The heavyweight division has not produced this much movement in a single fortnight since the Klitschko era ended. Inside ten days, Daniel Dubois has captured the WBO title in a thriller over Fabio Wardley, Oleksandr Usyk has taken on a kickboxing icon for his next WBC defence at the Pyramids of Giza, and the most British of all-British fights — Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury — has, depending on which promoter is talking, been signed, contested, claimed and counter-claimed.
Let's start with the only fight that already has a result. Daniel Dubois stopped Fabio Wardley in the 11th round on May 9, claiming the vacant WBO heavyweight title in a fight that featured wild swings of momentum. The rematch clause guarantees a sequel, and Dubois now joins Usyk and the winner of any Fury–Joshua showdown in a four-man eliminator-by-attrition for the eventual undisputed crown.
Usyk's next move is already set. The Ukrainian (23-0) returns at the Pyramids of Giza on May 23 against Glory super-heavyweight icon Rico Verhoeven — a fight that splits opinion among purists but has earned the imagination of casual fans who first saw Usyk dispatch Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. The fight is for the WBC title only; the IBF and WBA Super belts will not be contested, with Usyk's team prioritising the cleanest rematch path back to the unified picture.
It is the Fury–Joshua picture, however, that has produced the most noise. UFC president Dana White used his recent appearance on a Zuffa Boxing broadcast to claim ownership of the British super-fight, telling reporters: "I'm doing the Tyson Fury–AJ fight, too. I'm gonna be promoting that." White, who has made entries into boxing through Zuffa Boxing and a working partnership with Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, added: "Do I ever say stuff that really isn't true that doesn't happen?"
Eddie Hearn, who has shepherded Joshua's entire professional career and would normally expect to promote any Joshua main event, was less than impressed. "Such a clout chaser," Hearn said in response to White. "Not a chance and contractually impossible. Let me know when you find your balls." Hearn would later double down by calling White a "fruit loop" in their on-the-record exchange.
Frank Warren, who promotes Fury, told the BBC he is "very confident" his other heavyweight star — Moses Itauma — will fight for a world title before the end of 2026, and reiterated that the path to the Joshua–Fury super-fight has not changed for his side: Fury, then a Joshua–Fury negotiation that would run through Queensberry, not Zuffa.
And then there is Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, whose word now carries more weight in heavyweight boxing than any single promoter. "To my friends in Great Britain. It's happening. It's signed," he wrote on social media. The Saudi power-broker has previously been the deciding voice on every major heavyweight night of the last two years and is expected to host Joshua–Fury at a UK stadium in November.
That date — November 2026 — was confirmed in spirit by Eddie Hearn this week. "The venue will be decided by Turki Alalshikh," Hearn told DAZN. "Everybody dreams about this fight taking place in the UK. We'll see. I think around November time, but we've signed, Fury's signed. Get through July 25th, and we're good to go." That July 25 reference points to Joshua's confirmed tune-up against Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga, slated to take place in Riyadh.
Usyk himself — pure focus, no soundbites about Fury or Joshua this week — has stayed inside the Verhoeven build-up. He has been a fixture in Anthony Joshua's training camp ahead of his own May 23 night, an arrangement Hearn has likened to a buddy film: "These guys are like Apollo and Rocky."
For the first time since Usyk dethroned Fury, every contender in the heavyweight division has a confirmed next fight. Verhoeven on May 23. Joshua on July 25. Wardley–Dubois II to follow. And Joshua–Fury, finally, in November. The division has not had this much certainty in years — even if the politics underpinning it have rarely felt this fractious.
