Boxing mid-year awards: The best fight, knockout, surprise and more through 2026’s first 6 months

Somehow, we are already in the second half of 2026 (baffling). And if nobody else is asking the question, I will: Where has the time gone?

That said, the first six months of the year in boxing have delivered enough drama to fill an entire year. From star-making performances to brutal heavyweight slugfests to shocking upsets, we’ve had a little bit of everything in the opening half of the year — including the arrival of a major new force on the scene.

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Uncrowned’s boxing team has enjoyed the first half of 2026 so much that we’re taking a look back at all the key highlights. So sit back, read and reminisce.

Fight of the Half-Year: Daniel Dubois vs. Fabio Wardley

Lewis Watson: “Don’t Blink” turned out to be the perfect tagline for May’s WBO heavyweight world title fight between Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley.

After touching the canvas in the opening seconds of the fight and again in Round 3, Dubois, 28, gathered his senses and put on one of the most calculated, gruesome heavyweight beatdowns in recent memory, eventually stopping the champion Wardley, 31, in the 11th round and snatching his WBO world title.

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At times, this contest — held inside Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena — was hard to watch. As much as fans didn’t want to look away from the ring, instincts were telling them to do just that, for fear of witnessing the damage caused to a bloodied and beaten champion down the stretch.

But such is the heart and durability of Wardley that he was able to eat jab after jab and right hand after right hand throughout the night, remaining on his feet and continuing to throw in riposte.

For Dubois (23-3, 22 KOs), it was an evening of redemption. His heart, soul and everything in between had been questioned at the top level prior to this performance. But now, as a two-time heavyweight world champion, he is back at the summit of the sport.

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Both men left the ring with their reputations enhanced that evening, and we await news of a rematch. Yet the answer to how many years a fight like that takes off a career like Wardley’s will only become known in years to come.

As for Dubois? Perhaps this was the emergence of a champion ready to rule for longer in an ever-changing heavyweight landscape.

Fighter of the Half-Year: David Benavidez

Alan Dawson: David Benavidez recently described himself as a “bad motherf***er,” and if anyone has earned that accolade in boxing, it’s “El Monstro.”

The 29-year-old has long fought with a style that puts people in a bad way early, only to make things worse as each round progresses. Rather than score one-punch knockouts like his rumored stablemate, Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) has a cumulative clubbing ability that bludgeons opponents until they’re beaten into submission, or battered by the scorecards.

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He wreaked havoc at super middleweight and light heavyweight before challenging for a world championship in a third weight class in May, when he moved to cruiserweight to take on Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez for the WBA and WBO world titles.

Though Ramirez was on a hot streak, having beaten Joe Smith Jr., Chris Billam-Smith and Yuniel Dorticos, he was outclassed and outgunned against Benavidez on Cinco de Mayo weekend, capitulating to an eventual sixth-round finish.

It is not just Benavidez’s dominance in the fight itself, but his continued determination to take on the toughest tests regardless of weight class. That throwback mentality, combined with his style, ensures he’s a lock for Fighter of the Half-Year.

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Benavidez is linked with an officially ordered cruiserweight unification against the WBC champion, Noel Mikaelian, in November. Should he win, Benavidez would be in control of three of the four major world titles in the 200-pound division, punctuating his claim as Fighter of the Year.

Performance of the Half-Year: Jaron “Boots” Ennis TKO-7 Xander Zayas

Darshan Desai: Jaron “Boots” Ennis could’ve easily slotted into the Fighter of the Half-Year slot, and, frankly, his fight with Xander Zayas would’ve also had no issues being competitive for Fight of the Half-Year. It was that kind of night.

When we talk about a fighter delivering an elite performance, what immediately comes to mind is Shakur Stevenson’s dominant win over Teofimo Lopez. It wasn’t exciting, it wasn’t a beatdown, but boy, was it impressive.

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Ennis (36-0, 32 KOs), however, impressed on a whole different level. Zayas was an unbeaten 23-year-old unified world champion — and “Boots” simply didn’t care. He started fast, brought the fight to Zayas and had no problem trading in the pocket from the opening bell.

