Heavyweight King

[halfamill]

When it is all said and done who will prevail as the heavyweight king one or two years down the road?

[punchoutsb]

This is boxing. It's highly unlikely anyone on that list will have fought anyone else on that list over the next one or two years.

[FruitStealer]

This is boxing. It's highly unlikely anyone on that list will have fought anyone else on that list over the next one or two years.

Sad but true.
Too many belts, too many businesss going.

[jamamb]

im not sure but im sure mikey garcia will be throwing there name out there

[Enlightened-One]

This is boxing. It's highly unlikely anyone on that list will have fought anyone else on that list over the next one or two years.

Sad but true.
Too many belts, too many businesss going.

You’re right! The political landscape means that making many of these bouts will be very challenging:

• Showtime (Deontay Wilder) vs. DAZN (Anthony Joshua)
• Eddie Hearn & SKY (Anthony Joshua) vs. Fɍȁnk Wȁɍɍȅn & BT (Tyson Fury)
• K2 & HBO (Oleksandr Usyk) vs. Showtime (Deontay Wilder)

Hopefully we'll be proven wrong, but there are numerous questions to consider...

Will Showtime allow their fighters to compete in one-off bouts televised by their rival DAZN?

We all know that Eddie Hearn & Fɍȁnk Wȁɍɍȅn rarely do business with each other?

If K2 have most (if not all) of their bouts televised in the US exclusively by HBO, then would they allow their fighters appear on Showtime?

[pound per pound]

When it is all said and done who will prevail as the heavyweight king one or two years down the road?

We might not know Joshua, Fury, Povetkin, Usyk, and Wilder have NOT fought each other yet.

It could take 3 years or more for the winner of Johsua vs Povetkin to meet Fury, Usyk or Wilder.

[halfamill]

We do have Wilder vs Fury as an upcoming fight so there is some hope.

[fanman]

possibly joshua is most likely. as he is very good and stays in shape. and wilder / fury , 1 will be eliminated.

[Boxing101101]

probably aj. it shouldn't be to long till we find out wilder fights fury (personally I think wilder wins) and then the winner faces aj in 2019. whether its aj vs fury or aj vs wilder it will be a close fight

[Mexi-Box]

If this were a stronger division, AJ would merely be a bottom top 10 guy. The Povetkin fight was a huge red flag. Povetkin is part of the old guard and was looking past prime. He gave AJ absolute hell the first 6 rounds or so.

I think the real HW king lies in the newcomers like Hrgovic, Dubois, Kuzmin, Joyce, etc.

[DrDuke]

There is only one King and it's The Gypsy one. Soon he'll back it up once and for all.

[Cent0089]

Easy - nobody until they fight each other

[dagilechia]

Joshua/Usyk, then maybe Hrgović.

[sharpei_louis]

If this were a stronger division, AJ would merely be a bottom top 10 guy. The Povetkin fight was a huge red flag. Povetkin is part of the old guard and was looking past prime. He gave AJ absolute hell the first 6 rounds or so.

I think the real HW king lies in the newcomers like Hrgovic, Dubois, Kuzmin, Joyce, etc.

Absolute hell? Nope.
AJ was patient then knocked him out quite straightforwardly imo.

[Mexi-Box]

If this were a stronger division, AJ would merely be a bottom top 10 guy. The Povetkin fight was a huge red flag. Povetkin is part of the old guard and was looking past prime. He gave AJ absolute hell the first 6 rounds or so.

I think the real HW king lies in the newcomers like Hrgovic, Dubois, Kuzmin, Joyce, etc.

Absolute hell? Nope.
AJ was patient then knocked him out quite straightforwardly imo.

He almost got himself knocked out! Povetkin was pretty past prime given his performances going into the fight.

[halfamill]

So now that Joshua has lost how does everyone see it going on forward?

[dagilechia]

it's gonna be Fury or Usyk. Wilder has a chance too due to his punching power, but he will need to actually land them with enough precision and strength, if not he will lose to Fury again. among the newcomers, Hrgović seems to be the best.

[squiggy]

I think "we'll be lucky if the mess clears up any time soon" is still the best answer.

[boxing_rocks]

There is no king.

[HomicideHenry]

Based on the poll numbers, I'm somewhat shocked by the sheer overwhelming belief that Joshua will end up being the best heavyweight around.

My question is what if he loses to Ruiz again? Will you still cling to hope like some did with Price?

What if he beats Ruiz but loses to Wilder?
Surely you'd have to admit he's not. Or will you just say Wilder got lucky (basically), "It's the heavyweights whoever lands first wins, but Joshua is still great."

Or worse loses to some other mandatory whose an underdog? Will you just say he's like Floyd Patterson with a weak chin & will bounce back?

What if he loses to Fury? Will you just say that the era was garbage and dismiss just how good Fury actually is? Or will you make some excuse that because Fury threw jabs & moved around he stunk up the place and Joshua is still the best?

I can't help but think if it was Wilder or Fury who lost NOBODY would be saying, "They'll come back better than ever!", because everyone would be saying, "The loudmouth got it!", "See! Deyonce was just a bum who can't box!", and be written off entirely.

Yet the black guy who acts like a humble white guy with the bodybuilder physique gets all these passes on the forums.

[jamamb]

this poll was done a year ago

[HomicideHenry]

this poll was done a year ago

I just noticed that.... Well I feel like an idiot now.... but... I do think the trend is still basically the same that despite the loss nobody wants to accept Fury or Wilder, and are still hanging onto the hope somehow Joshua bounces back and the moment he does get a win or a belt the posters will be saying he's the best all over again.

[jamamb]

aj has already beaten multiple fighters better then ruiz or about as good, he won like every round vs parker who ruiz was close with. so i think its normal that ppl take a loss like this and think aj can do better and come back to win, its not as if he stepped up to a new level and we found he wasnt there

the rematch will be telling, if he comes back and destroys ruiz or wins handily hes rightfully seen again as capable of beating anyone or threatning for the top spot, though i agree its much more questionable now that hell be the man

[HomicideHenry]

On paper, imho, they appeared better.

Povetkin, in truth, wasn't the same guy since fighting Klitschko. He got busted for PEDs and all of a sudden the knockouts stopped. Then he fought Price, who has one of the worst chins, and suddenly became the top guy. 39 years old. On paper he seemed better, but context is king.

Joseph Parker, imho, basically was fighting two men that night. Joshua and the referee. Even at that he went the whole twelve rounds, and many people wondered out loud, "If the referee allowed Parker to get in close and mix it up, how would the fight have gone?", and I think it was something of a missed opportunity to see whether Joshua could have fought through adversity from a faster man with faster hands.

Takam and Breazele.... Ehhh... They're good (or were) but they weren't exactly anyone's idea of being a legitimate threat... Charles Martin, same thing, he still to this day is hardly a standout.

Ruiz, on the other hand, looking at things retrospectively was a tremendous gamble to have taken on such short notice. He had the extensive amateur background (105-5-0). He already been to the big dance before and was arguably robbed against Parker for the title.

He was always overlooked and undervalued from day one because of his appearance, and basically was a career underdog beating undefeated prospects or physically superior opponents or ex-champions. So he was used to adversity mentally/emotionally and physically.

Fast hands, precision, enormous self belief, a solid chin, and a good ring IQ makes for a bad recipe for any heavyweight.

I'm not saying Joshua cannot come back. Sometimes it takes years to come back when the division thins out a bit and/or you advance and become that complete professional. But I think that his mountain to climb is higher than Fury's or Wilder's or even Ruiz's.