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Tyson Fury Upsets Wladimir Klitschko
It’s hard to improve on Shakespeare. So let the immortal bard speak to Tyson Fury’s upset of Wladimir Klitschko last night in Dusseldorf, Germany, to claim the heavyweight throne: “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” (Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5)
Those are harsh words. But Klitschko-Fury was a dreadful fight that came on the heels of an embarrassing promotion that showed how far boxing has fallen.
There was a time when the heavyweight championship of the world was the most coveted title in sports. But those days are long gone. Few people other than hardcore boxing fans now know or care who the multiple sanctioning-body champions are.
Within that environment, Wladimir Klitschko offered a safe harbor of sorts.
Klitschko is 6-feet-6-inches tall and fights at between 240 and 249 pounds. Now 39, he has been the dominant heavyweight of the past decade. Prior to facing Fury, Wladimir had amassed a 63-and-3 record with 53 knockouts and been unbeaten over the past eleven years. During that period, he successfully defended his various championship belts eighteen times.
“Anybody can become a champion for one fight,” Klitschko said at a July 21, 2015, press conference in Dusseldorf announcing his title defense against Fury. “It’s really tough to be a champion for a long, long time. It’s challenging. It’s systematic preparation, plan, and experience.”
Fury, age 27, stands close to 6-feet-9-inches tall and has weighed in as high as 270 pounds. Prior to fighting Klitschko, he was unbeaten in 24 bouts with 18 knockouts but had yet to face an elite fighter. The most notable victories on his ledger were two lethargic decision triumphs over Dereck Chisora.
The second Fury-Chisora fight was particularly disheartening. Tyson entered the ring with flab around his waist and looked like a man who’d spent most of training camp eating bangers and mash. It was a dreadful boring encounter. Fury (an orthodox fighter) was content to stand back and jab from a southpaw stance, which he did for most of the night. Chisora came forward and went backward in a straight line without doing much else. After eleven rounds, Dereck got tired of being jabbed in the face and quit.
Fury’s size and reach can be intimidating. But he paws with his jab and brings it back slowly and low, which leaves him vulnerable to righthand counters. He also stands within hitting range too often with his hands down and chin up.
There are times when Fury’s mindset evokes images of the man he was named after: Mike Tyson.
Several years ago in a profile for The Guardian, Donald McRae wrote of the darkness and depression that are constant themes in Fury’s life. His father was a violent man who served time in prison for an assault that cost another man his eye. Among the thoughts that Fury shared with McRae were:
* “There is a name for what I have where, one minute I’m happy and the next minute I’m sad, like commit-suicide sad. And for no reason; nothing’s changed. One minute I’m over the moon, and the next minute I feel like getting in my car and running it into a wall at a hundred miles an hour. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m messed up. I think I need a psychiatrist because I do believe I’m mentally disturbed. Maybe it was the fact that, when I was a kid, my mother and father were always shouting and screaming and hitting each other. My dad had different women and different kids down the road. My mum had fourteen pregnancies, but only four of us survived. We had a little sister born for a few days and she died. That would affect you.”
* “I love boxing. I can’t wait for the moment I step into the ring. I feel calm then. It’s like everything has been forgotten. It’s just me and him and we’re going to go at it old school. But after that, it’s back to the reality and feeling angry with life.”
* “I’m British and Commonwealth champion. I’m doing OK. I’ve got a few quid in the bank. I shouldn’t be upset. But I don’t feel I’ve done any good at all. I thought, when the children were born, it would be a top thing. And when I became English champion, I thought there’d be a great feeling. But no. I thought, ‘Let me win the British title.’ But after I took that off Chisora, there was nothing. At the end of the day, what have I done? I’ve beaten another man up in a fight. I don’t know what I want out of life. What’s the point of it all?”
Klitschko-Fury was originally slated for October 24. Then, on September 25, it was announced that Klitschko had suffered a partially torn tendon in his left calf and the fight was rescheduled November 28.
Fury expressed confidence in the months leading up to the bout. But there was a touch of lunacy in his comments.
