The match up between Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin was interesting from the minute it was announced. Povetkin has shown signs of ageing in his last two fights but still proved he had great heart against Michael Hunter and then he could still deal with taller fighters against Hughie Fury. Whyte was on an unprecedented winning streak that saw him beat Chisora twice, Joseph Parker and Oscar Rivas, three top 15 heavyweight opponents which should have seen him get a world title shot ages ago. I thought that Whyte would win by stoppage in the mid to late rounds, and my prediction looked to be coming true in the 4th round as Whyte dropped Povetkin twice. Going into the 5th round I had Whyte winning 38-36, and thought Povetkin would start to fade. But boxing instinct and experience won Povetkin that fight. Jab, slip, uppercut, KO. Povetkin may not be as fast as he was 5 years ago, but that level of boxing instinct is only gained from years and years of experience. Let’s not forget that Povetkin won gold at the 2004 Olympics, and while he has never been able to become world champion (I don’t count the WBA ‘Regular’ title as a proper world title), he has consistently been at the top of the heavyweight division for the last decade.
Povetkin’s only two losses have come against Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua. Two heavyweight powerhouses at the top of their game. Klitschko completely shut out Povetkin and the Russian wasn’t able to win a single round on the judges scorecards, but he got up off the canvas 4 times, managing to hear the final bell, proving his heart. Povetkin gave Joshua a lot of trouble in the early rounds of their fight, rocking AJ at the end of the 1st round, and I scored the first 3 rounds for the Russian, but ultimately he succumbed to the champions insane power in the 7th round. The only other blemish on Povetkin’s record came in a draw against Michael Hunter last December. Hunter was battering Povetkin early in the fight and could’ve easily stopped him, but Povetkin fought back and came on strong in the mid to late rounds to salvage a draw. It really is remarkable that he’s continued to compete at the highest level for this long. At 40 years old, most heavyweights aren’t knocking out top 5 level fighters, but Povetkin is bucking this trend and proving that he deserves a place alongside the very best in the division.
Klitschko vs Povetkin, 2013
Despite all of this however, I have to feel for Dillian Whyte. Whyte was named the number one heavyweight competitor by the WBC following his UD win over Robert Helenius at the end of 2017. He was the mandatory challenger to Deontay Wilder and now Tyson Fury for over 1000 days. Despite that, Dominic Breazeale was named Wilder’s mandatory challenger over Whyte last year. Whyte was set to challenge for the WBC title by next year at the latest if he beat Povetkin, but now, who knows? If he’s not been given a title fight after 1000 days, will he ever get the world title fight that he wants so badly? The Dillian Whyte situation over the last few years has made me feel very queasy about the state of boxing today. In MMA, the best consistently fight the best. Whyte would’ve been given a world title fight ages ago if he were fighting in the UFC, but with boxing, it’s not the case.
Dillian Whyte
Also, another thing, just because someone loses a fight, doesn’t mean that they’re automatically ‘finished’. Following Whyte’s first loss to Joshua, he improved immensely as a fighter, and cemented himself as one of the best in the world. Just because he’s lost again doesn’t mean he’s done. Look at the guy who knocked him out. Two losses, one draw, 40 years old and he’s just pulled off the knockout of the year. I don’t want to keep bringing this back to MMA, but in that sport almost every single one of the all time greats have multiple losses on their records. It’s the way that they come back from those losses that defines their careers. Georges St. Pierre lost twice in his career, but he overcame both of those losses to become the greatest Welterweight in UFC history. A loss shouldn’t define a career, the fighters character and the way they respond to the loss is what should define them. Whyte came back emphatically from his loss to Joshua, so why cant he come back from this? Like Nelson Mandela said ‘I never lose. I either win or learn.’
Yes, he’s a drugs cheat, and admittedly he hasn’t had a fight in 2019, but he still has a solid record that needs to be acknowledged. In 2017 he stopped former world title challengers Mariusz Wach and Gerald Washington, and knocked out former Cruiserweight world champion Tomasz Adamek in 2018. He is very good at applying pressure to his opponents, and whilst he isn’t an excellent technical boxer, he has staggering power that has KO’d 83% of his opponents.
