10. Frank Sanchez
Age 29.
Country:Cuba
With a strong performance on the Fury-Wilder III undercard, when Sanchez comfortably defeated fellow unbeaten rising star Efe Ajagba, Sanchez enters the top ten. Although the 29-year-old (level of paper round in Cuba: hard) has an older appearance, he lacks the dynamic energy fight spectators look for in their heavyweights. He has a stiff jab and smooth mobility. Still, he is a good addition to the division and had enough force to knock Ajagba to the ground.
9. Michael Hunter
Age 33
Country: USA
The 6ft 2in former cruiserweight will always be outmatched by size, but Hunter can draw inspiration from Usyk, who was the sole opponent to overcome him, winning on points in 2017. Usyk has shown that being smaller doesn’t preclude you from defeating the super-sized heavyweights. Following a spectacular knockout victory against Mike Wilson, “The Bounty Hunter” deservedly defeated Alexander Povetkin in their 2019 match. Despite his advantage in speed, the top four would be a much bigger favorite.
8. Joe Joyce
Age: 36
Country: Britain
The most undervalued heavyweight on the planet? Even though Britain’s “Big Juggernaut” is closer to 40 than 30, he still looks young for his age and is a better fighter than he appears to be at first glance. Although Joyce moves slowly and is frequently hittable early, he seems to have an iron jaw, a powerful jab, and—as his moniker suggests—the will to keep going. Defeated the tough Carlos Takam in July and is due for a major bout soon.
7.Joseph Parker
Age: 29
Country: New Zealand
Rapid hands, still under 30 years old, with some impressive wins and only two losses to Joshua and Dillian Whyte (both competitive defeats on points). Parker, on the other hand, has struggled of late, most notably in his sluggish split decision victory over Derek Chisora earlier this year. Parker has been training with Tyson Fury under new coach Andy Lee, and he needs to start punching with his old authority to earn a more convincing win over Chisora in their rematch in December.
6.Andy Ruiz Jr
Age: 32
Country: USA
It’s a turning point for Ruiz, who has had two poor performances in a row since pulling himself off the canvas to defeat Joshua in 2019. In a lopsided rematch loss to AJ, he showed up in poor shape, but he worked hard under Eddy Reynoso to prepare for his fight with Chris Arreola in May 2021. Ruiz recovered from an early knockdown to outpoint Arreola, but the fast-fingered Mexican-American needs to bring more to the ring next year.
5.Dillian Whyte
Age: 33
Country: British
‘The Bodysnatcher’ has had more difficult fights than any modern heavyweight contender who has never fought for a world title. Whyte’s next opponent is tall southpaw Swede Otto Wallin, who will face him on October 30. If the hard-punching Whyte can get past Wallin, a fight with Fury is on the cards for next year. It remains to be seen whether a man stopped by Joshua and Povetkin can trouble ‘The Gypsy King’ with his left hook.
4. Deontay Wilder
Age: 35
Country: USA
In this year’s see-saw trilogy war with Fury, he demonstrated game-changing right-hand power and the heart of a lion. But Wilder is 36 years old, and his punch resistance was a concern in the Fury fight, even though he made it to the 11th round. Can KO any heavyweight and is 42-0 against opponents other than Tyson Fury, but he must physically and mentally recover from a brutal defeat before fighting again.
3. Anthony Joshua
Age: 32
Country: Britain
Joshua’s points loss to Usyk in September was arguably even more difficult to overcome than his KO loss to Ruiz. AJ appeared to be torn between his aggressive, hard-punching style and the Klitschko-esque tactics that helped him outpoint Ruiz in their rematch, to the point where he did neither vs Usyk. Joshua possesses KO power and victories over Whyte and Parker, but if he is to defeat Usyk in the rematch next year, he must develop a completely new game plan.
2 Oleksandr Usyk
Age: 34
Country: Ukraine
The Ukrainian southpaw was masterful, outboxing and outfighting Joshua on away territory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. By the 12th round, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion had shown his usual excellent movement, a cracking straight left hand, and was backing up the bigger man. Size will always be an issue for Usyk, but nothing else is – and he’ll be a well-deserved favorite for his rematch with AJ next year.
1. Tyson Fury
Age: 33
Country: Britain
With an uneven but action-packed stoppage of his old rival Wilder, the division’s king strengthened his grip on the throne. Fury is a formidable, versatile fighter who moves far more fluidly than a 6ft 9in titan should – and now has more power on his punches – even when he is out of shape. Fury is still sloppy at times, but you could drop a piano on his head and he’d be back on his feet in nine seconds. Please, Fury vs. the winner of Usyk-Joshua II later next year.