Bold boxing predictions for 2026: Terence Crawford's next step, Jake Paul's future and more
2026 is finally here, so as you recover from your weekend of swaying under the disco ball (that’s what people still do nowadays, right?), here is a juicy plate of #hottakes ready to be served up.
Boxing is often a sport that fails to make sense at the best of times, so why not throw a few more curve balls into the universe…
1. Terence Crawford will fight again
Terence Crawford’s decision to walk away from boxing landed without warning.
At age 38, unbeaten after 42 fights across a 17-year professional career, Uncrowned’s unanimous 2025 Fighter of the Year stepped aside at the very peak of his powers. His victory over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to claim the undisputed super middleweight crown left the sport seemingly wrapped around his finger.
Yet “Bud” showed little appetite to be swayed by the sort of eye-watering offers that inevitably follow a triumph of that magnitude. If anything, now that he has stepped away, those numbers are only likely to rise.
That doesn’t necessarily mean retirement was always the endgame. But tempting a pound-for-pound great back for one final outing may now demand a figure significantly higher than what was on the table just weeks ago — and few would begrudge Crawford for reconsidering under those circumstances.
The real complication lies in finding the right opponent. A “Canelo” rematch lacks intrigue, while the middleweight landscape is short on a genuine superstar capable of drawing Crawford back for a sixth-weight world title pursuit.
Unlike others that have walked away from the sport, it feels like Crawford still has more to offer — and 2026 could see that materialize.
2. Jake Paul will win a world title
If you’ve not quite had your fill of Jake Paul discourse after his sixth-round heavyweight defeat to Anthony Joshua to close out 2025, then you may as well lean into it.
Paul spent much of the night in survival mode against the former two-time unified heavyweight world champion, but there were still enough flashes to suggest he isn’t done in boxing just yet — just very much done at heavyweight.
Cruiserweight doesn’t feel like a natural fit either, which leaves one curious, very on-brand option: Bridgerweight.
It’s hard not to imagine WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman rubbing his hands together at the thought of sanctioning fees should Paul decide to plant his flag in the division Sulaiman helped bring into existence.
And in truth, the matchmaking almost writes itself. Throw Paul in with the likes of — checks notes — Krzysztof Wlodarczyk or Kevin Lerena, and suddenly the whole thing feels far less absurd than it probably should.
It wouldn’t crown Paul a world-class fighter overnight, but it would give his boxing experiment a clearer lane, a winnable pathway, and a belt that comes with just enough legitimacy to keep the conversation — inevitably — rolling on.
3. Turki Alalshikh and the Saudis will begin to step away from boxing
Could the Saudi tap into boxing’s reservoirs soon be turned off?
A recent New York Times investigation hinted that liquidity within Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is tightening, with fresh capital for new ventures no longer flowing as freely as it once did.
If that is the case, Riyadh Season’s extravagant boxing spending feels like an obvious pressure point — collateral damage in a wider recalibration of priorities rather than an untouchable pillar.
And truth be told, few within the sport would be left clutching their pearls if the Saudis decided to step away. Boxing has a long and proud tradition of burning through money at an alarming rate, and once the novelty wears thin, even the deepest pockets eventually start asking whether the juice is worth the squeeze.
The health of the sport that would be left behind is of huge concern.
4. MayPac 2 will happen
Back in October, Manny Pacquiao suggested he “almost agreed” to terms for a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. — and, predictably, the boxing world duly lost its collective mind.
The former multi-weight champions first crossed paths in 2015 in what was heralded as the “Fight of the Century,” and more than a decade later, we could yet be heading toward a sequel that very few are actually clamoring for.
Pacquiao resurfaced in 2025 against WBC champion Mario Barrios, marking his first professional bout since 2021, but he still hasn’t tasted victory since edging Keith Thurman back in 2019. As for Mayweather, his well-documented fondness for a lucrative payday hardly needs spelling out, so it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the pair could share a ring again sometime next year.
After all, this is a sport that has recently played host to Jake Paul, Mike Tyson, Francis Ngannou and Ike Ibeabuchi making headlines within the same 14-month window — so at this point, why not add MayPac 2 to the ever-growing list of boxing’s surreal plot twists?
5. There will be a fight on … the moon?
OK, maybe not the moon, but 2026 is expected to be a year where the boundaries of boxing are pushed once again.
We saw boxing in New York’s Times Square and heard rumors of Central Park and the island of Alcatraz cards in 2025 thanks to the bold vision of Alalshikh’s promotional push — do we really think they are going to stop there?
If we had it our way, why not take a fight to outer space? Or how about underwater à la Muhammad Ali’s famed 1961 Miami photoshoot?
Better still, my living room in West London so I can really lean into life as an armchair fan.
