SportsRatings: Boxing/MMA

Tyson Fury vs. Tom Schwarz: Round by Round Scoring

Tyson Fury (27-0-1) recently recaptured the SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing title — due to Andy Ruiz Jr's upset of Anthony Joshua. Now he defends that title against Tom Schwarz—a fighter who isn't even registered in our system (that is, he has never defeated anyone who is in the system). It's the first time our champion has defended against a non-registered fighter since....well, we have no idea. It's almost unprecedented. Floyd Patterson was champion when he defended against amateur champion Pete Rademacher in Rademacher's first pro fight, that's all we can think of offhand.

Tom Schwarz is undefeated (24-0-0) but has literally beaten no one. To put it plainly, Schwarz winning would be an upset far bigger than Ruiz beating Joshua. Like Ruiz, Schwarz wouldn't capture our belt with an upset win—but he'd jump in at around #4, but more significantly he'd topple Fury from the #1 spot—and hand it to Ruiz!

Fury entered the ring in Uncle Sam regalia a la Apollo Creed in Rocky IV. Fight is about to start.

• Round 1: Schwarz standing tall in the center of the ring. Fury hitting Schwarz's gloves, getting a few jabs in to the head and body. Using his reach well. Schwarz looks tentative, playing defense, blocking most of the jabs but offering little offense. Fury ducks Schwarz hook. Good movement from Fury despite a bit of a gut. Schwarz's big punches miss. Fury 10-9. 
• Round 2: Fury in southpaw to start round 2. Good uppercut left from Fury. Schwarz still on defense, jumps in for a few attempts. Another uppercut from Fury. Another uppercut. Fury's hands down against ropes after good exchange. Feints from Fury confuse Schwarz. Uppercuts bloodying Schwarz's face. Fury dodging Schwarz's punches against ropes. Schwarz down from combo, he is looking completely outclassed. Fury piling it on. Fight is stopped with seconds left in round 2. 

Fury defeats Schwarz by 2nd round stoppage, 2:54 in round 2.

This fight was a joke from the moment it was scheduled. Fury deserves credit for a great performance in this fight, but let's remember his opponent, a guy who was undefeated because he was a decent fighter who had no opposition of note. In other words, anyone in the top 100 could have done what Tom Schwarz did. It was a good strategy—it got him a huge payday against Tyson Fury. But he didn't deserve it, and it showed. There was not one good moment for Schwarz to look back on, no 10-second clip where he showed anything at all.

Fury deserves credit for taking a lot of the fights he's taken over the years—in particular, the Deontay Wilder fight. But taking this fight was a cop-out. Hopefully Fury returns quickly to his old form, of taking fights against dangerous fighters.

Fury remains our #1 rated heavyweight by virtue of not losing this fight, but he gains no points in our system for doing so.

Where Does the Ruiz-Joshua Upset Rank? Top Upsets in Heavyweight Boxing History

Was the Andy Ruiz, Jr. upset of Anthony Joshua really that big of a deal? In my opinion, not really...Ruiz should have been given a much better chance by the oddsmakers and public than he was, and a lot of that had to do with his physique. Plus, Anthony Joshua hasn't been champ long enough to establish an "aura of invincibility" and he's shown weaknesses in the past.

But those are subjective criteria. Can we use objective data to rank heavyweight boxing's upsets? We will try, using SportsRatings' Heavyweight Boxing Ratings to put a number on the upset value of each major upset.

We'll find the candidates using the "internet." A simple search reveals several recent articles discussing the biggest upsets in boxing history, and from these articles we've culled 20 candidates. Here they are, along with the approximate betting odds at the time, reflecting how much of an underdog the victor was:

1892  James J Corbett	 KO  21    John L Sullivan  4-1
1915  Jess Willard 	 KO  26    Jack Johnson     8-5
1926  Gene Tunney 	 UD  10    Jack Dempsey     4-1
1935  James J Braddock   UD  15    Max Baer        10-1
1936  Max Schmeling 	 KO  12    Joe Louis       10-1
1959  Ingemar Johansson  TKO  3    Floyd Patterson  3-1
1964  Muhammad Ali 	 RET  6    Sonny Liston     7-1
1974  Muhammad Ali 	 KO   8    George Foreman   3-1
1978  Leon Spinks 	 SD  15    Muhammed Ali     8-1
1985  Michael Spinks     UD  15    Larry Holmes     4-1
1990  Buster Douglas	 KO  10    Mike Tyson      42-1
1993  Michael Bentt      TKO  1    Tommy Morrison   n/a 
1994  Oliver McCall      TKO  2    Lennox Lewis     5-1
1994  George Foreman     KO  10    Michael Moorer   2-1
1996  Evander Holyfield  TKO 11    Mike Tyson       5-1
2001  Hasim Rahman       KO   5    Lennox Lewis    16-1
2003  Corey Sanders      TKO  2    Wlad Klitschko  20-1
2004  Lamon Brewster     TKO  5    Wlad Klitschko   7-1
2015  Tyson Fury         UD  12    Wlad Klitschko   4-1
2019  Andy Ruiz          TKO  7    Anthony Joshua  13-1

As you can see, there's quite a bit of recency bias. We can probably assume that upsets didn't become more common over time, but here, half of the 20 upsets occurred in the last three decades. That's one major weakness of using subjective criteria: the first hurdle is that people have to know the upset occurred, and better yet remember how they felt when it did. Going by the listed odds, it seems that some of the more recent fights were the biggest upsets, but the historical record of odds isn't perfect, and they way the betting public responded to long shots has arguably changed.

We'll stick with these 20, for now. Several names put up multiple times in this list. Muhammad Ali appears three times, and amazingly he appears twice as the winner and just once as the loser. Not so for Wladimir Klitschko, who was upset three times. George Foreman appears as victor and vanquished, while Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis were both unexpectedly defeated twice.

To rank the "upset value" of a fight, we will divide the loser's rating at the time by the winners. In our power rating, scores increase over time, so division is better here than subtraction. That way the early fights on the list should have a "fighting chance" to be considered as big as the more recent upsets.

Here are the results. Each fighter's record is listed along with their ranking in our system at the time. 