At the initial pre-fight press conference in Dusseldorf, Fury addressed Klitschko as follows: “Ich bin Tyson Fury, the sexy meister from the United Kingdom. I’m a unique fighter, one of a kind. There’s never been someone like me before in history. A fighter like me only comes along every one thousand years. It is my mission to rid boxing of you because you’re a boring old man. You have as much charisma as my underpants. Zero. None. You’re a wrinkled old man with a glass chin, and I am going to make that glass explode like a bottle hitting a wall. You’re fucked. I don’t care about money. I don’t care about my legacy or going down in history. I just want to smash your old face, and I don’t give a fuck what anybody thinks because I don’t give a fuck about being a role model. This clit is getting licked on October 24th.”
On September 23, Fury attended a promotional press conference in London dressed in a Batman costume, called Klitschko “a clown,” and proclaimed, “You fought plenty of peasants. You never fought The King before. You ain’t nothing. Whatever you are, I don’t know. An army sergeant, it looks like it, or a school teacher. You definitely ain’t a fighter. You’re getting knocked out. I can’t wait for this. Please, God, I wish it was this weekend.”
Suffice it to say, it’s hard to imagine Joe Louis or Rocky Marciano wearing a Batman costume to a press conference.
At times, Fury conjured images of the demented killer in a Halloween massacre movie. Other times, he sounded like a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.
On Sunday, November 8, Fury told the Daily Mail, “We live in an evil world. The devil is very strong at the minute, very strong, and I believe the end is near. The Bible tells me the end is near. The world tells me the end is near. Just a short few years, I reckon, away from being finished. There are only three things that need to be accomplished before the devil comes home. One of them is homosexuality being legal in countries. One of them is abortion. And the other one is pedophilia. When I say pedophiles can be made legal, that sounds like crazy talk, doesn’t it? But back in the fifties and early- sixties, for them first two to be made legal would have been looked on as crazy.”
“To be honest with you,” Fury continued, “I know Klitschko is a devil-worshipper. They are involved in bigger circles and stuff like that and they do magic tricks and whatever. You can go on YouTube and watch them playing with magic. God will not let him defeat me.”
Next, Fury told Boxing News, “The only thing I ever regret in life is having sex before marriage. If I could erase, that then my life would be practically perfect. I regret all the filth that you do with people. I must have had sex with over five hundred women, more, I don’t know, I’ve lost count. But it’s pure filth and horribleness. I look at that now as pure disgusting.”
Then Fury added, “My daughter won’t have an education because, our way of life, we don’t need one, especially women. They grow up, they get married, and they look after the man. I’d like to give my son an education rather than being a hustler. I don’t expect my son to follow in my footsteps. I think he’s got to go to school, get a proper education, and go from there.”
For good measure, seventeen days before the fight, Fury posted a video on his Twitter account that showed him head-butting a watermelon in half and intoning, “This is for you, Wlad. I’m coming for you.”
In response, Klitschko declared that Fury had “a brain the size of a walnut” and told him at the press conference in London, “I have got friends from the circus industry. They can give you a job as a clown. Clowns make people laugh. It is their job. And right now, after watching this theater, the screaming, the running and the costumes, it is in your genes.”
And on a September 19 teleconference call, Klitschko opined, “We need to go little bit deeper in Tyson Fury’s issues. There’s a lot of psychological issues here in Tyson Fury’s mind. I think he’s bipolar. He’s not really knowing what he’s going to do next. That speaks to me as a person that is psychologically unstable.”
The fight was contested in the ESPRIT Arena with 50,000 fans in attendance. Fury weighed in at 246.4 pounds, Klitschko at 245.3. Wladimir was a 4-to-1 betting favorite.
It was a stultifyingly, horribly boring fight. Both men fought cautiously. Long stretches of time went by with neither man throwing, let alone landing, a significant punch. Fury fought with his hands down and launched long lazy punches that begged for a righthand counter. But Wladimir seemed content to evade punches rather than throw them.
Both men threw a lot of stay-away-from-me jabs rather than punching with conviction. Fury circled and moved side-to-side for most of the night, which kept Klitschko from setting his feet to punch with power.
