I believe this era of heavyweights to be the best ever. . . . but. . .

[actjac]

The separation of the tiers are quite stark.

Elites:
Wilder, Joshua, Fury

Tier 2:
Ortiz, Whyte, Povetkin, Parker, Usyk

Level 3:
Ruiz Jr., Hughie, Miller, Zhilei,, Rivas, Breazeale, Pulev

Tier 4:
Kyotaro, Spong, Schwarz,, Wallin, Kabayel, Junlong, Bryan

Though this entire list would be at the top of any other era the separation here is enough that the lower level probably cannot compete with the next tier group up.

[KiwiRider]

It's not bad, it has been worse.
I've followed boxing since the 70's and it has ebbs and flows.
Often there is one elite guy, Ali/Wlad/Lewis/Tyson/Vitali and they clean out the division which makes it seem like the division is bad, but it really isn't, it's just how great the top guy is.
Right now we have two top guys. The only difference is that they haven't fought. In the past the top guys fought all the time, losing your "0" was no big deal, avenging it was

[BitPlayer]

I don't think it's as good as Ali's, or Lennox's eras for starts. Jeffries era probably too.

[DrDuke]

The current era is very good, but 70s and 90s were too cool. We'll see, what happens.

[punchoutsb]

In terms of competitiveness throughout all levels, it's pretty fun.

In terms of skill and ability, it's one of the worst ever.

[slappy]

In terms of competitiveness throughout all levels, it's pretty fun.

In terms of skill and ability, it's one of the worst ever.

We are still in the middle of it so hard to gauge but pretty sure the 70s and 90s was a lot better.

Who knows. Maybe Joshua or Wilder will rise and then steadily beat a decade of heavyweights and then we can compare with a complete view.

[chinarich]

It’s too early to tell definitively but this era is shaping up to be fairly strong in terms of competitiveness. When one considers outright quality it may well be a little lower. I would also disagree with some of the tiering but that’s a different argument...

[punchoutsb]

In terms of competitiveness throughout all levels, it's pretty fun.

In terms of skill and ability, it's one of the worst ever.

We are still in the middle of it so hard to gauge but pretty sure the 70s and 90s was a lot better.

Who knows. Maybe Joshua or Wilder will rise and then steadily beat a decade of heavyweights and then we can compare with a complete view.

It's been a fun era so far. They're just not very good in the whole scheme of things.

[Loki]

The separation of the tiers are quite stark.

Elites:
Wilder, Joshua, Fury

Tier 2:
Ortiz, Whyte, Povetkin, Parker, Usyk

Level 3:
Ruiz Jr., Hughie, Miller, Zhilei,, Rivas, Breazeale

Tier 4:
Kyotaro, Spong, Schwarz,, Wallin, Kabayel, Junlong, Bryan

Though this entire list would be at the top of any other era the separation here is enough that the lower level probably cannot compete with the next tier group up.

I agree it’s strong but doesn’t compare to the 70s. I also feel both K Brothers and Lennox in their primes would beat all the elite fighters.

What is apparent, is that all the named fighters above have only fought six times in bouts against each other.

[RScarf1]

You forgot Pulev.

[KiwiRider]

You forgot Pulev.

Easy mistake to make, he has only fought 3 times in 2 years and seems to have stalled in his career.

[happyNY18]

[actjac]

You forgot Pulev.

You are right. . . . .I went back and edited him in.

[armageto]

I'm on the opposite end. I think this era of HW's might be the worst era, or at least right up there.

[gilgamesh]

The Heavyweight division might be as good as it's been so far in the 21st century...at least at the very top, but once you get past the Top 5, there's almost no difference between the guy ranked say 8 and the guy ranked 20 in terms of ability.

So at least we have two appealing stars, and big KO punchers at the top of the division, but there ain't a whole lot of big names for either of them to fight. It wouldn't take long for them to clean out any noteworthy contender, and narrow it down to where AJ and Wilder are really all that's left.

[Grilling Machine]

I don't think it's as good as Ali's, or Lennox's eras for starts. Jeffries era probably too.

From Jeffries to Tunney was arguably the toughest era; from Liston to Holmes the best overall; and that leaves the mid- to late-'90s with Lewis, tarnished by Holyfield being past his best, and Tyson stale by 2002.

Tyson's era was decent, and if not for a ton of wasted talent it could've been great.

[Mexi-Box]

Usyk is top-tier. Guy beats everyone in the division.

[lazboy]

Miller is the dark horse of the division. He is James Toney reincarnated into a bigger body. He will make you work in there and he will beat you while you work. Big baby miller no.1, Burger King baby!

[candyslim]

I think it's a very good era if only the buggers would actually fight each other.

When you look at the seventies when you had Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Quarry, Ellis, Patterson, Norton, Lyle, Bonavena, Shavers, Bugner, Mathis, Chuvalo, Foster, Clark, Middleton and so on, and then you consider how many fights there were involving two of those fighters I just listed, it makes our era look a bit of an embarrassment.

That's the difference, I don't really think this current era lacks quality but it's all about preserving the unbeaten record for too many fighters.

Another factor - and I'm as guilty as anyone - is a tendency in life as in boxing, to look at fighters of the past with great affection remembering them as better than they actually were, and to make unfavourable comparisons to what we have now.

You wait. Give it twenty five years and this will be a golden age and the heavyweights of "today - the forties", nowhere near the same level as back in 2018.

[candyslim]

Only then your going to have a ninety year old Kalan on box-rec saying "Don't be silly - how's a midget like Joshua going to able to cope with today's heavyweight champions. All six of them would be taller than him by more than 3" and outweigh him by at least 50ilbs"

[Rob3_142]

The separation of the tiers are quite stark.

Elites:
Wilder, Joshua, Fury

Tier 2:
Ortiz, Whyte, Povetkin, Parker, Usyk

Level 3:
Ruiz Jr., Hughie, Miller, Zhilei,, Rivas, Breazeale, Pulev

Tier 4:
Kyotaro, Spong, Schwarz,, Wallin, Kabayel, Junlong, Bryan

Though this entire list would be at the top of any other era the separation here is enough that the lower level probably cannot compete with the next tier group up.

It's an era still very much in it's infancy. 5 years down the line we could have a very strong division 1-20.

I don't really agree with the tiering, both Fury's and Usyk still very much remain an unknown quantity. Really is a random collection of heavyweight boxers lol.

[jamesmcdonnell]

how can anybody guage usyk yet....ridiculous

[Stuarty]

how can anybody guage usyk yet....ridiculous

Exactly. He's probably technically better than what's there at the moment but he doesn't have the power to keep the bigger guys off him IMO. I'm a fan but I don't think he's big enough to make a massive impact.

[greg]

..I know it's semantics but I'd avoid using the word "elite" ..makes me feel uncomfortable for whatever reason ..

[candyslim]

Karl Marx would be proud of you Greg