1. 9/21/1985  #93 Michael Spinks (27-0-0) def. #1 Larry Holmes (48-0-0)  Score: 83.06  
   The #1 upset on our list is an undefeated fighter beating another undefeated fighter. Michael Spinks was the light heavyweight champ, moving up to take on Larry Holmes. It's perhaps overrated by this system as Spinks barely had any points, since he wasn't a heavyweight. Also, Holmes was at the end of his long winning streak but was clearly a bit slower than he was at his peak. It's for this reason most people don't put it among the very biggest: the fact that Holmes lost made him look like he was ready to lose a fight. Some revisionist history, yes, but understandable. That Spinks won the rematch, too, damaged the "upset value" of the first result. But in our system this is by far the biggest upset ever.
2. 2/15/1978 8-1  #15 Leon Spinks (6-0-1) def.  #1 Muhammed Ali (55-2-0)  Score: 32.36  
   Before Holmes fell to Michael, Muhammad Ali fell to Michael's older brother Leon. Again, it's obvious Ali was well past his peak by the time of this fight, and since Leon was a "real" heavyweight this one logically ranks below the Holmes upset. But at the time no one gave Leon—despite being an olympic gold medalist—a chance. Ali didn't either, and reportedly didn't train at all for the fight. Unlike Holmes, Ali won the rematch. Our system calls this one a very distance 2nd, mostly due to the fact that Leon had amassed some rating points (enough to be ranked in the top 15 at the time).
3. 2/11/1990  #12 Buster Douglas (28-4-1) def. #1 Mike Tyson (37-0-0)  Score: 24.59  
   This is the big one. The one almost everyone ends up concluding was the biggest upset in heavyweight boxing history, and it's hard to argue against it. Unlike Holmes and Ali, Tyson was at his absolute peak at the time of the loss. Only in retrospect do people look for reasons it happened: Tyson had partied the night before the fight, Douglas lost his mom to a stroke just weeks before and that motivated him. But these were not reflected in the odds which were at least 30-1 and possibly 42-1 at different venues. We even ranked Douglas near the top ten, but Tyson was so feared that anyone outside the top five was considered a probable first round KO; outside the top ten? First minute.
4. 6/01/2019  #31 Andy Ruiz Jr (32-1-0) def. #1 Anthony Joshua (22-0-0)  Score: 20.90  
   Well, so much for my assertion that this wasn't that big of an upset: in my own system, it comes out #4 of all time! The reason is that Ruiz's stock fell a lot in the last two years, making him underrated. He lost a close call to Joseph Parker, then was idle for quite a while which reduced his rating. He had been as high as #8 but by the time of the fight was just #31.
5. 4/22/2001  #28 Hasim Rahman (34-2-0) def. #1 Lennox Lewis (38-1-1)  Score: 20.47
   This fight has some similarities to the Ruiz-Joshua upset. Both Ruiz and Rahman stand 6' 2" while Joshua and Lewis are 6' 5"+. Like Ruiz, Rahman's stock had gone down in the few years prior to the upset. Rahman started 29-0 but had been knocked out twice in his last 7 fights, while Lewis was looking more and more invincible, easily handling big punchers like Michael Grant and David Tua (who had KO'ed Rahman). Lewis played the fool in the fifth round, lowering his hands and getting caught. Everyone assumed he had the upset out of his system with the 1994 Oliver McCall loss, but apparently not!
6. 11/05/1994  #57 George Foreman (72-4-0) def. #1 Michael Moorer (35-0-0)  Score: 15.03  
   If you just look at the 2-1 odds, you'd wonder why this fight is even brought up as a major upset. The odds don't tell the story here; because everyone knows Foreman always has a puncher's chance, he's never been a huge underdog. Who wants to bet on the favorite when one punch could spoil your ticket? And that's exactly what happened here in the 10th round, after Foreman had lost every single round up to that point. Foreman was coming off a lackluster loss to Tommy Morrison and hadn't fought in the year since then. He'd fallen to #57 in our rankings while Moorer had just ascended to the top of the heap by beating Evander Holyfield. The fact that Foreman was 45 years old makes this one memorable; no one thought he could win a heavyweight crown at that age, but the odds show that few were willing to actually bet against him. 
7. 3/08/2003  #95 Corey Sanders (38-2-0) def. #3 Wlad Klitschko  (40-1-0)  Score: 11.29  
   This is the highest-ranked upset where the loser wasn't ranked #1 at the time. Wladimir Klitschko was an upstart heavyweight, a gold medalist, who had stumbled big time against Ross Purrity but seemingly had righted the ship since that 1998 debacle. Not so. Corrie Sanders wasn't really making waves at the time—he'd fought just twice since losing to Hasim Rahman in 2000—and we had him at #95. Klitschko was knocked down twice in the first round by the southpaw and twice more in the next, the second of three upset losses in the middle of his career—before he became champion.
8. 11/28/2015   #4 Tyson Fury (24-0-0) def. #1 Wlad Klitschko (64-3-0)  Score: 7.18  
   Klitschko's nearly 10-year reign ended with this fight, so he was at his peak in terms of our ratings. Meanwhile Fury was undefeated but was a very distant #4. What most people don't take into consideration here was that Klitschko's wife Hayden Panettiere, was suffering from post-partum depression in the months before this fight, and that has to be the cause of Klitschko's lackluster effort here. Wlad threw few punches and looked uncharacteristically tentative during the first 11 rounds. Of course, Fury is an odd target, and had the reach advantage over Klitschko. Wlad dominated the 12th round but it was far too late. Fury had been mocked for years as a substandard fighter getting by on size (and for having punched himself in the face) but now he was champion.
9. 9/24/1994  #24 Oliver McCall (24-5-0) def. #4 Lennox Lewis (25-0-0)  Score: 7.01  
   The second fight where the loser wasn't our top-ranked fighter. Lewis was on his way, though, and this was a stumbling block that nearly derailed his slow climb. McCall was a hard puncher gifted with perhaps the best chin in heavyweight history, but he had a habit of losing decisions and was only 6-4 in rated fights at the time. He struck perfectly, though, in the second round with a counter left-right that put Lewis down for the count. He'd lose the rematch—the infamous "mental breakdown" fight that stands as his only stoppage loss. McCall was never truly KO'ed or TKO'ed, even as he fought into his mid-50s.
10. 4/10/2004  #89 Lamon Brewster (29-2-0) def. #4 Wlad Klitschko (42-2-0)  Score: 6.66   
    Wladimir Klitschko, again. This time, Lamon Brewster, who had a similar record and ranking in our system to Corrie Sanders, who had upset him a year earlier. The particulars of this fight are even stranger than the Sanders fight. Klitschko battered granite-chinned Brewster mercilessly for 4 1/2 rounds, punching himself out in the 5th after which Brewster took advantage. After the fight Klitschko's camp suggested foul play, as in possible poisoning, for Wlad's derailment. They pointed to the fight's odds, which strangely dropped from 11-1 to 3.5-1 in less than 12 hours. His post-fight blood and urine tests went missing. But the real culprit was probably a few choice left hands by Brewster along the way. Despite the pundits understandably calling Wlad's career dead in the water, he was champ within 2 years and held the title for 9 more.
11. 4/05/1915  #16 Jess Willard (19-3-1) def. #2 Jack Johnson (41-5-8)  Score: 6.05  
    Finally one of the really older fights on the list. Willard was only a moderate underdog by the odds but a heavy underdog with the general public as Johnson hadn't lost in 10 years. Willard, a giant by today's standards at over 6' 6", lost most of the fight until the round 26 KO. The result was so disbelieved that to this day many think Johnson threw the fight as part of a deal to be able to return to the United States, where he was wanted for sentencing for supposedly violating the Mann Act (Johnson was pardoned in 2018).
12. 6/13/1935  #7 James J Braddock (45-23-4) def. #1 Max Baer (38-7-0)  Score: 5.15  
    Baer was a very high-rated #1 (similar to Lennox Lewis before the Rahman fight, and much higher than Anthony Joshua) when he was upset by Braddock, who had 23 losses but rode a rare 5-fight win streak into our top ten. The fight was somewhat similar to Tyson Fury's upset of Wlad Klitschko—a big favorite frittering away the heavyweight title with an uninspired effort against an unorthodox challenger. Braddock frittered away his heavyweight title by staying idle for two years then losing to Joe Louis.
13. 6/26/1959 #5 Ingemar Johansson (21-0-0) vs. #2 Floyd Patterson (35-1-0)  Score: 2.89   
    The retired Rocky Marciano still held our #1 spot when Ingemar Johansson beat interim champ Floyd Patterson. Since Johansson was undefeated and ranked in the top five this is understandably a lesser upset by the oddsmakers and by our system. Patterson won the rematch by 5th round KO and the rubber match in the 6th, and despite two losses to Sonny Liston stayed in our top ten until 1967.
14. 2/25/1964  #2 Muhammad Ali (19-0-0) def. #1 Sonny Liston (35-1-0)  Score: 2.82  
    The first of two big upsets by the "Louisville Lip", Ali was still Cassius Clay until after this bout. Since he was undefeated and ranked a strong #2, our system doesn't consider this a huge upset, but at the time Liston had a Mike Tyson-like aura around him on invincibility. Of course no one knew he was facing the greatest heavyweight of all time, a fact that makes this result less shocking to modern fans.
15. 10/29/1993  #31 Michael Bentt (10-1-0) def. #11 Tommy Morrison (38-1-0)  Score: 2.16  
    This wasn't anything close to a true title fight, but WBO champ Morrison was coming off his big win over George Foreman and was in line for a shot at Lennox Lewis's WBC belt. The fight was considered such a formality that there was no posted line, probably due to lack of betting interest. But Bentt was no pushover; he'd been a great amateur boxer, a 5-time U.S. amateur champ, winning a bronze at the world championships in 1986 and nearly qualifying for the olympics (behind gold medalist Ray Mercer). His star fell when he lost his very first pro fight, but in this match after being rocked early he knocked Morrison down 3 times in the first round for the TKO.
16. 11/09/1996  #7 Evander Holyfield (32-3-0) def. #2 Mike Tyson (45-1-0)  Score: 1.86  
    It's hard for modern fans to see why this one was such a big deal. After all, Tyson was upset by Buster Douglas in 1990, so the invincibility was gone. And since Holyfield won the rematch (the "bite" fight), and Tyson subsequently declined, in retrospect this loss by Tyson looks like an unavoidable fact. But Holyfield had lost 2 of his last 4 fights (and been diagnosed with a heart condition that later "disappeared"). The odds for the fight started at 25-1 (50-1 in some venues) which was ridiculous and was bet down to 5-1, meaning Vegas took an unprecedented bath when Holyfield won.
17. 6/19/1936  #3 Max Schmeling (56-10-4) def. #1 Joe Louis (24-0-0)  Score: 1.72
    Louis's first loss was a major shock at the time, but our ratings had Schmeling as a strong contender, and he held our #1 spot in 1931-32. Schmeling exploited a weakness in Louis's defense and was winning from the start to the 12th-round finish. He lost the rematch in the first round, however.
18. 10/30/1974  #2 Muhammad Ali  (44-2-0) def. #1 George Foreman (40-0-0)  Score: 1.01   
    Famous for predictions that a "past-his-prime" Ali might be killed in the ring by the terrifying George Foreman, this fight was neck-and-neck by our ratings, with Ali such a close #2 that it only scores 1.01 (where 1.00 means equal odds). Foreman's aura was like none before or since; he was more feared than Sonny Liston and more invincible than Mike Tyson, and he'd crushed the two men (Frazier and Norton) that had beaten Ali, winning by KO in just 2 rounds in both cases. By that math Ali appeared doomed, but as this one proved, styles make fights. 
19. 9/07/1892  #4 James J Corbett (8-0-2) def. #13 John L Sullivan (38-0-1)  Score: 0.44  
    If anyone topped Foreman's aura of invincibility it might have been John Sullivan, as audiences at that time had nothing to compare him to. Still a 4-1 favorite despite not fighting in over 3 years, Sullivan had never lost in bareknuckle or Queensberry boxing rules. But our ratings penalize inactivity and Sullivan was no longer in the top ten at the time, meaning our rankings favored the #4 Corbett to win. As such, we rank this as no upset at all, though at the time fans were probably stunned.
20. 9/23/1926  #1 Gene Tunney (62-1-1) def. #6 Jack Dempsey (54-4-8)  Score: 0.29  
    Another result that shouldn't have been surprising. Dempsey gets a pass for taking 3 years off while ostensibly still heavyweight champ, but our ratings don't gift him that. Add in that we consider Tunney the #1 heavyweight at the time and we might have set the odds 4-1 in Tunney's favor instead of the other way around.