14 – Daniel Dubois. Record: 13-0-0 (12 KO)
I would happily say that Daniel Dubois is the second hardest punching Heavyweight in the world right now, behind Deontay Wilder of course. I have to admit, I was sceptical about Dubois’ abilities before his fight in July against Nathan Gorman, but he proved me completely wrong, by outclassing Gorman en-route to a 5th round KO. Dubois won the British Heavyweight title that night, and added the Commonwealth title two months later, blowing away Ebenezer Tetteh in the first round. It looks like Frank Warren is trying to take Dubois’ progression slowly, and not forcing him into top 10 Heavyweight fights already, which I’m perfectly happy with, considering he’s only 22.
13 – Adam Kownacki. Record: 20-0-0 (15 KO)
Kownacki had a very solid 2019, stopping Gerald Washington in January and winning by unanimous decision against Chris Arreola in August. The fight against Arreola actually broke a Compubox record for the most punches thrown in a Heavyweight fight in its 34 year history, with 2,172 punches thrown across 12 rounds. Much like Miller, Kownacki is a brawler by nature, and often comes out throwing power punches within the first 10 seconds of a fight. His style makes for very entertaining fights, but I struggle to see how he’ll cope against a competent top-10 boxer, who would most likely outbox him and deal with his pressure quite easily.
12 – Dereck Chisora. Record: 32-9-0 (23 KO)
He has the most losses on his record in this list by far, but it feels like Chisora has only just reached his full potential at the age of 35. Following his loss to Whyte last December, which he was arguably winning at the time of the stoppage, Chisora had three fights in 2019. The first was an underwhelming fight against Senad Gashi, before two brutal displays against Artur Szpilka and David Price. His training seems to have paid off so much more recently, as he seems more focused and serious than ever. The Chisora of today never would’ve lost to Agit Kabayel and Robert Helenius, and would’ve given Kubrat Pulev a far more difficult fight. The pressure that Chisora applies to his opponents is unmatched in my opinion, and he could seriously make waves in 2020, with a bout between him and Oleksandr Usyk being rumoured for early next year.
11 – Alexander Povetkin. Record: 35-2-1 (24 KO)
Povetkin has been a top 10 Heavyweight for about 10 years now, but unfortunately for him, never managed to secure a world title. Now at the age of 40, he appears to be slowing down, as his last fight against Michael Hunter showed. Povetkin still gave Hunter a great fight, but he was rocked too many times, and looked significantly slower than he was when he fought Joshua. Despite his age he would still probably beat a vast majority of top 25 Heavyweights, with a serious level of power still in his hands, and he’s still got world class conditioning. He outboxed Hughie Fury in August, proving that he can still beat top fighters, but his days are surely numbered at this point.
10 – Michael Hunter. Record: 18-1-1 (12 KO)
Hunter is a very overlooked fighter, despite amassing an impressive Heavyweight record since stepping up from Cruiserweight last year. His power has carried up well, knocking out 4 of his 7 Heavyweight opponents, and he’s outboxed the others. In September Hunter fought unbeaten Russian Sergey Kuzmin in New York, a fight which I gave him all twelve rounds, as he knocked Kuzmin down in the fifth en-route to a unanimous decision victory. He battled it out with Alexander Povetkin this month, in a fight which I thought he deserved to win, but was ultimately ruled a draw. Hunter’s only loss came in 2017, against Oleksandr Usyk, but has remained unbeaten since, and looks like a huge problem for the Heavyweight division in the next few years.
9 – Kubrat Pulev. Record: 28-1-0 (14 KO)
Kubrat Pulev has done very little to get excited about since his only loss to Wladimir Klitschko in 2014, with his best win coming against Chisora in 2016. He was originally due to challenge Joshua for his titles in late 2017, but had to pull out of the fight due to injury, but has maintained his place as the IBF mandatory thanks to some comparatively weaker match ups since. In 2019, he knocked out Bogdan Dinu and won a very underwhelming unanimous decision against Rydell Booker in November. Pulev is a very talented tactician and often opts to sit on his jab as opposed to fully engaging with his opponents. His more reserved style has helped him beat a decent number of top competitors like Alexander Dimitrenko and Tony Thompson, and he may be facing Joshua as the IBF mandatory early in 2020.