Within two minutes of the first round, Zayas tasted the canvas for the first time, courtesy of a powerful combination from Ennis. The Puerto Rican was witnessing what a pound-for-pound star looks like in real time.

Zayas continued to eat hellacious punches from Ennis, but to his credit, he stayed upright and fired back as frequently as he could. Ennis was fighting recklessly, eager to score a knockout even if it meant leaving himself defensively open at times.

And in Round 3, it did catch up with him. Just before the frame’s halfway point, Ennis was backed up by a right hand from Zayas. Zayas unleashed on the American and landed another right that snapped back Ennis’ head a short while later.

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Zayas’ ability to come back into the fight was commendable, but what was even more admirable was Ennis’ approach — he didn’t fight behind his jab or hold excessively and try to weather the storm. No, Ennis fought fire with fire. He traded with Zayas throughout the final minute of the round and even rocked him in the closing seconds.

Round 3 was Zayas’ best round of the fight, but it was still a round that began with Ennis on top, and it arguably ended with the momentum in Ennis’ favor. The pair continued to trade power shots, body punches and blistering combinations in Round 4, with Zayas giving it his very best and still coming second-best in a thriller.

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In Round 5, Ennis floored the ex-champ for the second time in the fight with a terrific short right uppercut on the inside. Zayas rose to his feet and ate more than a minute of an onslaught from Ennis. “Boots” already had Zayas hurt upstairs, and that wasn’t working, so he hurt him to the body as well, because why not?

A vicious combination in Round 7 proved to be one attack too much for Zayas — and his corner — to endure. The towel came in. Ennis was the new unified champion.

Very rarely do we see elite-level fighters put a beatdown on unified champions like that. Ennis isn’t just a pound-for-pound talent — he is one of the most exciting fighters in boxing today. Bring on a superfight with Vergil Ortiz Jr. later this year. It may not even last six rounds, but it’ll be worth every penny of the pay-per-view.

Upset/Surprise of the Half-Year: Zak Chelli TKO-10 David Morrell & Oleksandr Usyk TKO-11 Rico Verhoeven

Lewis Watson: If we’re talking pure boxing upsets, then it’s hard to look past Zak Chelli’s monstrous 10th-round knockout win over David Morrell in May.

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Light heavyweight Chelli is a substitute teacher by day, but on weekends he has decided to start knocking out world-class operators like it’s nothing.

This was never supposed in the cards for Manchester. Chelli came into this contest with a 16-3-1 (9 KOs) record and was rustled up as a late-notice opponent for Morrell — the Cuban phenom was simply looking for rounds after his WBC interim light heavyweight bout with Callum Smith was canned due to injury.

Having lost only once previously — a competitive points defeat to David Benavidez last year — and with nine knockouts from 12 professional victories, Morrell was widely expected to have too much for Chelli, who started the contest as a +1000 underdog.

The fight had been closely contested through the opening nine rounds, but everything changed in the closing seconds of the ninth when Chelli detonated a huge right hand that caught Morrell flush. Morrell was badly hurt, stumbling backward into the ropes as Chelli sensed his opportunity. To the Cuban’s credit, he survived the ensuing assault and heard the bell, buying himself a minute to recover.

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For a brief moment at the start of the 10th, it appeared Morrell had regained his composure. But Chelli had other ideas.

Another clean shot rocked the favorite, and this time Chelli refused to let him off the hook. He unleashed a relentless barrage of punches, finishing with a crisp combination that left Morrell defenseless and forced the referee to step in and wave the contest off.

Upsets are only upsets if you get the result over the line — and boy, oh boy, did Chelli do that in Manchester, potentially changing his life forever.

Darshan Desai: Although Rico Verhoeven ultimately did not score the upset, it would be disingenuous not to recognize his performance against boxing’s pound-for-pound king Oleksandr Usyk as the biggest shock of 2026 thus far.

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Anthony Joshua seemingly put the intrigue surrounding crossover fights to bed with his second-round destruction of ex-UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in 2024. Boxing fans thought they had finally escaped the allure of the dreaded novelty until, in 2026, it was time for yet another champion from a different combat sport to look to dethrone one of boxing’s top stars.

