The State of The Heavyweight Division: A Look at Boxing’s Flagship Weight Class

With the heavyweight’s entering a transitional era, we look at how boxing’s biggest division is shaping up in 2025.

The flagship division in boxing, the Heavyweights have always been the biggest headliners within the sport.

However, the dominance of Oleksandr Usyk has seen the landscape completely change, and we are now entering a transitional era within the division.

With Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua potentially set to finally meet in the ring, let’s look at the state of the heavyweight division in 2025.

If you are betting on boxing in the UK, follow the link to first.com, where you can find the best bookmakers to place your boxing bets.

Usyk vs Dubois: A Different Fight

Fresh from a shock demolition of Joshua, Daniel Dubois is the next man to challenge Usyk for his WBA, WBO and WBC championships, putting up his IBF title in return, making this another massive undisputed championship fight.

The Ukrainian beat Fury in Riyadh to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis, but rules and regulations meant he had to quickly drop the IBF belt, which the Brit picked up at Wembley against Joshua.

This fight, taking place at Wembley Stadium, will be a rematch from 2023, where Usyk was able to outclass Dubois to finish him in the ninth round, although controversy did arise from a debated low blow in the fifth round, which ‘Dynamite’ insisted was above the belt.

Now set to do battle in July, the Joshua fight gives Dubois a completely different look heading into this one, with the undeniable power presenting a different problem for Usyk, although it is tough to ever count out the Ukrainian, who always rises to the occasion.

Will Tyson Fury Return?

The biggest draw in the division, headlines follow every move that Tyson Fury makes.

His coach SugarHill Steward has recently teased the ‘Gyspy King’ coming out of retirement, which came after his second successive defeat to Usyk last year.

Fury is allegedly set for a comeback, with the allure of an all-timer British heavyweight clash against Joshua likely to bring the former champion out of a short retirement.

Never one to be quiet, you would expect that Fury will return in some form by the end of the year.

Will we finally see Joshua vs Fury?

Another former heavyweight champion set to make a return is Anthony Joshua, who has been clear on the fact he will fight again, despite his quick defeat to Dubois last year.

This has led to the obvious speculation that the gigantic domestic clash between Fury and Joshua will take place sooner rather than later.

If Usyk beats Dubois, both fighters will see no real pathway towards another fight with the Ukrainian, having already lost twice each to the dominant champion.

This sees the stars align for the biggest modern heavyweight fight to finally be made, albeit a few years later than many would have liked.

A German Wildcard Storming Through the Division

A name to keep an eye on for the winner of Usyk vs Dubois is German heavyweight Agit Kabayel, who came to people’s attention with a stunning win against Zhilei Zhang in Saudi Arabia.

The current WBC Interim Heavyweight champion, Kabayel looks to have put everything together, scoring five consecutive knockout wins, with the last three coming against ranked contenders.

A fight against Bakole was meant to see the winner become the mandatory for Dubois’ IBF title, and if that does get made, you would back the German to become the next top contender for a potentially undisputed championship fight.