8 – Luis Ortiz. Record: 31-2-0 (26 KO) (2 NC)
Luis Ortiz could’ve very easily become a world champion by now, but top contenders avoiding him for a long time probably mean that it’s too late for him now. He turned 40 in March, although that age is slightly disputed due to his extensive amateur career. In his rematch with Deontay Wilder in November, Ortiz outboxed Wilder for 6 rounds, before ultimately succumbing to his freakish power in the 7th round. Ortiz is still an excellent boxer though despite his age, and is still very strong physically, which means he could still land some big fights in 2020, but I think that ultimately Ortiz won’t do enough to become a world champion at this point.
7 – Joseph Parker. Record: 26-2-0 (20 KO)
2018 was not a great year for Joseph Parker, as he lost his WBO title to Joshua and then lost a unanimous decision to Dillian Whyte. Parker deserved to lose both fights in my opinion but that doesn’t change the fact that he is still a world quality boxer. His footwork is excellent, and has the benefit of being an excellent technician with knockout power. He only had one outing in 2019, stopping Alex Leapai in the 10th round, but was originally due to fight Dereck Chisora in October before pulling out due to illness. Parker is due to return in the US at some point early next year, but no opponent has been confirmed yet.
6 – Andy Ruiz Jr. Record: 33-2-0 (22 KO)
At this point Ruiz needs no introduction. He shocked the world by beating Joshua in June and was shot into global stardom. He fought a perfect fight that night, and was the deserved winner. Unfortunately, he didn’t put up as much of a fight against Joshua the second time round, and lost his titles by a lopsided unanimous decision. Ruiz has an incredibly impressive chin, and hand speed that he has no right to posses at 117 KG plus. He magnificently flew under the radar for a long time before his victory over Joshua, despite his previous world title challenge against Joseph Parker, a fight which many viewers thought he deserved to win. I have absolutely no doubt that Ruiz will continue to cement himself in the Heavyweight picture in 2020, but I can’t see a trilogy fight emerging with Joshua any time soon.
5 – Dillian Whyte. Record: 27-1-0 (18 KO)
GIVE THE MAN A TITLE SHOT. Whyte is the only boxer in this top 10 to not yet challenge for a world title, which is staggering to me. He’s been the highest ranked Heavyweight contender by the WBC since his decision victory over Robert Helenius at the end of 2017. But yet the WBC made Dominic Breazeale Wilder’s mandatory earlier this year instead. He has amassed an exceptional record since his only defeat to Joshua in late 2015, beating Parker, Browne, Rivas and Chisora twice. He has changed his style massively as well, switching from a brawler to a far more technical boxer with an excellent jab. He also possesses probably the best left hook in Heavyweight boxing today. His last bout against Mariusz Wach was underwhelming but he still managed a win despite the fight being made at three weeks notice.
4 – Anthony Joshua. Record: 23-1-0 (21 KO)
I’ve been critical of Joshua in the past, but his performance in his rematch against Ruiz Jr. spoke volumes about the man. To come back from what he did and put on a masterclass in the rematch takes a level of heart and determination that I won’t ever have. He learned a lot of lessons from his first fight with Ruiz in June, adapting to a style that kept him at the end of his jab for the vast majority of the fight. I only gave Ruiz one round in that fight, meaning I scored it 119-109 for Joshua. He made a huge statement in Saudi Arabia, but I still don’t think he’s the best in the division, in fact I see him losing to all 3 boxers ahead of him in the list. In 2020, Joshua has two mandatories to choose from: IBF mandatory Pulev and WBO mandatory Usyk, two very tough fights that could go either way. I think that based on the level of adaptability that he’s showed recently that even if he loses his titles again anytime soon he’ll still be a serious competitor for years to come.
