BoxRec Forum HW Top 15 ranking - 2024 Update

[Rob3_142]

1) Oleksandr Usyk - not the deepest HW resume, but leading man as it stands
2) Anthony Joshua - best performance in the last 3-4 years against Wallin, and has the best resume out of everyone
3) Tyson Fury - second best record in HW, but his last 3 opponents have left much to be desired
4) Joseph Parker - devastating defeat by Joyce, but recent record holds credibility and see's him as best of the rest
5) Filip Hrgovic - Still relatively untested, but just edges Zhang on H2H
6) Zhang Zhi - 2 big wins in 2023 against Joyce gives him credit in the bank, but needs more names on his CV
7) Joe Joyce - up until Zhang, he was right in the mix, especially giving Parker his only stoppage defeat
8) Daniel Dubois - probably up the rankings for credible win against Miller, and unlucky against the division top man
9) Agit Kabayel - excellent win against Makhmudov see's him shoot up the rankings, after unflattering momentum
10) Deontay Wilder - best of the rest. Only 10th based on wins in the bank against B-level opposition.
11) Jared Anderson - solid prospect which is starting to develop a resume. Would want to see him against a top 10 guy.
12) Frank Sanchez - credible win against Ajagba, but not much else to shout about.
13) Otto Wallin - has a solid resume, with only defeats against A-level opposition
14) Arslanbek Makhmudov - shocking defeat to Kabayel, but had been building up some very nice momentum
15) Martin Bakole - like Sanchez, credible win against Yoka only thing to shout about - needs to step up levels

11-15 is really difficult, not many with a strong case to be ranked highly. The likes of Ngannou (zero pro wins), Miller (zero recent credibility), Chisora (too many defeats on his resume), Takam (C-level fighter), should absolutely be nowhere near this list.

[Tony1244]

1) Oleksandr Usyk - not the deepest HW resume, but leading man as it stands
2) Anthony Joshua - best performance in the last 3-4 years against Wallin, and has the best resume out of everyone
3) Tyson Fury - second best record in HW, but his last 3 opponents have left much to be desired
4) Joseph Parker - devastating defeat by Joyce, but recent record holds credibility and see's him as best of the rest
5) Filip Hrgovic - Still relatively untested, but just edges Zhang on H2H
6) Zhang Zhi - 2 big wins in 2023 against Joyce gives him credit in the bank, but needs more names on his CV
7) Joe Joyce - up until Zhang, he was right in the mix, especially giving Parker his only stoppage defeat
8) Daniel Dubois - probably up the rankings for credible win against Miller, and unlucky against the division top man
9) Agit Kabayel - excellent win against Makhmudov see's him shoot up the rankings, after unflattering momentum
10) Deontay Wilder - best of the rest. Only 10th based on wins in the bank against B-level opposition.
11) Jared Anderson - solid prospect which is starting to develop a resume. Would want to see him against a top 10 guy.
12) Frank Sanchez - credible win against Ajagba, but not much else to shout about.
13) Otto Wallin - has a solid resume, with only defeats against A-level opposition
14) Arslanbek Makhmudov - shocking defeat to Kabayel, but had been building up some very nice momentum
15) Martin Bakole - like Sanchez, credible win against Yoka only thing to shout about - needs to step up levels

11-15 is really difficult, not many with a strong case to be ranked highly. The likes of Ngannou (zero pro wins), Miller (zero recent credibility), Chisora (too many defeats on his resume), Takam (C-level fighter), should absolutely be nowhere near this list.

Good Job!

[margaret thatcher]

i can still respect a low top 15 vote ffor chisora, the losses arent disqualfying for me. he has loads of defeats but his quality of opposition is stellar. everyone who has legitimately beat him has been top 10 at some time, and many of them top 5. at this rate, everyone who has beat him in the last 5 years will be top 5-6 in these rankings when the votes are tallied

pretty much everyone around would have many defeats if they'd faced:

fury 3x
vitali
usyk
parker 2x
whyte 2x
haye
pulev 2x
kabayel

and chisora couldve fairly gotten decisions against multiple of these guys. compare him to someone like big mak, who got quickly splatted almost as soon as he stepped up to someone live..........incidentally by a guy chisora had a very close fight with

[Finkel]

Chisora is shot to bits. He was tripping over his own feet as he was carried to victory by Washington in what appeared to boxing's equivalent of a "testimonial" fight.

Washington look embarrassed by the whole thing half way through the fight and probably just wishes his mate would retire already. Bu maybe projection on my part having sat though it

Chisora should be no where near a top 15 opponent let alone be ranked himself.

