1): ‘Bronze Bomber’ is back after that first-round KO win over Robert Helenius in Brooklyn. Coming in 24lbs lighter than for the Fury trilogy match, Wilder showcased the power that he has always possessed and will be a massive attraction whoever he fights next. Usyk, Joshua or Ruiz are all fights we would love to see.
Anthony Joshua (24-3): AJ would appear to stand at the crossroads of his glittering career after suffering a third defeat in his last five fights at the hands of the brilliant Usyk in Saudi Arabia. Joshua produced an improved showing on his first meeting with Usyk, but still dropped a split decision to fail in his bid to become a three-time world heavyweight champion. Now, with a Fury fight in December apparently not happening, we wait to see who the rebuild will begin against.
Joe Joyce: Once again showed both his incredible chin and his bruising power en route to a brilliant knockout victory over former WBO king Joseph Parker. ‘The Juggernaut’ got his nickname for a reason, and appears pretty much unstoppable against most heavyweights. Put simply he is a nightmare.
Andy Ruiz Jr (35-2): Outpointed Luis Ortiz in Los Angeles in their big WBC eliminator in September, and in theory will now face Wilder in a final eliminator. Despite the result, wasn’t overly impressive vs Ortiz and allowed the veteran Cuban to dictate the pace for much of the way.
Joseph Parker (30-3): Lost little in defeat by Joyce after a cracking scrap with the Londoner in September. Hit Joyce with everything he could throw at ‘The Juggernaut’ and also displayed a pretty good chin himself, but in the end could not live with his unbeaten opponent.
Filip Hrgovic (15-0): The dangerous and unbeaten Croat maintained his perfect record with a decision victory over the giant Chinese star Zhilei Zhang on the Usyk vs Joshua 2 undercard in Saudi Arabia in August 2022. That final eliminator victory means Hrgovic is now the mandatory challenger for the IBF heavyweight title currently held by Usyk.
Frank Sanchez (21-0): ‘The Cuban Flash’ maintained his unbeaten record with a ninth-round stoppage of Carlos Negron on the Wilder vs Helenius undercard in Brooklyn. He continues his march to bigger and better things.
Michael Hunter (20-1-2): ‘The Bounty’ is still waiting for that WBA eliminator vs Hughie Fury, but it is off again with Fury suffering from long COVID symptoms. The bout is now likely to take place in early 2023.
Efe Ajagba (15-1): The big-punching Nigerian looked completely befuddled by the speed and technical skills of Sanchez when their match of two unbeaten prospects went down on the Fury vs Wilder 3 undercard. Started the long road back to the big time with an easy stoppage win over Jozsef Darmos in August, and harder tests now await.
Otto Wallin (22-1): The Swede is now waiting to find out what comes next after his showdown with Whyte was cancelled at the 11th hour. He’s a dangerous man just outside the very top level of the division – having given Fury all he could handle in their Vegas showdown in 2019.
Agit Kabayel (21-0): The unbeaten German stayed perfect with a comfortable unanimous decision against the tough Kevin ‘Kingpin’ Johnson in Magdeburg in June. He was always on top and showed a good engine and lovely combinations, but didn’t have the artillery to really test the granite chin of Johnson.
Zhilei Zhang (24-1-1): The giant Chinese suffered his first pro defeat in an IBF final elminator at the hands of Hrgovic on the Usyk vs Joshua undercard. We were not hugely surprised by that, fearing that ‘Big Bang’ would be exposed when he really hit the top level of heavyweight boxing. Bizarrely though his dream of one day fighting Anthony Joshua in his homeland might have more potential than ever now with AJ in rebuild mode after a second consecutive loss to Usyk.