Unlike Francis Ngannou and Conor McGregor before him, Verhoeven wasn’t a household-name UFC fighter, but rather a legendary kickboxing champion. Verhoeven was given little chance of being competitive against Usyk — and for good reason.

Usyk was a master of his craft. He conquered two divisions and beat all the top talent from both weight classes, including the British heavyweight trio of Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.

Yet, Verhoeven wasted no time silencing the doubters on fight night. Under the tutelage of the masterful coach Peter Fury, Verhoeven stayed loose and languid, utilizing plenty of movement while capitalizing on his 25-pound weight advantage.

The Dutchman walked Usyk down, pounded his midsection and refused to allow the Ukrainian icon to settle into a rhythm. As the pressure mounted, a flustered look appeared on Usyk’s face after the bout’s halfway point, as it became clear — in most observers’ minds, anyway — that Verhoeven was building a commanding lead.

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Verhoeven was doing what Fury, Joshua, and Dubois couldn’t do — solving the Usyk puzzle. It was astounding that a man making his only his second appearance in professional boxing could deliver a better performance than many of the top heavyweights of the past decade.

Although Usyk eventually stopped him in Round 11, nobody will soon forget Verhoeven’s performance. On a night when he was entirely dismissed, the kickboxing great proved he was more than just a novelty — he showed he was a world-class boxer, too.

KO of the Half-Year: Umar Dzambekov KO-2 Ahmed Elbiali

Alan Dawson: Zuffa Boxing, still in its infancy, delivered one of the most violent finishes with the matchmaking for its third show ever, at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas on Feb. 15.

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Efe Ajagba flattened Charles Martin in the headline fight, but the event as a whole is more likely to endure because of what Umar Dzambekov (14-0, 10 KOs) did to Ahmed Elbiali in only two rounds.

Finding space near the blue corner, Dzambekov planted his feet, widened his stance and dipped on his lead left foot. Shifting his weight forward and with his right hand low, he thundered an uppercut onto Elbiali’s chin.

It was a shot as accurate as it was spectacular, not just because of its timing and execution, but because of the impact it had on the opponent.

Elbiali’s body stiffened in an instant.

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He fell back, rigid, with his left foot shaking. He may have had his eyes on the referee, Allen Huggins, but the expression on his face seemed haunted.

Huggins didn’t even need to count. He got down onto his knees and waved it all off, awarding Dzambekov with the year’s most vicious finish to date.

Prior to the fight, Dzambekov wanted to make a statement and introduce himself on the Zuffa platform. Well, he could hardly have chosen a more unforgettable way to do it. Six months into the year, it remains the knockout every other contender is measured against.

One to watch for the second half of 2026: Zuffa Boxing

Darshan Desai: The one to watch for the remainder of 2026 isn’t a fighter — it’s Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing.

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Zuffa Boxing debuted on Jan. 23 on Paramount+ and, less than six months into its existence, the promotion already has eight shows to its name. That activity in the sport is second only to Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom out of the major promoters.

Zuffa has quickly built a reputation for compelling matchmaking, violent knockouts and action fights — and truth be told, it’s barely gotten started.

Although White’s company has inked international stars Conor Benn and Jai Opetaia to multi-fight deals and is rolling out its Zuffa belts, the company is still very much in its infancy. If you think we have seen more than phase one of Zuffa’s plan, you are in for a shock.

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The second half of 2026 will be more telling about the impact they can make in the sport. Negotiations are ongoing to bring more huge stars to Zuffa’s roster, including Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney. The company has been linked with Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury in recent months. And, of course, talks continue to bring one of the biggest fights of the year — Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn — to Zuffa Boxing.

With Turki Alalshikh’s Saudi millions behind them, coupled with the powerful TKO machine, Zuffa undoubtedly has a very high ceiling. But the question remains: Can TKO dominate boxing in the same way the UFC and WWE have dominated mixed martial arts and wrestling?

We may not find out that answer in the second half of 2026, but we’ll surely get a clearer picture of the impact Zuffa Boxing can make on the sport.