Part of the reason why Holyfield had more wear and tear was inferior defence. Dropping 7 results by 39, 3 against non-elite HW's, hitting the canvas 5 times, out once, strongly suggests he would fail vs Usyk's list, likely more than once. Fury is notoriously inconsistent but he always showed up against his best HW opponents (Wlad, Wilder, Whyte, Chisora). Usyk didn't get the mickey mouse Fury who fought Ngannou. I don't think being in the HoF as a HW is a "low bar", it's quite an exclusive list of names. One can also poo-poo Holyfield's top wins (Bowe only beat Holy, was retired at 29, Tyson spent 3+ years in prison, over the hill etc.)
Parker didn't win clearly. If you score fights based more on activity than effective punching, I can understand giving it to Parker, but even then it was only a one or two point fight in his favor unless you don't know how to score. I suggest you watch this video. It uses Parker vs Zhang as an example of scoring and explains the scoring criteria well: This content is protected If you think Ajagba is a journeyman, I honestly don't think you know much about the current heavyweight division. You can argue today's heavyweight division is weaker than other eras, but calling Ajagba a journeyman is ridiculous. You got me on Makhmudov; I meant to say he's a low-level gatekeeper. But my point still stands. Makhmudov is tough, has a solid chin, and Kabayel destroyed him in four rounds. Kabayel hasn't even announced his first title defense despite countless baseless rumors. Even if he did choose someone on Miller's level, I couldn't really fault him because the entire heavyweight division is tied up right now. Dubois vs Wardley II, AJ vs Fury, Hrgovic vs Itauma, the Russians have only recently fought, and Okolie and Parker both have suspension issues. Now, I do want Kabayel to be more active, but saying he's already ducking people is insane. At least let him be champion for a while before making up your mind. Usyk had already laid out his plan after the Rico fight, and everyone believed it at the time. That plan included Kabayel. I agree it was a miscalculation on Kabayel's part to think he was actually going to get the Usyk fight. But he clearly wanted it. Otherwise, he wouldn't have held onto the interim belt so tightly instead of moving on and pursuing other big fights. Honestly, if you're willing to fight Zhang the way Kabayel did, I don't see how anyone could argue he's scared of anyone else in the division.
Resume wise those guys objectively are in the same ballpark as many Tyson victims. Tyson had a better heavyweight resume than Usyk prior to ever losing. Why am I supposed to look at Furys resume and think he belongs in the HOF
Erm... I'd say Clarke is a good win considering Wardley went life and death with him the first time. Olympic bronze medallist too. And would have won huge on the scorecards against Wardley himself if it wasn't for a split second loss of concentration. Also beat Lerena, who, knocked the current WBO champion down 3 times. Power, I'll admit, is an issue. That name for him made me laugh though.
Usyk is still number 1, belts or no belts. ONE bad performance against an awkward customer doesn't change that, just yet. By the way, I love Kabayel, and had wanted him to face Usyk for a few years now. But... I can't even say he's number 2 right now. I don't want to sound like miniq, but now Fury's back (again), I don't see how you can put anyone above them two just yet. Usyk will actually have to lose a fight, and Fury will actually have to lose to someone else not named Usyk, before I put someone else above them. Fury pretty much looked like his usual self against Makhmudov to me. Did exactly what I'd expect him to, and didn't see any signs of noticeable decline compared to the last few years.
Usyk is not number 1 Hes publicly declared that by vacating the belts The championship is vacant and right now Kabayel has the best case for being number 1
Fury, Joshua, and Dubois are all two-time titlists. They are in the same range as guys like Norton, Witherspoon and Berbick that Holmes made his reputation on. Beating the three of them is a much more complete accomplishment than some, as I have delineated. And their careers are not over. They continue to add to their legacies.
Fury is not number 2. He isn't even top 5. Dude has fought no one. No one. He beat a ghost of Whyte and Wilder twice. Widler is far from some great fighter. Even if you count the Wilder win as some great win, that was 4 years ago. Fury has avoided credible challenges for years and the only reason he even got in the ring with Usyk was because of Turki offerring an ungodly sum of money.
C'mon. If they fight each other, one of them has to win. That is checking the box on a major rival right there. Even if it is six years too late.
How is Joshua a major rival post Dubois? That fight should have caused a major reassessment of his legacy.