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Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Deontay Wilder: How do things stand in boxing’s heavyweight division?

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What next for AJ? Where does Deontay Wilder fit into the landscape? We take a quick look at the current heavyweight picture ahead of another big weekend of boxing; the live action continues on Sky Sports on June 15 when Chris Billam-Smith faces Richard Riakporhe at Selhurst Park

The modern heavyweight division is at the peak of its powers as it parades a long-awaited undisputed champion while pitting some of boxing’s marquee names against one another.

The belts belong to a worthy ruler in Oleksandr Usyk, behind whom lies a Tyson Fury-spearheaded chasing pack of both established and upcoming heavyweight challengers seeking to leave a dent in knockout proceedings.

Fury and Usyk II

Let’s start with the top of the heavyweight tree. Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury. So nice, they are having to do it twice.

Usyk completed a mission spanning two decades in Saudi Arabia earlier this month when he defeated Fury by split decision to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era and the first since Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in 1999. It followed up supremacy at cruiserweight to further cement his status as one of the greatest fighters of his generation.

The masterful Ukrainian weathered a Fury storm over a gruelling first half of the fight before finding his breakthrough at the midway point and following up with a stunning ninth round, in which he was seconds away from stopping the rocked Gypsy King.

It had been public knowledge that a rematch clause was included in the contract, with it being announced this week that the pair will meet again on December 21. Win again and Usyk would have nothing more to prove. As for Fury, there may be one more AJ-shaped domino to fall, regardless of the result later this year.

AJ awaits… but with who?

An explosive Anthony Joshua has reignited his knockout exploits and clobbered his way back into title contention after shaking off the effects of back-to-back defeats to Usyk.

Joshua will be in attendance to watch Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois fight as part of this Saturday’s 5 vs 5 event in Saudi Arabia, the winner awaiting as a potential opponent for the former unified world champion later this year. That, however, could also depend on whether Usyk is forced to vacate the IBF belt, for which Joshua and one of Hrgovic or Dubois would likely be in line to contend.

The Olympic champion is riding the momentum of his stunning knockout victory over Francis Ngannou, having also beaten Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin in statement stoppages to close out 2023. Hrgovic is a perfect 17-0 as a professional after knocking out Mark de Mori in the first round in December, while Dubois is 20-2 following his 10th-round stoppage win over Jarrell Miller late last year.

Joshua will take either, especially should a chance to become a three-time world champion arise. But he will also feel he has larger fish to fry.

And then… Fury?

If the ‘Battle of Britain’ is ever going to happen, 2025 feels like the window. Both Joshua and Fury have long-maintained their desire to deliver fans one of the biggest heavyweight dust-ups in British boxing history, but so far numerous attempts to make the fight have fallen agonisingly short.

Joshua and Fury were seemingly set to meet in 2021 after reportedly signing the contract, before Fury was ordered to meet Deontay Wilder in the third fight of their dramatic trilogy. The two then verbally agreed to fight following Joshua’s rematch defeat to Usyk in 2022, before a fight failed to materialise as the Londoner enjoyed a period of recovery.

Joshua reiterated his intentions to face Fury after demolishing former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou earlier this year, where Fury had been watching on in Saudi Arabia ahead of his fight against Usyk, in the build-up to which Fury himself would allude to facing Joshua next once. It feels as close as ever, but there is first a matter of the undisputed rematch to contend with later this year.

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum recently told Sky Sports that Fury remains keen on fighting Joshua in 2025, highlighting Wembley Stadium as the ideal venue. We will see.

Where does Wilder fit in?

It feels like something of a climax moment for the current crop of heavyweight frontrunners as challengers seek to cling onto their last hopes of staying in the mix. Deontay Wilder is among the aforementioned.

 

The Bronze Bomber is under no illusions as to what might be at stake for him when he takes on Zhilei Zhang in a battle of devastating punch power this weekend. Lose, and that might be it. Win, and win in style, and a potential showdown with Anthony Joshua potentially resurfaces having been scuppered by his shock loss to Joseph Parker.

A punishing trilogy with Fury combined with a long period of inactivity had Wilder looking a shade of his destructive self in a unanimous decision loss to the New Zealander, as many cast doubt over his chances of overcoming the threat of Zhang. But that right hand has built a reputation deserving of the utmost respect, and can never be written off.

Top Rank boss Arum identified Wilder as a possible next opponent for Jared Anderson as they look to progress the promising career of the young rising American star. But beating Zhang is no formality, and they know it.