In round five, Klitschko was cut under the left eye by an accidental head butt. In round nine, another clash of heads opened a cut on the right side of his forehead. There were rounds that were hard to score for either fighter because Fury did nothing and Klitschko, if such a thing is possible, did sub-nothing.
In round eleven, referee Tony Weeks deducted a point from Fury for punching to the back of the head. Tyson landed a meager 86 punches over the course of twelve rounds, while Wladimir landed 52. Klitschko’s performance seems even more passive in light of the fact that all but eighteen of the punches he landed were jabs and he scored with only four body blows.
HBO commentator Jim Lampley referenced Klitschko’s effort as “a truly dreadful performance.” Fury’s wasn’t much better.
This writer scored the bout 115-113 (seven rounds to four with one even) in favor of Fury. The judges’ scorecards were comparable: 115-112, 115-112, and 116-111.
After the decision was announced, Fury grabbed a microphone in ring center, accepted the victory “in the mighty name of Jesus,” and sang Don’t Want To Miss A Thing, which he dedicated to his wife.
Thomas Hauser can be reached by email at thauser@rcn.com. His most recent book – A Hurting Sport: An Inside Look at Another Year in Boxing – was published by the University of Arkansas Press.
The Sweet Science Rankings: Week of May 29th, 2023
In this week’s TSS Rankings, it’s all change at the top of the 126lbs division with Luis Alberto Lopez rocketing to the #1 spot after a brutal dispatch of Michael Conlan; Leigh Wood is right behind him after making it 1-1 with a miserable Mauricio Lara (Mexico) who is likely about to depart for 130lbs after failing to make weight by 4lbs. For the moment he languishes at #5. Chris Billam-Smith makes #3 at 200lbs after ripping victory from fellow Englishman Lawrence Okolie. The hapless Okolie drops to #8. The best performance this weekend though was turned in by New Yorker Oscar Collazo who brutalised the favoured Melvin Jerusalem (Philippines). Collazo rises to three, Jerusalem drops to #8.
Pound-for-Pound
01 – Naoya Inoue
02 – Oleksandr Usyk
03 – Juan Francisco Estrada
04 – Dmitry Bivol
05 – Terence Crawford
06 – Errol Spence Jnr.
07 – Tyson Fury
08 – Saul Alvarez
09 – Artur Beterbiev
10 – Shakur Stevenson
105lbs
1 Knockout CP Freshmart (Thailand)
2 Petchmanee CP Freshmart (Thailand)
3 Oscar Collazo (USA)*
4 Ginjiro Shigeoka (Japan)
5 Wanheng Menayothin (Thailand)
6 Daniel Valladares (Mexico)
7 Yudai Shigeoka (Japan)
8 Melvin Jerusalem (Philippines)
9 Masataka Taniguchi (Japan)
10 Rene Mark Cuarto (Philippines)
108lbs
1 Kenshiro Teraji (Japan)
2 Jonathan Gonzalez (Puerto Rico)
3 Masamichi Yabuki (Japan)
4 Hekkie Budler (South Africa)
5 Sivenathi Nontshinga (South Africa)
6 Elwin Soto (Mexico)
7 Daniel Matellon (Cuba)
8 Reggie Suganob (Philippines)
9 Shokichi Iwata (Japan)
10 Esteban Bermudez (Mexico)
112lbs
1 Sunny Edwards (England)
2 Artem Dalakian (Ukraine)
3 Julio Cesar Martinez (Mexico)
4 Angel Ayala Lardizabal (Mexico)
5 David Jimenez (Costa Rica)
6 Jesse Rodriguez (USA)
7 Ricardo Sandoval (USA)
8 Felix Alvarado (Nicaragua)
9 Seigo Yuri Akui (Japan)
10 Cristofer Rosales (Nicaragua)
115lbs
1 Juan Francisco Estrada (Mexico)
2 Roman Gonzalez (Nicaragua)
3 Jesse Rodriguez (USA)
4 Kazuto Ioka (Japan)
5 Joshua Franco (USA)
6 Junto Nakatani (Japan)
7 Fernando Martinez (Argentina)