3 – Oleksandr Usyk. Record: 17-0-0 (13 KO)
This may be a slightly confusing one to many people, but I think that Usyk is one of the pound for pound best boxers in the world. The former undisputed Cruiserweight champion has an unbelievable ring IQ, great footwork and a phenomenal engine. There are questions whether he’ll be able to make a mark in the Heavyweight division, but there’s not doubt in my mind that he will. He made his Heavyweight debut in October, stopping Chazz Witherspoon in the 7th round. The two opponents that Usyk is rumoured to face in 2020 are Joshua and Chisora, two very, very difficult fights, but I honestly see him winning both of them. Even if Usyk loses to Joshua I still see him becoming a Heavyweight champion in the next few years, that’s how good I think he is. As an amateur, Usyk beat professional Heavyweights Joe Joyce, Junior Fa and Magomedrasul Majidov, so fighting big Heavyweights won’t be entirely alien for him.
2 – Deontay Wilder. Record: 42-0-1 (41 KO)
The hardest punching Heavyweight in the world, it’s as simple as that. He isn’t the most skilled boxer so it is possible to outbox him, just like Fury and Ortiz did, but it’s almost guaranteed that he’ll find a way to land those big power shots at some point. In his rematch against Ortiz I had him losing every round, up until the point that he landed an absolute peach of a right hand. Wilder also scored the most devastating knockout of 2019, stopping Dominic Breazeale in the first round with one of the best straight right hands I’ve ever seen. He may not be the best technical boxer, but his athleticism, heart and chin make up for it in spades. Most other boxers would’ve been knocked out by Ortiz in the 7th round of their first fight, but somehow Wilder remained on his feet and stopped him in the 10th. If this was a list of pure boxers then Wilder would be very low, but it doesn’t matter, because one slight slip up in your defence and you’re left on your back.
1 – Tyson Fury. Record: 29-0-1 (20 KO)
Yes, I still think that Tyson Fury is the best Heavyweight in the world. Compared to 2018, 2019 was a slightly more disappointing year, but he still won both his fights in very different fashions. Fury stopped Tom Schwarz in the second round in June, and won a unanimous decision against Otto Wallin in September. The latter was a far more difficult fight for Fury, as he was dragged into a brawl by Wallin, but he proved that he’s not just an outside fighter, and if needs be he can get down and dirty and brawl it out with someone. It does have to be mentioned however, that he sustained a cut in that fight that probably would’ve stopped the fight if it was on Wallin. It reminded me massively of the cut that Vitali Klitschko sustained in his fight with Lennox Lewis in 2003, a cut that caused the ref to stop the fight at the end of the 6th round. Fury proved that he can adapt his style though, and that will be massive for him in the coming years. His next fight is set to be a rematch against Wilder in February, a fight that can realistically go either way, but I personally see Fury outboxing him again.
Heavyweight Boxing is Arguably the Most Exciting Thing in Sport at the Moment.
Since the thrilling encounter between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder in LA last December, many people have been reiterating that boxings heavyweight division has come alive once again. But if it had been simply revived 6 months ago, it has been given a healthy dose of steroids since the 1st of June; A dose probably not all that dissimilar to what’s currently pumping through Jarrell Miller’s veins. Andy Ruiz Jr. beating Anthony Joshua is a result that was only predicted by a handful of people, mostly people who are very close to the first Mexican Heavyweight champion in the history of the sport. But results like this are what make boxing’s marquee weight class so exciting and utterly unpredictable. Ruiz finds himself on a very long list of men who have defied the odds to hold the distinguished title.