The Parker party goes on

Hello, resurgent Joseph Parker. Rarely is the heavyweight landscape blessed with simplicity or logic, and now here is Parker to throw yet another spanner in the works as he vies for another world title shot.

The 32-year-old upset Wilder with a career-best performance in December to announce his revival, before overcoming a knockdown against Zhang to claim a majority decision win that positions him as the WBO mandatory challenger.

Parker has taken to social media to call out both Joshua and Dillian Whyte in recent months, eager to capitalise on what is showing the traits of being his prime. By virtue of both his form and still young age, you have to feel he is on his way to another title opportunity.

Kabayel’s rise

Agit Kabayel might be one to watch. The German has just knocked out both Arslanbek Makhmudov and Frank Sanchez to improve his record to 25-0, the latter of which had served as a WBC final eliminator that leaves him on the brink of fighting for a world title.

Logic would point towards a shot at Fury or Usyk once their rematch is settle; logic doesn’t always prevail in boxing, particularly given the likelihood of Fury and Usyk’s careers looking elsewhere, be it Joshua or retirement.

What else is going on?

Joe Joyce has ambitions of relaunching a late surge towards the world stage when he takes on Derek Chisora this summer amid his fightback from successive defeats to Zhang. Martin Bakole sits as the No 1 challenger in the WBA rankings, while Dillian Whyte remains on a comeback trail of his own.

Interesting storylines continue to emerge at bridgerweight as Lawrence Okolie closes in on the heavyweight division following his emphatic first-round knockout of Lukasz Rozanski in Poland. The former cruiserweight world champion is seemingly in line to face mandatory bridgerweight challenger Kevin Lerena, but appears destined to make the step up.

And while Frazer Clarke and Fabio Wardley await news of their next steps following a fight of the year contender, 19-year-old Moses Itauma is just getting started as one of the most frightening prospects in boxing with ambitions of becoming the youngest ever heavyweight world champion.

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BOXING

Should Canelo Alvarez Pursue the Terence Crawford Fight and Saudi Money?

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Whether Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is following the Saudi Arabia riches by making career moves toward a showdown with possible fellow four-division and undisputed champion Terence Crawford is yet to be confirmed.

But the idea alone stirred a series of strong opinions Wednesday on ProBox TV’s “Deep Waters.”

A day after BoxingScene reported that boxing officials are planning for Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) to relinquish his IBF super middleweight belt instead of meeting lightly regarded William Scull of Cuba, the discussion turned to the possibility that current welterweight champion Crawford is the target.

 

 

 

“You could go with the [other] sanctioning body [WBC] mandatory and make the [David] Benavidez fight or go make this fantasy fight,” cracked analyst Paulie Malignaggi, who has long chided Alvarez for balking at meeting his most talented opponent, Benavidez, the unbeaten former super middleweight champion from Phoenix.

Malignaggi called this one of the rare “cons” of having Turki Alalshikh in the fight-making business, and said it potentially “jams the wheels of boxing” and the way these divisions should play out, with Crawford (40-0) headed to a WBA junior middleweight title fight in his 154-pound debut against champion Israil Madrimov Aug. 3 in Los Angeles.

“Having a guy with this much money making these fights – it’s a little casual,” Malignaggi said. “If this was the ‘80s, he’s making Tyson versus Sugar Ray Leonard.”

Panelist Chris Algieri, the former 140-pound world titleholder, agreed that Alalshikh should choose to invest in the better fight.

If you want to put money behind a fight, make that [Benavidez] fight,” Algieri said. “We don’t need to make these fantasy superfights [when] there’s still good fights for Terence Crawford,” including the wealth of talented 154-pounders such as two-belt champion Sebastian Fundora, former champion Tim Tszyu and Tszyu’s Aug. 3 opponent, Vergil Ortiz Jr. (21-0, 21 KOs).

“You don’t make stars this way,” Malignaggi said.

Bradley rejected his colleagues’ positions and said the gifted, longtime pound-for-pound elite Crawford has plotted this Canelo bout “for a very long time.

“I recognized [Crawford’s] greatness early on,” Bradley said. “When Terence sees something, you have to pay attention. Am I scared for Crawford? A little bit. But I’m not going to say I don’t want to see the fight. This is Terence wanting to be great. Terence wants to be great. This is how he can become pound-for-pound No. 1.

“I like the fight. You guys will be surprised.”

Nevertheless, Algieri said he remains doubtful the sportsman in Alvarez will allow him to take the Crawford fight. Alvarez has previously called a Crawford bout a “no-win” scenario because he either gets the victory against a fighter who operated three divisions below him last year or loses to the naturally lighter man.

