It's not quite up to the standards of May, 1983, but December of 2019 is shaping up to be one helluva month for heavyweight boxing, with the potential to top March of 2018 as the biggest HW boxing month of the millennium so far. At current count there are three intra-top-15 bouts scheduled, with three more top-15 boxers set to fight rated opponents. Four of these six bouts are set for the same event on December 7 in Saudi Arabia, so there's reason to believe that these fights will be held as scheduled.
Leading the way, of course, is the rematch between #3 Andy Ruiz, Jr, and #4 Anthony Joshua. Joshua was #1 when Ruiz—just #31—pulled off the major upset with a 7th round stoppage of the formerly unbeaten champ. Ruiz jumped to #2; now he sits at #3 after Deontay Wilder's crushing KO of Luis Ortiz moved the Bronze Bomber to #2. But whoever wins the rematch between Ruiz and Joshua will unseat Tyson Fury at #1; the loser will fall to #4 or #5, depending on other results.
Below: SportsRatings' Heavyweight Top 15 for December, 2019:
| -3 Yr |
-1 Yr |
-6 mo |
Nov Rank |
Dec Rank |
Fighter |
Rating
|
Rated Record | November results; •December schedule |
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | TYSON FURY | 45.38 | 17-0-1 |  |
| 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | DEONTAY WILDER | 41.08 | 18-0-1 | KO 7 #9 LUIS ORTIZ |
| 12 | 37 | 31 | 2 | 3 | ANDY RUIZ JR | 39.57 | 13-1-0 | •12/07 vs. #4 ANTHONY JOSHUA |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | ANTHONY JOSHUA | 36.63 | 15-1-0 | --last rated win -14 months; •12/07 vs. #3 ANDY RUIZ JR |
| 28 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | DILLIAN WHYTE | 24.91 | 12-1-0 | •12/07 vs. #201 MARIUSZ WACH |
| 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | ALEX POVETKIN | 24.70 | 29-2-0 | •12/07 vs. #13 MICHAEL HUNTER |
| 20 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | JARRELL MILLER | 19.67 | 9-0-0 | --last rated win -12 months. |
| 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | KUBRAT PULEV | 18.67 | 20-1-0 | UD 10 #226 RYDELL BOOKER |
| -- | 17 | 14 | 10 | 9 | EFE AJAGBA | 16.95 | 6-0-0 | •12/21 vs. #141 IAGO KILADZE |
| 68 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | ADAM KOWNACKI | 16.31 | 9-0-0 | |
| -- | 30 | 28 | 12 | 11 | DANIEL DUBOIS | 15.65 | 6-0-0 | •12/21 vs. #14 KYOTARO FUJIMOTO |
| -- | 10 | 11 | 13 | 12 | FILIP HRGOVIC | 15.63 | 4-0-0 | •12/07 vs. #123 ERIC MOLINA |
| 17 | 33 | 32 | 14 | 13 | MICHAEL HUNTER | 14.97 | 6-1-0 | •12/07 vs. #6 ALEX POVETKIN |
| 11 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 14 | KYOTARO FUJIMOTO | 14.40 | 10-1-0 | --last rated win -34 months; •12/21 vs. #11 DANIEL DUBOIS |
| -- | -- | -- | 22 | 15 | SHAWNDELL WINTERS | 13.62 | 2-0-0 | TKO 7 #118 SERGIEJ WERWEJKO |
The three other fights on the card in Saudi Arabia are:
- #6 Alexander Povetkin vs. #13 Michael Hunter. This is a great bout. Povetkin has only lost to Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua, both champions; and Hunter has only dropped a decision to cruiserweight king (now HW prospect) Oleksander Usyk. A win would propel Hunter into the top 10, around #6, while Povetkin could rise to #5 or #4. A loss to Hunter risks dropping Povetkin out of the top 10 for the first time in nearly 12 years!
- #5 Dillian Whyte vs. #201 Mariusz Wach. Not the best matchup, but it's always good to see Whyte on a card. Say what you want but the man stays active, and you can be sure he'll be calling for a shot at the winner of the Joshua-Ruiz rematch, which he definitely deserves by now, even if he falls back a spot due to all the other action in the top ten!
- #12 Filip Hrgovic vs. #123 Eric Molina. Up-and-comer Hrgovic gets a spot on the card that won't move him up in the rankings, but is good for visibility, against an opponent he should beat pretty easily.
So that's six of the top 13 active on one night. Fast-forward to December 21 and there are three more top prospects active in the London and Los Angeles areas.
- #11 Daniel Dubois fights in the UK vs. #14 Kyotaro Fujimoto. 22-year-old Dubois is looking for a top-ten berth and he'll get it with a win. Fujimoto is actually looking to get back into the top ten—he's on a 16-fight win streak dating back to 2013, beating opponents just good enough to get him points in our system. Inactivity and lack of sound opposition over the last 3 years, however, has pushed him down from his #7(!) peak. An upset of Dubois would allow him another run at that peak, but Dubois seems exactly the type of opponent ex-kickboxer Kyotaro can't handle—he was overwhelmed and stopped in 2012 by Solomon Haumono, and Dubois applies even more pressure.
- In Ontario, California, yet another big-time prospect, #9 Efe Ajagba is set to take on #141 Iago Kiladze. It might be a stretch to call someone in our top ten a "prospect" but Ajagba is just getting started at age 25, joining 22-year-old Dubois and 27-year-old Hrgovic in the under-30 club. He hits hard with a high workrate and good form, but is still working out the kinks in preparation for an eventual run for the top prize.
If all these fights happen, no one can any longer say that the top heavyweights don't mix it up! That was true for a long time, but between last year's big March and this year's December, there are at least flurries of major activity in the division. In just one night, four of our top six fighters will be in action, including a title fight. Can't ask for much more than that in one calendar month, but we also get a slew of prospect level (top 15) action as well.
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