Lot's of threads about Wilder, but what about the fringe contenders? Any of them knocking on the door of the top 10? Going into this (PBO rankings had the fights): Helenius (#21) v Kownacki (#22) Fury (#25) v Hammer (#26) Sanchez (#27) v Ajagba (#28) edit: Skysports uploaded the H. Fury v Hammer fight, I've timed stamped it at referee instructions: This content is protected
Helenius beating Kownacki means nothing. Kownacki was, at best, a gimmick high volume oaf who fell apart in both their matches. Sanchez stock goes up, however most people expected him to beat the harder hitter but less skilled Efe Ajagba. The stock that has gone up the most is Sandor Martin's stock as he beat a former four division world champion in Mikey Garcia.
Helenius is a hard one to judge. I can't believe he lost to Washington but I guess anybody can get caught and hurt especially at heavyweight. When Helenius fought Whyte he seemed disinterested. You could tell he was very confident going into the Kownacki rematch I sort of get the impression that he wasn't expecting to win the first fight it makes me think that he is a fighter that needs his confidence to be up to perform which is not easy for all fighters to have.
I partially agree with you in regards to Kownacki. Personally, I thought he was a bit over-hyped (Ring had him top 10), he was carefully building his resume by beating Wilder common opponents. It looked to me like he was being groomed. But at the same time, many saw Helenius winning as going against the grain, and I kept seeing people picking Kownacki to win the rematch. So I think Helenius deserves credit for the manner in which he went about his work. I agree with your assessment of Sanchez. Though, I think Ajagba's fans had his power carrying him through. But he was always there to hit. I'm curious on your thoughts on H. Fury though. I think "shades of Ali" is a bit of a forgotten/ignored man in the division. He's taken three losses true, but all against genuine top 10 opponents, and the Parker fight was certainly close. Now 27, he seems back on track. And whereas people call him boring, that fight against Wach was anything but
I like this fight, let's see if the WBA calls it. World Boxing Association Ranking – World Boxing Association (wbaboxing.com) Though I expect promoter politics to get in the way
He lacks the power to be anything more than a featherfisted high risk low reward for those coming up. Tricky but he lacks the skillset to truly bother anyone elite and ran from Joseph Parker for a good chunk of thier match leaving a bad taste in my mouth. He doesn't have the fighters soul. Truth is I left him out of my reply initially because I just don't see him going anywhere. Usyk... takes his soul, Wilder knocks him clean out. AJ out boxes him and guys like Joe Joyce would simply walk through him. If you fear Parkers punch what would someone like Dubois do to him mentally? Who is there left to face...
Good comments. But I don't think he was scared of Parker's power (though he obviously was showing it due respect, as I recall Parker did have a high KO% back then). More his style was safety first, and he likes leading his opponents onto things. One of his strengths is probably his chin. I really don't like that laboured flicking jab he keeps going to though. He seems to use it merely to have a hand in his opponent's face. But I agree with your assessment of what would happen should he fight at the top level. Though I think the Dubois fight would be interesting, as he hasn't exactly proven himself.
There isn't much to separate them but I would rate Helenius highest for the moment. I know Kownacki was nothing special but I rated him higher than Ajagba, simply because he had more experience and performed significantly better against their common opponent, Iago Kiladze. Plus, unlike the other two, Helenius has serious power and I think his chances of beating a world class opponent might be better because of it. Splitting Fury and Sanchez is difficult because while I believe Sanchez has the higher ceiling, he hasn't come anywhere close to Fury's overall level of opposition. I recall thinking that Eliseo Castillo, another Cuban, looked pretty talented when he beat a faded but competent Michael Moorer, and then he wet the bed against Klitschko. Fury has shown flashes of quality skill against world class opposition, but he's so damn timid that you have to think that he never breaks that spell. For the sake of safety, I err on the side of experience, so I would have Fury above Sanchez. I don't feel strongly about this, though, so I'm cool with the exact opposite order.
Hughie Fury lacks the athleticism and technical ability to compete at world level. He can stop as many Hammer’s as he likes, he won’t ever be ready for world level fighters like Parker, Povetkin or Pulev. Hellenius is a lazy sloppy mess who actually got motivated for once. But I doubt he keeps it up. So he stays where he is unless he starts coming in consistently focused. Only Sanchez moves up the ratings as Ajagba is a big hitter and takes out many HWs.
Helenius is the most popular of those 3 right now, but I think he ranks clear beneath them. Yes, Kownacki is a good win, but this just puts Helenius-Kownacki-Washington-Martin as some sort of lower tier league, a novelty circuit. Not serious contenders or fringe contenders. Sanchez is on the rise and qualifies as a prospect contender at least. Hughie Fury over ever lost to 'top 10' contenders and went the distance with them, and looks to be making a few improvements now. So he's arguably a solid top 15 or top 20.