8 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (Thailand)
9 Kosei Tanaka (Japan)
10 Andrew Moloney (Australia)
118lbs
1 Emmanuel Rodriguez (Puerto Rico)
2 Jason Moloney (Australia)
3 Nonito Donaire (Philippines)
4 Vincent Astrolabio (Philippines)
5 Gary Antonio Russell (USA)
6 Takuma Inoue (Japan)
7 Alexandro Santiago (Mexico)
8 Ryosuke Nishida (Japan)
9 Keita Kurihara (Japan)
10 Paul Butler (England)
122lbs
1 Stephen Fulton (USA)
2 Marlo Tapales (Philippines)
3 Luis Nery (Mexico)
4 Murodjon Akhmadaliev (Uzbekistan)
5 Ra’eese Aleem (USA)
6 Azat Hovhannisyan (Armenia)
7 Kevin Gonzalez (Mexico)
8 Takuma Inoue (Japan)
9 John Riel Casimero (Philippines)
10 Fillipus Nghitumbwa (Namibia)
126lbs
1 Luis Alberto Lopez (Mexico)*
2 Leigh Wood (England)*
3 Brandon Figueroa (USA)
4 Rey Vargas (Mexico)
5 Mauricio Lara (Mexico)
6 Mark Magsayo (Philippines)
7 Josh Warrington (England)
8 Robeisy Ramirez (Cuba)
9 Reiya Abe (Japan)
10 Otabek Kholmatov (Uzbekistan)
130lbs
1 Joe Cordina (Wales)
2 Oscar Valdez (Mexico)
3 Hector Garcia (Dominican Republic)
4 O’Shaquie Foster (USA)
5 Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (Tajikistan)
6 Roger Gutierrez (Venezuela)
7 Lamont Roach (USA)
8 Eduardo Ramirez (Mexico)
9 Kenichi Ogawa (Japan)
10 Robson Conceicao (Brazil)
135lbs
1 Devin Haney (USA)
2 Gervonta Davis (USA)
3 Vasily Lomachenko (Ukraine)
4 Isaac Cruz (Mexico)
5 William Zepeda Segura (Mexico)
6 Frank Martin (USA)
7 George Kambosos Jnr (Australia)
8 Shakur Stevenson (USA)
9 Raymond Muratalla (USA)
10 Keyshawn Davis (USA)
140lbs
1 Josh Taylor (Scotland)
2 Regis Prograis (USA)
3 Jose Ramirez (USA)
4 Jose Zepeda (USA)
5 Jack Catterall (England)
6 Subriel Matias (Puerto Rico)
7 Arnold Barboza Jr. (USA)
8 Gary Antuanne Russell (USA)
9 Zhankosh Turarov (Kazakhstan)
10 Shohjahon Ergashev (Uzbekistan)
147lbs
1 Errol Spence (USA)
2 Terence Crawford (USA)
3 Yordenis Ugas (Cuba)
4 Vergil Ortiz Jr. (USA)
5 Jaron Ennis (USA)
6 Eimantas Stanionis (Lithuania)
7 David Avanesyan (Russia)
8 Cody Crowley (Canada)
9 Roiman Villa (Columbia)
10 Alexis Rocha (USA)
154lbs
1 Jermell Charlo (USA)
2 Tim Tszyu (Australia)
3 Brian Castano (Argentina)
4 Brian Mendoza (USA)
5 Liam Smith (England)
6 Jesus Alejandro Ramos (USA)
7 Sebastian Fundora (USA)
8 Michel Soro (Ivory Coast)
9 Erickson Lubin (USA)
10 Magomed Kurbanov (Russia)
160lbs
1 Gennady Golovkin (Kazakhstan)
2 Jaime Munguia (Mexico)
3 Carlos Adames (Dominican Republic)
4 Janibek Alimkhanuly (Kazakhstan)
5 Liam Smith (England)
6 Erislandy Lara (USA)
7 Sergiy Derevyanchenko (Ukraine)
8 Felix Cash (England)
9 Esquiva Falcao (Brazil)
10 Chris Eubank Jnr. (Poland)
168lbs
1 Canelo Alvarez (Mexico)
2 David Benavidez (USA)
3 Caleb Plant (USA)
4 Christian Mbilli (France)
5 David Morrell (Cuba)
6 John Ryder (England)
7 Pavel Silyagin (Russia)
8 Vladimir Shishkin (Russia)
9 Carlos Gongora (Ecuador)
10 Demetrius Andrade (USA)
175lbs
1 Dmitry Bivol (Russia)
2 Artur Beterbiev (Canada)
3 Joshua Buatsi (England)
4 Callum Smith (England)
5 Joe Smith Jr. (USA)
6 Gilberto Ramirez (Mexico)
7 Anthony Yarde (England)
8 Dan Azeez (England)
9 Craig Richards (England)
10 Michael Eifert (Germany)
200lbs
1 Jai Opetaia (Australia)
2 Mairis Breidis (Latvia)
3 Chris Billam-Smith (England)*
4 Richard Riakporhe (England)
5 Aleksei Papin (Russia)
6 Badou Jack (Sweden)
7 Arsen Goulamirian (France)
8 Lawrence Okolie (England)
