BoxRec Forum HW Top 15 ranking - Itauma / Whyte / Hrgovic / Adeleye

[gregregegg]

Retiring should be instant out… get back in when you fight again….

What’s the downside? Attention seekers spend a few months out of the boxrec rankings…

Why be so lenient for a guy that:

2025 has done nothing
2024 lost twice
2023 got dropped by an mma guy…

Because until he "Lost twice" he had been the Lineal Heavyweight Champion since 2015, and didn't embarrass himself in defeat in either case against Usyk. He was simply beaten by a better fighter. He still very much looked like a Championship caliber fighter. He just couldn't get it done against the very best opponent he'd faced.

So cause he beat a 39 year old vlad 10 years ago he gets special privledges.

He also got busted for PEDs afterwards (surely that breaks lineal….)

He is good. Really good. But beating a 39 year old vlad, then a failed PEDs test and a couple of wilder wins dosent make you a god that can just do what you want…

[gilgamesh]

Retiring should be instant out… get back in when you fight again….

What’s the downside? Attention seekers spend a few months out of the boxrec rankings…

Why be so lenient for a guy that:

2025 has done nothing
2024 lost twice
2023 got dropped by an mma guy…

Because until he "Lost twice" he had been the Lineal Heavyweight Champion since 2015, and didn't embarrass himself in defeat in either case against Usyk. He was simply beaten by a better fighter. He still very much looked like a Championship caliber fighter. He just couldn't get it done against the very best opponent he'd faced.

So cause he beat a 39 year old vlad 10 years ago he gets special privledges.

He also got busted for PEDs afterwards (surely that breaks lineal….)

He is good. Really good. But beating a 39 year old vlad, then a failed PEDs test and a couple of wilder wins dosent make you a god that can just do what you want…

Special privileges got jack sh*t to do with it. I just think he's one of the best Heavyweights in the World still, and I'm 90% certain he'll fight again next year sometime. If he doesn't eventually we'll hit the timeframe where he'll be out due to inactivity, and the whole thing works itself out.

If he does he stayed in the rankings where he belonged all the while because he was always around.

I doubt there's anyone on this forum who gives less of a sh*t if a fighter does PED's. I don't hold it against anybody. I assume everybody is on them.

[Bobbyptsd]

I've said this before, but the view on Fury on this board is just strange. People hate him so much it becomes ridiculous the contortions they will make to try to discredit him. He just had two competitive fights with a guy who conversely everyone likes and is clearly an atg, and it just doesn't make any sense. It discredits Usyk at the same time, but that dissonence doesn't even matter to them.

[joshj909]

I've said this before, but the view on Fury on this board is just strange. People hate him so much it becomes ridiculous the contortions they will make to try to discredit him. He just had two competitive fights with a guy who conversely everyone likes and is clearly an atg, and it just doesn't make any sense. It discredits Usyk at the same time, but that dissonence doesn't even matter to them.

He lost two fights against Usyk, that's not why people are complaining. It's because he's done nothing else in years. Dubois is still ranked high because he had other fights and got wins, Fury has not.

[JonnyKupfer]

The problem with Fury is, that his biggest wins (and the draw) didn’t age well. Wilder is washed und gone - not a part of our top 15. Beating Klitschko 20 years ago und Fury’s story and personality don’t matter.
He beat Chisora twice and lost to Usyk twice. So he should be ranked somewhere between 2 and 12. But where? We don’t know. He is retired. He isn’t fighting Parker, Kabayel or Dubois to prove, that he is the second best boxer in the world. He will maybe collect a 3rd L against Usyk or stay retired. There really is no difference between removing him or holding him somewhere between Usyk and Chisora in the rankings. Let’s just ignore him till he is fighting or collects about 1.5 - 2 years of inactivity.

AJ got the same problem. His resume aged like milk. He only has a pretty old win against a young Parker and nothing more to show. We are voting Hrgovic to 6, because it’s a rare opportunity to move him down. We have a wall of 15 TBA opponents. We won’t have an opportunity to adjust the rankings any time soon.

