WBO Heavyweight Rankings

C

Oleksandr Usyk

UKR

19-0 (13)

#1

Joe Joyce

GBR

13-0 (12)

#2

Joseph Parker

NZL

29-2 (21)

#3

Andy Ruiz Jr.

MEX

34-2 (22)

#4

Anthony Joshua

GBR

24-2 (22)

#5

Frank Sanchez

CUB

19-0 (13)

#6

Michael Hunter

USA

20-1-2 (14)

#7

Luis Ortiz

CUB

32-2-2 (27)

#8

Zhilei Zhang

CHN

22-0-1 (17)

#9

Daniel Dubois

GBR

17-1 (16)

#10

Evgeny Romanov

RUS

15-0 (11)

#11

Demsey McKean

AUS

18-0 (12)

#12

Filip Hrgovic

CRO

14-0 (12)

#13

Agit Kabayel

GER

21-0 (13)

#14

Tony Yoka

FRA

11-0 (9)

#15

Ali Eren Demirezen

TUR

14-1 (11)

It’s official – Joe Joyce is now #1 in the WBO heavyweight rankings in the aftermath of Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk.

Usyk and Joyce had been 1 and 2 before the Ukrainian mandatory challenger ended Anthony’s second reign as world heavyweight champion with a stunning points victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September.

The former cruiserweight king (now 19-0) was just brilliant as he completely outboxed AJ in front of a passionate home crowd of more than 65,000 in London.

Usyk champion, Joyce up to #1

Usyk now moves up to champion status of course after claiming the WBO belt as well as the IBF and WBA straps. That also means Joyce moves up to #1 and is the new mandatory challenger for a shot at the title.

Joyce of course may need to wait a while for his shot – Usyk has the small matter of a contracted rematch vs Joshua early next year. So it is likely to be late 2022 or into 2023 before ‘The Juggernaut’ fights for the strap.

Joshua drops back in at #4

Joshua of course is not out of the heavyweight title picture at all. Like we said, he’ll get his shot at redemption for a second time early next year – either in London or Kiev. AJ remember quickly regained his titles once before when he outpointed Andy Ruiz Jr in December 2019, six months after losing the belts in a shocking upset at Madison Square Garden. He slots back into the rankings at #4 after losing champion status.

Frank Sanchez remains at #5 after a technically flawless performance to defeat fellow unbeaten prospect Efe Ajagba in their showdown on the Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 3 undercard in Las Vegas. ‘The Cuban Flash’ was just that at T-Mobile Arena, with his slick skills leaving the heavy-handed Ajagba unable to pull the trigger. The Nigerian drops out of the top 15 as a result.

While Joyce assumes the #1 slot, there is another British star also cracking the top 15 this month in the shape of Daniel Dubois (17-1). He has come back strong after that devastating first pro loss to Joyce in November 2020 – making short work of Bogdan Dinu and Joe Cusumano. ‘Dynamite’ enters the list at #9.