1. Tyson Fury (pictured): The clear and indisputable #1 heavyweight in the world after the punishment he dealt out to Deontay Wilder in February. By the way, he's the WBC champion but Boxingtalk does not recognize Fury's lineal championship claim and we will be watching the latest PED allegations (relating to a 2015 fight) closely. Next up: a third fight vs. #4 Wilder.
2. Anthony Joshua: The WBA super champion and WBO/ IBF/ IBO champion deserves a lot of credit for winning an immediate rematch vs. his June conqueror Andy Ruiz. In light of the safety-first performance in the second Ruiz fight, it's difficult to rank him ahead of his countryman Fury. Next up: IBF mandatory vs. #6 Kubrat Pulev
3. Dillian Whyte: He was cleared of PED charges and had wins over Mariusz Wach and previously undefeated Oscar Rivas in 2019. Only loss is to Joshua and he deserves a big fight soon. Next up: #9 Alexander Povetkin.
4. Deontay Wilder: He was dominated by Tyson Fury, almost to the point of looking amateurish, but with his power, Wilder only has to be perfect for three seconds to knock anyone out. As bad as he looked, his body of work still has two wins over Luis Ortiz. Next up: a third fight vs. #1 Fury, scheduled for July.
5. Luis Ortiz: With few of the other contenders fighting each other, the old man of the division nabs the last spot in the top five. Had a quality win over Christian Hammer before losing to Wilder.
6. Kubrat Pulev: Marked his time as the IBF mandatory contender, doing just enough in 2019 (wins over Rydell Booker and Bogdan Dinu) to avoid falling in the ratings. His mandatory status was rewarded with the fight of a lifetime. Next up: #2 Anthony Joshua.
7. Oleksandr Usyk: Much respect to the former world cruiserweight champion, but a win over semi-retired Chazz Witherspoon shouldn't mean much in the rankings. Gets a top ten spot based on a 2017 cruiserweight win over Michael Hunter, who has done well as a heavyweight (see below). Usyk also holds a 2013 professional win over Joe Joyce in the World Series of Boxing. Next up: #16 Dereck Chisora.
8. Andy Ruiz: The disappointment in his training effort for the Joshua rematch cannot be overstated. I have a feeling we wont see Ruiz back in the ring until his money starts running low.
9. Alexander Povetkin: Perennial contender dropped a few notches due to the draw with Michael Hunter last time out. Still, the 2004 Olympic champion continues to fight tough competition and his only two career losses were to champions Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko. Next up: #3 Dillian Whyte.
10. Michael Hunter: Forced his way into the top ten with wins over Sergey Kuzmin and Fabio Maldonado and a draw vs. Povetkin. His willingness to fight the best puts him ahead of the current crop of prospects.
11. Joseph Parker: Only fought once in 2019, a win over tough but limited Alex Leapai. Looked good in 2020 return from a spider bite as he stopped competent but undersized Shawndell Winters.
12. Daniel Dubois: Just 22 years of age, Dubois looks to be the best of the up-and-comers. Had five wins in 2019 all against decent competition. Next up: #18 Joe Joyce.
13. Filip Hrgovic: Croatian big man had three wins in 2019 but needs to step up his competition. Next up: gatekeeper Jerry Forrest (26-3).
14. Charles Martin: Ex-IBF title holder re-entered the top twenty with a win over Gerald Washington.
15. Agit Kabayel: He remains unknown to American boxing fans, but he is the undefeated European champion and holds a narrow win over Dereck Chisora.
16. Dereck Chisora: A bit of a wild card with nine losses on his record but had three decent wins on the British circuit in 2019. Next up: #7 Oleksandr Usyk.
17. Oscar Rivas: Former Colombian Olympian started 2019 with a dramatic come-from-behind win vs. Bryant Jennings but then lost to Whyte in July and hasn’t fought since.
18. Joe Joyce: The strong-but-slow Brit had three big names on his 2019 record: Jennings, Bermane Stiverne and Alexander Ustinov. However, all three were on the back nine of their careers. Next up: #12 Daniel Dubois.
19. Robert Helenius: Despite a recent loss to Gerald Washington, Finnish big man gains entry into the top 20 by stopping Adam Kownacki.
20. Otto Wallin: In light of Fury's demolition of Wilder, Wallin's more-competitive loss to Fury demanded that his ranking be reconsidered. Welcome to the top twenty.
21. Christian Hammer: Hammer’s last fight of 2018 was a win over previously undated Michael Wallisch, but then Hammer lost to Ortiz. Hammer got a stay-busy win over Saul Farah in late December, but he's really just a place holder until Tony Yoka gets even a decent win in 2020.
22. Frank Sanchez: Ex-Cuban national champ showed rare boxing skills for a heavyweight in beating tough Joey Dawejko easily.
23. Hughie Fury: Has three losses vs. "the Killer Ps" (Parker, Pulev, Povetkin), and rebounded from the Povetkin loss by beating the decent Pavel Sour.
24. Adam Kownacki: His rating takes a big hit, falling from near-top ten after losing to Robert Helenius. Wins over Charles Martin and Gerald Washington keep Kownacki somewhat relevant/
25. Gerald Washington: looked bad in his last fight, a stoppage loss to Charles Martin, but credit is due for his recent win over Robert Helenius.
Next ten: Jarrell Miller (ineligible/ PED issues), Tony Yoka, Efe Ajagba, Apti Davtaev, Carlos Takam, Tom Schwarz, Stephan Shaw, Bakhodor Jalolov, Zhilei Zhang, Simon Kean.
