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.
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