Well, that's that. For completeness' sake, we ran a script to find the biggest upsets in our database, rather than picking and choosing from recent memory, and the results show a lot more old fights:

1. 1985 09 21  MICHAEL SPINKS    UD LARRY HOLMES      83.06
2. 1978 02 15  LEON SPINKS       SD MUHAMMAD ALI      32.36
3. 1922 01 02  BILL TATE         WF HARRY WILLS       25.23
4. 1951 07 18  JERSEY JOE WALCOT KO EZZARD CHARLES    25.08
5. 1990 02 10  BUSTER DOUGLAS    KO MIKE TYSON        24.59
6. 2019 06 01  ANDY RUIZ JR     TKO ANTHONY JOSHUA    20.90
7. 2001 04 21  HASIM RAHMAN      KO LENNOX LEWIS      20.47
8. 1931 12 18  KING LEVINSKY     UD TOMMY LOUGHRAN    19.39
9. 1946 08 28  JOEY MAXIM         W JERSEY JOE WALCOT 17.99
10. 1952 08 08  REX LAYNE          W EZZARD CHARLES    17.52
11. 1933 04 03  LOU SCOZZA         W MAXIE ROSENBLOOM  15.90
12. 1928 08 15  ROBERTO ROBERTI   WF JOHNNY RISKO      15.23
13. 1953 08 11  NINO VALDES       UD EZZARD CHARLES    15.22
14. 1994 11 05  GEORGE FOREMAN    KO MICHAEL MOORER    15.03
15. 1937 10 15  IZZY GASTANAGA     W JOHN HENRY LEWIS  14.49
16. 1930 04 28  ERNIE SCHAAF       W TOMMY LOUGHRAN    13.47
17. 1927 07 21  JACK DEMPSEY      KO JACK SHARKEY      13.23
18. 1917 02 07  BAT JIM JOHNSON   KO HARRY WILLS       13.02
19. 1922 08 04  SAM LANGFORD       W BILL TATE         12.73
20. 1952 08 06  BOB SATTERFIELD    W HAROLD JOHNSON    12.58
21. 1932 01 29  MAX BAER           W KING LEVINSKY     11.55
22. 1982 10 02  RENALDO SNIPES     W TREVOR BERBICK    11.34
23. 2003 03 08  CORRIE SANDERS    KO WLAD KLITSCHKO    11.29
24. 1997 11 22  SHANNON BRIGGS    MD GEORGE FOREMAN    11.12
25. 1932 06 24  STANLEY POREDA     W ERNIE SCHAAF      10.98

Here we see the top two results remain but after that only 5 more of the original 20 make the list, but yes, Ruiz beating Joshua shows up at a strong #6. Instead of modern results we have multiple fights featuring Jersey Joe Walcott, Bill Tate, Harry Wills, Ezzard Charles (x3), King Levinsky, Tommy Loughran, Ernie Schaaf, and other names that are less mentioned today. Among recent fights, George Foreman's loss to Shannon Briggs shows up (normally that fight is mentioned as one of the top robberies of all-time, rather than upsets; apparently when it's a robbery it's not filed as an upset).

