Let’s get straight to the point—boxing is a global sport with heroes hailing from every corner of the planet. Yet, the most prestigious honor in the sport, induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, is overwhelmingly US-centric. Sure, the Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York, has celebrated some of the sport’s international greats, but the fact remains: many fighters from outside the US are often overlooked.

Let’s get one thing straight—the heavyweight division is the shiny centerpiece of boxing. The marquee act. The division that puts bums on seats and draws eyes to screens. Ali, Tyson, Holyfield, Lewis, Fury—just say the names and even non-fans perk up. Heavyweights are the blockbuster movies of boxing: big, bold, and bankable.

Boxing is booming already in 2025, and the year is barely a couple of weeks old. With superfights such as Eubank Jr vs Benn and Garcia vs Haney both pretty much announced, we’ve picked out five weight classes that could host some of the biggest and most exciting bouts over the next 12 months. Where better to start than with the big boys?

What a first half of the year it has been in terms of thrilling, intriguing and epic boxing contests, with the likes of Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk, Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia, Artur Beterbiev vs Callum Smith and Naoya Inoue vs Luis Nery all living up to the pre-fight hype.

It’s fair to say that 2023 was a year like no other as boxing delivered dazzling drama, hit both the front and back pages, and crowned six undisputed champions.

Naoya Inoue put on a display worthy of becoming a four-division world champion as he took apart Stephen Fulton in Tokyo.

It should have been the night on which Maxi Hughes finally capitalised on his boxing purple patch, leaving Oklahoma as mandatory for a major lightweight title. Somehow, it wasn’t.