Tony Bellew has been looking ahead to 2026 and laid out the fights he would most like to see, including the likes of David Benavidez and Gervonta Davis.
2025 saw plenty of huge nights, with Oleksandr Usyk becoming a two-time undisputed champion, Terrence Crawford proving his dominance in another division against Saul Canelo Alvarez before retiring, and an unlikely clash between former unified champion Anthony Joshua and novice pro Jake Paul.
The New Year is now here and many mouthwatering contests are already locked in, including Shakur Stevenson vs Teofimo Lopez.
Speaking to DAZN, former cruiserweight world champion Bellew has now outlined three others he would most like to see, starting with Japan’s multi-weight world champion and two division undisputed great Naoya Inoue against unified flyweight ruler Bam Rodriguez.
“The skill involved in that is just on another level and it’s two fighters at the top of their game. I know there’s a couple of divisions between them at the moment, but if they can agree on a weight where both are happy then that’s fireworks.”
He then picked out a man who fought just once in 2025 when he secured a majority draw against Lamont Roach Jr.
“Gervonta Davis is another fighter I want to see have a big fight next year. If Shakur Stevenson can get past Teofimo Lopez, then ‘Tank’ vs Shakur is massive.”
Finally, he backed a Mexican American with a famously high world rate to also keep stepping up in the biggest fights possible.
“David Benavidez also deserves a big fight at light-heavyweight, so I don’t mind him going in with either Bivol or Beterbiev.”
With the likes of Joshua versus Tyson Fury and Usyk vs Deontay Wilder also possibilities this year, 2026 could be huge for boxing fans.