9 Yuniel Dorticos (Cuba)
10 Mateusz Masternak (Poland)
Unlimited
1 Tyson Fury (England)
2 Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine)
3 Zhilei Zhang (China)
4 Deontay Wilder (USA)
5 Anthony Joshua (England)
6 Andy Ruiz (USA)
7 Filip Hrgovic (Croatia)
8 Joe Joyce (England)
9 Dillian Whyte (England)
10 Frank Sanchez (Cuba)
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British fight fabs had plenty of options last night. Important events were staged in Manchester, in Bournemouth, and in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The locals were delighted in Manchester and Bournemouth, but fans in Belfast were left crestfallen when their hometown hero Michael Conlan, the former two-time Olympian, was on the wrong end of a vicious KO.
Conlan, who was 18-1 heading in, had a four-inch height advantage and three-inch reach advantage over Mexican spoiler Luis Alberto Lopez. The Irishman attracted late money and went to post a small favorite. But Lopez (28-2, 16 KOs) emerged victorious, successfully defending his IBF world featherweight title which he won in British soil over Josh Warrington.
Although Conlan had a rough patch in the second round, he was seemingly in a good position heading into round five when the Mexican invader brought a swift conclusion to the contest, discombobulating Conlan (pictured) with a right uppercut that prompted his trainer Adam Booth to throw in the towel. It was the second time that Conlan came up short in a bid for a world title. He challenged for the WBA version of this belt in March of last year, losing on a spectacular last round knockout to Leigh Wood in a fight that he was winning until the final 90 seconds.
Also…
In a scheduled 12-rounder for a WBC featherweight trinket, five-foot-three Liverpool buzzsaw Nick “Wrecking” Ball advanced to 18-0, (11 KOs) with a 12th-round stoppage of South Africa’s previously undefeated Ludumo Lamati (21-1-1, 11 KOs). Lamati’s corner tossed in the towel after Ball landed a series of hard punches in the final frame.
Lamati was on his feet when the bout was stopped but was in dire straits and was removed from the ring on a stretcher. There was no update on his condition as this story was going to press.
In a companion 12-rounder, Belfast’s Anthony “Apache” Cacace (21-1, 7 KOs) successfully defended his fringe 130-pound title with a wide decision over Damian Wrzesinski (26-3-2). The judges had 118-111, 117-111, and 116-112.
Wrzesinski, a 38-year-old Pole, fought with a brace on his right knee. This was the first fight for “Apache” in his hometown in eight years. The win may have set him up for a match with Welshman Joe Cordina, the IBF junior lightweight title-holder, or Shavkat Rakhimov who lost a close decision to Cordina in a bruising tiff last month.
Manchester
Mauricio Lara didn’t bring his “A” game to England. That became apparent at the weigh-in when he failed to make weight, losing his WBA world featherweight title on the scales. By rule, only Leigh Wood could win it or it would become vacant.
This was a rematch. Fourteen weeks ago, Lara went into Wood’s backyard in Nottingham and stopped him in the seventh round. Lara was behind on the cards when he felled Wood with a crunching left hook. Wood beat the count but his trainer Ben Davison tossed in the towel which struck many, especially Wood, as premature as less than 10 seconds remained in the round.
