BoxRec

Hrg #5
Itauma #15

For me Itauma must actually prove his place now. And knocking out Whyte doesn't count.
He has potential, that's why I'd like him kept on the list.

Shall I wrap this up?

Or keep it going?

Don’t really see Knyba getting votes to enter the top15 after beating Ruiz.. who himself was very inactive.

Thoughts?

Yeah, wrap up the Hrgovic v Itauma vote, but maybe do open one for Knyba v Ruiz.

I think Suslenkov got a vote for recently beating Joe Joyce, and Sirenko definitely got a vote for beating Wallin, so I don't see why Knyba shouldn't get one here. His win was pretty one-sided, and he hurt Ruiz far worse than I can remember anyone hurting him before.

And there a fair few who think Knyba was hard done by in his one loss to Kabayel.

Obviously Ruiz had been inactive, but nobody had beaten him like that before, and he's been in with some very good heavyweights. Is Ruiz ultimately shot? Possibly, but I'd say no more so than Joyce was when Suslenkov beat him.

Yeh, let’s see if we get few more votes on this. Then I’ll close it off tomorrow.

Hrgovic to #4
Itauma stays #11

joshj909 wrote: ↑30 Aug 2026, 12:30 Hrgovic to #6
Itauma to #12

As impressive of a win it was for Hrgovic

. The win will probably age better when Itauma picks up better wins..

Was it an impressive win? He literally got battered for 8 rounds at which point due to a mix of inexperience and poor corner work his opponent completely ran out of gas.
Had Moses had the engine for 12 or the experience to rest it would’ve been a near shut out.

Hrgovic performance was like Homer Simpson when he boxed.


If they fight again down the line the win will age badly as I’m sure Moses will learn to do 12 and smash him for the full 12 instead.

Finkel wrote: ↑06 Sep 2026, 08:17
Obviously Ruiz had been inactive, but nobody had beaten him like that before, and he's been in with some very good heavyweights. Is Ruiz ultimately shot? Possibly, but I'd say no more so than Joyce was when Suslenkov beat him.

Ruiz had fought 3 times in 6 years and was coming off a 760+ day lay off. He looked terrible in there too - he’s done, finished, shot.

Joe Joyce also shot to pieces and sadly did an interview saying he had to fight on as he wasn’t financially sound

Wales wrote: ↑12 Sep 2026, 20:39

joshj909 wrote: ↑30 Aug 2026, 12:30 Hrgovic to #6
Itauma to #12

As impressive of a win it was for Hrgovic

. The win will probably age better when Itauma picks up better wins..

Was it an impressive win? He literally got battered for 8 rounds at which point due to a mix of inexperience and poor corner work his opponent completely ran out of gas.
Had Moses had the engine for 12 or the experience to rest it would’ve been a near shut out.

Hrgovic performance was like Homer Simpson when he boxed.


If they fight again down the line the win will age badly as I’m sure Moses will learn to do 12 and smash him for the full 12 instead.

Itauma was incapable of winning. Hrgovic was capable of winning and won. You're talking about things that didn't happen and were never going to happen because Itauma couldn't win the only way he knew how to fight, you sound sour. If Moses learns to fight for 12, who says he will be able to keep the speed and output and power? You keep your mythical potential results to yourself while we focus on the results that happened.

Moses Itauma did not deserve a title fight 'his best wins before fighting Filip Hrgovic were, Dempsey Mckean, Jermaine Franklin, and Dillian Whyte. The latter two fighters were not in great condition, Itauma did not fight the same version of Franklin as Anthony Joshua'.

Note: Derek Chisora's most recent wins before fighting Deontay Wilder were, Gerald Washington, Joe Joyce, Otto Wallin 'it is debatable that Chisora has better more recent wins on his resume than Itauma'.

So? Wherever people want to rank Moses Itauma, it should be nowhere near the top 10, and definitively not above Anthony Joshua'.

Wilder and Joshua should both be above Moses Itauma in my opinion 'so I would put Itauma below those fighters but in the top-15' etc.

Let’s be honest here, anyone who ranks Itauma in the top 15 is doing so because of the potential they think they see, not because of anything Moses has actually done. That’s fine by me, but it goes completely against what I think of when I hear the word "ranking". It’s just as much fantasy as the sanctioning bodies' rankings.

