Both have been exposed. Fury is the clear number 1 Number 2 is vacant for now, but Usyk and Hrgovic look the strongest contenders to be up there with Fury.
Joshua has a superior resume to Fury so if it's "clear" who the number one is, then it is Joshua for me. There is now a big gap after the top two.
No, sorry, Fury is #1. He has the best win, is Lineal and hasn't lost. Joshua got stopped by Andy freakin Ruiz, it's literally mad to have AJ abuve Fury at ths point.
Whyte, Klitschko, Parker, Povetkin, Ruiz...you can't deny a record like that. To me he is still number 1 with that record and the belts. Yes the first Ruiz fight happened. But Ruiz has dynamite hands because of the weight. He was always going to be dangerous, and AJ brought out the wrong strategy against him, while Ruiz got his spot on. But champions make adjustments, and that's precisely what AJ did in the rematch. Like it or not, he did what he had to do in that fight.
I agree based on resume, AJ has more quality wins than Fury. However Fury just stopped Wilder. Nothing AJ has done comes close to that. He also hasn't lost. Fury is #1, Joshua moves into #2, Wilder #3. Wilder despite being outboxed twice by Fury did knock Fury down, and almost had him out, that has to count for something. And stopping Ortiz twice was very impressive. He's not a distant #3 imho.
The quantity over quality argument. In no parallel universe can I see of any of Joshua's opponents or victories having any chance of beating Fury besides Wlad. And that version probably wouldn't either. What's Joshua 's second best win Ruiz? Povetkin? Gtfo
It's funny that fans critisize fighters for not taking on any good challenges, but then prefer those who have done nothing over those who have done much more but also lost. Fury has a pristine record, but he has faced only two ranked fighters (three if Chisora was ranked). Between the big fights he takes very little risk. I personally prefer AJ's way, always looking to get in there with a highly ranked guy. I don't see why the likes of Martin, Whyte, Wlad, Parker, Povetkin and Ruiz should be such a long way from solely Wlad and Wilder - even factoring in the loss to Ruiz. Without a doubt Fury and AJ are the top dogs, and I would prefer if Fury skips the rubber with Wilder and goes straight for a unification with AJ. He has already beaten Wilder twice, has nothing left to prove.
But in reality, we know that fighters that face ranked opponents long enough will eventually pick up a loss here and there. Louis, Ali, Tyson, Lewis - they all lost against guys that were given no chance against them, but that's what will happen if you continually take on quality opponents. You'll eventually run in to your Norton, Douglas, McCall or Ruiz.
It's a different era, the string of contenders in this generation are a lot weaker now, sorry but I couldn't see Andy the blob Ruiz holding a title back then or Charles Martin for that matter!
I agree that Fury is the current number 1. The way he defeated Wilder was about as conclusive as it could be but, given that Joshua has reversed his sole defeat, that for me secures him firmly in the number 2 spot. I can't see Wilder defeating Fury in a third match given the beatdown he just took as he is now physically on the slide approaching 35 and seems unable to adjust or formulate a decent fight plan.
Wilder did far worse against Fury than Wallin who some think is only top 30. Don't think Wilder can be considered top 3 after such a one sided loss. Whyte is interim champion and has been ducked for however long. Ruiz Jr. Beat an established champion in Joshua: for me Wilder drops below Whyte and Ruiz Jr to number 5
They couldn't hold a candle to Bruce Seldon, you mean? Or Leon Spinks (who was lineal for that matter)?
