Question for classic fans: What would Fury or Joshua have to do over the next 4-5 years to enter your all time top 10 heavyweight rankings?
Actually fight each other and the other top five heavyweights now and always if they hold a belt. With no nonsense shenanigans (like the WWE) in between. Beat the following: Wilder, Usyk, Whyte, Hrgovic, Joyce (Defeat, not be gifted a decision they didn’t earn) Slap Eddie Hearn. With a hammer. In his mouth. While the last one is just for my personal enjoyment, they would have to do what REAL heavyweight champions should do, which is fight the best at their best. Not play Instagram Muscle Model and lose their belts to the fat kid from UP. Not do enough cocaine to kill a small village, several donkeys and then disappear at the start of your title reign. Not lose your damn mind spouting nonsense ego cushioning excuses about costume weight and trainers drugging you and loaded gloves that were put on incorrectly TO THIS DAY!!! The Heavyweight champion is the holder of the single greatest prize in all of sports. A man who destroys other men. He knocks them out or like Ali, he takes them into deep waters like a shark and drowns them. He doesn’t hide behind Twitter or promoters and certainly doesn’t duck anyone. That too much to ask?
If Fury beat Joshua then (the winner of WhyeVPovetkin 2) then Usyk hed be in the top 10 if he added Joyce, Another win over Wilder and either Michael Hunter or Andy Ruiz Jr he's top 5 for sure If Joshua beats Fury then Winner of Whye/Povetkin 2 then hed be in my top 5 I like Fury more but Joshuas resume is already pretty incredibly adding Usyk Wilder and whoever the most accomplished prospect is (looking likely like it'll be Joyce) then he's Top 5 maybe even Top 3
Fight each other. After a winner is determined in a series (if need be) swat Wilder. After that defenses, defenses, defenses! Heavyweight is about dominance over time. Stick around long enough and legit competition will keep filtering through and your stock will go up.
These types of threads come up multiple times per year here Unless you do a HW p4p the current/ recent HWs are the best FULL STOP. When you start adjusting for era, have too much nostalgia (which is often just a mask for national or racial/ethnic biases), then you'll have HWs (many hardly CW definitely not SCW) like Johnson, Dempsey, Louis, Marciano, Ali, Tyson in peoples top 10. Not one of the names I mentioned are close to the size - and yes they lots of ability too - of a Lewis, K bros, Fury, AJ, etc. Most are too blinded by bias to even attempt to answer the question. Fans have been dumping on the HW division since John Sullivan
Fury is already #1 all time which was given to him after he had Lennox hold his water bottle in the ring after beating Klitscko. It's not just who Fury beat it's how he beat them All his "best" opponents will have been decimated by him. Wilder, Wlad, AJ, Chisora and whoever else wants it.
I'd argue AJ is already top 10. If he beats both Fury and Usyk he enters the top 5. I dont have Fury in the top 10 unlike AJ due to have thin his resume is in comparison however If Fury beats AJ he enters the top 10 and top 5 too if he beats Usyk on top of beatinf AJ.