“If Canelo takes this fight, relinquish all your belts,” Algieri said.

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BOXING

Oscar De La Hoya Has No Doubt Who Wins Canelo-Crawford: “He’ll Look Like A Child”

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Oscar De La Hoya has voiced his opinion on the potential fight between two pound-for-pound greats in Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Terence Crawford.

Canelo is currently the undisputed super-middleweight champion, three weight classes above ‘Bud’s last fight at welterweight.

 

Terence Crawford

Crawford is coming off the best win of his career, a dominant stoppage against Errol Spence Jr. Many had the fight as a genuine 50/50 before the first bell, but the 36-year-old asserted his dominance early and stopped Spence in the 9th round after a punishing display.

That victory saw Crawford become the first ever men’s two-weight undisputed champion since the four belt era – the feat has since been matched by Oleksandr Usyk after his win over Tyson Fury.

Despite the intrigue to make it happen, Canelo, a four-weight world champion, has dismissed the chances of it materialising, claiming he would get no credit for beating the smaller man.

But as boxing fans know, money talks, and the man who holds the key to big time boxing in Saudi Arabia, Turki Alalshikh, has made it clear he wants to see the clash.

In a video captured by Fighers Corner, Canelo’s former promoter De La Hoya is confident the naturally smaller man would topple his fellow Mexican.“Terence Crawford will beat Canelo anytime. I’ve said before the big talented man will always beat the smaller talented fighter – but Terence Crawford is not small, Crawford is a big guy, he can walk about at 168 if he wants to. If this fight is made at 164 then Terence Crawford all day.

Based on skillset alone, Crawford is a master and will make Canelo look like a child. From an expert fighter’s view, Crawford will beat him in a masterclass all day.”

Crawford is stepping up one weight division in his next fight when he makes his super-welterweight debut against WBA title holder Israil Madrimov, with ‘Bud’ looking to become a four-weight champion.

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BOXING

Adrien Broner Tells Terence Crawford To Make One Key Demand For Canelo Fight

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As Terence Crawford makes a move up in weight in an attempt to become four-division champion, he has been clear that his sights are still set on Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez for a future fight.

The pound-for-pound star became undisputed at welterweight last year, and will now face Israil Madrimov at 154 for the WBA and WBO belts on August 3 in Los Angeles.

 

 

Despite the good matchmaking, ‘Bud’ was calling for a very different fight recently. The Omaha native is targeting Canelo’s belts at 168lbs, looking to make an incredible jump up to cement an already strong legacy in the sport.

Forgetting Canelo’s disinterest for a moment, Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh has expressed interest in making it happen and even left cryptic messages on social media as to the progress.

With it now slightly more likely, predictions are rolling in. Adrien Broner – who returns to the ring on June 7 to face Blair Cobbs – told ES News he backs Crawford but only at a catchweight and advised him against going all the way up to super-middleweight

“I hope it happens. I think Crawford can outbox him and beat him, but it’s got to happen at a catchweight though. It can’t be 168. And, what people don’t know is, Crawford’s strong enough to be in the ring with him.”

Whether or not Crawford will pursue more belts at 154 if he wins or continue to call out Canelo remains to be seen. The Mexican currently doesn’t have an opponent for his next fight, but is expected to return in September.

With the news that he will vacate his IBF belt, he may look to face the WBA’s mandatory challenger Edgar Berlanga.

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BOXING

Ryan Garcia talks about Floyd Mayweather Jr’s influence while sending big warning to Devin Haney

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Floyd Mayweather

Ryan Garcia hasn’t been one to shy away from huge fights. After all, he went for glory against Tank Davis. Now, it appears he’s looking for yet another big opportunity.

Although there were strong rumors that Rolly Romero would be his next opponent, Garcia has revealed that he held a meeting with confidantes in order to determine who he should fight next. They landed on pursuing a Devin Haney bout, but a conversation with Floyd Mayweather Jr. changed Garcia’s mind.

Floyd Mayweather

Ryan Garcia talks Mayweather, Haney and Rolly Romero

Garcia told the story to FightHype.

Romero ended up going in a different direction after talks broke down, opting to fight Isaac Cruz in March. So now, Garcia’s full attention is on Haney. He essentially admits that talks with Haney are back on track.

During the interview, Garcia also sent a vicious message directed at Haney and his father/trainer, Bill.

With Romero in the rearview mirror, Garcia will do what’s needed to get a fight with Haney set. If it happens, it will be one of the biggest – if not the biggest – fights of the year.

