Boxing’s biggest May winners and losers: Monsters, miracles and a month that changed everything

If April showers bring May flowers, then let’s get our marigolds on and have a little rummage around boxing’s garden, shall we?

Who’s blooming, who’s wilting, and who’s en route to the compost bin after a busy month of action? Let’s dive into the biggest winners and losers from May 2026.

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WINNERS

David Benavidez

David Benavidez bulldozed his way through compatriot Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in May, and in doing so rocketed his name up the pound-for-pound rankings.

The Mexican “Monster” made the jump up to cruiserweight look easy as he demolished the former unified champion inside six rounds, scoring two knockdowns en route to becoming a three-weight world champion.

Superfights await Benavidez in whichever weight class he wants to compete, as well as successfully accepting the reluctant baton from Saul “Canelo” Alvarez as the biggest name to dominate the fighting landscape over Mexican holidays going forward.

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Rico Verhoeven

Some boxing fans didn’t know who Rico Verhoeven was before his WBC heavyweight title fight against Oleksandr Usyk at the end of May.

They sure as hell do now.

Verhoeven fought gallantly and impressively in his second pro boxing fight, asking questions of the Ukrainian great that Usyk didn’t expect to have to answer when he signed up for this lucrative Egyptian showcase.

The kickboxing legend was stopped at the end of the 11th round, somewhat controversially despite being dropped heavily before, and was narrowly leading on the scorecards (96-94, 95-95, 95-95) after the end of the 10 completed rounds.

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But despite what happened in the ring, Verhoeven’s biggest win of the meeting was how impressively he carried himself throughout fight week in Giza. The Dutchman will be welcomed back with open arms into boxing — just maybe not by Usyk …

Daniel Dubois

Despite touching the canvas twice in the opening three rounds of his WBO heavyweight world title challenge against Fabio Wardley, Daniel Dubois rose, composed him and ultimately pummeled the Ipswich man into an 11th-round stoppage to be crowned world champion again.

A brave Wardley did all he could to hang with the bludgeoning jab of “DDD,” but as the rounds ticked by, Dubois wasn’t going to be denied the opportunity to become a two-time heavyweight king.

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After defeats to Joe Joyce and Oleksandr Usyk (twice), Dubois’ heart was questioned at the top end of the heavyweight division. But the 28-year-old may well have laid those demons to rest, and now looks to become the division’s rightful ruler once Usyk flies the nest.

Naoya Inoue

It might not have turned out to be a classic, but that shouldn’t detract from the achievement of Naoya Inoue in beating his Japanese rival Junto Nakatani, successfully defending his undisputed world titles at super bantamweight.

In what was billed as the biggest fight to ever take place on Japanese soil, Inoue edged a unanimous decision victory over the younger man without ever looking in too much danger of losing his unbeaten record.

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Now 33 years old with a 33-0 (27 KOs) record, time is ticking on the wondrous career of the Japanese “Monster.”

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez seems to be the name being heavily touted for Inoue’s 34th fight, before lining up an even more dangerous jump up in weight to featherweight.

A word of warning: Enjoy the man while you can.

Zak Chelli

Zak Chelli bagged himself an early upset of the year in May, stopping David Morrell in the 10th round of their light heavyweight contest.

This seismic shock came about at very late notice.

Morrell was supposed to be fighting Callum Smith a few weeks prior before an injury ruled the Liverpudlian out, and in an attempt to stay busy, Morrell abruptly walked into a career-changing KO loss at the hands of a supply teacher from west London.

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Chelli’s career has flipped on its head overnight, and the 28-year-old will now be given opportunities that would have seemed laughable just a few weeks ago.

LOSERS

Fabio Wardley

Fabio Wardley is a tough, tough man.

Dropping your heavyweight world title is usually painful enough, but at the powerful fists of Daniel Dubois, Wardley was made to suffer across 11 bloody rounds in Manchester.

After claiming scalp after scalp in an unexpected rise to the top of the heavyweight pyramid, Wardley has now been knocked down a peg or two, and with significant miles on his odometer, there will be piercing eyes on his condition when he next enters the ring — probably, in a Dubois rematch.

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But Wardley has made a career out of defying the odds. Going toe-to-toe with “DDD” again certainly won’t be keeping him up at night.

Dave Allen

Speaking of likable heavyweights, Dave Allen jumped up a couple of levels too many in May, challenging Filip Hrgovic in a real mismatch.

Allen’s corner threw in the towel in the third round of his Doncaster homecoming, unable to avoid the skilled barrage of attacks from the Olympic bronze medalist.

But this is kind of Allen’s brand: The lovable loser. He will, of course, be back (slated as soon as June 20, less than a month after the ninth loss of his career) and promoters will continue to put him on undercards due to the amount of interest he drums up and tickets he sells.

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But the more opponents like Hrgovic can be avoided in the future, the better.

David Morrell

You never want to play the role of Goliath in David vs. Goliath. But that’s exactly what this particular David was forced to do in May, getting toppled by Zak Chelli in the upset of the year so far.

Sure, Morrell’s preparation for this last-minute opponent wasn’t ideal, but the classy Cuban should have had more than enough tools in his arsenal to dispatch a man who had previously struggled at domestic level.

Where this leaves Morrell now, who knows?

His postponed interim WBO light heavyweight fight with Callum Smith is up in smoke, and the 28-year-old will have to rebuild in a division that has been dominated by Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev for a number of years.

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Morrell told reporters that his boxing race “isn’t over” in the aftermath of his second career loss, and he has time on his side if he’s willing to rebuild in search of glory at 175 pounds.

Gilberto Ramirez

David Benavidez and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez were proving hard to split in the run up to their all-Mexican superfight in May — that was, until a couple of moments after the opening bell rang.

Ramirez was bullied by the smaller Benavidez for the six rounds the contest lasted, made to suddenly look slow and old in a division he’d previously dominated by picking up two world titles and building a 5-0 record.

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At age 34, the southpaw has expressed his desire to rest this summer before rematching the only other man who has beaten him throughout his 50-fight career: Dmitry Bivol.

Richard Torrez Jr.

America’s great heavyweight hope, Richard Torrez Jr., was poleaxed by Cuba’s Frank Sanchez at the end of May, halting the hype train that was gathering pace behind the 27-year-old southpaw.

Torrez had been matched slowly and carefully since turning professional in 2022 following his silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games, but his first big test in the paid ranks was getting dropped and stopped by the hard-hitting Sanchez.

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This loss in Giza has not only made Sanchez a player again in the ever-changing heavyweight division, it’s also thrown Torrez right back to the start of the board.

And what’s worse? It was via the kind of highlight-reel knockout that fighters often find hard to shake off throughout their careers.