The Klitschko Brothers
Was heavyweight boxing dead before the end of last year? Well, yes and no. Throughout the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, the division was dominated by the Klitschko brothers, with the occasional other champions springing up: Ruslan Chagaev, Nikolai Valuev and David Haye to name a few, but no-one had the ability to well and truly challenge the two brothers for heavyweight supremacy. Vitali lost just two fights in his professional career: to Lennox Lewis in his final ever fight, and to Chris Byrd, which he had to be pulled out of due to an injury. Wladimir had 5 losses, but between 2004 and 2015, he went on an incredible 11 year, 22 fight unbeaten run, picking up the WBA, WBO, IBF, IBO, Ring Magazine and Lineal titles in the process. On paper that sounds outstanding, and to be fair it’s certainly an excellent accomplishment, but he was merely head and shoulders above the rest of the division. Simply put, the point where public interest in the division seemed to diminish was when both Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson retired. They represented the last of the golden era of the 1990’s, which is arguably the best decade in heavyweight history. Admittedly Evander Holyfield continued on for a few more years but he certainly wasn’t the boxer he was the decade before. Instead, names like John Ruiz, Lamon Brewster and Chris Byrd emerged, and whilst they were all perfectly competent fighters, they were simply not of the level of the 90’s greats. So in the sense that public interest had almost entirely diminished, yes it was dead. But in the sense that it produced two all time greats: the Klitschko brothers, no it was not.
Then, on the 28th November 2015, Wladimir Klitschko’s reign ended as he was completely bewildered and outclassed by Tyson Fury. To many, this was a sign that the heavyweight division could finally make it’s long awaited comeback, and whilst it didn’t immediately change the landscape, it set off a chain of events that brought us to where we are today. After Fury was forced to vacate his titles, it left 3 of the 4 major world titles vacant. Deontay Wilder held the WBC belt, which he had won from Bermane Stiverne in January 2015. Charles Martin soon won the vacant IBF belt in January of the following year, before losing it three months later to Anthony Joshua, and so, the next great British heavyweight boxing sensation was born. Joseph Parker won the WBO title in December 2016 against Andy Ruiz Jr., and then Joshua added the WBA title to his collection after an absolutely thrilling encounter with the former champion Wladimir Klitschko. This was the first heavyweight boxing match to grab the attention of the whole world probably since Lennox Lewis faced Mike Tyson in 2002. The bout was an international phenomenon and propelled Anthony Joshua to the role of a worldwide boxing icon. He added the WBO title after beating Joseph Parker last year, and made one more defence against Alexander Povetkin before everything that he’d worked for came crashing down due to a masterclass display from Ruiz.
Joshua vs Ruiz, 1st June 2019
Whilst Joshua was busy trying to write his legacy, across the Atlantic, Deontay Wilder was slowly but surely building one of his own. Between 2015 and 2018, Wilder had made 6 defences of his title with relative ease, against relatively low level opposition, before facing Luis Ortiz in March 2018, generally considered to be the bogey man of the division. Despite having a record of 28-0 with 24 knockouts, this was the Cuban power-punching southpaws first world title fight. This was an enormous step up in opposition for Wilder, and was by far his toughest fight up until that point. Despite being seriously hurt for the first time in his professional career, Wilder fought back to win by 10th round TKO. This performance demonstrated not only Wilder’s sheer power but also his heart and determination to come back from the brink of the first loss of his professional career. This seemed like fertile ground then for a matchup between Joshua and Wilder. Joshua held three of the major titles, and Wilder held the other, meaning that a showdown to become the undisputed champion seemed inevitable. That brings us to one of the only things that I don’t love about boxing: the politics. Now you can go back and forward about who’s ducking who, but ultimately, if two fighters want to make a fight happen, then it will happen. We saw that with Fury and Wilder, who negotiated their bout in what seemed like record time. There was a window of 15 months for the fight to be made; between Joshua winning the WBO title and his loss to Ruiz, which just goes to demonstrate how frustrating the backroom dealings in the sport can be for fans.