We will leave it as an exercise to the reader to delve further into the fights above, or better yet, ask someone who was around back then and followed boxing!

Upset win puts Ruiz at #2; Fury back at #1; Wilder at #3, Joshua drops to #4

The jam at the top of the SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing Ratings just got more complicated with Andy Ruiz Jr's upset TKO of Anthony Joshua. Now instead of three major contenders with a claim to being the top heavyweight in the world, there are four, as Ruiz enters the top five for the first time. Leaping all the way from #30, he didn't gain enough points to pass former #2 (and former title holder) Tyson Fury, who slipped into the #1 spot as Anthony Joshua falls to #4.

#3 Deontay Wilder, who had a massive KO of former #11 Dominic Breazeale, almost had enough to stave off Ruiz and occupy the #2 spot, while Joshua dropped just below Wilder. Joshua remained ahead of Alexander Povetkin, whom he beat last year. Povetkin's #5 ranking is, amazingly, his lowest ranking since May of 2009. In other words, Povetkin just spent a full 10 years in the top four.

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	May Rank	June Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	May results; •June schedule
1	1	2	2	1	TYSON FURY	44.79	16-0-1	•6/15 vs. Tom Schwarz
13	40	37	30	2	ANDY RUIZ JR	39.57	13-1-0	TKO 7 #1 ANTHONY JOSHUA
5	4	3	3	3	DEONTAY WILDER	39.23	17-0-1	KO 1 #11 DOMINIC BREAZEALE
6	2	1	1	4	ANTHONY JOSHUA	37.80	15-1-0	L TKO 7 #30 ANDY RUIZ JR
3	3	4	4	5	ALEX POVETKIN	24.91	28-2-0	--last rated win -14 months.
76	6	5	5	6	DILLIAN WHYTE	23.99	11-1-0
23	9	7	6	7	JARRELL MILLER	19.87	9-0-0
2	5	6	7	8	WLAD KLITSCHKO	18.79	42-5-0	--last rated win -49 months.
10	8	8	8	9	KUBRAT PULEV	18.64	19-1-0
8	14	12	9	10	LUIS ORTIZ	17.22	15-1-0

In terms of résumé, Fury boasts a win over #8 Wladimir Klitschko (who is coming out of retirement, as boxers usually do) as well as a draw with #3 Wilder; he is taking on undefeated by unranked(!) Tom Schwarz on the 15th. Ruiz counts the win over Joshua to offset a very close majority decision loss to #26 Joseph Parker (whom Joshua beat by wide unanimous decision). Wilder has a draw with Fury and a win over #10 Luiz Ortiz, whom he will rematch in several months. And Joshua has the most wins vs. the top 10 of them all: he beat #5 Alexander Povetkin, #6 Dillian Whyte, and #8 Wladimir Klitschko. That's why, despite the loss, he is still very close to the top three and a win in the expected rematch would put him back on top; the rematch will truly be a title fight for us, as the winner will take over the top spot no matter who the winner is.

That might not last long. If the Fury/Wilder rematch tentatively scheduled for early 2020 occurs, then that winner will take over the top spot. 

Andy Ruiz Jr's career so far

Andy Ruiz's path to the top wasn't straightforward. He had an extensive amateur career with 110 fights (record 105-5). He fought and lost to several fighters now ranked in our top 100: #32 Michael Hunter, #45 Zhilei Zhang, #82 Robert Alfonso, and #74 Oscar Rivas; all of these losses occurred when he was in his late teens.

He turned pro in 2009 and debuted on our rankings in March, 2012 at #57 after beating Homero Fonseca; Ruiz was 22 years old. Stoppage wins over Jonte Willis and Maurenzo Smith that same year put Ruiz into the top 25 at #24. He beat four ranked fighters in 2013: Matthew Greer, Carl Davis, Joe Hanks, and Tor Hamer, moving Ruiz into the top ten at #8. In 2014 he beat Manuel Quezada and Sergei Liakhovich, but none of his next 3 opponents were ranked, including an over-the-hill Ray Austin. This meant that Ruiz lost rating points for inactivity over most of 2016, and he fell to #14 before beating Franklin Lawrence in August. And two months later, the controversial loss to then-#8 Joseph Parker dropped Ruiz to #26.

Ruiz's next notable opponent was Kevin Johnson; by then Ruiz had dropped to #41, and the UD win over 'Kingpin' barely budged him up to #37. Beating a resurging Alex Dimitrenko in 5 rounds put Ruiz back in the top 30. Two months later, he made history.

Ruiz almost didn't get this chance. His mistake was in choosing lesser fighters after his strong 2013 run. By the time he fought Parker he'd been fighting several nobodies and has-beens instead of continuing to dispatch promising talent. And after the Parker loss he was too inactive. If Jarrell Miller hadn't tested positive, Ruiz wouldn't have gotten the chance of a lifetime. But then again, Ruiz was starting to put himself back into the mix with his wins over Johnson and Dimitrenko, so his own resurgence was well-timed to take advantage of the opportunity.

Now there are four major contenders in the heavyweight division. Add in the always-solid Povetkin, the dangerous Dillian Whyte, an un-retiring Wlad Klitschko, and a host of up-and-coming young fighters below the top ten, and the division is getting more exciting by the month.

Andy Ruiz Jr Shocks Anthony Joshua with round 7 TKO

Andy Ruiz Jr knocked down Anthony Joshua a total of four times en route to a shocking 7th round TKO of the formerly undefeated champ.

Ruiz's powerful flurry of punches doomed Joshua, who couldn't defend and counter when the fight got dirty. Ruiz becomes the first Mexican heavyweight champion.

Ruiz actually went down first, in the 3rd round, after two uneventful rounds. Joshua connected with a stiff left and it looked like the end was near. But Ruiz, with nothing to lose as Joshua closed in for the kill, returned fire, and soon Joshua was on the canvas. Later in the 3rd round Joshua fell again, and nearly lost the fight at that point as he was somewhat unresponsive to the referee.

Over the next few rounds Joshua recovered. In the 4th round Ruiz did little as he was tired as well, and in the 5th and 6th Joshua got stronger, though at the end of the 6th Joshua kept his hands down as Ruiz punched him. But the 7th round started off well for Joshua as the fight seemed to be fully reset...until Ruiz countered a Joshua punch, then started a crazy flurry of punches that Joshua couldn't deal with. Joshua went down, and after another flurry AJ was down again. This time the referee didn't let Joshua, who turned him back to the ring in his corner, get away with not following instructions and the fight was stopped.

Unbelievably, Ruiz was a 20-1 underdog, which was insane. Even 5-1 seemed silly to me, as Ruiz has always been a big puncher -- as big as AJ -- and he takes a shot every bit as well as Joshua, too. Plus, he's always been a solid boxer. The only real difference between the two is physique, including height advantage, which alone makes AJ the favorite, but 3-1 or 4-1 was what I expected. The announcers are saying this is equivalent of Tyson vs. Buster Douglas, which is absolutely ridiculous. Everyone knew Anthony Joshua can be rocked, and he was facing a guy who can bang.