In a previous trip to England, Lara had broken hearts in Leeds, stopping native son Josh Warrington. The Mexican invader, younger than Leigh Wood by 10 years, was expected to win again, but Wood, 34, simply out-worked him. He knocked Lara down in the second round with an uppercut and methodically kept him at bay, winning by scores of 116-111 and 118-109 twice.
Co-Feature
In his first appearance since his controversial defeat to Josh Taylor in Glasgow in February of last year, Jack Catterall improved to 27-1 (15) with a wide decision over Irish-Australian southpaw Darragh Foley (22-5-1).
The Sportsman called the Catterall-Taylor fight, a split decision win for Taylor, the most controversial fight in British boxing history and Catterall became a more sympathetic figure when Taylor, after several postponements, reneged on his promise to give Catterall a rematch, opting instead for a date with Teofimo Lopez.
Although Foley was in action 10 weeks ago, scoring his signature win with a third-round stoppage of favored Robbie Davies Jr., and Catterall was making his first start in 15 months, this was a one-sided fray in Catterall’s favor. He had Foley on the canvas twice en route to winning by scores of 99-88, 98-89, and 97-90.
Eddie Hearn has expressed an interest in matching Catterall with Regis Prograis assuming that Prograis gets past Arnold Barboza on June 17.
Also
England’s Terri Harper (14-1-1), who jumped up three weight classes last year, successfully defended her WBA 154-pound diadem with a unanimous but unimpressive 10-round decision over perennial title challenger Ivana Habazin. The judges had it 98-92 and 99-93 twice.
Harper was slated to fight former pound-for-pound queen Cecilia Braekhus last Saturday in the co-feature to Taylor vs. Cameron in Dublin, but hat match fell out when Braekhus came down with a bad cold following the weight-in.
Harper is seeking a unification fight with countrywoman Natasha Jonas. Habazin, a 33-year-old Croat, fell to 21-5.
Bournemouth
In his fourth defense of his WBO world cruiserweight title, previously undefeated Lawrence Okolie was soundly defeated by former sparring partner Chris Billam.-Smith The match was contested in Billam-Smith’s hometown before a raucous crowd at sold-out Vitality Stadium.
A 3/1 underdog, Billam-Smith, who was 17-1 heading in, proved clearly superior He knocked Okolie down in the fourth round and again in rounds 10 and 11 en route to winning by scores of 116-107, 115-108, and 112-112.
About that curious 112-112 card. It was turned in by U.S. judge Benjamin Rodriguez who had been working the Illinois-Wisconsin circuit. On social media, his tally is being called the worst scorecard of all time.
Did Billam-Smith’s fans leave happy? The correspondent for British Boxing News called the event “a night of breathtaking boxing action that will never be forgotten.”
The six-foot-five Okolie may have made his last start as a cruiserweight. He aspires to fight Oleksandr Usyk.
The Sweet Science Rankings: Week of May 22nd, 2023
Hiroto Kyoguchi departs 108lbs for 112lbs so there’s a reorganisation at the bottom of the 108lbs division. Fellow Japanese Junto Nakatani’s breathtaking destruction of Andrew Maloney sees him rise to #6 at 115lbs with Maloney dropping to #10; Kosei Tanaki who was also out at the weekend climbs to #9. Raymond Muratalla is the last mover this week, eliminating Jamaine Ortiz and debuting at #9 at 135lbs. There are no further changes at lightweight where Lomachenko maintains his ranking at #3.
*Please note that when the fighter’s name appears with an asterisk it represents a movement in ranking from the previous week.
Pound-for-Pound
01 – Naoya Inoue
02 – Oleksandr Usyk
03 – Juan Francisco Estrada
04 – Dmitry Bivol
05 – Terence Crawford
06 – Errol Spence Jnr.
