For much of 2023, boxing fans had their eyes on the month of July, knowing two huge bouts were set for late in the month. What those same fans could not see coming was that both fights would be blowouts that showcased the true greatness of Naoya Inoue and Terence Crawford.
Inoue vacated his four bantamweight world titles to move up a division and take on unified champion Stephen Fulton. Inoue was never tested by Fulton before scoring a TKO in Round 8 to capture the WBO and WBC super bantamweight titles as he firmly established himself as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
Inoue’s reign as the top dog may have only lasted five days because Crawford was even more impressive against an even better opponent. Crawford put a brutal beating on fellow pound-for-pound elite Errol Spence Jr., scoring three knockdowns before the referee was forced to halt the bout in the ninth round.
Can’t get enough boxing and MMA? Get the latest in the world of combat sports from two of the best in the business. Subscribe to Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell for the best analysis and in-depth news.
As the calendar turns to August, it marks the return of a former heavyweight champion and the man he lost to. Anthony Joshua is looking to get back in the win column when he takes on late-replacement opponent Robert Helenius on Aug. 12. Joshua was scheduled to fight Dillian Whyte in a rematch before Whyte failed a pre-fight drug test.
Oleksandr Usyk, who beat Joshua to earn those belts, is also back in August when he takes on Daniel Dubois on Aug. 26. After the Tyson Fury fight failed to materialize, Usyk was forced to take on one of his mandatories, and he ended up with Dubois, who has rattled off four straight knockout wins since his lone pro defeat in 2020.
Note: This will be updated constantly with changes and additions.
| Aug. 12 | Glendale, Arizona | Emanuel Navarette (c) vs. Oscar Valdez | WBO super featherweight title | ESPN |
| Aug. 12 | London | Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius | Heavyweight | DAZN |
| Aug. 26 | Wroclaw, Poland | Oleksandr Usyk (c) vs. Daniel Dubois | IBF, WBA, WBO heavyweight titles | ESPN |
| Aug. 26 | San Juan | Oscar Collazo (c) vs. Garen Diagan | WBO minimumweight title | DAZN |
| Sept. 2 | Manchester, England | Liam Smith vs. Chris Eubank Jr. | Middleweight | TBA |
| Sept. 15 | Corpus Christi, Texas | Luis Alberto Lopez (c) vs. Joet Gonzalez | IBF featherweight title | ESPN |
| Sept. 18 | Tokyo | Kenshiro Teraji (c) vs. Hekkie Budler | WBC, WBA junior flyweight titles | ESPN |
| Sept. 23 | London | Zhang Zhilei vs. Joe Joyce | Heavyweight | ESPN |
| Sept. 30 | Las Vegas | Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (c) vs. Jermell Charlo | Undisputed super middleweight title | Showtime PPV |
| Oct. 7 | Sheffield, England | Leigh Wood (c) vs. Josh Warrington | WBA featherweight title | DAZN |
| Oct. 28 | Riadyh, Saudi Arabia | Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou | Heavyweights | ESPN+ PPV |
