Boxing May 2026: Usyk, Wardley and Betting Guide
The month of May 2026 has proven to be one of the busiest months in the boxing calendar with two heavyweight championship fights, an undisputed junior featherweight championship defence that is already set, and more world championship bouts taking place across the various weight divisions. To the boxing fan following the sport through betting markets like a bizbet operates in an environment whereby the heavyweight division is the weight category with the largest number of bets placed and the broadest market options compared to the other weight divisions.
May 2026 Heavyweight Division Fights Schedule
This month features two heavyweight championship bouts set to occur two weeks apart. The first is Fabio Wardley defending the WBO heavyweight title against Daniel Dubois. The second is Oleksandr Usyk, who is defending several belts against Rico Verhoeven, and for fans who are following the confrontation, an offer like bizbet bonus will allow you to make a more profitable bet on both fights for the heavyweight title.
The upcoming fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven has created immense betting interest specifically because of Verhoeven’s background as a kickboxing champion transitioning to boxing. Usyk will be defending the WBA Super World, WBC and The Ring heavyweight championships for the sixth, third and fifth time respectively. Verhoeven is a former kickboxing world champion making his transition into professional boxing, which makes it difficult for odds compilers to evaluate the challenger using the same parameters applied to any other heavyweight contender, as there is no professional boxing record against ranked opposition to reference.
Usyk’s Championship Title History and Defences
To understand Oleksandr Usyk’s current status in the heavyweight division, it is necessary to track the length of time he has held each title and how this information impacts the pricing of the championship matches.
From the table below, it can be seen that Usyk will have defended his title against Verhoeven, and it is the sixth defence of the WBA Super World heavyweight championship.
| Belt | Won against | Date won | Defences |
| WBA Super World heavyweight | Anthony Joshua | September 2021 | 6th defence incoming |
| WBC heavyweight | Tyson Fury | May 2024 | 3rd defence incoming |
| IBF heavyweight | Daniel Dubois | July 2025 | 1st defence incoming |
| The Ring heavyweight | Anthony Joshua | August 2022 | 5th defence incoming |
The table above highlights the championship title belts Usyk will be defending against Verhoeven. Usyk has held the WBA Super World heavyweight title for over four years and seven months, thus making him one of the longest reigning heavyweight champions of all time across any of the four sanctioning bodies.
Other Title Matches in May and June
Apart from the two heavyweight fights taking place in May, there are other championship fights taking place across several weight categories. The following is a list of the scheduled championship title matches beginning on May 2:
- May 2: Naoya Inoue defends his undisputed junior featherweight championship against Junto Nakatani with all four championship titles on the line.
- May 2: Gilberto Ramirez defends his WBO and WBA cruiserweight championships against David Benavidez.
- May 9: Fabio Wardley defends the WBO heavyweight championship title against Daniel Dubois.
- May 23: Oleksandr Usyk defends the WBC, WBA, IBF, and The Ring heavyweight titles against Rico Verhoeven.
- May 30: Dmitry Bivol defends the WBA, IBF, and WBO light heavyweight championships against Michael Eifert.
- June 27: Xander Zayas defends the WBA and WBO junior middleweight championships against Jaron Ennis.
The fight between Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani is a highly anticipated championship match that took place early this year. Naoya Inoue is considered the pound-for-pound number one ranked boxer globally and the fight against Nakatani is a domestic rivalry at the highest level of the super bantamweight division.
May 2026 and Its Implications for Boxing Fans Following The Sport
The upcoming match between Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven is unique because the latter has not participated in boxing as a professional fighter, but only kickboxing. This means that the conventional factors used when evaluating fighters for boxing championship matches such as a professional boxing record, knockout ratio, and previous championship experience will be irrelevant when evaluating Verhoeven. It is important to define a betting budget prior to participating in these events and treat each event separately without combining the two fights in one prediction.
