Your Essential Guide to the 2026 Boxing World: Unmissable Fights and Key Outcomes
Upcoming Battles: A Look at the May 2026 Boxing Calendar
As May 2026 progresses, the boxing world gears up for an exciting series of events. On May 29th, London will host a super-flyweight clash between Charlie Edwards and Sikho Nqothole, broadcast live on DAZN. The following day, May 30th, features a light-welterweight bout in London with Adam Azim facing Steve Claggett, available on BBC Two & BBC iPlayer. Simultaneously, Texas, USA, will be the epicenter for multiple world title defenses, including Stephanie Han defending her WBA lightweight title against Holly Holm, and Amanda Serrano putting her WBA & WBO featherweight belts on the line against Cheyenne Hanson. Desley Robinson will defend her IBF & WBO middleweight titles against Mary Spencer, while Yokasta Valle faces Lourdes Juarez for the WBC strawweight world title. Boxing fans in Yekaterinburg, Russia, can catch Dmitry Bivol defending his IBF, WBO, and WBA light-heavyweight titles against Michael Eifert on DAZN.
June 2026: Championship Showdowns Across Continents
June promises more high-stakes boxing. On June 6th, Bournemouth, England, will see Chris Billam-Smith battle Ryan Rozicki in a cruiserweight contest. In Aichi, Japan, Masamichi Yabuki will defend his IBF flyweight title against Rene Calixto, and Willibaldo Garcia Perez will challenge Andrew Moloney for the IBF super-flyweight world title. The action continues on June 13th in Arizona, USA, where Antonio Vargas defends his WBA bantamweight title against Jesse Rodriguez, live on DAZN. Florida, USA, will host several women's title fights, including Oshae Jones defending her IBF light-middleweight title against Elia Carranza, Evelin Nazarena Bermudez defending her WBO & IBF light-flyweight titles against Estefany Alegria Osorio, Tiara Brown defending her WBC featherweight title against Hannah Noelle Rapp, and Jasmine Artiga defending her WBA super-flyweight title against Nataly Delgado.
Mid-Year Boxing Extravaganza: June, July, and August 2026
The summer heats up with more boxing action. On June 20th, Southampton, England, will feature Ryan Garner against Michael Magnesi in a super-featherweight fight, live on DAZN. Brooklyn, USA, will host a significant event on June 27th, with Xander Zayas defending his WBO & WBA light-middleweight titles against Jaron Ennis, also on DAZN. As July begins, Ohio, USA, on July 4th, will see Abdullah Mason defend his WBO lightweight title against Joe Cordina, and Bruce Carrington defend his WBC featherweight title against Rene Palacios, both live on DAZN. A heavyweight clash awaits on July 25th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as Anthony Joshua takes on Kristian Prenga. August concludes with Cherneka Johnson defending her WBO, WBC, WBA & IBF bantamweight world titles against Dina Thorslund in Florida, USA, live on Sky Sports.
A Historic Rematch and Noteworthy Results of Early 2026
A highly anticipated rematch is set for September 19th in Las Vegas, USA, as Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao face off once more, live on Netflix. Looking back at the year's results, January kicked off with Amanda Serrano retaining her WBA & WBO featherweight titles in a homecoming win in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where Stephanie Han also defended her WBA lightweight title against Holly Holm. On January 10th in Brooklyn, USA, Dalton Smith claimed his maiden WBC light-welterweight world title by stopping Subriel Matias. Las Vegas saw Callum Walsh defeat Carlos Ocampo in Zuffa Boxing's opening night on January 23rd, and Raymond Muratalla retained his IBF lightweight title against Andy Cruz on January 24th. The month concluded on January 31st with Josh Kelly capturing the IBF light-middleweight title from Bakhram Murtazaliev in Newcastle, England, and Elif Nur Turhan retaining her IBF lightweight title against Taylah Gentzen. In London, Francesca Hennessy narrowly defeated Ellie Bouttell, and Gradus Kraus stopped Boris Crighton. New York witnessed Shakur Stevenson becoming a four-weight champion by outclassing Teofimo Lopez for the WBO light-welterweight title, and Bruce Carrington knocking out Carlos Castro for the WBC featherweight title.
