Boxing

Boxing’s Winter Blockbuster Takes Shape: Joshua–Fury Set for Cardiff as Pacquiao–Stevenson Talks Continue

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are finally set to meet in Cardiff, while talks continue for Manny Pacquiao versus Shakur Stevenson. Plus, the WBA orders Teofimo Lopez to face Jack Catterall and Hamzah Sheeraz vacates his WBO title.

Boxing’s Winter Blockbuster Takes Shape: Joshua–Fury Set for Cardiff as Pacquiao–Stevenson Talks Continue

by
The Who Dat Daily Staff
2026-09-25

By Big Q | The Sports Coma / Ring Kings Boxing
Published: September 24, 2026

Boxing’s winter calendar is coming together with a rush of major developments across three divisions.

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua finally have a date and venue for the all-British heavyweight showdown fans have debated for more than a decade. At the same time, organizers are working to add Manny Pacquiao against Shakur Stevenson as part of a massive Netflix presentation in Cardiff. Elsewhere, the WBA has directed Teofimo Lopez to defend against Jack Catterall, while Hamzah Sheeraz has vacated the WBO super-middleweight championship rather than proceed with a mandatory defense against Janibek Alimkhanuly.

Some of these developments are official. Others remain at the negotiating table. Together, they have put boxing’s final months of 2026 into motion.

Fury–Joshua finally has its stage

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are scheduled to meet on December 11 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, in a non-title heavyweight fight that will stream globally on Netflix.

The venue is a natural fit for an event of this scale. Principality Stadium can hold more than 70,000 spectators, and its retractable roof gives organizers protection from the unpredictable December weather. A late local start is also expected to make the main event more accessible to viewers in the United States.

For British boxing, the matchup is less about belts than legacy. Fury and Joshua have been linked for years, yet promotional divides, mandatory obligations, losses and changing championship circumstances repeatedly prevented the fight from reaching the ring. Now, after all the negotiations and false starts, two of the defining British heavyweights of their generation are finally set to settle the argument.

Fury brings the awkward movement, size and ring intelligence that made him one of the era’s most difficult heavyweights to solve. Joshua remains a powerful, technically disciplined puncher whose best performances have come when he controls distance and commits to his combinations. Neither man needs a championship attached to the fight for the stakes to feel enormous.

The winner gains bragging rights that will follow both fighters long after retirement. The loser will have to live with the result of the biggest domestic heavyweight rivalry of the modern era.

Pacquiao–Stevenson remains a blockbuster possibility—not a done deal

The proposed fight between Manny Pacquiao and unbeaten four-division champion Shakur Stevenson continues to be discussed as part of the Cardiff event. According to reports, Netflix wants the matchup to help create a “double main event” alongside Fury–Joshua.

However, an important distinction remains: Pacquiao–Stevenson has not been finalized.

Pacquiao adviser Jas Mathur said bout agreements had not yet been delivered to either fighter, with financial and contractual terms still being negotiated. December 11 is the working date, although December 18 has reportedly been considered if the event schedule requires a shift.

If completed, the fight would be one of the most unusual cross-generational matchups in recent boxing history.

Pacquiao, the sport’s only eight-division world champion, owns a professional record of 62-8-3 with 39 knockouts. His résumé includes championship victories across a historic range of weight classes and wins over many of the biggest names of his era. Stevenson, 25-0 with 11 knockouts, represents the opposite end of the timeline: an unbeaten, defensively gifted southpaw operating at the height of his physical prime.

That contrast would drive both the event’s appeal and its controversy. Pacquiao’s experience, speed and attacking instincts would be matched against Stevenson’s timing, distance control and elite defensive awareness. Yet the age gap would also make matchmaking, weight and fighter safety central parts of the discussion.

Until contracts are signed, fans should treat Pacquiao–Stevenson as an ambitious proposal rather than an official fight. Still, its continued presence in the talks shows how aggressively organizers are trying to turn the Cardiff show into a global spectacle.

WBA orders Teofimo Lopez to face Jack Catterall

The welterweight picture also moved this week when the WBA ordered champion Teofimo Lopez to defend against mandatory challenger Jack Catterall.

Lopez, 23-2 with 13 knockouts, had been publicly connected to a possible unification fight with Ryan Garcia. Catterall, 33-2 with 14 knockouts, has now become the immediate obligation unless Lopez chooses to relinquish his title.

The WBA established a 30-day negotiating period running from September 22 through October 22. If the two camps cannot reach an agreement—or if either side ends negotiations—the sanctioning body can move the fight to a purse bid.

Catterall earned his position by defeating Shakhram Giyasov and remained the mandatory challenger after Lopez captured the WBA belt from Rolando Romero. The ruling means Lopez cannot simply move directly to the more commercially attractive Garcia fight without first resolving his championship obligation.

Stylistically, Lopez–Catterall would be a high-level tactical contest. Lopez is an explosive counterpuncher who can change a fight with his speed and timing. Catterall is a disciplined southpaw who uses positioning, patience and defensive craft to disrupt opponents. It may not carry the celebrity appeal of Lopez–Garcia, but it would be an important fight for the division.

Lopez now faces a clear decision: negotiate with Catterall, allow the process to reach a purse bid or vacate the championship and pursue another route.

Sheeraz vacates rather than face Janibek

At super middleweight, Hamzah Sheeraz has given up the WBO title rather than move forward with his ordered defense against Janibek Alimkhanuly.

The fight had already reached the purse-bid stage. Queensberry Promotions submitted the winning offer of $1,001,809, topping Top Rank’s bid of $820,000. Proposed dates included November 28 and December 5, with London, Birmingham and New York listed as possible locations.

Despite that progress, Sheeraz elected to relinquish the belt, ending the proposed mandatory fight and leaving the WBO championship vacant.

The decision removes a dangerous assignment from Sheeraz’s immediate schedule but also costs him the leverage and status that come with holding a world title. Alimkhanuly, an unbeaten former unified middleweight champion, had been positioned for the opportunity after moving into the WBO’s mandatory slot at 168 pounds.

The WBO must now determine how its vacant championship will be filled. For Sheeraz, the next move will reveal whether vacating was part of a larger plan involving another opponent, another sanctioning body or a more lucrative event.

What these moves mean for boxing’s closing stretch

Fury–Joshua gives boxing a legitimate stadium centerpiece for December. Pacquiao–Stevenson, if signed, would transform the event from a massive British rivalry into an international supercard built around four of the sport’s most recognizable names.

But the week’s other developments are reminders that boxing’s calendar is shaped by more than star power. Mandatory challengers, purse bids and sanctioning-body rulings can redirect a champion’s plans almost overnight.

Lopez must now decide whether keeping the WBA title is worth postponing a potential Garcia unification. Sheeraz has already made the opposite choice, surrendering his belt rather than taking the mandatory fight placed in front of him.

The Cardiff headliner is set. The possible companion attraction is still being built. Two other divisions are waiting for champions and challengers to make their next move.

For boxing fans, the message is simple: December could deliver one of the year’s biggest nights, but the final shape of the sport’s winter schedule is still being negotiated.