Who do you think has the strongest claim to being the real heavyweight champion? Tyson Fury; beat the 10 year lineal champion and still ring magazine champion. Deontay Wilder; holds the WBC belt for the last three years. Anthony Joshua; 100% KO rate. Active boxer who has the best win over Wlad. Joseph Parker; beat two undefeated prospects and 2 top ten heavyweights.
Fury. But since he retired to the looney bin, Joshua and the Wilder/Ortiz winner have to fight for it.
Joshua... fury shouldn't even be on this poll that idiot had a chance and blew it by doing dope and putting on 100 pounds.
While Fury is the most talented hw boxer he now weighs well over 300pounds, sounds and looks about 50 and is unlikely to return. So it's got to be AJ.
Tyson was the clear champion but I can't consider him to still be the guy after all this inactivity. It's not Parker. It's not Wilder. Joshua isn't necessarily THE champ at this point but in my opinion he has the best claim to being the man by a distance at this point.
Hence my reluctance to say him. Joshua beat Wlad who was still considered number 2, so he'd have the strongest claim. Were Tyson active, at all in any manner, I'd say him.
There should be a vacant option in the poll IMO. There won't be a Champion until the #1 and #2 face off, Joshua is #1 for beating Wlad but unfortunately none of the other top contenders (Wilder, Povetkin, Ortiz or Parker) have fought each other yet so there isn't a universally agreed upon #2 at the moment. A fight between Joshua and the Ortiz/Wilder winner will crown a new champion and start a new lineage. Until then I guess Joshua has the strongest claim.
Joshua or Fury. I said Joshua, but it would be Fury up until April this year. He has been inactive too long to have the claim now.