Heldenjaeger wrote: ↑14 Sep 2026, 13:03 Let’s be honest here, anyone who ranks Itauma in the top 15 is doing so because of the potential they think they see, not because of anything Moses has actually done. That’s fine by me, but it goes completely against what I think of when I hear the word "ranking". It’s just as much fantasy as the sanctioning bodies' rankings.

Yep. The thing is, people mix their rankings up. Some guys are there because of what they've done, some guys are there because of what they think they might do. So it's a mess. I'm sure there would be people who would've had Itauma as the best guy in the division before the Hrgovic fight, or at least top 3, but nobody put them there. However, they'll keep him ranked high because they think he'll come back and do something. Problem is that they can just rank him higher when he does that rather than having him there whilst he hasn't earned it.

joshj909 wrote: ↑14 Sep 2026, 14:10

Heldenjaeger wrote: ↑14 Sep 2026, 13:03 Let’s be honest here, anyone who ranks Itauma in the top 15 is doing so because of the potential they think they see, not because of anything Moses has actually done. That’s fine by me, but it goes completely against what I think of when I hear the word "ranking". It’s just as much fantasy as the sanctioning bodies' rankings.

Yep. The thing is, people mix their rankings up. Some guys are there because of what they've done, some guys are there because of what they think they might do. So it's a mess. I'm sure there would be people who would've had Itauma as the best guy in the division before the Hrgovic fight, or at least top 3, but nobody put them there. However, they'll keep him ranked high because they think he'll come back and do something. Problem is that they can just rank him higher when he does that rather than having him there whilst he hasn't earned it.

I think you are tilting at windmills a little here gentlemen.
No one has voted to move Itauma up. I think I wrote the most positive assessment of his performance, but also am content to have him stay at #11 (or drop out if that is how the vote goes) because ultimately he lost.

I agree some may get carried away wanting to vote prospects higher than their resume deserves, but it tends to get balanced out by other voters.

Now personally I would like to see more opportunities to vote for guys on the periphery (say anytime a "top 30" guy is involved in a fight), so we don't get fighters sitting in the rankings inactive or by fighting a string of jobbers. But even that suggestion leans into opinion of in ring performance.

There are those that view the rankings like a ladder (where a fighter replaces the guy that he beats) and others who will rank higher based on in ring performance. I don't think there is one definitive approach, but admittedly the second is more open to extreme voting and bias.

The vote is over.

• Hrgovic climbs up to #4

• Itauma drops down one place to #12

Current ranking:
Oleksandr Usyk - 25(16) 0 0 - next fight: TBA

2. Agit Kabayel - 27(19) 0 0 - next fight: TBA

3. Daniel Dubois - 23(22) 3(3) 0 - next fight: 17.10.2026 vs. Fabio Wardley - 19(18) 1(1) 1 - (#6)

4 . Filip Hrgovic - 21(16) 1(1) 0 - next fight: TBA

5. Joseph Parker - 36(24) 4(2) 0 - next fight: TBA

6. Fabio Wardley - 19(18) 1(1) 1 - next fight: 17.10.2026 vs. Daniel Dubois - 23(22) 3(3) 0 - (#3)

7. Efe Ajagba - 21(15) 1(0) 1 - next fight: TBA

8. Tyson Fury - 36(25) 2(0) 1 - next fight: TBA

9. Frank Sanchez - 26(19) 1(1) 0 - next fight: TBA

10. Justis Huni - 13(7) 1(1) 0 - next fight: TBA

11. Deontay Wilder - 45(43) 4(3) 1 - next fight: TBA

12. Moses Itauma - 14(12) 1(1) 0 - next fight: TBA

13. Rico Verhoeven - 1(1) 1(1) 0 - next fight: TBA

14. Murat Gassiev - 34(27) 2(0) 0 - next fight: TBA

15. Anthony Joshua - 30(27) 4(2) 0 - next fight: TBA

Parker will be out for inactivity in a month. Might need to vote on a new 15th after the Wardley Vs Dubois rematch

So many "next fight: TBA"

Most heavyweights nowadays are too inactive. The division would be more interesting if they fought more frequently.

Perkin Warbeck wrote: ↑15 Sep 2026, 12:42 So many "next fight: TBA"

Most heavyweights nowadays are too inactive. The division would be more interesting if they fought more frequently.

