Heavyweight boxing should be booming. In Oleksandr Usyk we have an undisputed heavyweight champion. With Joseph Parker we have a logical number one contender for the title. We then have the next contender with Agit Kabayel. The division also has a young phenomenon in Moises Ituma.
Why then doesn’t anything of major importance seem to have been booked? We look at the heavyweight boxing scene and try to solve it.
Heavyweight Boxing – Booked Fights
This Saturday, WBO interim heavyweight champion Joseph Parker will meet undefeated Briton Fabio Wardley, who holds the WBA interim heavyweight belt. While this fight makes some sense, Parker should be fighting for the undisputed title.
He is enjoying a six-fight winning streak that includes taking on the feared Martin Bakole on a day’s notice when Daniel Dubois pulled out of the fight.
Agit Kabayel does will return on January 10the however, his opponents have not yet been announced in his home country of Germany.
Kubrat Pulev, the WBA ‘Regular’ champion (yes, it’s hard to keep track), will meet Murat Gassiev in December in a fight that will have very little impact on the division.
Outside of that, nothing and no one is currently booked.
Battles to make
There are several logical fights that fans want to see in heavyweight boxing. First of all, we want to see Oleksandr Usyk back in action. Whether it’s against Parker (if he beats Wardley) or Kabayel, if he beats his January opponent, it doesn’t matter. We just want to see the best heavyweights of a generation back in the ring.
Another logical fight is Anthony Joshua versus Tyson Fury. It’s not a fight that anyone thinks has any relevance to the division. Both men are the furthest away from a world championship they have ever been. Joshua has lost convincingly to Usyk twice, losing his last outing via a devastating knockout to Daniel Dubois. He has been out of the ring since September 2024 and needs a big fight after that. Fury, like Joshua, cannot beat Usyk. Two tries, two failures. It’s an all-British affair that every fan in Britain wants to see, which would still sell millions of PPVs and could certainly be competitive. Book it.
Daniel Dubois is still high in the rankings, despite a one-sided defeat to Usyk last time out. He needs a rebound fight and since he’s so young, there’s a good chance we’ll see him in a title fight again soon. Frank Sanchez has entered the fray.
Moses Ituma. 13-0, 11 knockouts, only 20 years old. Rumors of a Hughie Fury fight are swirling, a fight that makes no sense and does nothing for Ituma. Coming off a first round knockout of the respected Dilian Whyte last time out.
I’m thinking of two options. Filip Hrygovic and Andy Ruiz Jr. Hrygovic fought on the same card as Ituma and played 10 rounds with David Adeleye. Hrygovic extended his winning run to two with his victory and is highly regarded by all key players. Andy Ruiz Jr. is a recognizable name for British fans, as he is the first man to inflict a professional defeat on Joshua. He hasn’t fought much since, competing just three times since losing the title to Joshua in their 2019 rematch. There’s a chance for Ituma to beat Ruiz faster than Joshua… a nice carrot to dangle.
How would you match up the main players in the heavyweight boxing division?
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