Boxing’s marquee division is booming right now, and our heavyweights rankings are designed to help you navigate a complicated landscape.
Our fully updated rankings give you an idea of how the division currently shapes up as we head deeper into the second half of 2025.
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Currently the great Oleksandr Usyk reigns as undisputed world champion for the second time in two years, it is his world and everybody is living in it right now. There is a new crop of challengers though – headed by the spectacular Moses Itauma.
Heavyweights rankings: World top 10
Our rankings are based on achievement and analysis, and they ignore the current ratings of the sport’s alphabet sanctioning bodies. And they will be updated after all major fights affecting our top 10:
1 Oleksandr Usyk (24-0)
It’s Usyk’s world right now – the rest of us are just living in it. The Ukrainian genius may be 38 now but he remains utterly peerless after destroying the dangerous Daniel Dubois inside five rounds in front of more than 90,000 purring fans at Wembley. It was absolutely brilliant yet again from Usyk as he toyed with Dubois, a man who remember had destroyed Anthony Joshua in the same ring just a few months earlier. Usyk will likely now have to take in a mandatory defence of his WBO title, and that likely means the fairytale that is Fabio Wardley will get a shot at becominng the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
Next Fight: tbc
2 Tyson Fury (34-2-1)
Fury remains happily retired after those back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, but this is boxing and many experts and fans alike still expect him to return. Report this week suggest Turki Alalshikh has vowed to finally make that Fury vs Anthony Joshua showdown in 2026 – potentially in London. All he has to do now, surely, is dangle a cheque big enough to make ‘The Gypsy King’ return for one glorious last PPV dance.
Next Fight: tbc
3 Moses Itauma (13-0)
This might seem an incredible ranking for a 20-year-old with just 13 pro fights behind him, but what else are we to make out of what our eyes tell us? Itauma aced his big step up in class with an absolutely sensational performance to blast out Dillian Whyte inside two minutes in Riyadh on August 16. He was once again punch-perfect, battering Whyte to defeat in one peerless round. His speed and power were just too much for the 37-year-old Whyte, despite him being in his best condition for 10 years. Next up for Moses is a showdown with durable American Jermaine Franklin in Manchester in January. He is a prohibitive 1/20 favourite to prevail there, en route to even bigger things.
Next fight: Itauma vs Jermaine Franklin (January 24, 2026)
4 Agit Kabayel (26-0)
The German star is now the mandatory contender for the WBC heavyweight title held by Usyk following a brilliant run of victories which have solidified him as a major threat. The talented German has taken apart Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sanchez and Zhilei Zhang in successive fights to show he is a real contender to become the next big thing in the heavyweight division. Kabayel does everything well and he has the knack of executing the perfect gameplan, whoever is in the opposite corner. Sanchez for example presented a very different question to Makhmudov and Zhang, but he again had all the answers in demolishing the slick Cuban. Kabayel will return in January to face giant Pole Damian Knyba in Oberhausen. It’s a nice homecoming for the German superstar and it should remove any rust ahead of the bigger tests to come.
Next Fight: Kabayel vs Damian Knyba (January 10, 2026)
5 Fabio Wardley (20-0-1)
The Fabio Wardley fairytale continues after his latest incredible victory – a man who dabbled in white collar boxing but has no amateur experience is now set for a shot at the undisputed world heavyweight title. That latest win was another incredible late KO as he stopped Joseph Parker after a cracker in London in October. Wardley – just like against Justis Huni at Portman Road back in June – was behind on the cards and needing a miracle before he stopped the talented Kiwi in Round 11. Whatever the limitations of Wardley’s boxing skillset, he has a huge right hand and a granite chin. He will be easy for absolutely nobody.
Next Fight: tbc
6 Joseph Parker (36-4)
We are not sure where to start with this one – there is much to unpack. A month ago Joseph had the world at his feet – he was next in line for a shot at Usyk and all the marbles and coming off a six-fight winning run which included impressive successes against Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang and Martin Bakole. But then Parker gamely took on that showdown with Wardley in London (a fight that brought more risk than benefit from a title perspective) and lost via a very controversial 11th-round stoppage. Now we have the news that Parker returned an adverse result from a drug test he took just before the Wardley fight. Obviously his very future in the near term is now up in the air as we wait for the due process to play out.
Next Fight: tbc
7 Daniel Dubois (22-3)
Dubois appeared at last to be the real deal after blasting out Anthony Joshua last September at Wembley to retain the IBF heavyweight title. It was a devastating performance which saw AJ on the canvas in four of the five rounds, and it appeared to signal that Dubois was now a threat to all in the division. His second defeat by Usyk at Wembley in July though showed that there are still rough edges to the man they call ‘Dynamite’. Now he must regroup again with many experts questioning his pre-fight preparation and his fighting heart.
Next fight: tbc
8 Anthony Joshua (28-4)
All the talk about Joshua right now is his decision to fight Youtuber Jake Paul, rather than anybody you might see on this rankings list. While many boxing fans hate the fight (us included), it will be the highest payday for the least risk right now. After his December 19 date with Paul (on Netflix) AJ would then move on to two fights in 2026. First a tune-up in February in Saudi Arabia and then (hopefully) that blockbuster vs Tyson Fury later in the year.
Next Fight: Joshua vs Jake Paul (December 19, 2025)
9 Bakhodir Jalolov (16-0)
‘The Big Uzbek’ could be the next big thing in heavyweight boxing now he has decided to go all in on the pro game. He has already built a 16-0 record in the paid ranks as well as winning two Olympic titles, and the Jalolov era could be just around the corner.
Next Fight: tbc
10 Filip Hrgovic (19-1)
‘El Animal’ has made a nice start to restoring his reputation following the first defeat of his pro career, at the hands of Daniel Dubois in the summer of 2024. First the big Croatian outpointed Joe Joyce in an entertaining scrap in Manchester in April – having taken the fight at late notice following the withdrawal of Dillian Whyte. Then Hrgovic followed up by outpointing another Brit – David Adeleye – on the Itauma vs Whyte undercard in August. He remains a contender and a threat to anybody.
Next Fight: tbc