07 – Tyson Fury
08 – Saul Alvarez
09 – Artur Beterbiev
10 – Shakur Stevenson
105lbs
1 Knockout CP Freshmart (Thailand)
2 Petchmanee CP Freshmart (Thailand)
3 Melvin Jerusalem (Philippines)
4 Ginjiro Shigeoka (Japan)
5 Wanheng Menayothin (Thailand)
6 Daniel Valladares (Mexico)
7 Yudai Shigeoka (Japan)
8 Oscar Collazo (USA)
9 Masataka Taniguchi (Japan)
10 Rene Mark Cuarto (Philippines)
108lbs
1 Kenshiro Teraji (Japan)
2 Jonathan Gonzalez (Puerto Rico)
3 Masamichi Yabuki (Japan)
4 Hekkie Budler (South Africa)
5 Sivenathi Nontshinga (South Africa)
6 Elwin Soto (Mexico)
7 Daniel Matellon (Cuba)
8 Reggie Suganob (Philippines)
9 Shokichi Iwata (Japan)*
10 Esteban Bermudez (Mexico)*
112lbs
1 Sunny Edwards (England)
2 Artem Dalakian (Ukraine)
3 Julio Cesar Martinez (Mexico)
4 Angel Ayala Lardizabal (Mexico)
5 David Jimenez (Costa Rica)
6 Jesse Rodriguez (USA)
7 Ricardo Sandoval (USA)
8 Felix Alvarado (Nicaragua)
9 Seigo Yuri Akui (Japan)
10 Cristofer Rosales (Nicaragua)
115lbs
1 Juan Francisco Estrada (Mexico)
2 Roman Gonzalez (Nicaragua)
3 Jesse Rodriguez (USA)
4 Kazuto Ioka (Japan)
5 Joshua Franco (USA)
6 Junto Nakatani (Japan)*
7 Fernando Martinez (Argentina)
8 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (Thailand)
9 Kosei Tanaka (Japan)*
10 Andrew Moloney (Australia)
118lbs
1 Emmanuel Rodriguez (Puerto Rico)
2 Jason Moloney (Australia)
3 Nonito Donaire (Philippines)
4 Vincent Astrolabio (Philippines)
5 Gary Antonio Russell (USA)
6 Takuma Inoue (Japan)
7 Alexandro Santiago (Mexico)
8 Ryosuke Nishida (Japan)
9 Keita Kurihara (Japan)
10 Paul Butler (England)
122lbs
1 Stephen Fulton (USA)
2 Marlo Tapales (Philippines)
3 Luis Nery (Mexico)
4 Murodjon Akhmadaliev (Uzbekistan)
5 Ra’eese Aleem (USA)
6 Azat Hovhannisyan (Armenia)
7 Kevin Gonzalez (Mexico)
8 Takuma Inoue (Japan)
9 John Riel Casimero (Philippines)
10 Fillipus Nghitumbwa (Namibia)
126lbs
1 Mauricio Lara (Mexico)
2 Brandon Figueroa (USA)
3 Rey Vargas (Mexico)
4 Luis Alberto Lopez (Mexico)
5 Mark Magsayo (Philippines)
6 Leigh Wood (England)
7 Josh Warrington (England)
8 Robeisy Ramirez (Cuba)
9 Reiya Abe (Japan)
10 Otabek Kholmatov (Uzbekistan)
130lbs
1 Joe Cordina (Wales)
2 Oscar Valdez (Mexico)
3 Hector Garcia (Dominican Republic)
4 O’Shaquie Foster (USA)
5 Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (Tajikistan)
6 Roger Gutierrez (Venezuela)
7 Lamont Roach (USA)
8 Eduardo Ramirez (Mexico)
9 Kenichi Ogawa (Japan)
10 Robson Conceicao (Brazil)
135lbs
1 Devin Haney (USA)
2 Gervonta Davis (USA)
3 Vasily Lomachenko (Ukraine)
4 Isaac Cruz (Mexico)
5 William Zepeda Segura (Mexico)
6 Frank Martin (USA)
7 George Kambosos Jnr (Australia)
8 Shakur Stevenson (USA)
9 Raymond Muratalla (USA)*
10 Keyshawn Davis (USA)
140lbs
1 Josh Taylor (Scotland)
2 Regis Prograis (USA)
3 Jose Ramirez (USA)
4 Jose Zepeda (USA)
5 Jack Catterall (England)
6 Subriel Matias (Puerto Rico)
7 Arnold Barboza Jr. (USA)
8 Gary Antuanne Russell (USA)
9 Zhankosh Turarov (Kazakhstan)
10 Shohjahon Ergashev (Uzbekistan)
147lbs
1 Errol Spence (USA)
