Heavyweight Boxing 2026: The Title Picture

Last updated: 28 July 2026.

Heavyweight boxing in 2026 has three champions across the four sanctioning bodies, and the IBF title is vacant. Two of the three champions were promoted into the full title rather than winning it in a fight for it. Moses Itauma meets Filip Hrgović on Saturday 29 August 2026 at The Arena London.

Who holds the world heavyweight titles in 2026?

Three of the four sanctioning-body world heavyweight titles have a champion in 2026, and the IBF title is vacant. Agit Kabayel holds the WBC title, Murat Gassiev the WBA and Daniel Dubois the WBO. No boxer holds all four, so the division has no undisputed champion. One further title, The Ring championship, sits outside those four, and Oleksandr Usyk still holds it.

Dubois won the WBO in the ring, stopping Fabio Wardley in the eleventh round at Co-op Live, Manchester in May 2026, in a fight covered as a contender for fight of the year. Gassiev made a defence in July 2026, stopping Peter Kadiru in Moscow.

Daniel Dubois has beaten three of the other men named on this page. He stopped Anthony Joshua in 2024, he handed Filip Hrgović his only professional defeat, and he took the WBO title off Fabio Wardley in May 2026.

Does Anthony Joshua hold a world heavyweight title?

Anthony Joshua holds none of the four sanctioning-body world heavyweight titles in 2026. He is a former IBF, WBA and WBO world heavyweight champion. The man who holds the WBO belt, Daniel Dubois, knocked him out in London in 2024, in a fight for the IBF title. On 25 July 2026 Joshua beat Kristian Prenga by knockout in the second round, though he was on the floor twice himself in the first.

Does Tyson Fury hold a world heavyweight title?

Tyson Fury does not hold a world heavyweight title in 2026. He is a former WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF world heavyweight champion, and is 36-2-1 as a professional. He beat Mariusz Wach in Pattaya, Thailand on 24 July 2026, the fight ending by retirement after seven rounds, and won on points against Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April 2026.

As at 28 July 2026, Sky Sports reports that contracts are signed for Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua and that the two are set to meet. November 2026 has been reported as a target month. No date has been announced, no venue has been confirmed, and the fight has not been formally announced. What is confirmed about Joshua vs Fury is a shorter list than the noise around it suggests.

Who is Moses Itauma fighting next?

Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgović takes place on Saturday 29 August 2026 at The Arena London, billed as Natural Born Thriller and shown on DAZN pay-per-view. Itauma is 21 years old and unbeaten at 14-0 with 12 knockouts. Hrgović is 20-1 with 15 knockouts and his only professional defeat came against Daniel Dubois.

Hrgović took Olympic bronze at Rio 2016, and Daniel Dubois now holds the WBO title. Itauma stopped Jermaine Franklin in the fifth round at Co-op Live, Manchester on 28 March 2026. Hrgović needed three rounds to beat David Allen in Doncaster on 16 May 2026.

UK and Ireland boxing fixtures for autumn 2026 sets out six cards from 22 August to 24 October, with the date and venue for each. Prestige Corporate Events covers what a fight night involves in ringside hospitality at major boxing fights.

Which world heavyweight titles has Oleksandr Usyk vacated?

Oleksandr Usyk vacated the WBC and WBA world heavyweight titles in June 2026, ahead of a retirement fight, though he still holds The Ring championship. As at 28 July 2026, no opponent and no date has been confirmed for that fight. Oleksandr Usyk's career and heavyweight legacy looks back over his run in the division.

Do Joseph Parker, Martin Bakole, Efe Ajagba and Zhilei Zhang have fights booked?

As at 28 July 2026, Joseph Parker, Martin Bakole, Efe Ajagba and Zhilei Zhang have no further 2026 fight booked. Parker was stopped by Fabio Wardley in the eleventh round at The Arena London in October 2025, and Wardley went on to hold the WBO title before losing it to Daniel Dubois.

Why are the heavyweight titles split four ways?

Four sanctioning bodies each recognise their own world heavyweight champion, so one man is champion of the whole division only while he holds all four belts at once. No boxer holds all four in 2026, so the division has no undisputed champion: three men hold a belt each and the fourth is vacant.

A belt can move without a fight when the champion gives it up and the sanctioning body promotes one of its own titleholders in his place. That is how the WBC and the WBA changed hands in 2026, after Oleksandr Usyk vacated his sanctioning-body titles. Only the WBO was decided in the ring, when Daniel Dubois beat Fabio Wardley.