HOW have we sat through a year of thrilling heavyweight action and still ended up almost exactly where we started?
Just like in December 2018, Anthony Joshua holds three of the major world titles and insists he wants to decide an undisputed ruler with Deontay Wilder.
Joshua ended the years with three heavyweight belts – but is he our No1?Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
But Wilder, just as he was a little over a year ago, is preparing to defend his WBC crown against the giant Gypsy King.
In the last 12 months, Dillian Whyte took two steps forward and a couple back, cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk stepped up a division and got an instant mandatory shot and some porky lad called Andy Ruiz Jr went from zero-to-hero-to-20st-zero inside six whirlwind months.
Some of the grizzled old veterans are clinging on, for now, and a handful of young movers and shakers are waiting in the wings to smash their name into the history books.
Here is how SunSport sees the division, in reverse order…
10. Andy Ruiz Jr (33-2)
Ruiz shot from zero to hero and back again after a whirlwind six monthsCredit: Reuters
How different life would have been if Ruiz Jr had got the points win he deserved in Joseph Parker’s New Zealand backyard when he bid for the Kiwi’s WBO title in 2016.
Stiffed on the cards, dropped by his promoter, Ruiz was drifting before getting the golden ticket to fight AJ in June and stunned the world with his iron will, fast hands and ruthless style.
Sadly all the money and adulation went to his head and he blew the next six months frittering his money away on food, cars and beer.
He has now had another life-changing sum dumped into his bank account and it seems impossible he has the mental strength or desire to live the right way to rebuild his career.
Verdict: Ruiz did not become a bad fighter overnight and AJ still could not stop him at 20st but if he could not motivate himself for that Diriyah showdown, how will he drive himself for a handful of comeback bouts for a fragment of that money?
We had barely heard of the name Andy Ruiz Jr this time last year and the 30-year-old is on course to be equally faceless in 2020.
9. Alexander Povetkin (35-2-1)
Repeat doping offender Povetkin gave Joshua a scare in their fightCredit: Alamy Live News
The repeat doping offender gave AJ a serious scare last September when he dominated the opening Wembley rounds before being brutally stopped.
And his record stands up well against most of his rivals with wins over Ruslan Chagaev (for the WBA title in 2011), Marco Huck, Hasim Rahman, Manuel Charr, Carlos Takam and David Price and his 2013 loss to Wladimir Klitschko only came on the cards.
But the left hook he relied on so much was missing throughout the dismal August points win over Hughie Fury.
The December draw with Michael Hunter should have been his third loss and the signal for the end of his career at elite-level.
Luckily countryman judge Yury Koptsev saved him and his heavyweight standing – for now.
Verdict: Whether it is age or a clean blood stream catching up with Povetkin, he should now be seen as a gatekeeper more than a title contender.
The fighting record of a brave man but the doping CV of a cheat.
8. Kubrat Pulev (28-1-0)
Kubrat Pulev is hardly a fan favourite but he’s very good in the ringCredit: Getty
The Bulgarian’s awkward spoiling style and lack of English makes him an unpopular opponent as he struggles to sell tickets outside of Sofia or his adopted Germany.
But the 38-year-old is a firm favourite with the IBF and is in line for a crack at AJ in the Spring at Tottenham’s new stadium.
The pinnacle of Pulev’s career was a 2014 world title shot at Wladimir Klitschko, that ended in a round-five KO.
But his underwhelming list of opponents since, including Samuel Peter, Kevin Johnson and Bogdan Dinu is nothing short of miserable.
Verdict: The veteran has a shot at immortality in early 2020 but AJ, in either his bulldozer guise or new thin frame, should end his career at the top end of the division.
There are better younger talents coming through who just need a shot to knock Pulev out of the reckoning.
7. Luis Ortiz (31-2-0)
Ortiz will continue to get the big fights until given a stronger doping punishmentCredit: EPA
The Cuban southpaw is a doping re-offender who would be much better situated miles off this list.
