5 boxing fights we absolutely must see in 2026: From Japanese history to long-awaited superstar closure

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Picture it: You’re standing in a bitterly cold park, breath hanging in the air, counting down the final seconds of the year.

Your other half nudges you, tells you to make a wish as midnight hits (is that actually a thing?), and without hesitation your mind drifts straight to the fight game …

Suddenly, a benevolent boxing genie appears and grants you five wishes for 2026.

What five fights are you choosing?

1. Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani

Momentum is building toward what could be the biggest all-Japanese showdown the sport has ever seen.

Naoya Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) and Junto Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) boast identical undefeated records and command the devotion of an entire fighting nation, with plans now effectively in place for the pair to collide at the Tokyo Dome in May after both emerged victorious from their respective assignments on the final big boxing card of 2025.

Nakatani, 27, is widely expected to remain at super bantamweight after a decade of dominance across flyweight, super flyweight and bantamweight, setting his sights on Inoue’s undisputed crown at 122 pounds — a throne "The Monster” has occupied since 2023.

Inoue’s status as a pound-for-pound great is long established, but having touched the canvas twice in his past five fights, his younger countryman may feel the window is finally open to halt Inoue’s reign over the lower divisions.

Inoue, however, sees things very differently. Speaking to Uncrowned in December, the 32-year-old insisted his best years are still ahead of him, claiming he expects to peak in “2026 and 2027” — a statement that only adds further fuel to an already mouthwatering potential superfight.

2. Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Jaron "Boots" Ennis

2026 should be the year super welterweight champions collide.

The 154-pounders have been bubbling under the surface for a number of years now, but with titleholders running out of road, unifications are the order of the day.

Neither Vergil Ortiz Jr. (24-0, 22 KOs) nor Jaron “Boots” Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) hold a full title at the weight — Ortiz is the WBC interim champion and Ennis is the WBA interim champion — but you’d struggle to find a more in-demand fight than that between the pair of American stars.

Both Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions operate under the DAZN banner, meaning broadcast negotiations — so often the stumbling block in getting major fights over the line — should pose little to no problem here.

But don’t ever underestimate boxing’s ability to step on its own toes in these seemingly simple situations.

3. David Benavidez Jr. vs. Jai Opetaia

David Benavidez appears to have given up on the light heavyweight division, having jumped up to the dangerous cruiserweight waters where Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez awaits him in an all-Mexican contest.

This is slated for May 2026, and if "The Mexican Monster” comes through it unscathed, IBF cruiserweight titleholder Jai Opetaia might finally get his wish for a big unification fight.

Opetaia (29-0, 23 KOs) has struggled to lure a notable name into the opposite corner since winning the cruiserweight world title in 2022, so much so that rumors have circled that he may move up to heavyweight in order to scratch that big-fight itch.

But a potential meeting with someone as highly rated and in-demand as Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) could well be worth waiting around at the weight for.

“We want to fight Benavidez — let's do it,” Opetaia told Uncrowned. “I'm pumped for that. I would love to fight Benavidez. He's a great fighter with a great following who's been in the ring with some great fighters. Once we tick that box, who knows? Maybe the heavyweight chapter starts then. 

"Heavyweight will happen when I say it's ready, not when people want to throw it in my face. I'm not chasing the money, I'm chasing the dream. But I'm not rushing my journey for anyone else. I've had a dream to become undisputed my whole life, and that's what I am going to become.”

REUTERS / Reuters

4. Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

Don’t refresh the page: I promise it’s 2026, not 2020 that we are heading into.

Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua is the heavyweight collision the UK has been teased with for the best part of a decade, and 2026 feels like the last realistic window to finally make it happen.

No, it wouldn’t be for a world title — but that’s largely irrelevant. For the vast majority still invested, belts are secondary to names, and Fury and Joshua remain the only two British boxers who genuinely cut through to the mainstream. Time, though, is no longer on their sides, and the clock is ticking on one of boxing’s most lucrative what-ifs.

Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) is officially unretired after long scattering breadcrumbs across social media that pointed toward a return in 2026. Joshua (29-4, 26 KOs), meanwhile, has lived a roller-coaster recent chapter — sharing the ring with Francis Ngannou and Jake Paul in two of his past three outings, with a brutal knockout loss to Daniel Dubois sandwiched in between that flirted with career-ending territory, following by the tragic car accident that took the lives of two of Joshua's longtime friends.

Neither man is anywhere near his peak. But boxing has a long history of producing its most compelling spectacles when timing is imperfect. Their declines feel oddly aligned, and if this fight ever does materialize, the bragging rights it offers may carry more weight than any world title ever could.

5. Fabio Wardley vs. Agit Kabayel

Instead of asking Oleksandr Usyk to reclaim his undisputed heavyweight title for a third time, why not match up the two guys who are at the head of the queue?

Fabio Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) joined the long list of boxing’s email champions following Usyk’s binning of the WBO title and Kabayel (26-0, 18 KOs) is the WBC’s interim champion. Only Murat Gassiev — the WBA’s Regular champion — can (on paper) lay claim to be better positioned in the division.

Kabayel is locked in for a homecoming bout Saturday against Damien Knyba, so once the dust has settled on what looks to be a very favorable fight for the German heavyweight, let’s see Wardley vs. Kabayel for a crack at Fury.

Usyk doesn't have much left in the sport and seems more interested in a fight with former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder — and who could blame him?

Despite their strong 2025s, Wardley and Kabayel still have a way to go to convince Usyk they are worthy of a lucrative stadium fight. A win for either over each other could change that.