Boxing's big three continued to shine in 2025 with Terence Crawford, Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue all remaining undefeated and adding impressive victories to their records.
Usyk extended his dominance at heavyweight with a solitary victory – over Daniel Dubois – which followed his December 2024 rematch triumph over Tyson Fury.
Inoue boxed four times, defending his super bantamweight titles against Kim Ye-joon, Ramon Cardenas and Murodjon Akhmadaliev before marking his Riyadh debut on Saturday night with near shut-out decision over David Picasso.
Crawford provided the year's outstanding victory when he moved up two divisions and outclassed Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez in September before abruptly hanging up the gloves. His shock retirement leaves a hole in American boxing, although the brilliance of Jesse Rodriguez, Shakur Stevenson and David Benevidez means there is no shortage of elite talent.
Outside of the ring, Dana White's long rumoured boxing enterprise – Zuffa Boxing – was launched. The next 12 months should reveal whether they will become a major player or just the latest entity chewed up and spat out by this most dysfunctional of industries.
Netflix made a major push into the boxing market with tens of millions of subscribers enjoying some of the sport's biggest events. Whether they double down on live combat sports in 2026 will be interesting to see, with a mooted Jake Paul-Canelo bout, Anthony Joshua versus Tyson Fury and a rumoured Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao rematch potentially of interest to the streaming giant.
Crawford's ultimate mic drop
Even those who picked Crawford to upset Canelo must have been surprised by his mastery and sheer dominance of the Mexican great and unified super middleweight champion.
The American toyed with the bigger man, gaining the upper hand by midway and then landing at will down the stretch on his way to a unanimous verdict in Las Vegas.
Even more shocking though, was Crawford's sudden decision to walk away in December, with a Canelo rematch, the lure of glory at middleweight and other lucrative bouts on the table.
The 38-year-old Nebraskan is 42-0 (31KOs), a five-weight champion – undisputed in three – and rightly feels he has nothing left to prove. This was the year he nailed down a place alongside the all-time greats, and he has chosen to do what few do and depart at his peak. The purses earned on Riyadh Season shows and his unlikely friendship with Warren Buffett should ensure several generations of Crawfords needn't worry about work.
Netflix's punchy subscription deal
Crawford's fame and a career-high purse for that September super fight were amplified by it being screened on Netflix as part of the streaming titan's move into prizefighting.
That was one of three major cards they picked up in the second half of 2025, sandwiched between the Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano trilogy bout and the vulgar spectacle that was Anthony Joshua's vicious knockout of the former YouTuber Paul.
Netflix is capable of giving boxing the production value and global platform it deserves. By broadcasting the elite of women's boxing and Crawford's masterclass they showed it at its very best. By promoting a grotesque mismatch in Joshua versus Paul – and previously Paul's win over a decrepit version of Mike Tyson – they showed it at its very worst. Let's hope for more of the former in 2026.
Usyk laps the field at heavyweight
With Usyk head and shoulders above the competition at heavyweight, the Ukrainian legend completed a victory lap of his British rivals in 2025.
Having already beaten Joshua and Fury twice each, he returned for a second beat down of Dubois.
Usyk's advancing years, allied with Dubois' improvement and seemingly transformed mindset, led to many giving the Londoner a better chance in their rematch.
However, the opposite transpired, with the 38-year-old Usyk an even more emphatic winner as he destroyed Dubois in five one-sided rounds. Usyk, who usually shows his opponents the utmost respect, was clearly riled by Dubois' comments after their first bout and set out to punish his impertinence.
Without a credible challenger in sight, Usyk is likely to face Deontay Wilder in 2026. The American will bring name recognition but not much of a threat. The division feels like it's in stasis until Usyk retires, the belts fragment, and the likes of Dubois and rising star Moses Itauma step up. That could yet happen next year.
Fighter of the year
Terence Crawford: It could only be the American. Having spent much of his career frozen out of the welterweight picture by Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions, nobody has benefitted more from Saudi Arabia's move into prizefighting than Crawford.
Turki Alalshikh, boxing's puppet master, is a huge fan and has helped orchestrate the kind of final chapter that Crawford richly deserved. To make it sweeter, he walked away undefeated, with his legacy secured and as one of the greatest to ever do it.
Fight of the year
Dmitry Bivol UD over Artur Beterbiev: Bivol took his revenge on Artur Beterbiev as he rose to the occasion in their February rematch and won a bout of the highest quality.
Just four months after Beterbiev had edged their first meeting, Bivol settled the score as he survived Beterbiev's early onslaught and took over down the stretch thanks to a combination of silky skills and pure heart. With the score now tied at 1-1, a decider sadly doesn't seem like happening any time soon.
Knockout of the year
Fabio Wardley v Justis Huni: Wardley's unlikely ascent to top contender status at heavyweight has been one of the stories of the year. However, his progress could have been derailed by Huni if not for a dramatic turnaround. Having been comprehensively outboxed, the former white-collar fighter found an eraser and a thudding right hand flipped the script and led to a 10th-round knockout.
Five fights for 2026
David Benavidez v Jai Opetaia: Benavidez says he is moving up to cruiserweight to face Gilberto Ramirez in May. Should he win then how about an undisputed bout against the ferocious Aussie later in the year?
Jaron 'Boots' Ennis v Vergil Ortiz Jr: Ennis' skill and sharpshooting versus Ortiz's relentless aggression? Guaranteed fireworks in a battle for light middleweight supremacy.
Daniel Dubois v Fabio Wardley: Unlikely to happen unless a world title is on the line, but a clash between Frank Warren's heavy hitters would be thrilling while it lasts.
Tyson Fury v Anthony Joshua: Both way past their best and the bout would lack any real significance, but if Fury's financial demands are met then it could finally end up happening.
Naoya Inoue v Junto Nakatani: The Japanese super fight we all want to see.