[margaret thatcher]

give me chizzy in the top 15 over big mak any day

first time mak faces someone who beat chisora (a close decision), he gets repeatedly knocked down and splatted in 4. in his career best win he struggles to a decision over a guy chisora already ko'd. he has fewer fringe wins over guys like pulev and gerry as well. makes no sense to me how people can be so against chisora but then vote in mak. i mean, i get that beating junior anthony wright is super impressive, but.....

that said we only have 1 person voting chisora, down at #12, so i dont think we need to fear him entering

[BobBobbington]

1. Usyk
2. Joshua
3. Zhang
4. Hrgovic
5. Fury
6. Parker
7. Joyce
8. Kabayel
9. Dubois
10. Anderson
11. Sanchez
12. Bakole
13. Wallin
14. Makhmudov
15. Wilder

[joshj909]

give me chizzy in the top 15 over big mak any day

first time mak faces someone who beat chisora (a close decision), he gets repeatedly knocked down and splatted in 4. in his career best win he struggles to a decision over a guy chisora already ko'd. he has fewer fringe wins over guys like pulev and gerry as well. makes no sense to me how people can be so against chisora but then vote in mak. i mean, i get that beating junior anthony wright is super impressive, but.....

that said we only have 1 person voting chisora, down at #12, so i dont think we need to fear him entering

I didn't vote Chisora because I knew he won't end up in there and I don't see him taking a relevant fight in the next 12 months. His win over Pulev is better than most and his loss are against top guys but he would just end up squatting in our rankings in my opinion. It would be easier if he would just retire.

[Rob3_142]

give me chizzy in the top 15 over big mak any day

first time mak faces someone who beat chisora (a close decision), he gets repeatedly knocked down and splatted in 4. in his career best win he struggles to a decision over a guy chisora already ko'd. he has fewer fringe wins over guys like pulev and gerry as well. makes no sense to me how people can be so against chisora but then vote in mak. i mean, i get that beating junior anthony wright is super impressive, but.....

that said we only have 1 person voting chisora, down at #12, so i dont think we need to fear him entering

Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against Chisora, the guys has the heart of a lion (sadly not the killer instincts to match), but 5 losses in his last 10 matches doesn't make a strong case. And even those wins were Wilder level opponents, in squeaky fashion.

I think if he had one credible win in his last 10 matches (arguably his best in the last 10 being a SD against a 42 year old Pulev), we could take a closer look. He's 39 and best described as an A-level journeyman. Good luck to the guy, but his dream of being described as top-15 is over.

[omalley]

1. Fury
2. Usyk
3. Joshua
4. Parker
5. Sanchez
6. Kabayel
7. Zhang
8. Hrgovic
9. Dubois
10. Joyce
11. Anderson
12. Bakole
13. Jalolov
14. Opetaia
15. Wallin

[Ruthless-RKO]

Jalalov ok.. fair enough. People like him.

But what you got Jai Opetaia??

[omalley]

Jalalov ok.. fair enough. People like him.

But what you got Jai Opetaia??

Opetaia passed the eye test. As it did Usyk 5 years ago.

[BroughtonRulesRefuge]

- Really pains me to consider such a lineal 2 dimensional poll as something serious whilst Boxing continues to flush itself down the fetid abyss of it's own creation, ie Ring update still ranks Flubber #2 with Zhang #4 above Hrg who is undefeated and already whooped him. Then the Mighty Joe Parker who embarrassed the 18 Ring Experts picking Deyonce to KO Parker.

So here we go:

1 Oleksandr Usyk - The Man

2 Anthony Joshua - Busted Usyk into a Frankenstein mug first fight to lose a close fight, lost a split dec the rematch that I had him winning by a point where he had Usyk doubled over with a liver shot the last round. His demise as reported in this forum is what happens when bowels take over brain function.

3 Joseph Parker - Held AJ close and just finished off the myth of Deyonce and his "Ring Experts," now fallen to #17 on Boxrec.

4 Filip Hrgovic - Whooped Zhang in a sloppy fight of stamina attrition, Hrg is currently the savior for either Usyk or AJ to fight.

5 Zhang Zhi - Huge credit for busting up Joyce should translate into something bigger, but what since he is now classified as the new boogieman?

7 Joe Joyce - Parker still looms large in his scalps taken as well as young Dubois. His next fight will be a good one.

8 Daniel Dubois - probably overranked due to his physical attributes, not mental attributes where his deficiencies will drop him yet again, but huge plus vs huge BigBaby.

