07-02-2019, 11:43 PM
WBO heavyweight rankings shakeup
By David Finger
There is little question with boxing fans that it has been an eventful month for the heavyweight division, something that was reflected in the latest WBO world rankings that came out last week.
For many boxing fans the biggest question was what where would former champion Anthony Joshua land after his stunning upset loss to Andy Ruiz back on June 1. This was coupled with boxing’s first ever undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk’s long-anticipated move up to the heavyweight division as well as the lingering question as to if #1 contender Dillian Whyte could hold onto the top spot. But in the end, there was little question that the Usyk was the biggest winner of the ratings war over both Whyte and Joshua.
Joshua entered the rankings at #4, and although he is set to fight Ruiz in a rematch later this year some fans couldn’t help but wonder if his #4 ranking could have been motivation for Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn to “trigger the contracted rematch clause” as opposed to seeking a tune-up fight. In front of Joshua in the rankings are Tyson Fury at #2, Dillian Whyte at #3, and the former cruiserweight champion Usyk at #1.
Although Eddie Hearn promotes both Usyk and Whyte it was still possible that had Joshua not sought the immediate rematch he could have found himself unable to land a world title fight for at least a year. The WBO had ordered the winner of the Ruiz-Joshua fight to defend their title against mandatory challenger and #1 contender Oleksandr Usyk in their next fight after Usyk’s team filed a petition on June 3rd seeking designation as the mandatory challenger. As for #2 contender Tyson Fury (who moved up one spot from #3) although he looks to be on a collision course with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, there was still the possibility that Luis Ortiz could derail that plan. Although Wilder announced a rematch with Fury would take place in early 2020, the Fury-Wilder rematch is ultimately contingent on Wilder getting pass Luis Ortiz in September. Wilder is favored against Ortiz but the Cuban did give the champion a scare during their first fight in March of last year. Joshua and Hearn recognized that an upset in that fight would certainly derail the Fury-Wilder rematch, which in turn could open up a Fury run for the WBO belt. If so it was not out of the question to see Fury get a title fight after Usyk, as well as the possibility that Dillian Whyte could position himself to fight for a world title after that. Although it is an unlikely scenario, it was one that could have pushed a Joshua world title fight back to mid-2020.
Dillian Whyte, who was the #1 contender, fell two spots to #3 and was vocal in his anger over being dropped by the WBO. Whyte was quoted by a British newspaper as saying that boxing was “full of shit” and that if he said what he “really felt” he “might be removed from the rankings.” However, the WBO rules do allow the WBO Championship Committee to afford special privileges to fighters designated “Super Champions” by the WBO. One of those privileges, according to the WBO rules, is that if the WBO Super Champion so requests it, they may be designated “Mandatory Challenger for the immediate higher or lower division.” Usyk was proclaimed a Super Champion by the WBO Championship Committee on July 24, 2018 after the Ukrainian becoming the first ever undisputed cruiserweight champion by defeating Murat Gassiev by way of unanimous decision three days earlier.
Whyte will have the opportunity to retake his top spot next month as he is currently slated to fight the #4 contender in Oscar Rivas on July 20th. A win over Rivas, coupled with any change in the Wilder-Fury rematch (there have been rumors that Wilder may end up fighting Fury next as opposed to Ortiz) could lead to Whyte moving back into the top two.
Ironically, the WBO World Championship Committee Resolution proclaiming Usyk as mandatory challenger did note that Whyte’s solicitor sought to postpone the Championship Committee’s decision until after the upcoming fight with Rivas. The WBO Championship Committee did note in their decision that as Whyte was currently committed to fighting NABO champion Oscar Rivas on July 20th 2019 he was “consequently, unavailable to engage in a WBO Mandatory Championship Bout upon issuance of this Resolution.”
For the rest of the heavyweight division, several of the lesser-known contenders who had been slowly climbing up the rankings found that the recent influx of world class talent at the top of division ultimately created a situation in which they found themselves slipping several spots in the rankings. Perhaps the biggest casualty was Japanese heavyweight Kyotaro Fujimoto (20-1, 12 KOs). Fujimoto remains unknown to many American and European boxing fans but he had slowly punched his way up to the #6 ranking after winning the WBO Asia-Pacific heavyweight title back in May of 2017. Fujimoto defended his belt three times but he has not fought since September of last year and his inactivity coupled with the recent inclusion of Fury, Joshua, and Usyk into the rankings has pushed the Japanese contender out of the top ten and almost out of the rankings entirely. The Japanese boxer slipped four spots from #9 to #13. Former WBO Intercontinental champion Tom Schwarz saw his rankings drop from #2 to #15 after his second round KO loss to Tyson Fury back on June 15th. Undefeated Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang (20-0, 16 KOs) also slipped, dropping from #5 to #8. Zhang has also been inactive since fighting for the WBO Oriental Heavyweight belt back in September of 2018. Undefeated 21-year-old Daniel DuBois (11-0, 10 KOs), one of the most talked about heavyweight prospects in the sport, moved up one spot from #12 to #11. DuBois is scheduled to fight fellow undefeated prospect Nathan Gorman on July 13th, a fight that could propel him into the top ten if he wins in dominant fashion. Tyrone Spong, Junior Fa, Evgeny Romanov, and Carlos Takam saw their rankings remain unchanged at #6, #7, #10, and #14 respectively.
