For me it's John Ryder. Hurd was also in this category but he lost eventually. I'll be damned if he (Ryder) pulls off an upset vs Smith.
****in dillian Whyte..... Don't dislike the guy, but I've not really rated him... Aside from his jab and his left hook when he isn't looking for it but compared to heavyweights of the past he doesn't really look anymore than a decent fighter.... Yet he does keep winning
Adam Kownacki. Zero defense. The body of a pizza delivery man. Lots of desire and a hard head have taken him farther than I thought he'd go.
Boggles my mind.. But until the failed drug test I had to give him credit.. He didn't sit on his number one ranking and kept fighting final eliminators
Warrington, watched a lot of his fights against lower opposition and was never that impressed. Whyte, he built himself back well since AJ battered him. Always seems to do enough without looking great or that convincing.
If John Ryder wins I'll probably cry years of joy. I really like Nick Blackwell for some reason. Probably the only American boxing fan who knows Nick Blackwell. I made a highlight vid of him & it got bad reviews on my channel which was rare!!
Oh man, totally agree about Ryder. To this day I cannot figure out why I actually like him. Other than cool ring walk music occasionally. Hope he beats Smith, as unlikely as it sounds.
Whyte. Picked Parker, Rivas, and Chisora(the second time) to beat him, though I barely count Parker as the fake knockdown was critical to the result of the fight. I used to really like him but the abundance of sketchy business surrounding his last fight and the recent trend of referees behaving strangely when he’s in the ring have changed that. It’s a shame bc he’s one of the few guys at HW with a high status who’s actually willing to fight other contenders instead of waiting around for a title shot.
This is what I came in here to say as well. He has proven me wrong at least once, and I'm not sure I'd change my predictions either - a mix between the planets aligning, friendly local reffing and him knowing what he will get away with have meant he's managed to stretch the outer edge of odds in his favour. All credit to him for it, but I wonder how far it will go and if or when it all comes apart at the seams.