9 Agit Kabayel - Showed up big time against monster Makhmudov, so maybe new found confidence will see good fights coming his way.

10 Otto Wallin - publicly, ie; legally robbed by Boxing of an easy win over Flubber. Deserves better and likely he's still solid to whoop one of the prospects here for another title shot.

11 Arslanbek Makhmudov - still huge potential now knows what he needs to step up which is better boxing basics and not just power.

12 Kubrat Pulev - He still beats half the prospects but aging into bad risk who needs him little reward department.

13 Francis - Biggest favor a fighter ever did for pitiable reputation of boxing. Would've had a Split Decision or even KO of Flubber after that 2nd KD was illicitly spoiled by Flubber falling in for an attempted takedown that dangerously stretched out the ropes. Ref blew that call as I have seen many times, but hey-ho, nobody who could make a difference cares about boxing.

14 Frank Sanchez - Big, Ugly, Slow, but Hey, he Cubano, so ghost of Fidel Fingers xx.

15 Jared Anderson - First time I seen him he was swiveling his hips around prancing in pink tutu, so gotta have one in the rankings.

16 A tie between Dan Quail, TBA short notice Deyonce, and mobbed up Flubber whose Blubber is aging badly.

* Noteworthy for his absence is Fat Andy, who when AJ needed an opponent for his American Debut, Fat Andy the only top 10 fighter left willing to take the record purse that ended up plural purses that basically now keeps him confined to his kitchen, take out, and his GFs these days which ain't a bad life if you think about it.

[joshj909]

Jalalov ok.. fair enough. People like him.

But what you got Jai Opetaia??

Opetaia passed the eye test. As it did Usyk 5 years ago.

He's not an active heavyweight.

[omalley]

Jalalov ok.. fair enough. People like him.

But what you got Jai Opetaia??

Opetaia passed the eye test. As it did Usyk 5 years ago.

He's not an active heavyweight.

He's not an active heavyweight for this very moment. Do you know what Saudi plans for Opetaia for the next Feb./March? I don't.
Are you sure Francis Ngannou is an active heavyweight? Are you sure he will ever participate in official boxing match?
Are you sure Deontay Wilder hasn't retired?

[joshj909]

Opetaia passed the eye test. As it did Usyk 5 years ago.

He's not an active heavyweight.

He's not an active heavyweight for this very moment. Do you know what Saudi plans for Opetaia for the next Feb./March? I don't.
Are you sure Francis Ngannou is an active heavyweight? Are you sure he will ever participate in official boxing match?
Are you sure Deontay Wilder hasn't retired?

Opetaia hasn't boxed at heavyweight for 6 years the guys you just mentioned have boxed at heavyweight in the past couple of months and have not expressed an interest in dropping to another weightclass or retiring, therefore they're active heavyweights. If he fights at heavyweight next year then he will become an active heavyweight. Until then he is an active Cruiserweight. The votes are based on now, not some hypothetical future you've written out.

[JonnyKupfer]

Standings after 21 votes:

1. Usyk 416
2. Joshua 359
3. Fury 330
4. Zhang 304
5. Hrgovic 293
6. Parker 279
7. Joyce 220
8. Kabayel 202
9. Sanchez 164
10. Dubois 156
11. Bakole 145
12. Wilder 109
13. Anderson 99
14. Ajagba 70
15. Wallin 59

16. Makhmudov 31
17. Ngannou 25
18. Jalolov 17
19. Wardley 10
20. Pulev 7
21. Chisora 6
22. Takam 5
23. Demirezen 4
24. Opetaia 4
25. Miller 4

[joshj909]

Standings after 21 votes:

1. Usyk 416
2. Joshua 359
3. Fury 330
4. Zhang 304
5. Hrgovic 293
6. Parker 279
7. Joyce 220
8. Kabayel 202
9. Sanchez 164
10. Dubois 156
11. Bakole 145
12. Wilder 109
13. Anderson 99
14. Ajagba 70
15. Wallin 59

16. Makhmudov 31
17. Ngannou 25
18. Jalolov 17
19. Wardley 10
20. Pulev 7
21. Chisora 6
22. Takam 5
23. Demirezen 4
24. Opetaia 4
25. Miller 4

Sanchez being that high is the only real surprise for me. Other than that everyone seems to have most of the same it seems.

[Finkel]

That's a really good looking top 15. I can see an argument for each of the rankings. Nice job to all.

[bogan whisperer]

Chisora is shot to bits. He was tripping over his own feet as he was carried to victory by Washington in what appeared to boxing's equivalent of a "testimonial" fight.