By David Finger
There is little question with boxing fans that it has been an eventful month for the heavyweight division, something that was reflected in the latest WBO world rankings that came out last week.
For many boxing fans the biggest question was what where would former champion Anthony Joshua land after his stunning upset loss to Andy Ruiz back on June 1. This was coupled with boxing’s first ever undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk’s long-anticipated move up to the heavyweight division as well as the lingering question as to if #1 contender Dillian Whyte could hold onto the top spot. But in the end, there was little question that the Usyk was the biggest winner of the ratings war over both Whyte and Joshua.
Joshua entered the rankings at #4, and although he is set to fight Ruiz in a rematch later this year some fans couldn’t help but wonder if his #4 ranking could have been motivation for Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn to “trigger the contracted rematch clause” as opposed to seeking a tune-up fight. In front of Joshua in the rankings are Tyson Fury at #2, Dillian Whyte at #3, and the former cruiserweight champion Usyk at #1.
Although Eddie Hearn promotes both Usyk and Whyte it was still possible that had Joshua not sought the immediate rematch he could have found himself unable to land a world title fight for at least a year. The WBO had ordered the winner of the Ruiz-Joshua fight to defend their title against mandatory challenger and #1 contender Oleksandr Usyk in their next fight after Usyk’s team filed a petition on June 3rd seeking designation as the mandatory challenger. As for #2 contender Tyson Fury (who moved up one spot from #3) although he looks to be on a collision course with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, there was still the possibility that Luis Ortiz could derail that plan. Although Wilder announced a rematch with Fury would take place in early 2020, the Fury-Wilder rematch is ultimately contingent on Wilder getting pass Luis Ortiz in September. Wilder is favored against Ortiz but the Cuban did give the champion a scare during their first fight in March of last year. Joshua and Hearn recognized that an upset in that fight would certainly derail the Fury-Wilder rematch, which in turn could open up a Fury run for the WBO belt. If so it was not out of the question to see Fury get a title fight after Usyk, as well as the possibility that Dillian Whyte could position himself to fight for a world title after that. Although it is an unlikely scenario, it was one that could have pushed a Joshua world title fight back to mid-2020.
Dillian Whyte, who was the #1 contender, fell two spots to #3 and was vocal in his anger over being dropped by the WBO. Whyte was quoted by a British newspaper as saying that boxing was “full of shit” and that if he said what he “really felt” he “might be removed from the rankings.” However, the WBO rules do allow the WBO Championship Committee to afford special privileges to fighters designated “Super Champions” by the WBO. One of those privileges, according to the WBO rules, is that if the WBO Super Champion so requests it, they may be designated “Mandatory Challenger for the immediate higher or lower division.” Usyk was proclaimed a Super Champion by the WBO Championship Committee on July 24, 2018 after the Ukrainian becoming the first ever undisputed cruiserweight champion by defeating Murat Gassiev by way of unanimous decision three days earlier.
Whyte will have the opportunity to retake his top spot next month as he is currently slated to fight the #4 contender in Oscar Rivas on July 20th. A win over Rivas, coupled with any change in the Wilder-Fury rematch (there have been rumors that Wilder may end up fighting Fury next as opposed to Ortiz) could lead to Whyte moving back into the top two.
Ironically, the WBO World Championship Committee Resolution proclaiming Usyk as mandatory challenger did note that Whyte’s solicitor sought to postpone the Championship Committee’s decision until after the upcoming fight with Rivas. The WBO Championship Committee did note in their decision that as Whyte was currently committed to fighting NABO champion Oscar Rivas on July 20th 2019 he was “consequently, unavailable to engage in a WBO Mandatory Championship Bout upon issuance of this Resolution.”
For the rest of the heavyweight division, several of the lesser-known contenders who had been slowly climbing up the rankings found that the recent influx of world class talent at the top of division ultimately created a situation in which they found themselves slipping several spots in the rankings. Perhaps the biggest casualty was Japanese heavyweight Kyotaro Fujimoto (20-1, 12 KOs). Fujimoto remains unknown to many American and European boxing fans but he had slowly punched his way up to the #6 ranking after winning the WBO Asia-Pacific heavyweight title back in May of 2017. Fujimoto defended his belt three times but he has not fought since September of last year and his inactivity coupled with the recent inclusion of Fury, Joshua, and Usyk into the rankings has pushed the Japanese contender out of the top ten and almost out of the rankings entirely. The Japanese boxer slipped four spots from #9 to #13. Former WBO Intercontinental champion Tom Schwarz saw his rankings drop from #2 to #15 after his second round KO loss to Tyson Fury back on June 15th. Undefeated Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang (20-0, 16 KOs) also slipped, dropping from #5 to #8. Zhang has also been inactive since fighting for the WBO Oriental Heavyweight belt back in September of 2018. Undefeated 21-year-old Daniel DuBois (11-0, 10 KOs), one of the most talked about heavyweight prospects in the sport, moved up one spot from #12 to #11. DuBois is scheduled to fight fellow undefeated prospect Nathan Gorman on July 13th, a fight that could propel him into the top ten if he wins in dominant fashion. Tyrone Spong, Junior Fa, Evgeny Romanov, and Carlos Takam saw their rankings remain unchanged at #6, #7, #10, and #14 respectively.