Tyson Fury dominated Deontay Wilder over seven rounds before Wilder’s corner threw in the towel on Saturday night, earning Fury the WBC heavyweight championship to go along with his status as the lineal titleholder in the division.
Fury surprised many by taking an aggressive approach, punishing Wilder from the opening bell and knocking the American down twice on the way to victory.
Fury Tops Rankings After One-Sided Win
While Fury was initially a slim favorite when betting opened, Wilder had taken that status by the week of the fight, with PointsBet listing him as a -125 pick over Fury (+105) on Saturday afternoon. PointsBet also noted that almost all of the betting was on Wilder, who attracted 74% of all bets and 88% of the handle at the sportsbook.
The result once again shook up the heavyweight division, leaving Fury with the most impressive resume, but only one major title. There’s plenty of debate over where everyone stands in the division, but here are my picks for the top 10 heavyweights in the world today.
1: Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 23 KOs)
- Signature Wins: Deontay Wilder (2020), Wladimir Klitschko
- Draw: Deontay Wilder (2018)
After a one-sided dismantling of Wilder, there’s no doubt that Fury stands atop the heavyweight division. Fury appears to have several advantages over his biggest rivals: he’s bigger, faster, more technically skilled, and has a higher boxing IQ than any other heavyweight contender. That doesn’t mean he can’t lose, but if he’s not vulnerable to a big puncher like Wilder, it’s hard to see an obvious game plan for beating him at the moment.
2: Anthony Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs)
- Signature Wins: Andy Ruiz Jr. (Dec. 2019), Alexander Povetkin, Joseph Parker, Wladimir Klitschko
- Loss: Andy Ruiz Jr. (June 2019)
Joshua holds most of the major world titles and has the best overall resume of any fighter in the division. The only thing holding him back from the top spot is one bad night against Andy Ruiz last summer. Whether that’s a blip on the radar or a sign of vulnerability is yet to be seen. What we do know is that a potential title unification fight between Joshua and Fury could be the biggest fight in UK boxing history.
3: Deontay Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs)
Despite being thoroughly outclassed on Saturday, Wilder still remains near the top of the division. It’s possible that, like Joshua, he’ll be able to recover and rebound. He has the option to take a third fight with Fury, based on the terms of their agreement for the rematch, but he has things to prove before he does. Specifically, Wilder has to prove that he can contend with elite fighters who not only are superior boxers, but aren’t likely to fall victim to the overwhelming one-punch power that has saved Wilder in several fights that he was losing on the cards.
4: Oleksandr Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs)
- Signature Wins: Tony Bellow, Murat Gassiev, Mairis Briedis (All at Cruiserweight)
Usyk remains the wild card in the heavyweight division, having been a dominant force at cruiserweight. He won his first heavyweight bout over Chazz Witherspoon in October, and will likely take on a couple more mid-level opponents before challenging anyone on this list – but it’s hard to see him not getting a title fight sometime in the next couple years.
5: Dillian Whyte (27-1, 18 KOs)
- Signature Wins: Dereck Chisora (2016, 2018), Joseph Parker
- Loss: Anthony Joshua
It’s easy to overlook Whyte, as he hasn’t been in the title picture since his loss to Joshua back in 2015. But that remains his only loss, and it stands to reason that he’ll get another shot at a title sometime in the future, likely as a mandatory defense or simply as a worthy opponent for either Joshua or Fury, since a bout with either would do huge business in the UK.
6: Andy Ruiz Jr. (33-2, 22 KOs)
- Signature Wins: Anthony Joshua (June 2019)
- Losses: Joseph Parker, Anthony Joshua (Dec. 2019)
7: Luiz Ortiz (31-2, 26 KOs)
- Signature Wins: Christian Hammer, Tony Thompson, Bryant Jennings
- Losses: Deontay Wilder (Two Losses: 2018, 2019)
8: Alexander Povetkin (35-2-1, 24 KOs)
- Signature Wins: Christian Hammer, Carlos Takam, Marco Huck
- Losses: Wladimir Klitschko, Anthony Joshua
9: Kubrat Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs)
- Signature Wins: Tony Thompson, Dereck Chisora
- Loss: Wladimir Klitschko
10: Adam Kownacki (20-0, 15 KOs)
- Signature Wins: Gerald Washington, Charles Martin