But until the 40-year-old – often accused of being up to a decade older – gets a serious ban he will keep getting big fights.
Ortiz has only ever lost to Deontay Wilder and was six rounds ahead in their most recent November bout, until the Alabama monster turned his lights out.
But he missed a trick but refusing to fight AJ last June and let Andy Ruiz Jr slip in to briefly stun the world.
Having had two cracks at the WBC crown inside a year, Ortiz should now slip quickly out of reckoning and make way for younger, more honourable contenders.
Verdict: One more high-profile defeat, against someone other than Wilder, will end Ortiz’s time at the top table.
Always awkward, heavy-handed and hard, Ortiz will not be missed by his rivals when he finally retires.
6. Michael Hunter (cruiserweight 12-1 & heavyweight 6-0-1)
Hunter has only one blemish on his career, a points loss to UsykCredit: Alamy Live News
In 20 pro fights, the Bounty Hunter has only suffered a points defeat to Usyk down at cruiserweight.
The draw that most recently blotted his record was a very harsh one in Saudi Arabia against Russian Alexander Povetkin.
Only a Russian judge stopped Hunter from getting the win over the veteran former champion, that would have rocketed him up the rankings.
Trained by former heavyweight champ Hasim Rahman, Hunter is a seriously avoided man, happy to keep a low profile, who was desperate to face Joshua before Andy Ruiz Jr was deemed the easier option.
Verdict: At only 6ft 2in, Hunter could well come unstuck against the biggest men on the roster but he has the skill and talent to push them all close.
The Povetkin win he should have got would have taken him very close to a shot at AJ via the WBA, instead his performance will have just further warned potential rivals away.
5. Dillian Whyte (27-1)
Dillian Whyte will launch a career rebuild in 2020 after a dogged few monthsCredit: Reuters
Six months ago Whyte could have laid claim to fourth spot but the back-end of 2019 was a disaster that he will need to rebuild from dramatically in 2020.
Whyte failed a drugs test before his points win over Oscar Rivas but was able to prove, with the low levels found and the string of alternative tests taken around the time, that he was not guilty of purposely doping.
On December 7, up at a worrying 19st 5lbs, he needed 12 rounds to slug past journeyman Mariusz Wach but the WBC have at least reinstated him as their mandatory challenger, after Fury gets a crack at Wilder.
Verdict: Whyte is a firm fans favourite following wars with AJ, Joseph Parker and Derek Chisora and he deserves a crack at a champion to settle once and for all the debate about his status.
The Body Snatcher could be out of his depth or head and shoulders above his rivals.
4. Oleksandr Usyk (cruiserweight 16-0 & heavyweight 1-0)
Oleksandr Usyk is a bewilderingly talented fighter
The outrageously gifted southpaw cleaned out the cruiserweight division with mesmerising movement and mean precision punches.
The 2012 Olympic heavyweight king (AJ ruled at super-heavy) beat the very best of the 14st 4lbs division to land every belt and win the World Boxing Super Series.
The Ukraine star’s heavyweight debut in October was not as smooth a transition as he and his legion of fans would have liked, stopping late-replacement Chazz Witherspoon in seven but ending the night with plenty of bumps and bruises.
Bulking up two stone to hold his own in the land of the giants could rob Usyk of some of his most impressive traits but if he can mimic two-weight dons like Evander Holyfield and David Haye, we could see something incredibly special.
Verdict: The WBO have already given AJ just 180 days to face Usyk, as their mandatory challenger, but he is expected to face gatekeeper Derek Chisora in February and that will go some way to revealing just where his gap-toothed face fits in the landscape.
Holyfield and Haye proved it possible and Usyk seems to have all the tools to shake up the division.
3. Tyson Fury (29-0-1)
Fury may go down in history as a waste of genuine talentCredit: Reuters
Without doubt the most naturally gifted heavyweight around right now, belying his 6ft 9in frame and doing things in the ring a brilliant welterweight would be proud of.