The bottom line, Andy Ruiz Jr. took things out of the boxing realm and into the fighting realm, and Ruiz has a flurry that ranks among the best the fight world has seen.

Here's how we scored the fight:

• Round One: Good exchanges early, Ruiz backing Joshua up, with occasional jabs from Joshua. Both miss on big shots, Joshua connects with good jabs; 10-9 Joshua.
  
  
• Round Two: Good start by Ruiz with combo. Most of round dull as Joshua stays at distance; good counters by Joshua at end. Pretty even round 10-10; 20-19 Joshua.
  
  
• Round Three: AJ has a good counter near the start; big uppercut knocks Andy Ruiz down!! Joshua tries to close the deal, but Ruiz knocks Joshua down!! Joshua looks worse than Ruiz on his feet. Ruiz big flurry has Joshua on ropes and down again!! Bell saves Joshua, who looks totally out of it. Ruiz 10-8; Ruiz 29-28.
  
  
• Round Four: Big shots early from both. Ruiz walking AJ down but not doing much. AJ still looks weak, Ruiz should be pressing him but he might be tired too. Not much going on this round. 10-10, Ruiz 39-38.
  
  
• Round Five: Joshua recovering more, but still not back in rhythm. Ruiz not pressing. AJ connects with huge punch late, probably wins round. 10-9 Joshua; 48-48.  
  
  
• Round Six: Good exchange at start, both fighters looking stronger now. Ruiz more aggressive, hitting Joshua...Joshua with hands down, egging Ruiz on and getting hit! Not smart, his corner won't like that. AJ is in danger of losing the fight by KO or by the cards if he does that again. Ruiz 10-9, 58-57
  
  
• Round Seven: More stalking by Ruiz, Joshua moving head well now with hands up (corner probably complained!) Joshua tags Ruiz Ruiz returns fire, connects with huge flurry of punches Joshua down again!!! Joshua back up. AJ gets in a few stiff punches Ruiz looks dazed but comes alive again with crazy flurry of punches and AJ is down for the 4th time!! Joshua goes back to corner and the fight is stopped! Ruiz is the winner!

Anthony Joshua vs. Alexander Povetkin Live Round-by-Round Scoring, Results

Anthony Joshua and Alexander Povetkin attempt to claim the outright SportsRatings Heavyweight Championship for the first time. For over a year Joshua held the interim belt while Tyson Fury was inactive, and he remains #2 after Fury reclaimed his belt last month.

Alex Povetkin has been #3 for around eight years; he was #2 for a month before Joshua beat Wlad Klitschko and pushed Povetkin back to #3. Before that was interim champ for one month, when Fury and Klitschko delayed their (eventually cancelled) rematch. But he's never been outright champion on our site, and neither has Joshua.

That will end with this fight; the winner will pass Fury at #1 and be considered our undisputed heavyweight champ, only the third champion since Lennox Lewis' reign.

The fight is ready to begin.

Round-by-round scoring for Joshua vs. Povetkin:

• Round One: Both men start fighting at distance, lunging with jabs; Povetkin going to the body. Hook by Povetkin misses. Nothing connecting early, some big punches missing now. Both very cautious. Body by Povetkin, jab by Joshua. Quick clinch breaks. Povetkin ends round with overhand right that makes Joshua stumble. Povetkin 10-9
• Round Two: Joshua busier right from the start; Joshua's nose is bleeding. More work this round, more jabs, Joshua going to the body. Jab backs Povetkin to the ropes, Povetkin going for the bloody nose. Tight round, good work from both; 10-10; Povetkin 20-19.
• Round Three: Interior fighting with Povetkin scoring. Joshua now holding him back with jabs. Holds him off for most of the round landing jabs, decent combo near the end. Joshua 10-9; 29-29.
• Round Four: Povetkin jumps in, gets hit by Joshua counter. Povetkin's eye is cut. Joshua looking better now using jab. Joshua clinching when Povetkin leaps forward. Povetkin looking for big uppercut, misses, Joshua continues jabbing, controls the round. Joshua 10-9; Joshua 39-38.
• Round Five: Big hook by Joshua misses as he peppers jabs. Povetkin's own hook whiffs too, as he looks to land a big one; he wants a KO while Joshua looks like he wants to win a decision. Good left by Povetkin. Joshua backs up, dodges, clinches to avoid Povetkin. Fairly even round, 10-10; Joshua 49-48.
• Round Six: Respect shown by fighters as they touch gloves following a minor foul. Joshua finally unloading a bit, scores in combos. Povetkin jumps in with good combos himself. Both look tired, Povetkin whiffs a few times. Another close round, both men had their moments, rested at end. 10-10; Joshua 59-58.
• Round Seven: Tentative start early in round 7, both men measuring their energy. Big right from Joshua rocks Povetkin; a few more hits and he's DOWN. Povetkin up with a minute left; Joshua pours it on, the fight is stopped! Anthony Joshua wins by TKO.

Anthony Joshua has captured the SportsRatings Heavyweight Championship! And it looks like Alexander Povetkin, now 39, will never reach our #1 spot.

The end kind of came out of nowhere; Joshua's right hook was so unheralded that it was hard to tell it connected until Povetkin reacted with a stumble. It was very close at that point, with either fighter ahead on the cards, and no one really taking charge of the ring completely. But Joshua did exactly what Povetkin was hoping to do—score a game-changing shot and capitalize on it. The knockdown punches were a brutal 1-2; Povetkin barely made it up in time, and he was weak-legged after that.

AJ's reign could be short; with the announcement of Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder for December 1st, Fury could retake our title within a couple of months. And whoever wins that fight, it sets up a great match with Joshua among undefeated fighters.

Anyone who says heavyweight boxing isn't great today is crazy; a practical tournament among the top 4 heavyweights, with three of them undefeated? That's probably never happened before. Tell your friends: the boring Klitschko-dominant days are over, we're in a new era and it is fantastic.

Big March = few changes in top 10 as Joshua, Povetkin, Wilder win

Dillian Whyte is the big winner after fantastic heavyweight month of March

The best month for heavyweight boxing in 35 years has passed without a shakeup in the rankings as just about every favored fighter came out on top:

• Yesterday #2 Anthony Joshua turned back an upset bid by #6 Joseph Parker;
• #3 Alexander Povetkin survived a brief scare from #134 David Price to win on a 5th-round KO;
• #4 Deontay Wilder prevailed against #7 Luis Ortiz in a huge battle;
• and #12 Dillian Whyte flattened #10 Lucas Browne last weekend

As a result, there is no change in the top 5, and only Whyte made a big move up to #6. Parker remained in the top ten while Ortiz and Browne are out.

