2025 Boxing betting tips and predictions: Beterbiev vs Bivol 2 and what's next for Fury and Joshua?

There’s no off-season in the world of boxing, with fights being booked all year round. So, as we enter 2025 and with the sport in good health, hopes are high for another big year of boxing.

There’s already a host of big match-ups already signed and sealed for the new year and we’ve picked out some of our favourites and shared some early picks to set the scene ahead of a big 12 months of boxing.

Who can stop ‘The Monster?’

Naoya Inoue vs Sam Goodman

Friday, January 24, Ariake Arena, Tokyo, Japan

Who can stop Naoya Inoue? That’s the big question occupying the boxing world as the Japanese phenomenon continues to rule the super bantamweight division with an iron grip.

The undefeated 31-year-old will take on unbeaten Sam Goodman in a bout that was pushed back a month after the Aussie sustained a cut in sparring ahead of the match-up. Despite both men heading into the bout with unblemished records, the fight represents a massive step up for the 26-year-old from Albion Park, New South Wales.

Yes, he’s 19-0 but he’s gone to the scorecards 11 times in those 19 victories. That’s a luxury he’s unlikely to be afforded by Inoue, with 'The Monster' stopping a staggering 25 of his 28 opponents to date. Indeed, he hasn’t been taken the distance since he defeated Nonito Donaire in the World Boxing Super Series final back in 2019.

The bookies aren’t giving Goodman much of a chance, with the Aussie listed as a 10/1 shot in BetMGM’s Draw No Bet market. Inoue, meanwhile, is an untouchable 1/25.

FIRST’S EARLY PICK

We can’t see past an Inoue win but we also can’t see the point of backing a 1/25 shot. Instead, we’ll sit tight and wait for the round betting to be released, then see where we might be able to find some value.

Is Benavidez’s arrival a ‘red flag’ for the light heavyweight division?

David Benavidez vs David Morrell Jr.

Saturday, February 1, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, USA

Pound-for-pound star and former WBC super-middleweight champion David Benavidez looked to be a clear and present danger to Canelo Alvarez in 2024 but any thoughts of a super fight between the pair were nixed when Canelo shut down any talk of the pair facing off.

That prompted Benavidez to take the bull by the horns and move up to the light heavyweight division and he swiftly captured the WBC interim light heavyweight crown with a unanimous decision victory over Oleksandr Gvozdyk in Las Vegas in June. Now Benavidez is set to face WBA champion David Morrell Jr. as he bids to capture more territory in the 175-pound division.

It’s a tough, competitive fight between two men who will be keen to get in the mix with the likes of Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol at the elite level of the division. The sparks have already flown between the pair during a fiery faceoff during the event’s press conference in December.

Whoever wins will not only become a two-belt champion, they’ll also have the key to a huge payday and a massive unification bout with the winner of Beterbiev and Bivol later in the month.

FIRST’S EARLY PICK

Benavidez by decision

Can Chisora go out on a high at his ‘Last Dance?’

Derek Chisora vs Otto Wallin

Saturday, February 8, Co-Op Live, Manchester, England

English heavyweight Derek Chisora has been duking it out with the best of them for years and now the 48-fight veteran is teasing potential retirement from boxing.

But any thoughts of dropping the gloves and heading into retirement will come after he takes on Sweden’s Otto Wallin at the new state-of-the-art Co-Op Live arena in Manchester, England on February 8.

Wallin gave Tyson Fury a few problems in his decision loss to ‘The Gypsy King’ as he left the former WBC champion needing 47 stitches. He’ll head into enemy territory looking to play spoiler on a night that is all geared around Chisora, who will be 41 years old when he steps through the ropes on fight night.

While the bout is being dubbed ‘The Last Dance’, Chisora’s comments suggest he plans on delivering a big knockout to set up one more bout before he calls it a day

"I've had some amazing nights in Manchester, both in the ring and the warehouse raves, so it was only right I had one last dance up north," he said.

"Come February 8, I'm going to be bringing war to Wallin, be ready for my penultimate showreel knockout."

FIRST’S EARLY PICK

Wallin by decision 

Turki Alalsheikh stacks the deck for massive Riyadh Season card

The injection of cold, hard cash into the sport of boxing via the bottomless coffers of Saudi Arabia has seen a host of huge bouts already take place as part of ‘Riyadh Season’, an ongoing programme of sporting and cultural events designed to promote Saudi Arabia as a travel destination to the wider world.

While we’ve seen plenty of big fights in Riyadh over the past year, the fight card put together by Turki Alalshikh for February 22 offers as stacked a lineup as you’re likely to see in years, with a plethora of top-tier matchups, all on one night.

Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol

Saturday, February 22, Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The first bout between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol delivered an instant classic, with boxing’s fanbase split on whether Beterbiev’s majority-decision victory was the right outcome after 12 rounds of elite-level boxing.

Now, the way has been cleared for the pair to face off in a hugely anticipated rematch as they return to Riyadh for the return bout, with the bookies finding it almost as hard as the judges to split the pair.

