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By: Hans Themistode
The Heavyweight division is unpredictable at this moment. Just a few short weeks ago, former unified Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua was thought to be ahead of everyone else. It was an understandable thought process. He was after all, the owner of the IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO titles. On June 1st, 2019, everything changed as Joshua was knocked out in the seventh round against Andy Ruiz.
The aforementioned Ruiz looked like a world beater that night. He picked himself up off the deck to drop Joshua four times. In doing so, he became the first Heavyweight world champion from Mexico. Ruiz doesn’t hold a perfect record. His lone defeat came at the hands of former WBO champion Joseph Parker back in 2016. Where exactly does Parker stand in the midst of all of this commotion? It’s hard to tell. He is a former champion, however he was defeated by both Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte in back to back contests.
Who can forget about the colorful yet talented Tyson Fury? The undefeated Heavyweight is fresh off a dominant win over the relatively unknown Tom Schwarz. It took Fury only two rounds to dispatch of his man.
There is also a long list of contenders who have yet to taste gold, but seemingly have what it takes to reign atop the division including Dillian Whyte, Luis Ortiz and Jarrell Miller to name a few.
Although the division is mired in confusion, one thing is clear. WBC champion Deontay Wilder is still the king of the division. In his last ring appearance, the Alabama native, absolutely destroyed his mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale to the tune of a devastating one punch knockout in the very first round.
Wilder is now expected to rematch Luis Ortiz in the fall. Should he come out successful, he is lined up to take on Tyson Fury in yet another highly anticipated rematch.
The criticism of Wilder is well documented. He isn’t a good boxer, just avoid his right hand and he can’t do anything else. How can someone with such little skill become a champion? Put all of it to rest. Wilder isn’t just the best Heavyweight currently, but he is one of the very best in history. Wilder currently holds the fourth most title defenses in the Heavyweight division’s rich history.
Tyson Fury, Andy Ruiz, Anthony Joshua are all great fighters and champions, but they are all fighting for second place. Deontay Wilder is still the king of this division.
