What a year it’s been for British boxing, and with the year slowly coming to an end, we’ve looked ahead to the next 12 months.
As it stands, Britain and Ireland currently have five male world champions. However, there’s still time for us to scoop up some more.
Joshua Buatsi takes on Willy Hutchinson for the vacant WBC World Light-Heavyweight Title, so there’s one more world champion guaranteed. Then, in December, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua battle it out for the WBA World Heavyweight Title, and a day later, Callum Smith challenges Dmitry Bivol for his IBF, WBO & WBA World Light-Heavyweight Titles.
Also, Jack Catterall may be about to be upgraded to full WBA World Welterweight Champion, so bearing all that in mind, we could end the year with as many as NINE world champions.
So, with 2027 looking set to be one of the best years in recent times for British boxing, we’ve picked out one all-British & Irish fight per weight division that we want to see over the next 12 months.
Heavyweight
One of the easiest ones to pick, and understandably so. It’s going to be hard for there to be a bigger fight in British boxing in 2027 than the winner of Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua against WBO world champion Daniel Dubois.
The feelers have already been put out there by Frank Warren, who promotes both Fury and Dubois, and Eddie Hearn, who obviously promotes Joshua, so it shouldn’t be a particularly hard fight to make at Wembley Stadium in the spring or summer.
If Fury or Joshua look like they’re back to their best on December 11, it makes for an intriguing fight.
The younger Dubois, who is brimming with confidence following back-to-back wins over Fabio Wardley, against the experience of either Fury or Joshua.
What a fight and what a spectacle it’ll be, with two heavyweight world titles on the line.
Cruiserweight
In a division that is stacked with domestic talent but has been dominated by Jai Opetaia and now David Benavidez on a global scale, a really good fight that we would like to see is Viddal Riley vs Pat Brown.
Riley defends his EBU European Title against Seydi Coupe in a couple of weeks, so he will look to end the year on a high.
Brown, meanwhile, dug deep in the toughest test of his career last month to stop the previously undefeated John Hedges and move to 7-0, with all seven wins coming by way of stoppage.
What makes this fight so realistic and so intriguing is where they are ranked with the IBF.
They recently stripped Jai Opetaia of his world title, and with Riley ranked #2 and Brown ranked #4 with the organisation, don’t be surprised to see a fight between Riley and Brown made for the vacant IBF World Cruiserweight Title at some point next year.
Light-Heavyweight
Another division that is stacked with British talent on a domestic scale, with five of The Ring Magazine’s top 10 coming from these shores, we’ve picked out an absolute cracker.
With Joshua Buatsi rematching Willy Hutchinson for the vacant WBC World Light-Heavyweight Title, we’d like to see the winner of that face off with Olympic silver medallist Ben Whittaker.
Whittaker overcame a nightmare final few rounds to scrape past Conor Wallace last time out in what was a MASSIVE learning fight for the 28-year-old.
With him pretty much in pole position for a crack at the winner of Bivol & Smith, he’s ranked #3 in the WBC, so a fight with the winner of Buatsi and Hutchinson makes a heck of a lot of sense.
Whether it will happen or not is a different question, but if it does, it’ll certainly be a great main event and likely sell out an arena.
Super-Middleweight
For a while now, Hamzah Sheeraz has been the standout British fighter in the super-middleweight division, having been the WBO World Super-Middleweight Champion.
However, he has recently vacated the belt, and with no obvious choice for his next fight, look no further than British and Commonwealth champion Callum Simpson.
The Barnsley man avenged the only defeat of his career to Troy Williamson in his last fight with a much more mature performance, and off the back of that, Sheeraz could well be the perfect dance partner for Simpson, and likewise, Simpson could well be the perfect dance partner for Sheeraz.
Two big men with heavy hands, it’s certainly a fight which will be easy on the eye for fans.
Middleweight
No surprises here, but the all-British middleweight fight that we NEED to see in 2027 is the trilogy between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr.
The fight will likely end up taking place at a potential catchweight of around 164lbs, but for the third fight, the narrative is like no other.
After parting ways with Matchroom and signing with Zuffa, the animosity between Benn and Eddie Hearn has been off the charts. So much so that, despite their more than frosty relationship in the past, Hearn looks set to sign Eubank Jr to Matchroom Boxing in a quite remarkable move considering the history between the pair.
Eubank vs Benn, Eddie vs Dana and Matchroom vs Zuffa. The press conferences would be as entertaining as the fight.
Again, another one that will potentially be tough to make considering the number of egos that would be involved in the negotiations, but nevertheless, it’s still the biggest payday out there for both men, so here’s hoping a deal can be agreed.
Super-Welterweight
A fight we would like to see at 154lbs is current IBF world champ Josh Kelly against British & Commonwealth champ Bilal Fawaz.
Kelly is set to face Jaron Ennis early in the new year, but win, lose or draw, the Fawaz fight would be a cracker.
One for the purists, they are two men who have almost perfected the sweet science.
There may not be a devastating knockout, but if you love the art of boxing, you’ll love this fight.
Welterweight
A proper northern derby and a perfect fight for a Matchroom vs Queensberry 7vs7, the battle of the Jacks in Jack Catterall vs Jack Rafferty is a fight that would almost certainly sell out the Manchester Arena.
