6 Boxing Matches Fans Want to See in 2025

As far as boxing goes, 2024 was a pretty good year. Some top fighters faced off in major matches, and the results were entertaining.

This makes us want more of the same in the coming year.

Now that the calendar has changed to 2025, we have a fresh list of fights we’d like to see across different weight classes, hoping that Fight Game Santa can make them happen during the next 12 months instead of waiting until the end of the year.

Check out our list and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.

Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

This fight has been talked about a lot. There’s even been writing on it. It was even scheduled at one point.

However, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua—who both come from the same country and briefly held the heavyweight title—have never faced off in a match.

But this is boxing. Now that both of them have suffered some setbacks in their careers, 2025 might be the year this fight finally happens.

Joshua’s career is nearing its end after his surprising fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in September, and Fury is no longer seen as one of the top fighters in the division after losing two close but fair decisions to Oleksandr Usyk in May and December.

This won’t matter much in England, where fans will surely show up in large numbers to see the two heavyweights settle their long-standing verbal rivalry, even if there’s no title on the line.

Promoter Eddie Hearn is ready for it. “Joshua’s done it all,” he said. “If he gets Fury on his resume, he’s boxed virtually everybody of his era.”

Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford

It might make sense to some, and to others, it might not. That depends on who you ask.

But one thing is clear: A fight between two top stars, Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford, would be a huge event. It would be one of the biggest events that a year could offer.

Alvarez, for anyone who doesn’t know, has been a professional since he was a teenager, became a champion at 20, and has spent the following years—he’s 34 now—building a Hall of Fame career with titles at 154, 160, 168, and 175 pounds. He has also made many high-profile pay-per-view appearances, which is as impressive as anyone in recent boxing history.

Meanwhile, Crawford is undefeated in 41 fights and is a four-division champion. He is looking for a challenge in his career that will top anything he has done from 135 pounds to 154.

Is Canelo too big? Is Crawford too skilled? It’s not surprising that Alvarez believes it’s the latter.

“I’m in,” he said. “Why not? Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great fighter but for me, in my weight class, it’s an easy fight. Easy money.”

Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani and/or Jesse Rodriguez

Sometimes, it’s too difficult to choose. Let’s be greedy. That’s how we feel about Naoya Inoue in 2025.

The 31-year-old Japanese boxer, known as the “Monster,” has become one of the most reliable fighters in boxing right now, with 25 knockouts in 28 wins and titles in four weight classes from 108 to 122 pounds.

He has claimed four-belt undisputed titles in both 118 and 122 pounds and has easily beaten so many opponents—nine title fights since 2020 have lasted an average of just 6.9 rounds—that it’s becoming routine.

So now it’s time to raise the stakes.

Inoue’s rescheduled title defense with Sam Goodman later this month won’t do much to excite people. But if he gets in the ring with Junto Nakatani or Jesse Rodriguez—or both—by the end of the year, the excitement around him will reach a whole new level.

Nakatani is 26 years old, also from Japan, and has ruled just one division away from Inoue at bantamweight since February, with an undefeated record of 29-0 and 22 knockouts.

Rodriguez, 24, is the most exciting young fighter in the U.S., fighting at 115 pounds, which is Inoue’s old division. He has earned attention in the pound-for-pound rankings with 14 knockouts in 21 wins.

Go ahead, try not to want this fight, too.

Amanda Serrano vs. Katie Taylor III

Speaking of being greedy, sometimes even two fights aren’t enough. Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor have fought each other twice—once in 2022 and again this past November—and they have given fans 20 rounds of unforgettable action, filled with blood, sweat, and, for Serrano at least, tears.

That’s because Serrano, the Puerto Rican champion in multiple weight classes, lost both fights in close and controversial decisions (one split, one unanimous), even though she landed more punches in 13 of those 20 rounds and threw and landed more punches in both fights.

So why not keep going until they get it right?

There’s no women’s fight that carries more excitement than a third fight between these two. Given their past battles, it’s hard to find a fan who wouldn’t be ready to watch them go at it again for another memorable fight.

They’ve been a success in New York, Texas, and even on streaming services.

So, promoter Eddie Hearn thinks maybe it’s time for Europe.

“I think a third fight with Amanda, given the viewership on Netflix and the success of the first fight, would result in not just the biggest female fight of all time but one of the biggest fights of all time,” he said.

Moses Itauma vs. Oleksandr Usyk

Oleksandr Usyk has been an Olympic champion and a cruiserweight champion. By the time 2024 ended, he had added two wins over Tyson Fury to secure another major achievement—becoming the undefeated and undisputed heavyweight champion.

While the idea of going back to 200 pounds to fight someone like Jai Opetaia is interesting, we think Usyk should stay in the heavyweight division this year to face a strong opponent, especially considering the recent struggles of Fury, Joshua, and Deontay Wilder.

That opponent is Moses Itauma. He’s 11-0 with nine knockouts. And he’s looking to break a record set by another boxer named Tyson—Mike Tyson, that is—almost 40 years ago.

“Iron Mike” became the youngest heavyweight champion in history when he knocked out Trevor Berbick in two rounds at 20 years, 4 months, and 23 days old in November 1986. Itauma, who turned 20 just after Christmas, could beat Tyson’s record if he won a heavyweight title by May 20.

His first-round win over Demsey McKean on the Usyk-Fury II undercard kept him ranked as a top-10 contender with the WBA and WBO. Given Usyk’s past success in the cruiserweight division and his 5-0 record against Fury, Joshua, and IBF champ Daniel Dubois, there is no one with a more deserving resume—or a more interesting backstory—in line for a spring title shot.

A new era in boxing or just another achievement on a Hall of Fame career?

Let’s find out.

Conor McGregor vs. Jake Paul

He hasn’t fought in more than three years. He hasn’t won in nearly five years. But Conor McGregor is still Conor McGregor.

And when it comes to Jake Paul, there’s no better person for the “Problem Child” to face in 2025.

McGregor’s name is still on the lips of every combat athlete looking for attention, and Paul has been part of the conversation from time to time since he started boxing in 2020.

At different points, it seemed more or less likely, but right now, it feels more possible than ever as Paul tries to promote fights in new places.

For anyone who might have forgotten, McGregor went 10 rounds with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and brought in more than four million pay-per-view buys in their 2017 crossover match. So if there’s a bigger event out there, let us know. We’ll wait.

According to Ariel Helwani, it’s the dream of India’s wealthiest family, the Ambanis, to host the fight in South Asia.

“My understanding was the first choice is—(the family said) ‘We want Jake Paul. We want to be in the Jake Paul business. We want a Jake Paul fight here in India,'” Helwani said. “And so, the top choice was Jake Paul vs. Conor McGregor.”

Go ahead and say you wouldn’t watch. And no, we don’t believe you.