BBC Sport picks out boxing fights we want to happen in 2026 including a long-awaited heavyweight showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, and Caroline Dubois up against fellow Briton Terri Harper.
Every new year brings great expectations and hopes for boxing fans.
Will we see the biggest fights? Are we finally going to get Anthony Joshua v Tyson Fury? Who will emerge as the next big star?
Here BBC Sport picks out some bouts we want to see in 2026.
Anthony Joshua v Tyson Fury
Right it's the big one and the serial heartbreaker – Joshua v Fury.
We've come close before, several times, but this time we are filled with renewed optimism the heavyweight super-fight will happen.
Forget the fact neither man is world champion or that Fury, 37, has been retired for a year, or the fight is a few years late with Joshua now 36, we'd still really like to see it.
It would be a seminal moment for the two best British heavyweights of their era to face each other.
And if it does happen, we expect it to be in the UK at the end of 2026.
Caroline Dubois v Terri Harper or Alycia Baumgardner
Lightweight world champion Caroline Dubois is quickly emerging as the next major talent. Now aligned with Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), she made her promotional debut in December with an impressive win against Camilla Panatta.
Surely unification fights are next for the 24-year-old and who is a better option than fellow Briton and WBO belt holder Terri Harper?
The pair don't seem to be the biggest fans of each other but now they're under the same promotional banner.
Both fight at pace and it has all the makings of a British boxing classic - never mind the fact they're both world champions.
Unified super-featherweight Alycia Baumgardner is also an intriguing and fun option for either woman, although the 31-year-old American beat Harper in a title bout back in 2021.
Dalton Smith v Adam Azim
Light-welterweight Adam Azim will be in action live on BBC Two against Argentine Gustavo Daniel Lemos on 31 January, but it really is just about time for the unbeaten 23-year-old Briton to make a big step up.
Sheffield's Dalton Smith is a brilliant fight for Azim. The 28-year-old challenges for a world title on 10 January against Subriel Matias.
Should Smith win, Slough-born Azim could face him in a world championship contest, but defeat would make it a massive must-win all-British encounter.
A no-brainer surely?
Naoya Inoue v Junto Nakatani
This is the fight for the boxing purists. Former bantamweight world champion Junto Nakatani's move to super-bantamweight in December was basically to pave the way for an all-Japanese world title super-fight with Naoya Inoue.
Multiple world champion Inoue, 32, is widely considered the standout fighter in any weight division. No-one has got close to 'The Monster', but perhaps the 27-year-old Nakatani will be the man to do it.
Both are unbeaten, with 51 knockouts between them, and it could be a fight for the ages.
Lauren Price v Mikaela Mayer
We were expecting this fight to happen in 2025, but boxing politics appeared to get in the way.
Lauren Price, 31, has been impeccable since turning professional and is already a unified champion at welterweight after just nine fights.
The only belt she doesn't have, Mikaela Mayer does. Unable to defend that WBO title against Price, Mayer casually jumped up to light-middleweight to become a three-weight world champion.
Mayer's success adds to the intrigue of a showdown with Price and the outspoken American, 35, may produce some verbal fireworks from the usually calm Welsh boxer.
Moses Itauma v Fabio Wardley
Fabio Wardley is living the dream as a white-collar boxer turned heavyweight world champion.
The 31-year-old will be expected to have a low-risk first defence of his WBO title, but we'd really love to see the big-hitting Ipswich man in the ring with the division's brightest prospect in 20-year-old Moses Itauma.
They are likely to be two of the biggest figures in British boxing over the next five years and seem certain to meet at some stage.
Why not now, when Wardley has a world title to his name?
Honourable mentions
Conor Benn v Ryan Garcia or Lewis Crocker
Naoya Inoue v Nick Ball
Dmitry Bivol v David Benavidez
Ellie Scotney v Skye Nicolson
Cris Cyborg v Claressa Shields
Abdullah Mason v Sam Noakes 2
More boxing from the BBC
Category: General Sports
