Who are the best Heavyweights today? Who are the climbers? Who have already reached their peak and are going downhill? Klitschko- He is still clearly the King of the Hill. Wilder- He has a belt and he is still improving. Fury- Will be fighting Klitschko soon. Povetkin- He was right behind Klitschko for a while but when they went H2H... Joshua- He has potential but hasn't fought too many names yet. Haye- He hasn't fought in years but an impressive win over even the weakest opponent would put him right here. Glazkov- He has potential and a couple of wins against former CW Champs. Jennings- Lost a closer than expected decision to Klitschko, beat Perez and stopped Azpilka. Ortiz- Undefeated, stopped Barrett, is fighting Jennings soon. Teper and Parker are two undefeated fighters with potential but haven't really been tested yet. Guys who are still around- Stiverne, Oquendo, Cunningham, Tarver, Arreola, Briggs, Thompson, and some others. What's next for Chagaev? What about Pulev, Takam, Szpilka, Adamek, and others? Is Huck going to move to HW?
Wlad- some decline but still head and shoulders over the field. Povetkin- clear cut next man in divsion- fights Nov. 4th against former world title challenger Mariusz Wach Fury- Young hungry challenger possesses massive size and decent skills. Jennings- performed better than expected against Wlad has huge fight against Ortiz scheduled for December. Wilder- holds the one belt Wlad does not possess. Has squandered the good impression he left defeating Stiverne with defenses against Molina, and Duhaupas. Needs to step up. Teper vs Helenius winner would slot here. Big fight looms in December. Pulev- former title challenger. Immense talent but looked awful in last bout. Did Wlad ruin his chin and confidence? Carlos Takam- solid top ten contender stays active and fights quality opposition. Can he get someone like Wilder to fight him? Glazkov- solid skills but lacks heavyweight punch. Unable to clearly separate himself from fringe contenders he has faced as every win is debatable. Chagaev- former titlist "current jr belt holder" looked faded until recent good performance against former world title challenger Pianeta. Stiverne- lost to Wilder looked slow and unmotivated. Returns against solid journeyman Deric Rossy in November. Parker and Joshua on the rise and soon to enter the top ten. Haye basically retired until he actually gets into the ring again. Szpilka vs Mansour good matchup winner is fringe contender. Ready for the Heavyweight boneyard after 2015: David Price, Chris Arreola, Antonio Tarver, Steve Cunningham.
Agreed. Wilder after the Stiverne fight had the opportunity to build from that impression and actually be seen as the definitive number two heavyweight. Now he looks like a guy who beat a weak champion and is doing everything he can to cling to that WBC belt.
Joshua is the most exciting prospect. I think we see him in a title eliminator in 2016. I'm hoping Ortiz vrs Jennings comes off because we'll see Ortiz tested against an elite. If Jennings can beat him he's easily Top 5 and has the credibility to publicly call out Wilder and publicly portray himself as the better heavyweight. Parker looks good but not champion quality yet. I hope they don't toss him in with Joshua but I can't blame him if he takes the payday.
David Price is still an interesting opponent for up-and-coming British heavies so he can continue if he wants I think. I can still see Arreola landing a big fight in 2016 because fans like him.
