Anthony Joshuas last win vs a top 10 opponent was Andy Ruiz And the only reason Andy Ruiz was top 10 was because he beat Anthony Joshua in the first fight
I think Andy Ruiz was a legit Top 10 at the time. Only lost to Parker in a close fight, solid résumé,. I'd argue he was Top 10 all the way up until he's partial post-Ortiz. I'd also have had Pulev scraping top 10 when he fought him. But yes, it's been a while since AJ's beaten a top 10. That said, case could also be made that AJ's beaten more top 10s at the time he fought them than any other current fighter ♂️
I'm not even sure if he was top 10, could say top 15 though. Going off this though. https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/The_Ring_Magazine's_Annual_Ratings:_2023
He was Ring's Top 10 when he faced AJ, but got dropped in the rankings after he lost to him. He was also Top 5 contender according to TBRB and Top 10 according to Bad Left Hook and ESPN.
I think you might be right actually. Pulev, Franklin, Helenius, Wallin were all top 15-20 guys I'd say - they weren't bums but they were strong gatekeepers at best. Ngannou on the other hand.... Povetkin in 2018 was a probably a top 5 guy.
The link I sent you is the Ring Magazine rating's but posted on BoxRec. Although Wallin I'd maybe say was just about 9-10th at the time even if Ring didn't recognise it.
Yes, but this is an annual ranking created after Wallin already lost to AJ. He was the number 10 contender before that after he beat Gassiev.
Unfortunately we can't access the monthly Ring rankings, but in this article, they have Wallin as number 10: https://talksport.com/boxing/1681990/heavyweight-ring-magazine-rankings/
The same type of analysis really applies to Tyson Fury, as well. VERY few wins against top 10 opponents. Usyk is about the only fighter interested in bringing honor back to the Heavyweight Crown.
Gassiev didn't do anything to even get a high ranking at heavyweight, so Wallin beating him shouldn't have gotten him in the top 10. It's a fraudulent win since you suggests it's noteworthy, and shouldn't be seen as any sort of decent scalp
That's your opinion. But Wallin was universally ranked in the Top 10 (well, Top 11 if you add The Ring champion) before the AJ fight.
For beating a past it Gassiev ? Wallin got washed by a near shot Chisora bro, he was never a top 10 heavyweight in the world. There were always more than 10 heavyweights who could have beaten Wallin, thats just the truth. There were probably 20 heavyweights who could beat Wallin. Ajagba and Sanchez could beat Wallin. Dempsey Mckean is better than Wallin. That dude was ajs sparring partner
Gassiev win probably moved him from 11th spot to 10th in the Ring as for example he entered TBRB Top 10 after beating Breazeale. He fought Chisora over a year after he fought AJ so it doesn't matter. And again, you're just stating your opinion. The fact is, he was universally rated as a Top 10 guy at the time in the independent rankings. Was it fair it's a different discussion but you can't rewrite history. Wilder was rated as at least number 4 HW in the world for over 8 years, we can't take it away from him just because he got found out.