More than a few boxing websites have picked up on the latest WBC heavyweight rankings, and the new rankings have caused quite a stir. Tyson Fury, who lost the WBC title to Oleksandr Usyk in their historic four-belt unification showdown last month, will certainly not find the new rankings pleasant reading.
Fury, some fans will no doubt feel, should now be ranked as the WBC No-1 contender, what with Fury only having been defeated by the man who is now at the top of everyone’s pile, this, of course, being Usyk. But no, Fury has been demoted to the No-2 position, with British rival Anthony Joshua now ranked as the WBC’s number-one challenger for the title.
Also quite surprising is the fact that Efe Ajagba, a fighter most still see as a prospect, not an elite big man, is now ranked at No. 5—ahead of more-proven fighters such as Joe Joyce and Frank Sanchez (who holds a win over Ajagba).
Make what you will of the new WBC Top-10:
Champ – Oleksandr Usyk
1: Anthony Joshua
2: Tyson Fury
3: Agit Kabayel
4: Zhilei Zhang
5: Efe Ajagba
6: Jared Anderson
7: Martin Bakole
8: Frank Sanchez
9: Joe Joyce
10: Bakhodir Jalolov.
It’s fair to say you will find fault with these rankings, but what else is new? It’s not an easy job compiling a Top-10 everyone is happy with, but at the same time, Fury should not be ranked below Joshua, who, in his last fight, defeated a 0-1 heavyweight, Francis Ngannou. Are the folks at the WBC comparing Fury’s showing against Ngannou to Joshua’s performance, and is this why AJ is rated above Fury, who has only been beaten by Usyk, who also holds two wins over Joshua? Your guess is as good as mine.
Quite interestingly, the two heavyweights ranked 6 and 7 are set to fight one another in August Jared Anderson and Martin Bakole. None of the other fighters who make up the new WBC Top-10 are set to fight any fellow contenders.
