Joshua v Fury and Canelo v Crawford on Saudi boxing wishlist for 2025

Huge fights in the pipeline as Riyadh Season continues to drive sport forwards

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 11: Anthony Joshua arrives prior to the RING Magazine Awards at Old Royal Naval College on January 11, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham / Getty Images)

Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez arrives prior to the Ring Magazine Awards. Getty Images

Chris Eubank Jr, right, greets Ryan Garcia. Getty Images

Fabio Wardley arrives at the awards. Getty Images

Cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia in London. Getty Images

Conor Benn, right, shakes hands with Ricky Hatton. Getty Images

Shakur Stevenson arrives prior to the Ring Magazine Awards. Getty Images

'Big Bang' Zhilei Zhang in London. Getty Images

New Zealand's former IBF heavyweight champion Joe Parker. Getty Images

Devin Haney, left, on the red carpet. Getty Images

Current IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois. Getty Images

Anthony Joshua is targeting a long-awaited showdown against Tyson Fury, saying the fight "has to happen this year".

Joshua was speaking at The Ring magazine awards in London on Saturday night where he was surrounded by the great and the good of world boxing, past and present.

The magazine has been acquired by Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority and the man behind the Saudi boxing project.

Alalshikh has also thrown his support behind a potential Joshua-Fury bout after including it on a list of five fights he wants to make this year.

Joshua, who was knocked out by Daniel Dubois in his most recent outing last September, said: "It's a fight I want to see because I am a fan of boxing.

"When I am in the gym, everyone is asking me [about this fight]. I ain't got many years ahead of me. I want to leave the game with a bang and make an impact.

"Everyone is asking me the same question. It's up to me to deliver, that's why I'm saying it has to happen this year. I think we can make this fight happen."

Fury was absent from the event having gone to ground since losing to unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk for a second time in their Riyadh rematch just before Christmas. Usyk was named Fighter of the Year in London.

"I want to see Chris Eubank Jr versus Conor Benn, I want to see of course Tyson Fury versus Anthony Joshua," Alalshikh told the Froch On Fighting podcast. "I want to see Canelo Alvarez versus Terence Crawford, and I also want to see Devin Haney versus Ryan Garcia the rematch.

"For Oleksandr Usyk he will wait for the card of February [featuring Daniel Dubois v Joseph Parker]. He has said he wants to fight one or two fights more, and I would like to see the Dubois rematch."

Perhaps the most significant development of the weekend though, was Alalshikh meeting with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and the increasing likelihood that the Mexican legend will face his fellow pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford this year.

It's a fight that wasn't on many people's radar given Crawford has just moved up to the super welterweight division while Canelo is up at super middleweight, but Alalshikh has been pursuing the idea for some time.

Canelo has previously dismissed Crawford as being too small, but changed his tune after meeting with Alalshikh on Saturday.

"[There's] always a chance there. We'll see, we'll see, but there's always a chance. We're here to make the best deals," said Alvarez in London when asked about fighting Crawford.

The details of a potential fight remain unclear, but given Canelo fights almost exclusively on Cinco De Mayo weekend - the Mexican holiday that has become synonymous with big fights - it is not inconceivable we could see Canelo and Crawford headline a Riyadh Season Cinco De Mayo show on May 3.

Crawford is 41-0 and has won world titles in four weight classes from lightweight to light middleweight. Canelo, meanwhile, has rebuilt following his 2022 loss to Dmitry Bivol and defeated Jaime Munguia and Edgar Berlanga last year.

Also in attendance in London were bitter rivals Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney. Garcia last year handed Haney his first loss but then tested positive for performance enhancing drugs and the result was turned into a 'no contest'.

Haney, who has since filed a lawsuit against Garcia, labelled his foe a "cheat" and admitted their feud has become deeply personal.

But Garcia said: “First and foremost he needs to drop the lawsuit if he even wants to have a conversation about [a rematch]. To me, I thought that was a weak move by him and now he wants to backtrack and say that’s how he’s going to get it back but before he was saying different. But I’m ready to fight him, I already fought him and beat him.”