The proliferation of titles makes it difficult for all but the most astute fans to determine the cream of the boxing crop.
That’s why Boxing Junkie came up with its “Great Eight” feature, which names the best fighter in each of the original eight weight classes –heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight and flyweight.
Heavyweight includes cruiserweight (and the WBC’s bridgerweight), light heavyweight includes super middleweight, middleweight includes junior middleweight and so on down to flyweight, which includes junior flyweight and strawweight.
In this installment of “Great Eight,” we point out that we could see a change in the heavyweight division for the first time since this feature was created.
Unbeaten champion Tyson Fury will be fighting twice within a span of few months.
“The Gypsy King” is scheduled to face MMA star and boxing newbie Francis Ngannou in a sanctioned bout Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which is a ridiculous mismatch aside from the money both men stand to make. (Fury reportedly will earn more than $120 million.)
Ngannou, a strong man, would have to land a lucky punch to win but that’s highly unlikely given the enormous gap in boxing ability and experience.
The genuine challenge for Fury reportedly will come in late December or perhaps early next year in Saudi Arabia, where the Englishman and fellow titleholder Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine are scheduled to fight for the undisputed championship.
Who wins that fight? That’s a tricky question. A gargantuan (6-foot-9) heavyweight with Fury’s skillset doesn’t appear to be the best style matchup for the former cruiserweight champion. That’s why Fury is about a 2½-1 favorite over Usyk at the moment.
However, Usyk, a former Olympic champion, is so gifted that he can’t be counted out of any fight. After all, he did outpoint Anthony Joshua in back-to-back fights.
The odds say we won’t see a new Great Eight heavyweight champion but, again, Ngannou has the power (if nothing else) and Usyk has the ability to surprise us.
Here are the top fighters in the original eight divisions:
HEAVYWEIGHT
Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) – The top big man has a gimmie in his next fight, a lucrative matchup against MMA star Francis Ngannou on Oct. 28. A showdown with fellow titleholder Usyk for all the belts will come as soon as Dec. 23.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Dmitry Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) – A rematch with Canelo Alvarez could be in the offing after the Mexican star easily outpointed Jermell Charlo on Sept. 30. Bivol defeated Alvarez by a unanimous decision in May of last year. Canelo wants revenge.
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) – The 154-pound champ failed in his bid to take Alvarez’s titles but retains three of the four major junior middleweight belts. He wants to fight pound-for-pound and welterweight king Terence Crawford or he could face the winner of the fight between fellow titleholder Tim Tszyu and Brian Mendoza on Oct. 14 (Oct. 15 in Australia).
WELTERWEIGHT
Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) – Crawford left no doubt that he’s the best at 147 (and 140) with his sensational ninth-round knockout of rival Errol Spence Jr. on July 29. It will be difficult for him to top that performance.
LIGHTWEIGHT
Gervonta Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) – Devin Haney still has the belts at 135 pounds. Shakur Stevenson might be the most gifted in the division. But it’s “Tank” who has made the strongest impression and has the deepest resume.
FEATHERWEIGHT
Naoya Inoue (25-0, 22 KOs) – Inoue turned in a Crawford-like performance on July 25 in Tokyo, where he dismantled Stephen Fulton Jr. in eight rounds to underscore his greatness and become champ of a second Great Eight division.
BANTAMWEIGHT
Juan Francisco Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs) – The 33-year-old Mexican replaces Inoue as the top man here because of his body of work, which includes two victories over the great Roman Gonzalez in his last three fights.
FLYWEIGHT
Sunny Edwards (20-0, 4 KOs) – The slick Englishman will be defending his spot here on Dec. 16 in Phoenix, where he’ll take on Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in a 112-pound title-unification bout. The winner will be king here.
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