Before I posted the new rankings, I double checked if there was any fights scheduled..

Not a single fight

Perkin Warbeck wrote: ↑15 Sep 2026, 12:42 So many "next fight: TBA"

Most heavyweights nowadays are too inactive. The division would be more interesting if they fought more frequently.

That goes for Boxing in general. Everybody needs to be more active. Fighting 10 to 15 times a year like in the old days is too much. Fighting 1 or 2 times a year is too little.

Somewhere between 4 and 6 seems the sweet spot. A mixture of big fights, and tune ups.

A Fighter stays sharper when he continues to put those skills to use.

Is this an issue with certain promoters?
You have someone like Suslenkov who is staying active.
Then you have what seems like half of the top 20 attached to Warren and they are just not fighting.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑15 Sep 2026, 15:00

Perkin Warbeck wrote: ↑15 Sep 2026, 12:42 So many "next fight: TBA"

Most heavyweights nowadays are too inactive. The division would be more interesting if they fought more frequently.

That goes for Boxing in general. Everybody needs to be more active. Fighting 10 to 15 times a year like in the old days is too much. Fighting 1 or 2 times a year is too little.

Somewhere between 4 and 6 seems the sweet spot. A mixture of big fights, and tune ups.

A Fighter stays sharper when he continues to put those skills to use.

In all seriousness, fighting 10 times a year should not be unheard of against the type of opponents that most guys stay busy against. If they end up blowing them away in one round, there no reason why they shouldn't be able to fight again a few weeks later but they take about 8 months to get another fight against another low calibre opponent. I think 3-4 is the sweet spot once there's competition, however, they obviously should take time out when they get a beating or are in a war like Wardley. You'd think they'd want the money...

When you look at when some of them last fought. Then it’s concerning.

Barely any of them even in negotiations.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑16 Sep 2026, 03:10 When you look at when some of them last fought. Then it’s concerning.

Barely any of them even in negotiations.

Oliver McCall fought twice last year, and is rumored to have another one coming up. He's more active than relevant fighters for f*cks sake.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑16 Sep 2026, 04:26

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑16 Sep 2026, 03:10 When you look at when some of them last fought. Then it’s concerning.

Barely any of them even in negotiations.

Oliver McCall fought twice last year, and is rumored to have another one coming up. He's more active than relevant fighters for f*cks sake.

McCall to #15

joshj909 wrote: ↑16 Sep 2026, 06:37

gilgamesh wrote: ↑16 Sep 2026, 04:26

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑16 Sep 2026, 03:10 When you look at when some of them last fought. Then it’s concerning.

Barely any of them even in negotiations.

Oliver McCall fought twice last year, and is rumored to have another one coming up. He's more active than relevant fighters for f*cks sake.

McCall to #15

Might as well

I think Fury and AJ not having a signed and announced bout is the biggest problem.
Everyone else stays available to jump in on the big payday, if the AJ-Fury fight is declared dead.
Even Usyk is waiting for the opportunity to make a Fury trilogy, although it looked like it was an open secret that he’s fighting Wilder in his “last dance”.

The exception are Dubois v Wardley, because of their rematch clause and Hrgovic v Sanchez as a mandatory defense.

In reality the rankings are nonsense 'in the sport of boxing, you have champions and then everyone else below them'.

Note: The reason why I personally rank Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and even Deontay Wilder very high 'is because for the best part of the last decade they were the premier heavyweight champions. The three heavyweight mountains in the sport'.

Those feats achieved don't just disappear 'after a fighter loses. That is why 1000% Fury, Joshua and even Wilder should definitively be the top-15 at the very least'.

Objectively Moses Itauma should not be ranked above Fury, Joshua or Wilder 'he has never been a World champion, he won nothing at elite level in the amateur ranks. Anthony Joshua before turning professional was a World Championship silver medallist and the 2012 Olympic Champion'.

Moses Itauma is not in the same position as Fury, Joshua and Wilder 'as former World Champions. Before they lost? They were the main premier fighters in the heavyweight divisions, on the entire planet'.

Like I have just stated at the beginning of my post 'those feats, don't just disappear after a loss. And they should still have a major effect on how the fighters are ranked'.

I have my own rankings 'and it consist of Champions, former champions and everyone else below' etc.