GBR
GBR
USA
RUS
GBR
CUB
MEX
NZL
USA
COL
BULTyson Fury remains atop the latest heavyweight rankings released by The Ring magazine – widely acclaimed as the bible of boxing.
Fury became Ring king for a second time when he battered Deontay Wilder into submission via a seventh-round stoppage in Las Vegas last February.
Joshua just behind Fury in Ring rankings
Joshua, who Fury is expected to meet in a massive all-British unification match this year, sits at #1 in the latest rankings, while American knockout artist Wilder comes next.
Alexander Povetkin – mandatory for the WBC title after that stunning knockout of Dillian Whyte back in August – is number 3 in The Ring list. He sits one spot ahead of Whyte. The two are scheduled to meet in a rematch early this year after Povetkin has fully recovered from COVID-19.
Veteran Cuban Luis Ortiz is fifth while Andy Ruiz Jr – inactive since losing his titles to Joshua in Saudi Arabia in December 2019 – is sixth.
New Zealander Joseph Parker, set to meet domestic rival Junior Fa in a local blockbuster in February, comes next at #7 while the talented American Michael Hunter is eighth. Hunter is one of the most avoided big man out there and recently returned to action with a comfortable defeat of Shawn Laughery.
Usyk only sneaks into Ring top 10 for now
Colombian star Oscar Rivas takes the ninth spot in the top 10 and the list is rounded off by Ukrainian megastar Oleksandr Usyk. He is mandatory for the WBO title and also prominent with other governining bodies. But The Ring clearly wants to see more before promoting him further – his only heavyweight fights so far have been defeats of Chazz Witherspoon and Dereck Chisora.
Usyk of course is one of the remaining blockers to a Fury vs Joshua megafight. The WBO expects Joshua to defend against him before moving on to the big all-British showdown.