Eddie Hearn unveils his 3-fight Christmas wishlist for 2026

2026 is already looking like a memorable year for boxing, with Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson confirmed, among others. There are many other rumoured fights in the works, and when speaking to the DAZN social media team, Eddie Hearn revealed his desired 3-fight Christmas wishlist.

Eddie Hearn drops 3-fight Christmas wishlist for 2026

The 2025 boxing calendar has had its ups and downs, with high points, including Terence Crawford’s historic win against Canelo Alvarez, and the brilliant Ring III card at the Louis Armstrong Stadium to name just two.

We still have the highly anticipated showdown between Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua to come, as well as Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani fighting on the Night of the Samurai card in Riyadh on December 27.

When asked for the one fight he’d like for 2026 under his Christmas tree, Hearn said:
“It would be absolutely impossible not to say Anthony Joshua against Tyson Fury. But that might be too obvious.

“So I’m gonna go after Bam becomes undisputed at super flyweight and maybe moves to bantamweight, I’m gonna say Jesse Bam Rodriguez against Naoya Inoue. Anthony Joshua against Tyson Fury. And the other one I’m gonna say is Dmitry Bivol against David Benavidez.”

Probability check – will Eddie Hearn get his wishes?

Looking at these three fights and the probability of each happening. Let’s start with Bam vs Inoue. Bam appears focused on achieving undisputed status at super flyweight, and a move to bantamweight and then super bantamweight to face the Monster appears a long way off.

It would be a great test for Bam to face the Japanese star, but Bam doesn’t need it for his legacy. A move to bantamweight and winning more titles would be a great achievement, despite the lack of star names in that weight class.

Moving on to Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury. Whether this happens is anyone’s guess. It feels like we have been waiting forever. A lot depends on how AJ looks against Jake Paul on December 19, and if Fury has the desire to return and finally face his fellow Brit.

Dmitry Bivol vs David Benavidez would be a fascinating clash of styles, with Bivol’s exceptional ring generalship against the relentless pressure of Benavidez. Sign me up!