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BOXING

Seething John Fury tells Carl Froch he isn’t good enough to ‘kiss Tyson Fury’s a*’

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Tyson Fury

Tyson Fury’s father John Fury has been left absolutely livid after hearing Carl Froch’s comments about his son’s boxing résumé.

The Gypsy King’s CV took a hit in the eyes of some boxing fans in December as two of his best wins suffered one-sided defeats.

Deontay Wilder was comprehensively outclassed by Joseph Parker and then, on the same show, Otto Wallin was destroyed in five rounds by Anthony Joshua.

These results led former super-middleweight world champion Froch to question Tyson’s record as he told LuckyBlock: “I don’t know if it was flattering for AJ or if it just looked bad for Fury, because he struggled against Otto Wallin.

“It leaves a lot of question marks. How good is Tyson Fury? What’s he ever done? Who’s he actually beaten?

“He obviously beat Wladimir Klitschko in a bit of a stinker. That was just an awkward, horrible performance where he just got inside Klitschko’s head and messed him up with that jab.

Tyson Fury

“After the Klitschko fight, Fury had those three big standout fights with Deontay Wilder.

“But how good is Deontay Wilder now? He looked awful against Joseph Parker.

“So now you start questioning him. Is Tyson Fury actually what we thought he was or has he been flattered by the lack of opposition?

Froch’s comments have received no answer from Tyson, but drawn a furious response from John instead.

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BOXING

Francis Ngannou’s current physique ahead of Anthony Joshua fight

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Francis Ngannou

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou looks to be in the shape of his life as he prepares for his fight with Anthony Joshua in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that is slated to take place on the 8th of March.

The former MMA superstar turned heavyweight boxer is looking absolutely shredded, signalling his intent to really make an impact within the boxing world. This will be the Cameroonian’s second professional boxing fight after he controversially lost to Tyson Fury in a split decision back in October 2023. This was despite knocking down the WBC champion in round three, as well as coming across a lot better than his opponent on the night.

Ngannou is set to fight Joshua after AJ’s proposed fight with Deontay Wilder fell through following the American’s defeat to Joseph Parker on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card just two days before Christmas. On the very same night, one fight later, Joshua himself beat Swede Otto Wallin via corner retirement.

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BOXING

Francis Ngannou claims that Anthony Joshua doesn’t ‘have the strength’ to win their highly-anticipated Saudi clash…

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Anthony Joshua

Francis Ngannou has claimed that Anthony Joshua doesn’t ‘have the strength’ to win their upcoming boxing clash.

Ngannou is set to face Joshua in Saudi Arabia on March 8, after the Brit’s bout with Deontay Wilder fell through after the American’s defeat to Joseph Parker at the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card.

Wilder’s defeat opened the door for former UFC champion Ngannou to take on Joshua, despite having lost the only professional boxing fight of his career.

Ngannou, 37, fell to a split decision defeat against heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in a thrilling 10-round clash back in October, where he also scored an impressive knockdown.

Despite the loss, the Cameroonian is clearly full of confidence heading into the bout with Joshua and issued a chilling warning to the British star on the High Performance Podcast.

During his appearance on the show, Ngannou said: ‘Never say never. Nothing is impossible. We don’t know the strength of Anthony Joshua.
Anthony Joshua

‘Even though I don’t believe he has that strength, we’re going to find out. In two months, we’re going to find out. I’m going to be the one taking his soul’.

The former UFC star has been adamant that he’ll be victorious against Joshua and even fired back at the Brit’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, in a recent interview.

Matchroom Boxing promoter Hearn said he expects his fighter, Joshua, to knock Ngannou out during their match.

He told MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani: ‘I feel like he’s earned that shot – or certainly to continue at that level. And I fancy the fight.

‘You’ve heard me say before, I really believe AJ knocks him out. But he’s a dangerous fight. I know that this guy’s a big, big lump that can really punch, and I think he has no fear, which makes him dangerous’.

As reported by The Mirror, Ngannou fired back: ‘Eddie is a promoter, that’s like a routine for me. It’s deja vu, he said the same thing all of the time just not about Francis Ngannou but about somebody else. That’s how he talks and what he does’.

Elsewhere, during his appearance on the High Performance Podcast, Ngannou offered inspirational advice and also reflected on his journey from African to Europe.

He said: ‘The only person that will help you and change your life is you. It’s not somebody who helped me or anybody that help me that make me who I am.

‘Because, if you are a stupid person, they can help you as much as they want. You won’t do anything. Your life depends on you.

