The top of boxing’s most significant weight class is apparently as open as it has been in a long time. While many former heavyweight stars such as Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua are still in the title picture, there are many emerging contenders waiting to take advantage of the opportunity to join the higher league.

What will it take for up-and-coming players like Fabio Wardley, Moses Itauma and Richard Torrez Jr. to take the next step?

Usyk currently holds three world heavyweight titles (WBC, WBA, IBF), and Wardley rose to the WBO title shot after Usyk relinquished the belt last year.

Will the remaining belts remain in the same hands? How many fights does Fury have left? Can Joshua and Wilder fight for the titles again?

We explore the future of boxing’s glamor division.

Which players will be winning world titles at the end of 2026?

It’s complicated, but Usyk will likely have at least one of his three titles by the end of the year. Usyk (24-0, 15 KO) may be stripped of one or two belts for overdue mandatory defenses. The latest speculation is that the WBC, WBA and IBF world champion will face 36-year-old Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven in another bizarre crossover fight. If Usyk, 39, moves on, it could cost him one of his titles.

Agit Kabayel (27-0, 19 KO) is in good shape and, as the WBC interim champion, would have the status of full champion if the WBC authorities decide to strip Usyk. Kabayel, 33, may have to defeat former cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie next to retain his interim WBC belt. Murat Gassijew (33-2, 26 KO) from Russia stopped Kubrat Pulev in December in a fight for the regular WBA championship (secondary WBA title after the full world title). He could also advance to the world title if Uysk chooses a different opponent next. Moses Itauma (13-0, 11 KO), the 21-year-old rising star of the division, could get a shot at the WBA title later this year if he wins his next fight against Jermaine Franklin on March 28. Itauma would also love to beat fighters like Gassiew.

Usyk’s final goal for later this year may be a trilogy fight with Tyson Fury (34-2-1, 24 KO). If the Usyk vs. fight takes place Fury III, the winner will hold at least one, and possibly two, world titles.

How many more fights will Fury fight before he retires again?

This depends first on his return to fight Arslanbek Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KO) on April 11, and then on a victory over Usyk, Wardley or Joshua, probably in September in London. Two-time former champion Fury has not fought since his second consecutive points defeat to Usyk in December 2024. Losing to Usyk or Wardley in a title fight wouldn’t ruin his chances for a long-awaited, long-awaited fight against English rival Joshua, but it would cut his career tiny. Given Fury’s 37-year-old age, his previous retirement and his available options, he likely has at least three fights left before his next retirement.

Can Wilder and Joshua return to title contention?

Yes. Although both appear to be completely out of contention at the moment, their huge earning potential could see them challenge for the title in the second half of the year. However, in the case of Joshua (29-4, 26 KO), we must wait until the two-time former champion wants to continue his career after the death of two close friends and members of his team in a December car accident that occurred shortly after his sixth-round KO of Jake Paul.

Joshua’s last fight before Paul was in September 2024, when he lost by fifth-round KO to Daniel Dubois. It usually takes a few fights to get back into title contention, but due to the revenue generated, Joshua may get a title shot in his next fight. If Fury wins the WBO belt with the winner of Wardley vs. Dubois (which could happen in April or May), expect to see Joshua in a title fight later this year.

Former WBC champion Wilder (44-4-1, 43 KO) lacks momentum and form, but his name still matters. Wilder’s team hopes that a successful return to fight Derek Chisora ​​on April 4 will secure a title fight for the second half of the year. Even though the 40-year-old looked like a faded team after four defeats in his last six appearances, if he beats Chisora, he could win the title against Usyk.

What is Usyk’s best fight in 2026?

There are bigger threats in the heavyweight division than Wilder, like Itauma. But if Wilder beats Chisora, he will still attract interest. A meeting with Kabayel in his native Germany would be a gigantic deal, but fighting Wilder in the US or Fury in the UK are the biggest fights available to Usyk. Usyk is unlikely to fight Joshua, who trained with his team last year.

Which youthful heavyweight will make the most noise in 2026?

Itauma may not end the year with a belt, but he will be one step away from a title shot if he can rack up more KO wins this year. If Usyk is stripped of his WBA belt, Itauma could end the year as one of boxing’s youngest champions. Mike Tyson (20 years and four months) and Floyd Patterson (21 years and 10 months) are the two youngest heavyweight champions, and Itauma turns 22 in December. The English boxer is the most stimulating heavyweight in the sport right now and if he continues his knockout form, his fan base will grow. One of the potential fights for Itauma later this year will be the winner of Wardley vs. Dubois.

What will the heavyweight top ten look like at the end of 2026?

Expect Usyk to be No. 1 with a win over Fury, Kabayel or Wilder. Fury, after a tiny break in the fight for victory with several victories over Makhmudov and perhaps the winner of the Wardley vs. Dubois and a three-time world champion will return to the chase group, followed by Kabayel, Itauma, Wardley, Dubois, Filip Hrgovic, Richard Torrez Jr., Okolie, Bakhodir Jalolov and Joshua. Joshua could end a complex year higher on the list if he wins a major fight in 2026. Wardley, who has scored impressive victories, is an influential figure in all of this. If he beats Dubois and then Fury, does that make a potential Fury vs. Joshua fight even less likely? This would put Wardley in second place behind Usyk.

Who can take a gigantic step up 10?

If two-time Olympic gold medalist Jalalov (16-0, 14 KO) is able to compete, he will have a skill set that will make him a top fighter in the next five years. Last year he fought two modest fights in Kazakhstan and Russia.

Another fighter worth paying attention to is Torrez (14-0, 12 KO). The Californian, who won a silver medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, could take a huge step forward in his career if he defeats Frank Sanchez in his next fight in an IBF title eliminator.

Richard Riakporhe (19-1, 15 KO) also looks gigantic, powerful and hazardous since moving up from cruiserweight. The 36-year-old Londoner recorded two fast-break victories last year and is already in the WBC rankings. Efe Ajagba (20-1-1, 14 KO), who will face former champion Charles Martin on February 14 at Zuffa Boxing 03, has a gigantic stage to shine this year if he can achieve it, but the 2016 Olympian must do better than he was tied on points with Martin Bakole last May.