SportsRatings Heavyweight top 11 for April of 2018 (see full top 100)

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	Mar Rank	Apr Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	March results; •April schedule
4	1	1	1	1	TYSON FURY	51.25	15-0-0	--last rated win -28 months.
34	5	2	2	2	ANTHONY JOSHUA	46.87	14-0-0	UD 12 #6 JOSEPH PARKER
3	3	3	3	3	ALEX POVETKIN	36.37	28-1-0	KO 5 #134 DAVID PRICE
6	4	5	4	4	DEONTAY WILDER	33.43	16-0-0	TKO 10 #7 LUIS ORTIZ
1	2	4	5	5	WLAD KLITSCHKO	28.32	42-5-0	--last rated win -35 months.
37	19	18	12	6	DILLIAN WHYTE	20.33	9-1-0	KO 6 #10 LUCAS BROWNE
16	9	8	8	7	KYOTARO FUJIMOTO	19.16	10-1-0	--last rated win -14 months.
11	10	10	9	8	KUBRAT PULEV	18.35	17-1-0
25	6	6	6	9	JOSEPH PARKER	17.44	13-1-0	L UD 12 #2 ANTHONY JOSHUA
63	17	14	11	10	JARRELL MILLER	16.41	6-0-0	•4/28 vs. #69 JOHANN DUHAUPAS
36	7	7	7	11	LUIS ORTIZ	14.66	12-1-0	L TKO 10 #4 DEONTAY WILDER

Long-dormant lineal champ Tyson Fury remains at #1, though he has relinquished the belt due to inactivity; Anthony Joshua retains the interim belt and, unless things change, will be at #1 in about six months or so.

Alexander Povetkin's win wasn't worth much but he remains #3, as he always does. Deontay Wilder's big win over Ortiz moved him a lot closer but there's still a decent-sized gap. Wladimir Klitschko is #5 as he slides during retirement.

Dillian Whyte made the big move into the top 10 for his first time, all the way up to #6, assisted by the losses by Parker and Ortiz. Joseph Parker falls to 9, still young and in good position to make another run. Luis Ortiz falls to #11, just outside the top 10 but with worse prospects than Parker; he's only getting older, and after his ferocious showing against Wilder, the risk/reward for taking him on seems even more prohibitive. Same risk, and less reward since he's lost his undefeated record.

Jarell Miller makes his top ten debut and with Parker, Ortiz, and Browne falling from the ranks of the undefeated he's one of the few left and in position to get some big fights. Kubrat Pulev also slides up a spot to #8 and his path is clear to another eventual title shot. And the overranked Kyotaro Fujimoto might even get a big fight someday; he's stayed active (until recently) and scheduled fighters just weak enough for him to beat. Why someone in Japan hasn't set up a huge Tokyo Dome fight with the country's top heavyweight of all time is beyond me.

Lucas Browne tumbled to #19 as he was finally exposed as slow and plodding against Whyte, whom he couldn't bully like he did most of his other opponents. His prospects are like Ortiz's only worse as beating him will gain no one any cachet. He's probably bound for being a lower-level gatekeeper while Ortiz will be a high-level, much-avoided gatekeeper until retirement.

While there wasn't much of a rankings shakeup, we saw three fighters lose their "0" (Parker, Ortiz, Browne), two fighters keep their record perfect (Joshua, Wilder), and two others keep their record to a single loss (Povetkin, Whyte). Now Joshua can claim three wins over current top 10 fighters (the retired Klitschko, Whyte, and Parker). In the rest of the top ten, only Fury (over Klitschko) and Klitschko (Povetkin, Pulev) have any, and they're both inactive.

When will we see another month with 7 of the top 12 fighters active? If history is any indication, we'll have to wait until 2053. Hopefully it's sooner than that.

Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker round-by-round scoring

Anthony Joshua defends his interim SportsRatings Heavyweight championship belt, as well as the lesser WBA and IBF belts too, of course :) against Joseph Parker, who is #6 in the March rankings and holds the WBO belt currently. The fight takes place in Cardiff, Wales (Wales being part of the United Kingdom for the geographically-challenged).

Joshua (20-0, 20 KO) is the 2012 Olympic super-heavyweight gold medalist and a solid favorite over Parker (24-0, 18 KOs). Joshua is around a 6-1 favorite, down from nearly a 10-1 favorite overall early on. 

Combined with Deontay Wilder's win over Luis Ortiz early this month, and Dillian Whyte's KO of Lucas Browne, this fight marks the 3rd big intra-top-12 bout of the month, making March of 2018 the best month for Heavyweight boxing since May of 1983. In addition, another fight on the undercard pits perennial #3 Alexander Povetkin vs. a comeback-attempting David Price (currently outside the top 100), the 2004 gold medalist vs. 2008 bronze medalist.

Coverage on Showtime in the U.S. begins at 5pm eastern time. Sky Box Office covers the bouts in the UK. It looks like Showtime might air the Povetkin bout, too, as it is about to start just a few minutes before Showtime picks things up. We'll see.

Bonus: Povetkin vs. Price round-by-round scoring: Povetkin's nose looks red pre-bout, as if he got hit during sparring. Price looks big but fairly good. Round 1: Povetkin staying out of range of Price's jab, closing in to punch. Price connects with his only decent shot at the end, but it's Povetkin's round 10-9. Round 2: Price jabbing stronger to open round 2; Povetkin moving in with combos but Price covers up well. Close round, but 20-18 Povetkin. Round 3: Price scores early but Povetkin FLATTENS Price with a counter right. He's up with 2 minutes left, with a cut but looks ok considering. Decent combo from Price. Price connects, too, sending Povetkin stumbling backward into the corner and the ref gives him a count! 9-9 round, 29-27 Povetkin. Round 4: Povetkin still looks slow, both fighters active yet tentative. Povetkin normally gets a second wind after 4 rounds, but that was possibly with some PED help...will we see the same Povetkin? 10-10; Povetkin 39-37. Round 5: Povetkin connects with a right which stops Price dead in his tracks, and follows by hitting the wide-open Price with a finishing left hook. Povetkin wins via 5th round KO. He will retain his #3 ranking for the umpteenth month (about 8 years' worth, now) regardless of the Joshua-Parker outcome.

Parker has entered the ring, Joshua is following. Then the national anthems, and fight should start in 15-20 minutes, a little before 6pm ET, 11pm UK.

Round-by-round scoring for Joshua vs. Parker:

• Round One: Jab-fest early, most just out of range. Joshua holding his guard a lot higher than Parker. Joshua might have done a little more, but it was very close and I hate it when a nothing-doing first round has an effect on things. 10-10
• Round Two: Both fighters try jab combos early, then long period of tentativeness from both to middle of round. Lots more of nothing, then a few exchanges, and the first clinch of the fight. Another tough round, mostly dead air. 20-20
• Round Three: Joshua controlling the ring, throwing jabs and gets first good combo of night. Caught in ropes, Parker clinches with a minute left. Heads clash late, Parker gets in a hook. Joshua 10-9; 30-29
• Round Four: Joshua again controls the ring early, using jab well. Big whiff left hook from Joshua. Parker just out of range with jabs, clinches again. Joshua being very conservative as he stalks Parker, backs him up to end the round. Still very close rounds, not much real is connecting. Joshua 10-9, 40-38.
• Round Five: Joshua jabs then follows with decent left hook. Parker finding it hard to close into range, but he is defending better than he has in the past. Still keeping guard low though. Parker comes off ropes charging at Joshua, they clinch. Solid combo by Parker surprises Joshua with less than a minute left. Joshua whiffs with big 1-2. Close round, we'll give it to Parker though for finishing stronger. 10-9; Joshua 49-48.
• Round Six: Joshua connects, then Parker, then HUGE brawl in clinch broken up by ref. Joshua lunging in to conect, Parker lunges in too. Fighters are toe-to-toe now, both visibly tired at midpoint of round. Joshua gets in good punch while Parker tries to brawl more. Parker hooks during clinch. Exciting if sloppy round. Joshua 10-9; 59-57
• Round Seven: Big clinch midway through round, Parker keeps punching, so Joshua throws huge uppercut before break, ref cautions both of them. Joshua jab prompts Parker lunge for clinch and more in-fighting. Stiff jab from Joshua ends the round. Joshua 10-9; 69-66.
• Round Eight: Joshua's lead is pretty tentative, not doing anything spectacular from him yet, he might have a bit more urgency. Parker looks like he has the urgency. He's jumping in the way Povetkin did against Klitschko, trying to get inside. Parker holding his own in middle of round, dodging with head movement. Flurry from Joshua, Parker survives, ref jumps in for no reason? Weird. Parker's best round in a while, no more than a draw though 10-10; Joshua 79-76
• Round Nine: Lots of dull posturing this round. Parker rushes in, heads clash, Joshua's tape is finally fixed, why didn't they do that between rounds? Awkward fight as Joshua won't let his hands fly completely. Joshua defends Parker flurry very well. Another b.s. round. 10-10; Joshua 89-86
• Round Ten: We're now at the point where a biased scorer could have Parker ahead, or Joshua very far ahead. Joshua chasing Parker with the jab, Parker has a cut now. Joshua quick to clinch when he's chasing, for some reason. Joshua attempts uppercut from clinch. Parker on ropes, jumps to clinch. Glove has dangling tape yet again for Joshua. Joshua keeps grabbing back of Parker's neck in clinch in frustration. Joshua 10-9; 99-95
• Round Eleven: Another jab-fest round, little connecting with damage, for 2 minutes; Joshua gets an uppercut then clinches for some reason. Joshua generally winning the battle of jabs. Combo by Joshua, Parker returns fire; only action the whole round. Joshua 10-9; 109-104
• Round Twelve: More awkward clinching, over and over, amidst the jabbing. Good body shot by Joshua. Another good jab sequence by Joshua, who fires back recklessly to keep Joshua off him. 30 seconds left, no urgency by either fighter, though Parker looks pretty tired. Joshua 10-9; 119-113

So we score the bout 119-113 for Joshua, which with the FOUR 10-10 rounds, could be anything from 115-113 Joshua to 119-109 Joshua. So we expect a unanimous decision for Joshua, but the results could range from very close to very wide.

Official scorecards: Well, they went wide: 118-110 x 2, and 119-109 for Joshua. That matches our widest possible result (all close rounds to Joshua), so those are defensible scores if you look at who controlled the ring and the action. Either way, the result is correct, as Joseph Parker didn't really do much in most rounds other than survive and avoid taking damage.

Joshua remains the interim SportsRatings heavyweight champion, looking to eventually become our official champ as Tyson Fury remains inactive.

March 2018: Best Month for Heavyweight Boxing Since May, 1983!

It's been a very slow year so far. There were hardly any significant matchups in heavyweight boxing in January or February of this year, but if everything goes as planned we're in for quite a show in March. There are three matchups between boxers in the SportsRatings top 12, the most since May of 1983.

The SportsRatings top 15 for March, 2018

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	Feb Rank	Mar Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	February results; •March schedule
4	1	1	1	1	TYSON FURY	52.04	15-0-0	--last rated win -27 months.
33	5	2	2	2	ANTHONY JOSHUA	43.51	13-0-0	[interim HW champion] •3/31 vs. #6 JOSEPH PARKER
3	3	3	3	3	ALEX POVETKIN	36.18	27-1-0	•3/31 vs. #134 DAVID PRICE
6	4	5	4	4	DEONTAY WILDER	29.97	15-0-0	•3/03 vs. #7 LUIS ORTIZ
1	2	4	5	5	WLAD KLITSCHKO	28.88	42-5-0	--last rated win -34 months.
23	6	6	6	6	JOSEPH PARKER	24.66	13-0-0	•3/31 vs. #2 ANTHONY JOSHUA
35	7	7	7	7	LUIS ORTIZ	20.96	12-0-0	•3/03 vs. #4 DEONTAY WILDER
16	9	8	8	8	KYOTARO FUJIMOTO	19.37	10-1-0	--last rated win -13 months.
11	10	10	10	9	KUBRAT PULEV	18.35	17-1-0
13	8	9	9	10	LUCAS BROWNE	18.28	10-0-0	•3/23 vs. #12 DILLIAN WHYTE
65	16	14	11	11	JARRELL MILLER	16.41	6-0-0
36	20	18	12	12	DILLIAN WHYTE	15.83	8-1-0	•3/23 vs. #10 LUCAS BROWNE
41	24	21	14	13	DOMINIC BREAZEALE	14.64	9-1-0
12	13	12	13	14	CHARLES MARTIN	14.52	5-1-0	•3/03 vs. tba
--	--	--	19	15	FILIP HRGOVIC	14.39	2-0-0	UD 8 #66 SEAN TURNER

First, a preview of this month's action. Above is this month's top 15 with scheduled bouts noted. The highlights:

• #2 Anthony Joshua vs. #6 Joseph Parker. This one comes at the end of the month and will determine the Interim Heavyweight Champion, a title Joshua currently holds. It's also for most of the alphabet titles: the IBF, WBA, and WBO, as well as the IBO rankings.
• #3 Deontay Wilder vs. #7 Luis Ortiz. In just a few days we will (hopefully) get the fight that was scheduled months ago, but fell through. The winner gets the WBC belt currently held by Wilder.
• #10 Lucas Browne vs. #12 Dillian Whyte. Neither fighter holds a belt but Browne is undefeated and Whyte has only lost to Joshua. The winner will end up somewhere between #5 and #8 depending on how all the other fights play out.

That's three intra-top 12 bouts, the most impressive total we've seen in over three decades. In addition, #3 Alex Povetkin faces David Price at the end of the month, and Charles Martin is scheduled to be on the Wilder undercard (a matchup with Curtis Harper fell through). If all of this happens, that will be 8 fighters active in the top 14 within the same month? When was the last time that happened?

The answer is May of 1983. In that month there were an incredible 4 intra-top-10 fights:

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	May 1983	June 1983	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	May 1983 results
2	1	1	1	1	LARRY HOLMES	87.32	27-0-0	SD 12 #9 TIM WITHERSPOON
9	3	3	2	2	MICHAEL DOKES	40.24	17-0-2	Draw 15 #5 MIKE WEAVER
17	5	7	6	3	GREG PAGE	33.07	14-1-0	UD 12 #3 RENALDO SNIPES
4	2	2	5	4	MIKE WEAVER	31.57	11-4-1	Draw 15 #2 MICHAEL DOKES
31	25	14	10	5	ST GORDON	27.35	4-0-0	UD 10 #4 TREVOR BERBICK
6	11	9	7	6	JOHN TATE	23.15	18-2-0
60	15	4	3	7	RENALDO SNIPES	21.73	11-3-1	L UD 12 #6 GREG PAGE
27	4	5	4	8	TREVOR BERBICK	20.04	13-4-1	L UD 10 #10 ST GORDON
3	9	8	8	9	GERRIE COETZEE	19.43	21-3-1
7	6	10	11	10	GERRY COONEY	18.19	12-1-0	--last rated win -24 months.

