Boxing’s marquee division is in rude health currently, with some serious talent atop the heavyweight pecking order. Crucially, these men are keen to meet each other - and when the best fight the best, there is still no spectacle quite like it.
Here furyjoshua.com assesses the landscape and ranks the best big men around.
Boxing’s heavyweight division is red-hot as we head deeper into 2026, with Oleksandr Usyk still very much at the top of the pile and a new sensation now ready to usher in the next great era.
And finally the division will get a fight which will define an era with Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua finally signed and set for Q4 of 2026 (live on Netflix).
Let’s look at how all the major recent fights have impacted our heavyweight rankings and the world heavyweight title picture. And how things might shake out in the coming months.
Our heavyweight rankings
Such is the influence of the sanctioning bodies in the sport, which sadly often defy logic to push their own agendas, it has never been an easy task to impartially rank the heavyweights. Our list ignores the so-called ‘alphabet’ ratings in favour of a non-partisan system which ranks fighters based purely on their skillset, ring achievements, title victories and potential.
1. Oleksandr Usyk (24-0)
The brilliant 38-year-old Ukrainian proved that nothing is beyond his incomparable skills as he destroyed Daniel Dubois to become undisputed world heavyweight champion for a second time. The Ukrainian genius showed once again that age is just a number as he looked better than ever in an incredible demolition job which left the young Brit floundering on the Wembley Stadium canvas as 90,000 fans looked on in awe. Boxing is struggling to find anybody to give Usyk a real test, so the Ukrainian is now heading into crossover territory this weekend by putting his WBC title on the line against Dutch kickboxing great Rico Verhoeven in Giza, Egypt.
Next fight: Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven (May 23)
2. Tyson Fury (34-2-1)
After 16 months of speculation, Tyson Fury is back with that all-British blockbuster vs Joshua now finally confirmed for later in 2026. The UK in Q4 will be the landing spot for a fight which will still be a huge draw, even though there are likely to be no titles at stake. ‘The Gypsy King’ is now 37 years old, but showed he still has plenty left in the tank when he returned with a convincing points defeat of Arslanbek Makhmudov in London in April.
Next fight: Fury vs Anthony Joshua (Q4, 2026)
3. Moses Itauma (14-0)
This no longer seems a reach, Itauma is absolutely for real and nobody can tell us otherwise. On Saturday night in Manchester the 21-year-old phenom from Kent was again devastating as he blasted out durable American Jermaine Franklin inside five rounds. Itauma - precocious beyond his tender years - appears to have it all, from devastating speed in both hands to uncanny ring savvy and chilling power. The brutal uppercut which closed the show in Round 5 was a thing of beauty and now surely a world title shot awaits later in 2026. First though he is likely to face Croatian giant Filip Hrgovic in August.
Next Fight: tbc
4. Agit Kabayel (27-0)
Kabayel has been the division’s biggest revelation in the last two years - claiming terrific wins in Saudi over giant Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov, the Cuban slickster Frank Sanchez and more recently the Chinese man mountain Zhilei Zhang. His brilliant knockout of Sanchez on the Fury vs Usyk undercard also earned him the spot as mandatory contender for the WBC heavyweight title, and it was richly deserved. In all of those big wins Kabayel was punch-perfect, executing the ideal gameplan. He is tough and technically sound, and adept at mixing attacks to body and head beautifully. In short, a danger to any top-level opponent. Started 2026 with a third-round stoppage of Damian Knyba in Oberhausen, and will now head on to bigger things.
Next Fight: tbc
5. Fabio Wardley (20-0-1)
The Fabio Wardley fairytale is complete - the former white collar fighter with no amateur experience is now a world heavyweight champion. He ascended the throne when Oleksandr Usyk vacated the WBO title in November 2025, having claimed the position as interim champion by stopping Joseph Parker in October. That win over Parker had a controversial ending but it once again proved what we know about Fabio - he may have limitations as a stylist but he does have a massive right hand, a granite chin and a massive heart. He had earlier displayed those qualities again back in June when producing a punch from the heavens to knock out Justis Huni. Wardley will make the first defence of his title against fellow Brit Daniel Dubois in Manchester in May.
Next Fight: Wardley vs Daniel Dubois (May 9)
5. Daniel Dubois (23-3)
Just when the critics start to write off Dubois, he roars back to confound them once more. ‘Dynamite’ again had a lot of questions to answer after that disappointing second loss to Usyk in their huge unification showdown at Wembley last year. But once more he is back, and now as a two-time world heavyweight champion after stopping the incredibly game Fabio Wardley in an absolutely gripping slugfest in Manchester. The big-punching Dubois is now the WBO world heavyweight champion and remains a brutal adversary for just about anyone not named Usyk. His next fight appears likely to be an immediate rematch with Wardley.
Next fight: tbc
6. Joseph Parker (36-4)
It has been a tortuous couple of months for the New Zealander, as he first lost his position as mandatory challenger for the WBO world title in that controversial loss to Wardley. It was a fight Parker arguably did not need to take, and ultimately it cost him a title he would have picked up when Usyk subsequently vacated it. There was worse news still to come when a drug test taken by Parker on the day of the Wardley fight returned traces of cocaine. Joseph denies taking banned substances and says he is confident he will be cleared. We must now wait for due process to play out.
Next fight: tbc
7. Anthony Joshua (29-4)
Joshua finally gets his long-awaited showdown with Fury later this year and he will warm up with what should be a cakewalk against little-known Albanian Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on July 25. AJ has much to prove in the coming months given that his last outing was a knockout of YouTuber Jake Paul in Miami last December. The last time we saw AJ in meaningful heavyweight combat, he was blasted out of Wembley Stadium by Daniel Dubois in September 2024. Joshua has also had to deal with the tragic car crash which killed two of his closest friends in Nigeria in December, we can only hope the mental scars have healed and he returns to action refreshed and ready for combat.
Next fight: Joshua vs Kristian Prenga (July 25)
8. Fabio Wardley (20-0-1)
For now the Fabio Wardley fairytale has been halted after the Ipswich heavyweight suffered the first defeat of his professional career. Wardley was stopped by Dubois in their Manchester showdown and Fabio dropped his WBO world heavyweight title in his first defence. It was a brutal loss for Wardley, the sort which can take time to recover from. Wardley though is not just any fighter and he has immediately triggered the rematch clause with Dubois.
Next Fight: tbc
9. Filip Hrgovic (10-1)
The giant Croat is very much back at the top table of heavyweight boxing as he continues to regroup from that first career defeat at the hands of Dubois in the summer of 2024. He posted decision victories over Joe Joyce and David Adeleye in 2025, and continued to use Brits to rebuild his career by chopping down Dave Allen inside three rounds in Doncaster. Hrgovic may not be the prettiest fighter to watch but he is big, strong and powerful and a dangerous opponent for anybody. His next opponent could be the mighty Moses Itauma, and that would be the real acid test for ‘El Animal’
Next fight: tbc
10. Bakhodir Jalolov (16-0)
‘The Big Uzbek’ could be the next big thing in heavyweight boxing now he has decided to go all in on the pro game. Jalolov has already built a 16-0 record in the paid ranks as well as claiming a second Olympic gold medal at Paris 2024. He returned to paid action in April with a decision victory over Ihor Shevadzutskyi, and more recently outpointed Vitaly Kudukhov in Russia in early October. We now await a step up in class for the exciting amateur standout.
Next Fight: tbc