2 Terence Crawford (USA)
3 Yordenis Ugas (Cuba)
4 Vergil Ortiz Jr. (USA)
5 Jaron Ennis (USA)
6 Eimantas Stanionis (Lithuania)
7 David Avanesyan (Russia)
8 Cody Crowley (Canada)
9 Roiman Villa (Columbia)
10 Alexis Rocha (USA)
154lbs
1 Jermell Charlo (USA)
2 Tim Tszyu (Australia)
3 Brian Castano (Argentina)
4 Brian Mendoza (USA)
5 Liam Smith (England)
6 Jesus Alejandro Ramos (USA)
7 Sebastian Fundora (USA)
8 Michel Soro (Ivory Coast)
9 Erickson Lubin (USA)
10 Magomed Kurbanov (Russia)
160lbs
1 Gennady Golovkin (Kazakhstan)
2 Jaime Munguia (Mexico)
3 Carlos Adames (Dominican Republic)
4 Janibek Alimkhanuly (Kazakhstan)
5 Liam Smith (England)
6 Erislandy Lara (USA)
7 Sergiy Derevyanchenko (Ukraine)
8 Felix Cash (England)
9 Esquiva Falcao (Brazil)
10 Chris Eubank Jnr. (Poland)
168lbs
1 Canelo Alvarez (Mexico)
2 David Benavidez (USA)
3 Caleb Plant (USA)
4 Christian Mbilli (France)
5 David Morrell (Cuba)
6 John Ryder (England)
7 Pavel Silyagin (Russia)
8 Vladimir Shishkin (Russia)
9 Carlos Gongora (Ecuador)
10 Demetrius Andrade (USA)
175lbs
1 Dmitry Bivol (Russia)
2 Artur Beterbiev (Canada)
3 Joshua Buatsi (England)
4 Callum Smith (England)
5 Joe Smith Jr. (USA)
6 Gilberto Ramirez (Mexico)
7 Anthony Yarde (England)
8 Dan Azeez (England)
9 Craig Richards (England)
10 Michael Eifert (Germany)
200lbs
1 Jai Opetaia (Australia)
2 Mairis Breidis (Latvia)
3 Lawrence Okolie (England)
4 Richard Riakporhe (England)
5 Aleksei Papin (Russia)
6 Badou Jack (Sweden)
7 Chris Billam-Smith (England)
8 Arsen Goulamirian (France)
9 Yuniel Dorticos (Cuba)
10 Mateusz Masternak (Poland)
Unlimited
1 Tyson Fury (England)
2 Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine)
3 Zhilei Zhang (China)
4 Deontay Wilder (USA)
5 Anthony Joshua (England)
6 Andy Ruiz (USA)
7 Filip Hrgovic (Croatia)
8 Joe Joyce (England)
9 Dillian Whyte (England)
10 Frank Sanchez (Cuba)
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Featured Articles1 week agoThe Haney-Lomachenko Tempest Smacks of Hagler-Leonard; Dave Moretti Factored in Both
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Featured Articles3 weeks agoIn the Homestretch of His Career, Philadelphia’s Joey “Tank” Dawejko Keeps on Rolling
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Featured Articles2 weeks agoAvila Perspective, Chap. 237: Battles for Undisputed Status in Dublin and Las Vegas
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Featured Articles3 days agoU.K. Boxing Montage: Conlan KOed; Wood Regains Title; Billam-Smith Upsets Okolie
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Featured Articles2 weeks agoRomero Controversially TKOs Barroso; Sims Nips Akhmedov in a Barnburner
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Featured Articles4 weeks agoAvila Perspective, Chap. 235: Canelo Alvarez, Silk Pajamas and More
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Featured Articles2 weeks agoNine TSS Writers Analyze the Haney-Lomachenko Fight
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