The 2015 Wladimir Klitschko win was as sublime a clinic, on foreign shores and up against dirty tricks, the likes of which we might never get to see again and the Wilder draw was so almost perfect were it not for those two knockdowns.
Sadly Fury’s potential has not yet been fulfilled.
The Gypsy King accepted a two-year drugs ban for a flunked test in February 2015 – long before his much publicised struggle with mental health issues.
That mark must count against him, like it should Canelo Alvarez or any other fighter, no matter of popularity.
Verdict: Wins over Wilder and AJ would confirm him as the finest heavyweight of this era.
But names like Tom Schwarz, Otto Wallin and Sefer Seferi will bemuse future boxing historians who will hopefully not remember Fury as a waste of wondrous skill.
2. Anthony Joshua (23-1)
Anthony Joshua is back where he was a year ago – holding the heavyweight beltsCredit: Alamy Live News
We watched in awe as AJ raced from 18-year-old beginner to Olympic gold winner, world champ and unified king with power, precision and killer instinct.
But, even ahead of the shock Andy Ruiz Jr loss in June, there were concerns about his defence.
Dillian Whyte, Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin had all given the Watford ace a scare, before he stopped every one of them to secure one of the most impressive resumes around.
The rematch win proved he has another string to his bow but would not have struck fear into his rivals.
Verdict: The Ruiz defeat cannot be erased by the 12-round lesson Joshua put on in Saudi Arabia to grab his belts back.
Doubts will rightly remain and until the Brit dominates another elite-level rival, especially on US soil, he will struggle to call himself the clear top dog.
1. Deontay Wilder (42-0-1)
Wilder may finally fight Joshua in a unification fight next yearCredit: Getty
Possibly the biggest single puncher on the planet, the Bronze Bomber has a terrifying knockout percentage of 95.35 per cent.
A monster at 6ft 7in but rarely weighing in more than 16st, the WBC king has stopped every opponent has has ever faced, bar Tyson Fury who took him to a draw last December.
An ungainly fighter without much of a jab, Wilder’s confidence in his freakish power is so strong that he willingly gives away rounds while he prowls the ring looking for that one shot, as Luis Ortiz discovered in November.
Verdict: Wilder needed almost 30 fights before he faced a recognised name but he cannot be blamed for starting at the bottom.
Tyson Fury is a drastically better boxer and AJ’s record screams quality but Wilder remains unbeaten, barely threatened and absolutely lethal.
The up and comers…
Daniel Dubois (13-0)
However talented, Daniel Dubois seriously lacks experienceCredit: Getty
The British and Commonwealth champ wants a heavyweight world title shot in 2020 but the 22-year-old is dramatically lacking in experience, even with FIVE fights in 2019.
The July dismantling of talented domestic rival Nathan Gorman marked him out as a huge prospect and he appears to have the full package.
Filip Hrgovic (10-0)
Filip Hrgovic has been compared to the Klitschko brothersCredit: Reuters
The 27-year-old Croatian has been earning comparisons with the Klitschko brothers but his December 7 win over Eric Molina was an underwhelming, earned with a string of clumsy shots to the back of the gatekeeper’s head.
A rain-soaked Saudi Arabian desert was probably not the ideal place to demonstrate your skills and hopefully it was a rare off night with far more spectacular performances to come.
Tony Yoka (7-0)
Tony Yoka, right, is the 2016 Olympic super-heavyweight championCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
The French 27-year-old has already missed a year of his professional career after failing to take three drugs test but he is highly thought of as a natural athlete and is working with excellent trainer Virgil Hunter.
The 2016 Olympic super-heavyweight king could fly up the rankings with a handful of wins in 2020, with a recognised scalp a springboard to great things.
Anthony Joshua set to fight Kubrat Pulev next before facing Oleksandr Usyk, says Eddie Hearn
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