Midway through 2018, the boxing world was treated to the beginning of the comeback of one of it’s most entertaining and talented boxers: Tyson Fury. Fury hit rock bottom following his momentous victory over Wladimir Klitschko, and seemed to be done with boxing for good. Between sheer weight gain, depression and drug abuse, there seemed absolutely no hope in hell that The Gypsy King would ever step back inside the ring. From 22 stone, Fury simply shed the weight in the lead up to his much anticipated title fight against WBC champion Deontay Wilder. With two tune up bouts against Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta, Fury signed the deal to fight one of the most feared heavyweights on the planet. It was a turn-back-the-clock moment for Fury, as he simply outclassed Wilder for 10 of the 12 rounds. Wilder proved to be able to carry his power late into the fight however, and put Fury down in the 9th and 12th rounds. Miraculously however, Fury rose back to his feet both times, defying the odds, and finishing the 12 round title fight as the clear winner to the vast majority watching, myself included. Unfortunately however, the judges saw it differently, and ruled it a draw, robbing us of the greatest heavyweight boxing comeback since George Foreman.
One of the most amazing things about heavyweight boxing is just how incredibly unpredictable it is. Heavyweight upsets are so common and at this point for most heavyweight fans they’re widely accepted. From Muhammad Ali’s stoppage victory of Sonny Liston to Buster Douglas’ sublime comeback to beat Mike Tyson, the division has never been short of results that have shocked the world. Andy Ruiz Jr. is now added to that list following his outstanding TKO victory over Anthony Joshua. This all puts us in what I would consider to be a very exciting position in the sport. Before the Joshua – Ruiz fight, the vast majority of onlookers thought that the only important fights in the division were the ones between the three top heavyweights: Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury, but Ruiz absolutely obliterated that point of view. The division is wide open, and there is now a belief that almost anybody could pull of and upset of Ruiz’s level. Fighters like Dillian Whyte, Kubrat Pulev and Luis Ortiz suddenly seem like far more viable candidates for a heavyweight title than they previously did. Making things even more interesting as well is the undisputed Cruiserweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk making the step up this year. It’s certainly an exciting time to be a heavyweight boxing fan.
Andy Ruiz Jr.
I’ve seen many people argue that Ruiz’s win over Joshua is a bad thing for boxing; because it robs us of that fight between Joshua and Wilder, and, for the record, I think that’s nonsense. Upsets don’t ruin the division, they’re what make it great. Take a look at the greatest upset in boxing history: when Buster Douglas beat Mike Tyson. Tyson was considered unbeatable by so many, and Douglas was a 42/1 underdog going into the fight. This was merely considered a tune up bout for Tyson before facing off against the highest ranked challenger at the time, Evander Holyfield. Boxing fans were incredibly excited by the prospect of these two facing off, but just because Tyson lost, doesn’t mean we never got to see the fight happen. We saw it happen twice in fact, in 1996 and 1997. Granted these weren’t Tyson’s prime years, but if Buster Douglas could beat Tyson in his prime, then why couldn’t Holyfield? You can also make the argument that if it weren’t for Tyson losing to Douglas, we never would’ve got one of the best trilogies in the history of the sport: Evander Holyfield vs Riddick Bowe. The first fight between these two is easily one of the best boxing matches I’ve ever seen, and if Holyfield wasn’t the undisputed champion of the world at that point then it may never have happened. In the 1970’s, a rematch between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali was the most anticipated fight that could be made. A spanner was thrown into the works of that however, in the shape of George Foreman, as he battered Frazier around the ring for two rounds before the referee waved it off. We still got that second fight between Frazier and Ali, it just simply wasn’t for a world title. Ali and Frazier then also fought a third time in 1975 to top it all off. It also meant that Ali vs Foreman happened, a classic fight between two of the greatest of the era. The Bowe/Foreman of the current era isn’t entirely clear at this point, but they emerged from the shadow of other greats of the time to become known as all time greats themselves. Maybe Andy Ruiz Jr. is the new Bowe/Foreman, or maybe he’s simply the next Buster Douglas, and came along merely to open up the division to the rest of it’s competitors. It’s difficult to tell at this point, but there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that what Ruiz has done is a positive thing, and as fans we will all reap the rewards in future. I personally can’t wait to see what happens next in the heavyweight division, as it simply is one of the most exciting prospects in sport at the moment.
The Knockout Blog 