‘I made it in Europe inside a zodiac. The small inflatable zodiac. It was nine of us. [I did it for] The dream. I’d rather have a life without dream instead of having a dream without life.

‘You seen all those people that have been rescued or died in the ocean every day. They know all the stories, they know all the worst thing that is happening there, that you have no idea. But they have no choice’.

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BOXING

Amir Khan Advises Terence Crawford to Avoid Canelo: ‘Enjoy What You Got Now; Don’t Take No Risks’

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Terence Crawford

Amir Khan isn’t enamored by the potential hurdles his former opponent and one-time stablemate Terence Crawford would face in a fight against Canelo Alvarez.

In the wake of his brutal beatdown of Errol Spence Jr. in the summer, Omaha, Nebraska’s Crawford, the undisputed welterweight champion, has made it clear the fighter he wants to trade punches with next the most is Mexico’s Alvarez, the undisputed champion at 168. (Crawford, of course, is contractually obligated to follow through with an immediate rematch with Spence).

A matchup between two of the top fighters in the sport is far from a given, as the physical reality is that they fight in weight classes 21 pounds apart from one another. Alvarez has rejected any calls for a catchweight. From a business perspective, there is a degree of optimism, as both fighters are aligned with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions.

Khan, the recently retired 140-pound titlist from Bolton, England, made a case for Crawford to steer clear of Alvarez, saying the weight gap would simply present too many risks for “Bud.”

Khan has the distinction of having fought Crawford and Alvarez, although he came up short against both fighters.

Terence Crawford

Khan was knocked out by Alvarez in six rounds in their junior middleweight bout in 2016; he was stopped by Crawford in the same round in their welterweight bout in 2019.

“I just feel like in boxing weight divisions, they make them for a purpose,” Khan told FightHubTV. “And I highly respect and say that pound-for-pound the best fighter is Crawford, by far, he beats anyone. But when you start putting on weight and go up in weight and you fight these guys like Canelo, even though Canelo might now be slowing down, he’s still going to be very dangerous. That punching power, you’re still going to get tagged, you’re gonna get hit.

“You still have to spar heavier guys to get ready for that, anyway, so you’re going to be taking on that wear and tear anyway. …Does he need to put that pressure on himself? He’s done what no one’s ever done before, two-time undisputed champion. So why not just enjoy it?”

“But obviously you want to go on to the next challenge,” Khan continued. “For him he wants to go to Canelo. I would advise him not to go for that. But he knows how good he is. I can’t really say to him do this or do that.”

“We all might be wrong. He might be stronger than Canelo. He might put on the weight well and he might do really well in there. Why does he need to give up that much weight? He’s pound for pound in the world. Why does he have to go up and fight Canelo? It doesn’t prove anything.”

Khan said in the event that Crawford manages to lure Alvarez into the ring he would willingly lend a hand to his former stablemate.

“If he believes in himself, yes, go for it (Canelo fight),” Khan said. “But don’t do it if he’s got second thoughts. I’ll go and help him [with] that if I have to. Because, look, I love Crawford, I think he’s a lovely guy because I got to know him when I trained with him, away from the boxing ring. The guy’s a diamond, so if I could help him in any way, I’d love to do that. But look if I was him, just enjoy, enjoy what you got now. Don’t take no risks.”

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BOXING

Carl Froch Says There Are ‘Question Marks’ On Tyson Fury’s Resume

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Tyson Fury

As he prepares for the biggest fight of his career, Tyson Fury is under more scrutiny than ever and Carl Froch is one man who thinks there are ‘question marks’ over his resume.

Fury’s reputation sure has seen its ups and downs. Back when he knocked out Deontay Wilder in back-to-back fights, he was seen as the best heavyweight on the planet having done what no man had done before.

He then took fights against lesser opposition such as Derek Chisora before announcing a surprise bout with boxing debutant Francis Ngannou.

Fury was put down in the third round and only just came through that 10-rounder in October with a points decision, damaging his profile to the point that people are now wondering if he is past his best.

Add to that the fact that Anthony Joshua quickly flattened a former Fury opponent, Otto Wallin, who gave the Gypsy King real problems back in 2019, and some believe he is no longer the golden boy of the banner division.

Tyson Fury

As such he will be looking to set the record straight and re-assert himself as the best when he takes on Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed title on February 17.

Speaking to LuckyBlock ahead of that, former world champion Froch has questioned how good Fury really is.

He then took apart even Fury’s best wins.

It is a tough fight to call, as Barry McGuigan recently agreed, but thankfully we don’t have long to wait.

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