The top big men from the east are coming, and this version of big men is the best in years. Usyk is champion and perhaps the best in the world but needs to prove it vs. others as he is still a little unproven at heavyweight but is champion, so I won't list him. As for the ranking, here is the top five. 1 ) Hrgovic. Has the makings of the next champ. He big ( 6'6" 82 " reach 245 pounds ) and has a style that forces his man to fight back. Power is good, not great. Hand speed is good, but what makes him special is his punch accuracy. It's remarkable. Defensively his confrontational style means he can be hit, but he has a grade A chin, never being floored as a pro or amatuer. He might have the best chin in the division. Good foot speed as well and features rare infighting skills as a body puncher and upper cut. He's ready for a title shot and faces Zhang next. 2 ) Jarolov. A 6'7" hulk of man, with legs of steel that move as is if he has wings on them . He's a gifted southpaw with a very powerful straight left. He fights a big man's style and isn't one to mix it. Chin looks to be good, not great. The Olympic super-heavyweight gold medal winnner in tokyo has championship material. Needs a few more pro fights.The sky is the limit. 3 ) Makmudov. One scary looking dude, that comes with a neck twich, Makmudov might be the best puncher in the divsion. When he hits his man square he's instantly hurt to the point where the guy is too damaged to clinch. Like many on the list, he a giant man, 6'5 1/2" 250+ pounds. I have some reservations about his boxing ability, but it's not like the men he's fighting will last the distance. Recently stopped the hard to KO Wach in six rounds. Could be vulnerable to speed. Possible top ten material. 4 ) Ivan Dychko. Another giant 6'9 inches tall ( where are the growing these guys? ) Dychko struggles with promotional issues and, like the rest of the group isn't from the USA or Great Brittan with a built in fanbase. As such, the Olympic Bronze and Sliver world amateur champion has been left out. He needs to risk it to makes waves. He is unlike the others. He has Fury like movement skills and is just a solid hitter. How far can he go? Your guess is as good as mine. A dark hosre. 5 )Vyhryst. 6'5" 81" reach. The European amatuer champion has good amateur pedigree,but he was down twice in a recent match. Very good fundamentals. As puncher he's one of them, but not an elite one. Speed is good, not great and he goes to the body. Had issues with cuts in the past. Not likey a champion or top ten fighter. Others to watch: Sirenko has fast hands and power. But the defense and competition is lacking. Normal sized, meaning he's only 6'3 1/2. Zakiozhyi the 6-9 inch giant, has stepped up the competition lately. Not a big puncher. Petvosky very skilled but small. 23 years old, being moved quickly.
All of the top 5 are in their late 20s early 30s, they really should be vying for bigger fights or destroying journeymen every month until those happen. You're right, its an exciting group, how far they go I'm not sure, hopefully they can get in the mix at heavy with the other top guys (well, hopefully heavy starts opening up and they all start being active against each other).
Jalolov seems likely to have the most success of all the prospects. He has more time on his side, keeps pretty active, and the gold medal gives him some marketability.
Vladimir Ivanov is good too. Signed with DiBella and Mourad Aliev , represents France now but was born in Russia hopefully Murat Gassiev sorts his injury problems out.
I'd expect 2 or 3 more to. Hrgovic and Jalolov in particular have to be strongly favoured to pick up a title at some point.