Catterall looks poised to be upgraded to full WBA world champion in the coming weeks, and with Rafferty taking on Hovhannes Martirosyan next week, early next year would be perfect timing for the clash.
Both tough, both with underrated power, both absolutely love an old-fashioned tear-up. It’s a bit of a left-field fight, but certainly a very good fight if it gets made.
Super-Lightweight
A fight that has been brewing for a good few years now, look no further than Dalton Smith vs Adam Azim.
The fight was originally ordered for the European Title, but after Azim withdrew from the bout, Smith took on Walid Ouizza and obliterated him inside a round.
Since then, he went Stateside to do the unthinkable and stop the ferocious Subriel Matias to win the WBC World Super-Lightweight Title, and then made a successful first defence in a tight affair against former champ Alberto Puello.
Azim, meanwhile, has struggled to gather any real momentum. It was confirmed earlier this week that he is set to face the experienced 32-5-1 Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela, but realistically, he’s going to need a tougher test than that to go into a fight with Smith.
Dalton holds all the cards. He’s got the option of big unifications against the likes of Gary Russell or Shakur Stevenson if the Azim fight doesn’t happen, so for Azim, he needs to be the one to show that he’s the biggest fight out there for Dalt.
Lightweight
A fight we really like the look of at 135lbs is between Matchroom’s Joe Cordina and Queensberry’s Sam Noakes.
It’s a fight that has been spoken about for a short while now, but it’s certainly a fight that’ll get boxing fans’ pulses racing.
Both have been beaten in world title fights in the last couple of years, but both showed that they belong at that level. If Abdullah Mason were to move up to super-lightweight, these two are ranked #1 and #2 in the WBO, so they would be in pole position for a shot at the vacant world title.
Now that’s a fight worthy of the main event in a Matchroom vs Queensberry 7vs7.
Super-Featherweight
The only fight on our list that has actually been confirmed, the undefeated Ryan Garner takes on the experienced former WBA World Champion Jazza Dickens in Bournemouth on January 9.
Garner has been on a great run of late and claimed the WBC ‘Interim’ World Super-Featherweight Title against Michael Magnesi last time out.
Meanwhile, Dickens bounced back from his world title defeat with a tough performance against Ramadhani Kimwaga as he looks to become a two-time world champion.
It’s a big opportunity for both men to put themselves in the picture for a shot at the full world title, and it’ll certainly be a more than explosive contest.
Featherweight
Now to the 126lbs division, and we’ve picked out a rematch between two of Britain’s best in Shabaz Masoud and Liam Davies.
Masoud got the better of Davies by split decision in November 2024, but since then, they’ve both moved up to featherweight from super-bantamweight, with Masoud remaining undefeated and Davies winning all three of his fights since his loss to Masoud and becoming European champion in the process.
The first fight was good, really good, and now with both at a weight that clearly suits them better, you could argue that it’s still 50/50.
Again, it’s Matchroom vs Queensberry, so it’s another fight that would fit perfectly well on a 7vs7 between the two promotions.
Super-Bantamweight
In a relatively quiet super-bantamweight division, a fight we would love to see is one between the 11-0 British champ Dylan Arbuckle and the 14-0 Joe McGrail.
The Scotsman Arbuckle has looked sensational of late with back-to-back stoppage wins over Nico Leivars and Frankie Storey, whilst McGrail has also been making a name for himself on Matchroom cards with back-to-back fifth-round KOs of Matthew Boreland and Aaron Hayden.
It is really the only domestic fight to make in this weight class, and with both undefeated, there’s a heck of a lot on the line for both men. However, this is the only way we’ll find out who the best super-bantamweight in Britain really is.
Bantamweight
Two men with immensely contrasting styles, our pick for a fight that we would like to see at bantamweight in 2027 is between Andrew Cain and Harvey Smith.
Cain, the come-forward powerhouse with heavy hands and a chin that most fighters could only dream of having, against the boxing purist Harvey Smith.
British and Commonwealth champ Smith recently signed with Queensberry, so with both men under the same promotional banner, it’s a fight which will be easy to make.
Super-Flyweight
Now this is a fight…
Olympic gold medallist and former flyweight world champion Galal Yafai against Liverpool’s Jack Turner.
Yafai is currently 9-0 with seven stoppage wins, whilst Turner is 14-0 with 13 stoppage wins. Their records don’t lie, with both pressure fighters on the front foot with power in both hands.
People sometimes turn a blind eye to the lighter weights due to the stereotypical view that the lighter the divisions, the fewer the knockouts. However, in a fight between these two, it’s almost guaranteed someone would end up getting chinned.
Flyweight
The last division we’re taking a look at is the flyweight division, and what a fight this could potentially be.
The 8-0 Hamza Uddin has set the world alight on Matchroom cards with his flamboyant style, and a fighter we would love to see him in with in 2027 is Liverpool’s tricky 12-0 southpaw Brandon Daord.
Daord has probably been unlucky not to get a big opportunity from a big promoter over the last couple of years, whilst Uddin, on the other hand, has been a shining light on Matchroom cards.
If Daord wins the IBO Flyweight Title in November, it could be seen as the perfect step up for Uddin as he looks to be fast-tracked to world level.