Tyson Fury is not only acclaimed generally as the best heavyweight in the world today – he’s also riding high in boxing’s mythical pound-for-pound rankings list.
Boxing stats bible Boxrec has ‘The Gypsy King’ at number 2 in its latest list, with only Mexican megastar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez above him,
Fury’s great domestic rival Anthony Joshua meanwhile – with whom he has ‘agreed in principle’ financial terms for a blockbusting double-header in 2021 – is down at number 8 in Boxrec’s top 10. And in news that may surprise many experts given the nature of his recent defeat by Fury, Deontay Wilder also ranks ahead of Joshua at number 5. Here is a more detailed rundown:
Boxrec P4P rankings – top 10
1 Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (53-1-2)
After bossing Gennady Golovkin after two epic battles at middleweight, ‘Canelo’ has merely added to his stellar CV by claiming titles at super-middleweight and light-heavyweight. DAZN, which signed him to an eye-popping $365m deal, surely would love to pit him against GGG in a trilogy fight – but which route will Alvarez himself want to take?
2 Tyson Fury (30-0-1)
Riding the crest of a wave after an astonishing comeback from the brink of boxing oblivion. That comeback was crowned by a sensational career-defining performance to blast Deontay Wilder to his first ever professional defeat in their rematch in Las Vegas in February. Next up for ‘The Gypsy King’ is a trilogy fight with Wilder, followed either by a mandatory WBC defence against Dillian Whyte or more likely that blockbusting double-header with Anthony Joshua.
3 Errol Spence Jr (26-0)
‘The Truth’ is the king of an absolutely stacked welterweight class following his defeats of Mikey Garcia and Shawn Porter in 2019. The Texan superstar was badly injured in a terrifying car crash in October 2019, and the question now is will he be the same when he returns to the ring? A fight with Danny Garcia as early as September has been mooted – watch this space.
4 Gennady Golovkin (40-1-1)
When ‘GGG’ followed ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in signing with fledgling streaming service DAZN, a trilogy fight with Alvarez and the opportunity for revenge looked like the obvious next step. But so far the bout has yet to happen and the COVID-19 hiatus has probably not come at a great time for Golovkin. The Kazakh star is now 38 and the sands of time in boxing wait for no man, however great. Recent days have brought intriguing talk of a potential showdown with all-time great Manny Pacquiao.
5 Deontay Wilder (42-1-1-)
Still surprisingly high in the list for many after being completely exposed by Fury in their rematch in February. His technical limitations really came to the fore as Fury produced an unexpected gameplan with way more aggression than their first fight. Wilder – who has since blamed a number of excuses including a bicep injury and the weight of his ring walk costume – must now somehow find a way back for his third meeting with Fury. Some experts believe it’s last-chance saloon for ‘The Bronze Bomber’ at the very highest level.
6 Terence Crawford (36-0)
The man generally acclaimed as the biggest threat to Spence in a sensationally talented 147lbs weight class right now. Highly talented and still unbeaten, surely marquee fights now await ‘Bud’ – including the ever-present speculation about a potential showdown with Pacquiao.
7 Manny Pacquiao (62-7-2)
One of the modern greats of the sport, having won world titles in a staggering eight weight classes. Still appears to have plenty left after defeating welterweight wannabes Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman in 2019. Hasn’t fought for almost a year though and at 41 the COVID hiatus is not well timed. Next up he appears to have plenty of options – including a welterweight blockbuster against Crawford or a move up two (TWO) divisions to meet Golovkin at middleweight.
8 Anthony Joshua (23-1)
Reclaimed his IBF, WBA and WBO world heavyweight titles with a comprehensive points defeat of the unheralded Andy Ruiz Jr in their rematch in Saudi Arabia in December 2019. AJ has not fought since then and next up is supposed to be a title defence against IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev later this year. After that should be that double-header with Fury, though the WBO may yet try to throw a spanner in those works if they demand Joshua meets their mandatory Oleksandr Usyk.
9 Vasyl Lomachenko (14-1)
‘The Matrix’ is surprisingly low in this list when you consider many experts would have him in their top two, battling ‘Canelo’ for supremacy. The 32-year-old Ukrainian superstar is a spellbinding technician who has already claimed world titles in three different weight classes in a pro career which has only spanned 15 fights so far. Next up is likely to be Teofimo Lopez.
10 Shawn Porter
‘Showtime’ is at something of a crossroads now after dropping a split decision to the aforementioned Spence in their unification battle in September 2019. Still a threat to anybody in that brilliant welterweight division though and though he would clearly love an audience with Pacquaio, will he get it?
