Rank your top 15 heavies of the Post-Klitschko years as they would appear right now

1 Usyk
2 T Fury
3 Joshua
4 Dubois
5 Parker
6 Povetkin
7 Wilder
8 Kabayel
9 Wardley
10 Ruiz
11 Hrgovic
12 Zhang
13 Joyce
14 Whyte
15 Gassiev

 

1. Usyk
No explanation required

2. Dubois
Maybe a bit of a controversial decision having Daniel at #2, but I think the wins over Joshua, Wardley, Hrgovic, Miller

3. Joshua/Fury
I could go either way with Joshua and Fury
Good arguments can be made for either, but it never seems to get a balanced view
With Fury and Joshua -
Joshua is 9 - 4 - 0, Fury is 5 - 2 -1 in world title fights
Percentage wise, it is very similar
In world title wins Joshua is around 69%
In world title wins Fury is around 62.5%
Joshua has won 2 unifications, Fury hasn't won a unification
An argument for either, either way

4. Joshua/Fury
See above

5. Povetkin
Maybe I am being a bit historical as you said post Wladimir

6. Whyte
Although I think people could argue feeling some opponents could beat Whyte, I don't think they could dispute his resume Parker, Rivas, Browne, Povetkin,

7. Parker
I was unsure where to place Parker. Could even make an argument for him being at 5.

8. Ruiz
Has some decent wins but has the big win over undefeated unified HW champion Joshua.
Possibly the best win amongst all the names here

9. Kabayel
On a good run at the moment
There are other HWs below I feel could have above at this time but it is just how it has fallen

10. Wardley
Tough as nails, brave as they come with wins over Parker, Huni, Adeleye

11. Hrgovic
Close win over Zhang, win over Joyce and Adeleye

12. Zhang
Beat Joyce when he was riding high and then repeated the win. Took Wilders punches without showing any noticeable effects and scored the most definitive win over him

13. Joyce
People are now remembering Joyce for his most recent fights, but let's cast our minds back not that long ago and remember that at one stage he had 2 inside the distance wins against two top 5 HWs. Wins over Parker, Dubois, Jennings

14. Wilder
Considering Wilder had 10 successful title defences, thought I would have him higher, but felt Whyte had a greater resume and took on bigger challenges as a challenger to Wilder as a then champion.
Wilder fought and beat some decent opponents but I felt all of the above have with less fights possibly scored a bigger win even if saying some of their wins were based off beating him
That's certainly not to diminish his great achievements

15. Pulev
Once again I am being a bit historical as you said post Wladimir, but Pulev remained in the picture even if he doesn't get mentioned as much



This was a bit rushed and only my nothing thought at that time

Looking at the names above
Usyk has a win over 3 of them (6 wins)
Dubois has a win over 3 of them
Joshua has a win over 5 of them
Fury has a win over 2 of them (3 wins)
Povetkin has a win over 1 of them
Whyte has a win over 2 of them
Parker has a win over 2 of them
Ruiz has a win over 1 of them
Kabayel 0
Wardley has a win over 1 of them
Hrgovic has a win over 2 of them
Zhang has a win over 2 of them (3 wins)
Joyce has a win over 2 of them
Wilder 0
Pulev 0


Could be wrong with all of the above

 

The above made simple

Usyk
Dubois
Joshua/Fury
Joshua/Fury
Povetkin
Whyte
Parker
Ruiz
Kabayel
Wardley
Hrgovic
Zhang
Joyce
Wilder
Pulev

 

I think Miller would be a handful for any of the above

 

Hmmmm. After Dubois a gentle autumn breeze could change the placement.

Kabayel
Frank Sanchez
Luis Ortiz
Hrgovic
Usyk
Dubois
Joshua
Fury
Wilder
Andy Ruiz
Bakole
Joseph Parker
Zhang
Jarrell Miller
Otto Wallin

It's hard to do this when so few top guys have fought but this is what I've got. With Jared Anderson,Gassiev and Ajagba being the next group.

Povetkin, Pulev and Bryant Jennings go into OTHER for me.

 

He said HWs post Klitschko and some have fought quite a few of their rivals
At least on my list, even if that is not in agreement to anyone else

 

1. Usyk
Inarguably the #1. His rep has taken a hit lately with the lacklustre showing against Rico and blatantly ducking Kabayel but he’s an ATG and would be competitive with any hw from any era.

2. Joshua
Maybe controversial to put him quite this high but his resume is just too good: Klitscho, Whyte, Parker, Povetkin, Ruiz, Pulev, Wallin… He was the best champion in terms of taking on all comers. And gave Usyk his toughest fights: his Usyk 1 performance is underrated, he won 5 rounds which nobody else did.

3. Fury
Unlikeable but unquestionably very skilled and physically gifted. Could’ve been so much more resume-wise. But his resume isn’t as bad as his critics say (Klitscho, Wilder x2, Chisora x3, Whyte, Cunningham, Makhmudov).

4. Dubois
On paper Dubois’s resume looks fire but some of it is overrated: only beat Hrgovic by headbutts (would’ve lost if it went to the cards like it should’ve done), Miller was fat and off the juice, and he looked completely lost against Usyk both times. Very good jab, and is tougher than his quits imply.

