This is Rummy's Corner.
So these were my heavyweight rankings from
June of last year.
I realize it's now April, but with everything
effectively on lockdown because of the virus,
I'm not expecting anything to change between
now and May.
These are unprecedented times where boxing,
and indeed all of professional sports, are
now at a standstill.
So here are my updated heavyweight rankings
for May 2020.
The following list is, of course, just my
personal opinion.
But this is how I see things as of right now
during this hiatus.
#10 Robert Helenius, The Nordic Nightmare.
He sneaks into my top 10 following his impressive
win against previously undefeated
Adam Kownacki.
Helenius was victorious by 4th round technical
knockout, and this victory helped to resurrect
his once promising career.
Helenius is now 36 years old, and his best
days might be behind him, but the victory
against Kownacki puts him back in the discussion,
and when boxing ultimately resumes he should
certainly be in line for another big fight
sooner or later.
#9 Alexander Povetkin.
Povetkin remains exactly where he was for
me, #9.
Since my last rankings he's fought twice.
He won a 12 round unanimous decision against
Hughie Fury in August of last year.
And following that, Povetkin had a 12 round
draw against Michael Hunter.
The bout against Hunter was competitive, and
there were a lot of close rounds in that one
that could have reasonably gone either way.
Povetkin is 40 going on 41, and his best days
are clearly behind him, but he still remains
one of the most talented heavyweights competing,
at least for now.
Povetkin was actually scheduled to face Dillian
Whyte on July 4th, but whether that will actually
happen is anyone's guess.
#8.
Oleksandr Usyk
Since my last ranking, Usyk made his debut
at heavyweight where he scored a 7th round
stoppage against Chazz Witherspoon.
While Usyk still hasn'tt proven much of anything
at heavyweight, he moved up 2 spots for me.
The former undisputed cruiserweight world
champion still has many questions to answer
regarding his ability to handle the size and
strength of an elite level heavyweight, but
he has the skills, the ring IQ, and the speed
that it will be interesting to see how he
holds up against those top guys.
It will be interesting to see where Usyk goes
from here.
I don't think he's necessarily ready for the
top guys, but he has name value so he could
be in the mix for a title shot sooner than
later, especially since he is ranked as the
#1 heavyweight according to the WBO.
#7 Luis Ortiz, King Kong!
Ortiz dropped one spot in my ranking.
He had just one fight since my last ranking,
where he had made a decent account of himself
in his rematch with Deontay Wilder, before
Wilder scored the devastating knockout blow
in round 7.
Ortiz is reportedly 41 years old, and some
believe he's actually even older.
Still, to date he has lost twice, both times
by stoppage against Wilder.
Ortiz is another guy who's getting older,
his best days are behind him, and I'm not
really sure where he goes from here or if
he's long for top 10 consideration.
But for the time being, he still has the skills
and the pop that could prove to be a challenging
match-up for any heavyweight currently competing.
#6 Joseph Parker
Parker moves up one spot for me.
Since my last ranking, Parker has fought twice
and won both of those inside the distance.
Late last June, Parker was able to repeatedly
land flush shots against Alex Leapai.
That one was ultimately stopped by the referee
in round 10.
And back in February, Parker scored a 5th
round stoppage victory against Shawndell Winters.
And the only two losses on his ledger came against Anthony
Joshua, and Dillian Whyte.
The fight against Whyte from July 2018 was
considered somewhat controversial in some
circles, but regardless, the former WBO heavyweight
champion is still very much in title contention.
And speaking of Dillian Whyte, I currently
still have him in the #5 spot.
The Body Snatcher has had two fights since
my last ranking.
In July of last year, Whyte was awarded a
12 round unanimous decision against undefeated
contender Oscar Rivas.
And last December, Whyte won a 10 round unanimous
decision against Mariusz Wach.
So Whyte just turned 32 years old earlier
this month, and since suffering his only professional
loss back in 2015 against Anthony Joshua,
Whyte has scored some quality victories and
he is currently the highest ranked contender
for the WBC belt.
