Eddie Hearn is convinced that Anthony Joshua will one day become undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, and the two-time king is making all the right moves at the moment.
Joshua blasted out Otto Wallin in five impressive rounds in Saudi Arabia last month, the standout performance on that mammoth ‘Day of Reckoning’ card in Riyadh.
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While AJ lost out on a superfight vs Deontay Wilder in March after ‘The Bronze Bomber’ suffered a shock loss to Joseph Parker on the same show, he did benefit in some ways from the American knockout artist’s demise. Notably in the heavyweight rankings revealed since that show.
The World Boxing Council (WBC) is the latest sanctioning body to update its rankings in the aftermath of ‘Day of Reckoning’ – and not surprisingly we have Joshua and Wilder heading in very different directions.
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Joshua (27-3) moves above Wilder (43-3-1) into the slot for the #1 contender as he tops the rankings, while Wilder drops all the way down to #8 on the list. AJ of course is now in prime position for a shot at the winner of those upcoming Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk unification battles. The first of those is due on February 17 in Riyadh as the heavyweight title picture becomes clearer by the day. Fury (34-0-1) of course currently holds the hallowed WBC strap ahead of his meetings with Usyk (21-0).
Next after AJ we have the talented Cuban Frank Sanchez (up from #4 to #2), who stopped Junior Fa to pad his record to 24-0 – again on that ‘Day of Reckoning’ show.
Another big riser on the list – not surprisingly – is the aforementioned Parker, who rockets up from #8 to #3 after upsetting Wilder in decisive fashion in the desert. European champion Agit Kabayel meanwhile is all the way up from #13 from #4 after bursting the bubble of giant Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov. That defeat sees Makhmudov drop all the way down from #3 to #14.
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Nigerian Efe Ajagba (19-1) and Top Rank phenom Jared Anderson (16-0) are unchanged at #5 and #6 on the latest WBC list, before we have another big riser in the shape of British star Daniel Dubois (20-2). He is up from #14 to #7 after stopping Jarrell Miller in the 10th and final round in Riyadh, a first pro defeat for ‘Big Baby’.
Next comes Wilder at #8, ahead of unbeaten Croat Filip Hrgovic (17-0), who was another winner on that ‘Day of Reckoning’ card with a first-round victory against the overmatched Mark De Mori. ‘El Animal’ is up from #11.
Former UFC star Francis Ngannou maintains his spot at #10 as we wait to see if he can replicate that terrific debut showing vs Tyson Fury in his next fight – against Joshua on March 8 in Saudi.
Latest WBC heavyweight rankings
The latest WBC heavyweight rankings for January 2024 are as follows:
- 1. Anthony Joshua (GBR) – 27-3
- 2. Frank Sanchez (CUB) – 24-0
- 3. Joseph Parker (NZL) – 34-3
- 4. Agit Kabayel (GER) – 24-0
- 5. Efe Ajagba (NGR) – 19-1
- 6. Jared Anderson (USA) – 16-0
- 7. Daniel Dubois (GBR) – 20-2
- 8. Deontay Wilder (USA) – 43-3-1
- 9. Filip Hrgovic (HRV) – 17-0
- 10. Francis Ngannou (CMR) – 0-1
- 11. Martin Bakole (COD) – 20-1
- 12. Joe Joyce (GBR) – 15-2
- 13. Bakhodir Jalolov (UZB) – 14-0
- 14 Arslanbek Makhmudov (RUS) – 18-1
- 15. Fabio Wardley (GBR) – 17-0