Our current rankings only considering fight against other top 15 members:

1. Oleksandr Usyk - 7 0
2. Joseph Parker - 4 1
3. Agit Kabayel - 3 0
4. Tyson Fury - 3 2
5. Daniel Dubois - 2 2
6. Anthony Joshua - 1 3
7. Filip Hrgovic - 1 1
8. Zhilei Zhang - 0 3
9. Efe Ajagba - 0 1 1
10. Martin Bakole - 0 1 1
11. Fabio Wardley - 1 0
12. Frank Sanchez - 1 1
13 Derek Chisora - 0 7
14. Richard Torrez Jr. - 0 0
15. Justis Huni - 0 1

[Cyclops]

The problem with Fury is, that his biggest wins (and the draw) didn’t age well. Wilder is washed und gone - not a part of our top 15. Beating Klitschko 20 years ago und Fury’s story and personality don’t matter.
He beat Chisora twice and lost to Usyk twice. So he should be ranked somewhere between 2 and 12. But where? We don’t know. He is retired. He isn’t fighting Parker, Kabayel or Dubois to prove, that he is the second best boxer in the world. He will maybe collect a 3rd L against Usyk or stay retired. There really is no difference between removing him or holding him somewhere between Usyk and Chisora in the rankings. Let’s just ignore him till he is fighting or collects about 1.5 - 2 years of inactivity.

AJ got the same problem. His resume aged like milk. He only has a pretty old win against a young Parker and nothing more to show. We are voting Hrgovic to 6, because it’s a rare opportunity to move him down. We have a wall of 15 TBA opponents. We won’t have an opportunity to adjust the rankings any time soon.

Our current rankings only considering fight against other top 15 members:

1. Oleksandr Usyk - 7 0
2. Joseph Parker - 4 1
3. Agit Kabayel - 3 0
4. Tyson Fury - 2 2
5. Daniel Dubois - 2 2
6. Anthony Joshua - 1 3
7. Filip Hrgovic - 1 1
8. Zhilei Zhang - 0 3
9. Efe Ajagba - 0 1 1
10. Martin Bakole - 0 1 1
11. Fabio Wardley - 1 0
12. Frank Sanchez - 1 1
13 Derek Chisora - 0 6
14. Richard Torrez Jr. - 0 0
15. Justis Huni - 0 1

You forgot that Fury and Chisora fought an epic trilogy?

[joshj909]

Our current rankings only considering fight against other top 15 members:

1. Oleksandr Usyk - 7 0
2. Joseph Parker - 4 1
3. Agit Kabayel - 3 0
4. Tyson Fury - 2 2
5. Daniel Dubois - 2 2
6. Anthony Joshua - 1 3
7. Filip Hrgovic - 1 1
8. Zhilei Zhang - 0 3
9. Efe Ajagba - 0 1 1
10. Martin Bakole - 0 1 1
11. Fabio Wardley - 1 0
12. Frank Sanchez - 1 1
13 Derek Chisora - 0 6
14. Richard Torrez Jr. - 0 0
15. Justis Huni - 0 1

When you take out non-recent results of over 3 years ago which is what should count when it comes to current rankings (not career rankings), you end up with:

1. Oleksandr Usyk - 5 0
2. Joseph Parker - 3 0
3. Agit Kabayel - 2 0
4. Tyson Fury - 1 2
5. Daniel Dubois - 2 2
6. Anthony Joshua - 0 3
7. Filip Hrgovic - 1 1
8. Zhilei Zhang - 0 3
9. Efe Ajagba - 0 0 1
10. Martin Bakole - 0 1 1
11. Fabio Wardley - 1 0
12. Frank Sanchez - 0 1
13 Derek Chisora - 0 1
14. Richard Torrez Jr. - 0 0
15. Justis Huni - 0 1

[Perkin Warbeck]

Gassiev won by TKO yesterday. Not a great opponent, but should he be considered for entry at around #15? I don't know, just asking.

[gilgamesh]

I think he'd need to do a little better than Jeremiah Milton to crack the Top 15, but he'd probably legit be Top 25 just off of his past accomplishments, and being active again.

[margaret thatcher]

granted its just a small portion of the fight, but he d idnt look very good there tbh, sloppy

[gregregegg]

I thought gassiev would become a really solid heavyweight after the usyk loss. but I don't understand his weight...

I feel like he was probably 220 most of his cruiser weight Carrer, then balloned to high for a few fights, then randomly came in super light to Otto, now back to 230....

I think the key to moving to heavyweight is not trying to get bigger, just letting yourself have a bit of extra spaghetti now and then...

I think 225 is the weight for him.

he would actually be a really good Moses opponent (althoguht the risk vs reward is probably not there...)

[Finkel]

Seems I didn't press submit on my vote

Hrgovic #5
Itauma #13

[Ruthless-RKO]

I left this open. Seeing as there’s no HW fights anytime soon.

[joshj909]

I left this open. Seeing as there’s no HW fights anytime soon.

