The sanctioning bodies rate Anthony Joshua ahead of Tyson Fury following the “Gypsy King’s” split-decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk on May 18.
The WBC’s June heavyweight rankings have Joshua as the number one contender, with their former champion Fury second. Agit Kabayel, meanwhile, only retains his position at third despite beating Frank Sanchez – previously second – on the undercrd of Fury-Usyk-Fury.
The WBA, who like the WBO and IBF didn’t previously rate Fury because he held the WBC title, have installed the 35-year-old at number four, which means they rate Martin Bakole – the mandatory contender whose best wins are over Tony Yoka and Carlos Takam – Joshua, second, and Daniel Dubois, fourth, as more deserving challengers than Fury.
The IBF have Dubois as their interim champion after he defeated Filip Hrgovic just a fortnight after Usyk and Fury fought for all four titles. The organization rates Fury at six, with Jared Anderson fifth, Kabayel fourth and Joshua, third, all preferred. As for Bakole, he is all the way down at 14th. The top two positions in their rankings are vacant.
Other high riders include Cuba’s cruiserweight contender Mike Perez, who is ranked sixth by the WBA despite not fighting at heavyweight since 2015.
The WBO are due to publish their latest rankings.
Credit: Boxing Scene