Above is our chart for the rankings for June of 1983, after the fights had happened. As you can see, the following results all occurred in the month of May:

• #1-ranked Champion Larry Holmes scored a split decision win over #9 Tim Witherspoon, who fell out of the top 10.
• #2 Michael Dokes fought to a draw in his rematch with Mike Weaver, who moved up from #5 to #4 as a result; Dokes remained at #2.
• #6 Greg Page won a 12-round decision over #3 Renaldo Snipes; Snipes fell to #7 while Page jumped to #3.
• #10 S.T. Gordon beat #4 Trevor Berbick, dropping Berbick to #8 while Gordon moved into the top 5.

That's quite an amazing array of fights within a month, especially by today's standards. What's more amazing is that the first three fights listed above were all on the same card on May 20th in Las Vegas! Think about that: there were three heavyweight title fights for different organizations on the same card. Holmes defended the WBC title, Dokes retained the WBA title, and Page took the USBA title.

And they were good, close fights too, with loads of controversy. Dokes and Weaver fought furiously from the start and most of the crowd thought Weaver had won. The Holmes fight was controversial, too, as many thought Witherspoon had beaten him; as it was, 2 of 3 judges thought Holmes had done enough. The Page/Snipes fight went to a unanimous decision, as did Gordon's win over a lackluster Berbick on the 28th.

After so many barren months (see January and February of this year!) and so many cancelled fights (see Wilder/Povetkin, the previous Wilder/Ortiz, Lucas Browne's drug issues, and Tyson Fury's endless inactivity), it would be a pleasant surprise if all the scheduled fights happen.

If they do, it should give heavyweight boxing quite a boost, and point the way toward a truly unified belt as the winners of the various fights line up to fight each other. Though the March 2018 schedule can't match the four top-10 bouts of May 1983, in this month's matchups there are a total of FIVE undefeated fighters; after the bouts there will be at least two, and no more than three; the rest of 2018 should have some great matchups, too.

Prediction: Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor

As a website that covers both boxing and mixed martial arts, the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor clash is an interesting, if odd, occurrence. Here's our take.

First, let's realize that anything can happen in sports. When the Jets took on the Colts in Super Bowl III, the Jets were an 18-point underdog, the equivalent of around 20-1 underdogs. According to the latest odds, McGregor is only a 3-1 underdog. So just from Vegas, we would have to consider a much bigger upset to have happened, famously guaranteed by Joe Namath.

But the odds don't reflect reality. McGregor's fans are loading up on him as usual, distorting the line. The real odds should probably match those before Super Bowl III, because that's about the chance McGregor really has to beat Mayweather. About 20-1, with that one riding on a big, lucky punch. That's what McGregor needs to do to win—get in a big, lucky punch. Either that or win a DQ decision if Mayweather breaks a hand.

Realistically, if McGregor is going to win, he's going to have to win early. As seen in both fights with Nate Diaz, McGregor has about 8 minutes in him. Then he fades, fast and hard. Three minutes into the 2nd round of both fights he hit a wall. It didn't matter against Jose Aldo; he beat him in 13 seconds). And Eddie Alvarez was already in too big of trouble by the 8-minute mark and lost 4 minutes into round 2. That means McGregor has to do all his damage in 3 boxing rounds.

We don't see Mayweather knocking out McGregor. He's not a power puncher. There won't be any knockouts, or probably even knockdowns in this fight.

With all that in mind, here's how we see the fight most likely going:

Round One: Who knows how McGregor will come out? Probably not roaring and reckless, but acting like he belongs there. Mayweather will be similarly cautious. We're guessing there won't be any real fireworks early; both fighters know that they have to give the fans their money's worth, and that the fight buildup includes the first round. Call it a draw 10-10.

Round Two: McGregor knows he has to strike early, and round two is his moment. If he catches Floyd it will be in this round, after Floyd starts to get less cautious. Gaining confidence just from being in the ring, McGregor will rush Floyd and try to pressure him. Floyd will be on defense to weather the storm. 10-9 McGregor.

Round Three: McGregor's momentum continues for the first two minutes of the round, but then he hits the wall and runs out of gas. Floyd comes out of his defensive shell in the last minute of the round. Is it enough to win the round? Probably. Mayweather 10-9. As of this point, the fight is approximately a draw, with many different ways it could be scored.

Round Four: Mayweather starts to pick McGregor apart, methodically. Now McGregor is backing up and avoiding contact, but throws the occasional big shot in hope of landing something. This keeps Mayweather honest but the outcome is a clear 10-9 Mayweather round.

Round Five, Six: See round four above.

Round Seven: Things are looking very dire for McGregor by now, and after three rounds of being hit constantly, he is just holding on. Round Seven is where it starts to get embarrassing. No knockdown so it's still 10-9 Floyd, but in MMA rules this would be a 10-8 round.

Round Eight, Nine: Same as Round Seven above. The referee might be talking to Conor's corner at some point here, but they won't be throwing in the towel.

Round Ten: McGregor will not answer the bell for round ten.

That's how we see it. Three interesting rounds, three not-so-interesting rounds where Mayweather puts on a clinic against a tired McGregor, and three sad rounds that make people question whether this fight should have been made just for the sake of money.

It could go differently. No one thought the Jets could compete at all with the Colts, but they dominated, 16-7. Tellingly, they won with defense. It's very unlikely McGregor can do the same. But in huge upsets, the method is rarely foreseen as a possibility before it actually happens.

It's a weird experiment that we'll be watching tonight.

Anthony Joshua takes interim SportsRatings Heavyweight title; where is Tyson Fury?

Anthony Joshua's 11th round TKO of Wladimir Klitschko puts him at #2 in our Heavyweight rankings, ahead of previous interim champ Alex Povetkin, but still behind inactive #1 Tyson Fury. Klitschko drops from #2 to #3, his lowest ranking since March 2006 (in other words, since April of 2006, Wlad Klitschko has been either #1 or #2).

Top five in SportsRatings' Heavyweight rankings for May of 2017:

Apr  May  Fighter            Record   Rating
1     1.  TYSON FURY        (15-0-0)  59.41  last rated win -17 months.
5     2.  ANTHONY JOSHUA    (12-0-0)  43.04  TKO 11 #2 WLAD KLITSCHKO;
                                             new INTERIM HW CHAMPION
2     3.  WLAD KLITSCHKO    (42-5-0)  33.99  L TKO 11 #5 ANTHONY JOSHUA
3     4.  ALEX POVETKIN     (25-1-0)  33.78
4     5.  DEONTAY WILDER    (14-0-0)  28.72

Interestingly Klitschko remains ever-so slightly ahead of Povetkin, whom he defeated a few years ago. And at #5 on our list, the other major player in the division, undefeated Deontay Wilder.

There's also #6 Joseph Parker and #7 Luis Ortiz, both undefeated, to reckon with. All in all, the division is as exciting as it's been since Lennox Lewis's reign. And Joshua vs. Klitschko might have been the best big HW fight since Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko over 10 years ago.