5. Whyte
Very underrated now but the run he went on in between the losses to Joshua and Povetkin was better than many championship runs. Beat Parker, Rivas, Chisora x2, undefeated guys like Browne and Allen, and scored some legit scary knockouts. Messy style but he fought some smart fights while he was with Mark Tibbs, went downhill as soon as he changed trainer.

6. Kabayel
Currently on a great run, I rate him highly h2h. One of the best body punchers I’ve seen at heavyweight. Just need to see a bit more of him: hopefully he gets active now defending his title and hopefully it’s not against Rico.

7. Parker
One of boxing’s canonical Nearly Men. Likeable but a little overrated. He was on a good run (Wilder, Zhang, mid-holiday Bakole) but then screwed it at the final hurdle against Wardley, a fight he could’ve won if he hadn’t piled on muscle and went in there to brawl. Good fundamentals when he uses them. But there’s no points for second place.

8. Wilder
One of boxing’s biggest wasted talents? Imagine Wilder trained by Emmanuel Steward from the beginning of his career. He had all the attributes but seemingly didn’t want to learn. His title run really is abysmal, if he hadn’t looked so good in defeat in the third Fury fight I’d probably put him even lower.

9. Ruiz
Another wasted talent, I think the version of Ruiz that beat Joshua would beat everyone outside the top 3 on this list. And best version of AJ vs that version of Ruiz is still a close one too (altho stylistically I favour AJ). One of hw’s best porkers. Maybe he has at least one more upset in him if he can get it together? (He did just sign with matchroom last week.)

10. Hrgovic
I rate Hrgovic higher than most on here. I thought he legitimately beat Zhang (better version than the Zhangs Parker and Kabayel beat) and should have a win over Dubois too. Underrated skills hidden behind more of a ‘bully’ style. Reminds me a little of Vitali. I’m picking him to beat Itauma so we’ll see….

11. Wardley
Hard to rate Wardley. Surely the biggest over-achiever of the era, and one of the biggest punchers. Big punch plus strong chin/heart means you’re always capable of an upset. But he was lucky in a lot of ways, including quite a few early or dodgy stoppages, and not fighting any punchers until he ran into Dubois. Could maybe learn some basic skills if he’d just sack that bloodsucker Ben Davidson.

12. Chisora
The GOATkeeper. Beat Joyce, Wallin, Pulev, Takam. And a few dodgy decisions that didn’t go his way. But still he was a level below all the top guys.

13. Joyce
I actually think in his prime head-to-head Joyce deserves to be much higher. But his prime didn’t last long because of his poor defence and the accumulated damage that came from it. Queensberry really screwed him over too, badly managing his career, favouring Dubois instead. But he would’ve been tough for anyone to beat at his best.

14. Zhang
Yes I know Zhang beat Joyce, twice, but Zhang doesn’t have any wins as good as Dubois or Parker. But he’s another one who was never an easy night for anyone, and another What If (what if he hadn’t spent so long in the amateurs and we saw him in his prime in the pros…) Awkward high guard southpaw defence; miserable gas tank.

15. Hunter
Was going to put Povetkin here but Hunter deserved the win over Povetkin. I’m sure some will squeeze Bakole onto their lists too but Hunter beat Bakole and no it wasn’t down to a late injury, Hunter was already clearly winning. Hunter burnt so many bridges and screwed himself. What an idiot.


Writing all this out it’s mad how many of these names feel either like wasted (or self-sabotaged) talent or were poorly managed and didn’t get to show their full potential. Not a golden era but not bad either, in terms of talent, but lots of fights that should’ve happened that didn’t or haven’t yet.

 

1. Usyk
2. Fury
3. Dubois
4. Joshua
5. Wilder
6. Kabayel
7. Parker
8. Hrgovic
9. Zhang
10. Chisora
11. Ruiz
12. Ortiz
13. Whyte
14. Joyce
15. Wardley

Give it a few years and Itauma will be in there too.

 

Ring top 10 appearences since Fury v Wlad

10)Tyson Fury
10)Joshua
9)Wilder
9)Joseph Parker
8)Luis Ortiz
7)Whyte
6)Andy Ruiz
6)Usyk
5)Hrgovic
5)Povetkin
4)Pulev
3)Kabayel
3)Frank Sanchez
3)Zhang
3)Joe Joyce
2)Dubois
2)Jarrell Miller
2)Wlad Klitschko
2)Bakole
2)Ajagba
2)Michael Hunter
2)Fabio Wardley
2)Kownacki
2)Stiverne
1)Moses Itauma
1)Jared Anderson
1)Gassiev
1)Richard Torrez
1)Rivas
1)Breazeale
1)Glazkow
1)Bryant Jennings
1)Haye
1)Chagaev

 

Excuse my stupidity but the number next to the names where for example you have 10 next to Fury. Is that 10 years?

 

I don't object
I struggle to put one above the other, though am a bigger fan of Fury and would likely favour him if they fought at this time, but for rating I could make an argument for either

 

I did consider Haye, Chagaev but considered it is post Wladimir