Boxing is really in a golden age right now, and nowhere is it more golden than the heavyweight division.
It was once said that being heavyweight champion of the world is the biggest prize in all of sports. And while the fact we could theoretically have about six of those (check out the complicated landscape here) does dilute the power of that title, it still remains a massive deal.
Right now it is the great Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois holding all the belts, and the pair will meet at London’s Wembley Stadium on July 19 to give the sport only its second undisputed heavyweight king since Lennox Lewis way back in 1999.
READ MORE: Heavyweight boxing schedule with all the big upcoming fights
That fight is absolutely going to happen, but what about the fights we’d like to see as we move deeper into 2025?
Five potential heavyweight blockbusters
We picked out five absolute blockbusters that would have fight fans (and crossover casuals) drooling in anticipation. The massive cash investment from Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (headed by Turki Alalshikh) means they are more likely than ever to happen:
Moses Itauma (11-0) vs Agit Kabayel (26-0)
Moses Itauma is the most exciting youngster the heavyweight division has seen in a long time – maybe even since the days of Mike Tyson. He is that good, a devastating mix of speed, power and remarkable ring IQ in one so young. Kabayel meanwhile has grown into a bona fide title contender in the last two years – defusing the massive threats posed by Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sanchez and Zhilei Zhang. This would be another huge test for Kabayel, and a big step up for Itauma. A fascinating clash between two unbeaten and talented fighters. Sign us up…
Tyson Fury (34-2-1) vs Anthony Joshua (28-4)
Okay we’ve been here before, so many times it seems. It is now four long years since the two British giants of the heavyweight division actually signed to meet each other on a two-fight deal. Then up popped Deontay Wilder to win an arbitration ruling, force a third fight vs Fury and ruin the whole grand plan. We’ve had several further false starts since, but now this is the only fight that makes massive sense for both men. Fury is retired, AJ is injured and neither holds a world title. There are no sanctioning bodies calling the shots any more, this is just a huge fight and one that surely has to happen. Late 2025 or early 2026 now looks most likely, but we are still all in. For very obvious reasons.
Anthony Joshua (28-4) vs Deontay Wilder (43-4-1)
This is another fight which has been in the works for years, and almost happened on more than one occasion. Joshua and Wilder had agreed to meet in March 2024, but then Wilder fluffed his lines badly by losing his warmup fight vs Joseph Parker in December 2023. After that, Joshua vs Wilder was an impossible sell so soon, and the wait went on. Now, with Wilder and Joshua both coming back after injury, a December showdown between these two mighty punchers does not seem impossible. It would not be one for the purists, but it would be some fun while it lasted. Highly unlikely we would need judges or scorecards to decide this one.
Moses Itauma (11-0) vs Jared Anderson (18-1)
We’ve already spoken at length about the tantalising talent that is Itauma, and what about a mouthwatering showdown with another brilliant young talent? Anderson’s road to the top suffered a pretty hefty bump last August when he was blasted out by Martin Bakole in an upset in Los Angeles. He is a freakish athlete with freakish gifts, but he needs to restore that mighty reputation. No better way to mend one big bubble than by bursting another. This would be a cracking matchup and we’d love to se it.
Oleksandr Usyk (23-0) vs Joseph Parker (36-3)
Okay this is one for the purists, it’s not crossover bar-room brawl territory. Everybody has their own Kryptonite and maybe, just maybe, Joseph Parker could be that for the brilliant Oleksandr Usyk (23-0). The sensational Ukrainian is an all-time great and so far the heavyweight division has not found a big man to beat him. So maybe the answer is not size, but heavyweight skills allied to technical ability. Parker has resurrected his career in style in the past 18 months after looking done following that crushing loss to Joe Joyce. He is a tough opponent for anybody, and his ability to execute a finely-tuned gameplan would be perfect for a matchup with Usyk. We’d still favour Oleksandr (we would against anybody) but Parker would absolutely have a shot.