Dychko vs Franklin is the only one coming up soon but I don't think anyone will have the winner moving into the top 15. Allen vs Makhmudov and Vianello vs Barriere in October will probably be next ones worth voting on, especially as Joshua will be out due to inactivity. Looks like there should be some fights including Parker, Wardley, Dubois and other top heavies scheduled after that though.

[gregregegg]

I left this open. Seeing as there’s no HW fights anytime soon.

Dychko vs Franklin is the only one coming up soon but I don't think anyone will have the winner moving into the top 15. Allen vs Makhmudov and Vianello vs Barriere in October will probably be next ones worth voting on, especially as Joshua will be out due to inactivity. Looks like there should be some fights including Parker, Wardley, Dubois and other top heavies scheduled after that though.

Ivan vs Franklin, Allen vs mak, Vianello cs barriere are all good fringe fights. But with a excelent win (winning on points then getting the KO, or an early KO or a 100-90 domination) you could put any of them into that 15 spot.

[Ruthless-RKO]

The vote is over.

Changes

• Itauma enters at #13

• Hrgovic moves up to #6

• Whyte & Adeleye remain out

• Joshua and Fury exit for now, moving everyone up 2 places. This keeps Huni in.

Current ranking:
Oleksandr Usyk - 24(15) 0 0 - next fight: TBA

2. Joseph Parker - 36(24) 3(1) 0 - next fight: 25.10.2025 vs. Fabio Wardley - 18(17) 0 1 - #9

3. Agit Kabayel - 26(18) 0 0 - next fight: TBA

4. Daniel Dubois - 22(21) 3(3) 0 - next fight: TBA

5. Filip Hrgovic - 19(14) 1(1) 0 - next fight: TBA

6. Zhilei Zhang - 25(22) 3(1) 1 - next fight: TBA

7. Efe Ajagba - 20(14) 1(0) 1 - next fight: TBA

8. Martin Bakole - 21(16) 2(2) 1 - next fight: TBA

9. Fabio Wardley - 18(17) 0 1 - next fight: 25.10.2025 vs. Joseph Parker - 36(24) 3(1) 0 - #2

10. Frank Sanchez - 25(18) 1(1) 0 - next fight: TBA

11 Moses Itauma - 13(11) 0 0 - next fight: TBA

12. Derek Chisora - 36(23) 13(4) 0 - next fight: TBA

13. Richard Torrez Jr. - 13(11) 0 0 - next fight: TBA

14. Justis Huni - 12(7) 1(1) 0 - next fight: TBA

15. VACANT

--------------

[gregregegg]

Mak truck our guido/biera winner would be decent options for 15th...

Been a grim year outside of the top 5.

[gilgamesh]

Mak truck our guido/biera winner would be decent options for 15th...

Been a grim year outside of the top 5.

I believe Huni is set to fight again soon on Jai Opetaia's next fight card as well. Wardley vs Parker in a few weeks definitely has potential shake up the picture too.

[gregregegg]

Mak truck our guido/biera winner would be decent options for 15th...

Been a grim year outside of the top 5.

I believe Huni is set to fight again soon on Jai Opetaia's next fight card as well. Wardley vs Parker in a few weeks definitely has potential shake up the picture too.

huni is fighting kiki again. wont help his rankings. kiki is decent and tough (i liked him as a moses opponenet or a teramoa opponent), but i dont see it as a usefull rematch.

Wardly vs parker will shake it a bit but probably wont boot either out of the top 15.

[joshj909]

Mak truck our guido/biera winner would be decent options for 15th...

Been a grim year outside of the top 5.

As Guido beat Mak, I think the Guido will be more worthy.

[Perkin Warbeck]

Usyk's manager said he will target the winner of Wardley-Parker for a fight in early 2026, and also said the Usyk-Fury saga is "closed".

https://ringmagazine.com/en/news/oleksa ... ses-itauma

[gregregegg]

Usyk's manager said he will target the winner of Wardley-Parker for a fight in early 2026, and also said the Usyk-Fury saga is "closed".

https://ringmagazine.com/en/news/oleksa ... ses-itauma

Praise the lorrrrrd mr Usyk.

[Finkel]

I'd like to vote Howard Foster to #15. The guys an absolute assassin in the ring

One of the most reliable finishers on Queensberry's books these days

[joshj909]

I'd like to vote Howard Foster to #15. The guys an absolute assassin in the ring

One of the most reliable finishers on Queensberry's books these days

Might be the only man that can take Usyk's 0.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Haha!

Will do a new thread this week.