The Ring updated their latest heavyweight rankings with Tyson Fury surprisingly at #1 despite a 0-2 record in his last two fights. That should be enough to remove ‘The Gypsy King’ from the Ring’s ratings.
Kabayel’s Knockout Dominance
Agit Kabayel is positioned below Fury and Joseph Parker on the updated list at #3. That ranking is way too low. The way Kabayel (26-0, 18 KOs) is fighting, he’d beat Fury and Parker.
Kabayel did a far better job of defeating Zhilei Zhang than Parker did, knocking him out in the sixth round in his last fight in February. In contrast, Parker was dropped twice by Zhang and forced to go the 12-round distance to win a majority decision in 2024.
Champion: Oleksandr Usyk
- Tyson Fury
- Joseph Parker
- Agit Kabayel
- Daniel Dubois
- Anthony Joshua
- Filip Hrgovic
- Fabio Wardley
- Zhilei Zhang
- Martin Bakole
- Efe Ajagba
Why Fury Isn’t Top 10
Other than the weirdness of Fury at #1, the rest of the rankings aren’t too bad in comparison, but still not good. If Tyson’s career was still steaming along like it had been when he defeated Deontay Wilder for the second time in 2021, a #1 would be logical.
Fury’s wins since then have come against lesser fighters, like Dereck Chisora, Dillian Whyte, and Francisco Ngannou. Are these pity rankings? Did The Ring give Fury his #1 ranking based on his past accomplishments many years ago? It’s hard not to see it that way because if you go by Tyson’s 0-2 record and his controversial 10-round split decision victory over Ngannou, he doesn’t belong in the top 10 of the best heavyweights.
When you lose twice and are gifted a decision against an 0-0 prospect, Ngannou, you don’t rate being on a top 10 or even top 15 of the best heavyweight lists.
Parker’s Soft Schedule
The Ring has Joseph Parker at #2. He hasn’t beaten anyone to redeem himself since being knocked out by Joe Joyce in 2022. Parker’s recent victories since then have come against 310-lb Martin Bakole, 42-year-old Zhilei Zhang, and 39-year-old Deontay Wilde. Those aren’t good enough wins for Parker to deserve a #2 ranking unless we’ve lowered the bar for what it takes to receive that high of a spot.
Rethinking Top Heavyweights
- Agit Kabayel
- Lenier Pero
- Richard Torrez Jr.
- Joseph Parker
- Daniel Dubois
- Fabio Wardley
- Zhilei Zhang
- Efe Ajagba
- Filip Hrgovic
- Anthony Joshua