At the time of writing, undisputed champ Beterbiev is the narrowest of favourites at 4/5 but that could easily change ahead of the opening bell as money comes in on both fighters ahead of fight night in Saudi Arabia.

It’s a battle between the sheer grit and power of Beterbiev and the more polished boxing skills of Bivol. Many thought Bivol had done enough in the first fight and it’ll be very interesting to see how differently he approaches things in the rematch.

Fights don’t get much better, or more evenly-matched. 

FIRST’S EARLY PICK

Bivol by decision 

Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker

Saturday, February 22, Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

IBF heavyweight champion of the world Daniel Dubois has always been considered a British heavyweight with championship potential at the highest level but there were still doubts over his mental capacity to do it on the biggest stage. That was all blown away when he knocked out Anthony Joshua in spectacular fashion in 2024 and now he has the chance to put himself in line for a potential shot at undisputed heavyweight glory.

Dubois will put his IBF heavyweight title on the line against Joseph Parker on the February 22 ‘Riyadh Season’ card in Saudi Arabia in a fight that could unlock a huge opportunity for the Englishman.

Victory over the tough, seasoned Parker will help clear the way for a shot at the winner of Oleksandr Usyk/Tyson Fury, with all of the heavyweight belts on the line. 

That would give Dubois the chance to emulate Lennox Lewis by becoming a British undisputed heavyweight champion and only the second undisputed heavyweight champ in the four-belt era.

It means this fight with Parker is about so much more than retaining the IBF belt. If Dubois can keep the stakes out of his mind and replicate the sort of demolition job he did on Joshua, the next couple of years could be huge for ‘Dynamite’.

FIRST’S EARLY PICK

Dubois by KO

Predicted fights for 2025

While there’s already a host of must-see fights signed and sealed for the early part of 2025 there’s also a few bouts that could potentially join them in what could be a massive year for the sport of boxing.

Here are some of our favourite fantasy fight bookings for later in 2025. 

Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez fights always capture the imagination of fight fans and with the Mexican now entering the veteran stage of his stellar career, it’s unclear just how many more big fights are left for him; unless he decides to enter the light heavyweight fray as an undersized 175-pounder.

With Canelo already waving away the possibility of facing former WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez, perhaps the biggest fight out there for Canelo is with current WBO interim light middleweight champ Terence Crawford. 

In terms of pure talent, Crawford represents the biggest fight and the toughest new test for Canelo, but the big question is whether, at the age of 34 and with 66 bouts already to his name, he’ll want to put himself into that kind of fight. Every Canelo fight is a big fight and as such he gets paid well, whoever he’s sharing the ring with.

We’d love to see Canelo-Crawford in 2025 and Paddy Power have offered odds on a potential 2025 matchup between the pair, with Canelo a 4/9 favourite to Crawford’s 9/5. The draw is priced at 16/1.

What else could come in 2025 

Oleksandr Usyk's unanimous decision victory over Tyson Fury last month has set the scene for what looks like another massive year for heavyweight boxing, and opens up the possibility of some absolutely huge fights.

Daniel Dubois jumped into the ring after Usyk's victory to demand a rematch, which Usyk accepted on the spot. But Dubois still needs to defend his own IBF title against Joseph Parker on 22 February to maintain his champion status and continue his upward trajectory.

But what happens to Fury after a second successive loss? A huge domestic fight with Joshua is always right there. It’s the fight British boxing has been clamouring after for years, but there’s always been an obstacle that has prevented it from coming to fruition.

But now, with neither man holding a world championship belt and free of the political issues of dealing with rival sanctioning bodies, the time could be right to finally make the fight happen.

For Usyk, aside from a potential rematch with Dubois, there has been the suggestion from his team that he might consider a move down to cruiserweight, where fights with the likes of Jai Opetaia and Gilberto Ramirez could potentially be feasible.

And of course, there’s also the possibility of Usyk taking a trilogy fight with either Fury or Joshua. That's something Fury would surely consider after being humbled twice by the Ukrainian world champion. 

Elsewhere at heavyweight, talk of a bout between Deontay Wilder and Francis Ngannou could still turn into something, if the price was right.

And Moses Itauma floored Australian Demsey McKean in a statement night for the teenager on the Usyk vs Fury 2 undercard on 21 December. His reputation is growing rapidly and he'll be closing in on a fight against top-ranked opposition in 2025.

The best of the rest

We already have one outstanding female fight on the bout list for 2025 with rival welterweight world champions Lauren Price and Natasha Jonas set to face off in a unification battle at the Royal Albert Hall in London on March 7 and hopefully, that bout will be joined later in the year by another titanic tussle.

The first two fights between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano produced some of the most exciting action we’ve seen in recent years and on both occasions, there was an element of controversy or debate over the final outcome.

A trilogy matchup between the pair seems like a slam-dunk booking for the summer.

Odds correct at the time of writing.