February and March 2026: Key Victories and Title Changes
February and March continued to deliver memorable boxing moments. On February 6th in Guadalajara, Mexico, Christian Medina cruised past Adrian Curiel to retain his WBO bantamweight title. Liverpool, England, on February 7th, saw Nick Ball stopped by Brandon Figueroa in the 12th round for the WBA featherweight world title. Caroline Veyre defeated Delfine Persoon in Michigan, USA, on February 10th for the WBC super-featherweight title. February 21st was a busy day: Leigh Wood defeated Josh Warrington in a rematch in Nottingham, England, and Sandy Ryan became a two-weight champion by outmuscling Karla Ramos Zamora for the WBC light-welterweight title. In Las Vegas, Ryan Garcia defeated Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title. Camila Zamorano, at just 18, retained her WBC atomweight title in Sonora, Mexico. February concluded on the 22nd in Detroit, USA, with Claressa Shields beating Franchon Crews-Dezurn to become the undisputed heavyweight world champion, and on the 28th in Arizona, USA, Emanuel Navarrete unified the WBO & IBF super-featherweight divisions by defeating Eduardo Nunez. March 8th in Las Vegas saw Opetaia's IBF cruiserweight title become doubtful after winning the Zuffa belt. On March 14th in Dublin, Ireland, Cacace defeated Dickens to claim his second world title, the WBA super-featherweight. California, USA, saw Gabriela Fundora stop Viviana Ruiz Corredor to become the undisputed flyweight world champion, and Oscar Collazo retained his WBO minimumweight title against Jesus Haro. Shokichi Iwata became the new WBC flyweight champion, and Anthony Olascuaga retained his WBO flyweight title in Yokohama, Japan, on March 15th. Mick Conlan suffered a shock loss to Kevin Walsh in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on March 20th, while Nina Meinke outpointed Dyana Vargas in Hamburg, Germany. George Liddard retained his British & Commonwealth middleweight titles in London, England, on March 21st. Manchester, England, saw Moses Itauma stop Jermaine Franklin in five rounds on March 28th, and Sebastian Fundora retained his WBC light-middleweight title by stopping Keith Thurman in Las Vegas.
April and May 2026: Dynamic Fights and Unifications
April and May brought more electrifying boxing. On April 3rd in Tokyo, Japan, Rene Santiago defeated Masataka Taniguchi to unify the WBO & WBA light-flyweight titles. Cardiff, Wales, on April 4th, witnessed Lauren Price defeat Stephanie Pineiro for the WBC, IBF & WBA welterweight titles, and Rhys Edwards and Gully Powar fighting to a draw for the British featherweight title. In London, Deontay Wilder defeated Derek Chisora, and Viddal Riley outpointed Mateusz Masternak for the European cruiserweight title. April 5th in London saw Caroline Dubois unify the WBC & WBO lightweight titles by defeating Terri Harper, and Ellie Scotney became undisputed super-bantamweight world champion after a tough test against Mayelli Flores Rosquero. Chantelle Cameron dominated Michaela Kotaskova for the WBO light-middleweight title, and Irma Garcia stopped Emma Dolan for the IBF super-flyweight title. On April 9th in Montreal, Canada, Osleys Iglesias stopped Pavel Silyagin for the IBF super-middleweight title. London again hosted big fights on April 11th, with Tyson Fury outclassing Arslanbek Makhmudov in his comeback, and Conor Benn defeating Regis Prograis. On April 17th in Glasgow, Scotland, Nathan Collins lost to Cristobal Lorente, and Royston Barney-Smith defeated Conor McIntosh for the British & Commonwealth super-featherweight titles. New York saw Alycia Baumgardner defeat Bo Mi Re Shin to unify the WBA, IBF and WBO super-featherweight titles, and Lani Daniels stopped Shadasia Green for the IBF & WBO super-middleweight titles. April 18th in Liverpool, England, saw Ben Whittaker stop Braian Suarez. May 2nd was a global affair: Naoya Inoue outclassed Junto Nakatani in Tokyo, Japan, to remain undisputed super-bantamweight world champion, and Takuma Inoue defeated Kazuto Ioka for the WBC bantamweight title. In Las Vegas, David Benavidez stopped Gilberto Ramirez to become a three-weight world champion. Manchester, England, on May 9th, saw Daniel Dubois survive two knockdowns to stop Fabio Wardley for the WBO heavyweight title. On May 16th in Doncaster, England, Dave Allen was stopped by Filip Hrgovic. The month concluded on May 23rd in Giza, Egypt, with Oleksandr Usyk stopping Rico Verhoeven for the WBC heavyweight title, Hamzah Sheeraz destroying Alem Begic for the WBO super-middleweight title, and Mizuki Hiruta outpointing Mai Soliman for the WBO super-flyweight titl