Washington look embarrassed by the whole thing half way through the fight and probably just wishes his mate would retire already. Bu maybe projection on my part having sat though it

Chisora should be no where near a top 15 opponent let alone be ranked himself.

Chisora has been a warrior but is absolutely cooked and has no claims to be amongst the top ranked.

[joshj909]

Chisora is shot to bits. He was tripping over his own feet as he was carried to victory by Washington in what appeared to boxing's equivalent of a "testimonial" fight.

Washington look embarrassed by the whole thing half way through the fight and probably just wishes his mate would retire already. Bu maybe projection on my part having sat though it

Chisora should be no where near a top 15 opponent let alone be ranked himself.

Chisora has been a warrior but is absolutely cooked and has no claims to be amongst the top ranked.

I think his claim is a relatively recent win over Pulev while only losing to top 7 ranked guys. Pulev has a better record and is legitimately more skilled than those beaten by a number of these guys we have ranked.

[bogan whisperer]

Chisora is shot to bits. He was tripping over his own feet as he was carried to victory by Washington in what appeared to boxing's equivalent of a "testimonial" fight.

Washington look embarrassed by the whole thing half way through the fight and probably just wishes his mate would retire already. Bu maybe projection on my part having sat though it

Chisora should be no where near a top 15 opponent let alone be ranked himself.

Chisora has been a warrior but is absolutely cooked and has no claims to be amongst the top ranked.

I think his claim is a relatively recent win over Pulev while only losing to top 7 ranked guys. Pulev has a better record and is legitimately more skilled than those beaten by a number of these guys we have ranked.

A win against Pulev, a guy who had previously beaten him, and 4 out of 5 of his other most recent fights are losses. Losses to ranked opposition granted but that's why he isn't one of them. Chisora has made a career out of beating the lesser guys and losing to the better guys.

[pound per pound]

1) Oleksandr Usyk - not the deepest HW resume, but leading man as it stands
2) Anthony Joshua - best performance in the last 3-4 years against Wallin, and has the best resume out of everyone
3) Tyson Fury - second best record in HW, but his last 3 opponents have left much to be desired
4) Joseph Parker - devastating defeat by Joyce, but recent record holds credibility and see's him as best of the rest
5) Filip Hrgovic - Still relatively untested, but just edges Zhang on H2H
6) Zhang Zhi - 2 big wins in 2023 against Joyce gives him credit in the bank, but needs more names on his CV
7) Joe Joyce - up until Zhang, he was right in the mix, especially giving Parker his only stoppage defeat
8) Daniel Dubois - probably up the rankings for credible win against Miller, and unlucky against the division top man
9) Agit Kabayel - excellent win against Makhmudov see's him shoot up the rankings, after unflattering momentum
10) Deontay Wilder - best of the rest. Only 10th based on wins in the bank against B-level opposition.
11) Jared Anderson - solid prospect which is starting to develop a resume. Would want to see him against a top 10 guy.
12) Frank Sanchez - credible win against Ajagba, but not much else to shout about.
13) Otto Wallin - has a solid resume, with only defeats against A-level opposition
14) Arslanbek Makhmudov - shocking defeat to Kabayel, but had been building up some very nice momentum
15) Martin Bakole - like Sanchez, credible win against Yoka only thing to shout about - needs to step up levels

11-15 is really difficult, not many with a strong case to be ranked highly. The likes of Ngannou (zero pro wins), Miller (zero recent credibility), Chisora (too many defeats on his resume), Takam (C-level fighter), should absolutely be nowhere near this list.

Wilder is out. Wallin and Makmudov are Out! Fury is over rated, but still in the mix.

Anderson should not rate. The younger prospects in Jalolov should rate.

Outside of the top 3, they are difficult to rate.

[margaret thatcher]

anderson is 5 years younger than jalolov

jalo has loads of talent, great size, etc....but he needs to get his arse fully committed to pro boxing or he'll never go as high as he couldve

[tiny_acres]

This was harder than I thought.

1. Usyk
2. Fury
3. Joshua
4. Zhang
5. Hrgovic
6. Kabayel
7. Joyce
8. Parker
9. Sanchez
10. Wilder
11. Anderson
12. Ajagbe
13. Bakole
14.Dubois
15.Huni

[oogiebe]

This was harder than I thought.

1. Usyk
2. Fury
3. Joshua
4. Zhang
5. Hrgovic
6. Kabayel
7. Joyce
8. Parker
9. Sanchez
10. Wilder
11. Anderson
12. Ajagbe
13. Bakole
14.Dubois
15.Huni

It was and still is. We need more fights to clear the smoke.