As mentioned, Whyte was technically scheduled
to face Povetkin in July, and it would be
great to see that match-up, even if it needs
to be pushed back because of the virus.
#4 Andy Ruiz Jr.
The Destroyer.
The former unified heavyweight world champion
has fought just once since my last ranking,
and that was his rematch against AJ where
Ruiz lost a lopsided decision against the
man he had previously beaten to become champion.
Ruiz didn't look good in the AJ rematch, and
a lot of fans are writing him off as a modern
day Buster Douglas.
But Ruiz is still a very skilled operator
when he's focused and in shape, and I'm personally
not quick to write him off just yet.
His victory against Joshua last June is still
among the very best wins in the division over
these past 2 years.
If Ruiz can become focused and disciplined,
I believe he can still make some noise at
the elite level.
#3 Deontay Wilder.
The Bronze Bomber.
Wilder has fought twice since my last ranking.
In November of last year Wilder scored a 7th
round highlight reel knockout in his rematch
against Ortiz.
That marked Wilder's 10th consecutive defense
of his WBC title.
And of course, back in February, Wilder suffered
his first loss as a professional when he was
stopped in his rematch against Tyson Fury.
Wilder is another guy that a lot of boxing
fans seem to be writing off, and again, I'm
not quick to write Wilder off just yet.
Fury is the only guy so far that Wilder has
had a great deal of trouble against where
he couldn't figure him out.
There is no shame in that.
Wilder still has that equalizer, that nuclear
right hand.
Wilder was eager to exercise his rematch clause,
so it appears a third fight with Fury will
be next when boxing resumes.
#2 Anthony Joshua.
AJ!
Joshua had one fight since my last ranking,
and that was his dominant effort against Ruiz
where AJ reclaimed the titles against the
man he had lost them against.
So Joshua is unified IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight
world champion.
Right now he has a couple of mandatories coming
up.
As mentioned earlier, Usyk is the top ranked
contender for the WBO crown, and Kubrat Pulev
is the top ranked guy for AJ's IBF belt.
AJ was originally scheduled to face Pulev
in June, but that got delayed because of the
virus.
So that one is postponed, but there is still
a good chance we will still get to see this
once boxing resumes.
And #1 Tyson Fury.
The Gypsy King.
Fury has fought twice since my last ranking.
Last September Fury earned a unanimous decision
in a workmanlike effort against the previously
undefeated Otto Wallin.
And then of course, in February Fury put forth
a dominant effort in the rematch against Wilder
where Fury scored a 7th round stoppage.
The Gypsy King is now recognized as the WBC
heavyweight world champion, in addition to
maintaining his valid claim as the lineal
heavyweight champion - a distinction he earned
when he won a lopsided decision against long
reigning champion Wladimir Klitschko back
in November 2015.
It looks like we will get a third fight between
Fury and Wilder once boxing resumes - originally
they were looking at a July date for this
one, where once again the virus put things
on hold.
So my current Top 10 Heavyweight ranking looks
like this.
Of course, the one match every boxing fan
wants to see is a megabout showdown between
Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua!
In an ideal world, that fight would be happening
next where all mandatory obligations SHOULD
be put on hold, for the good of the division
and the good of the sport.
Fury vs Joshua is the fight we need right
now!
The winner of that match-up would become the
first undisputed heavyweight champion since
the great Lennox Lewis.
But in the meantime, the division remains
interesting.
Some of those boxers near the bottom of the
list are getting older, and seem to be on
their way out sooner than later.
We have new contenders working their way up.
And there are a lot of potentially interesting
match-ups that can happen between these top
10 heavyweights, with Fury-Joshua being at
the top of that list.
I for one cannot wait for boxing to resume,
and I'm particularly interested in seeing
how the heavyweight landscape evolves.
In the meantime, please stay safe everyone!
Thanks for watching.
I hope you enjoyed and have a wonderful night!
