SportsRatings: Boxing/MMA

Tyson Fury - Deontay Wilder III Round-by-round scoring

#1 Tyson Fury vs. #5 Deontay Wilder for the undisputed SportsRatings Heavyweight championship. 

Round-by-round scoring will follow the prelims. For coverage of Ajagba-Sanchez and Helenius-Kownacki see this post.

Entrances are done, fight is starting within minutes.

• Round One: Quick body jabs from Wilder. 3rd body jab. 4th. 1-2 to the body, he's really focusing on the body, now he goes upstairs and connects. Very active, Fury not throwing yet. More body jabs, unexpected by Fury. More body shots. Fury tries 1-2 then clinches. Jab to the head from Wilder. Big shot from Wilder misses. Right to the body, and again. Fury returns fire, clinch headlock. Fury connects with 1-2 late but round to Wilder 10-9.
• Round Two: Wilder jabbing again but not as forcefully. Fury attacks, Wilder launches counterattack, then clinch. Fury body hook, now clinches. Big shot from Wilder misses narrowly as Fury jumps back. Ref allowing clinch work from Fury. Right hand by Wilder, Fury comes back and clinches. More wrestling near the end of the round. Closer round 10-10; Wilder 20-19.
• Round Three: Fury body shot of his own. Wilder's jabs not as forceful. Fury on the attack more, he comes in an clinches, tries to in-fight. Wilder a few jabs but he's backing up more now. Fury headlock is stopped by the ref quickly, warns against headlock. Wild swinging by both fighters, Wilder connects with a strong right. Fury returns strong jab. More big swings by both fighters look tired. Fury short shot puts Wilder down for an 8-count, he's hurt. Wilder holding on and survives. 10-8 Fury; 29-28.
• Round Four: Wilder looks shaky, Fury has him against ropes. Wilder holds on. Fury is tired too but Wilder just looking for one shot. Fury has Wilder against ropes. Big shot from Wilder puts Fury on the canvas, he barely gets up! Fury gets big shot in, but Fury goes down yet again! Round ends! Wilder 10-7; Wilder 38-36
• Round Five: Jabs from Wilder, big punch from Fury misses. Ref struggles to separate them. Fury is looking better, Wilder still swinging for the fences. Fury 1-2 rocks Wilder. They wrestle-fight which helps Fury. Wilder connects with 2 big rights! Wilder measuring him, Fury swings big too. They clinch, both are spent. Another clinch. Crazy round, 10-10; Wilder 48-46.
• Round Six: Fury trying to box more, looks recovered pretty well. Fury right hook then clinches. Wilder swinging a lot. Fury wrestling a lot, almost makes Wilder take a knee. Big punch from both fighters. Fury suddenly comes alive, Wilder responds, Fury charges in again. Fury pressuring Wilder. Fury got the best of the action one way or another 10-9; Wilder 57-56.
• Round Seven: Fury big 1-2, tries to clinch and pressure but ref doesn't let him. Fury now pushing against the ropes, trying to brawl his way to a win. Ducks Wilder's big right; this is starting to look like the 2nd fight. Big right from Fury. Uppercuts from Fury in clinch. Big right from Wilder, Fury wears it well; another 1-2 form Wilder. Fury responds, Wilder is in trouble, barely staying up. Fury 10-9; 66-66.
• Round Eight: Fury looks confident, Wilder unsteady. Fury pressuring against the ropes. Big right from Wilder, doesn't affect Fury right now. Fury responds with big shots, Wilder survives somehow. Fury wobbles Wilder. Wilder clinches for last 10 seconds. Fury 10-9; 76-75.
• Round Nine: Concerns about Wilder's right hand, but he says its okay. Fury looks fresh, Wilder looks wobbly still. Wilder comes alive with punches but Fury weathers the storm. Big flurry from Fury, WIlder stays up. Big clinch, wrestling from Fury. Wilder's energy is low but he keeps trying to land right. Fury getting the better of it, Wilder lands big uppercut near the end. Fury 10-9; 86-84. 
• Round Ten: Fury combination puts Wilder against the ropes again, Wilder getting beat up again. Wilder sleepwalking around the ring, huge shot by Fury puts Wilder down, but he somehow gets up! Wilder trying to survive. Big uppercut from Fury, Wilder has crazy flurry at end! But still 10-8 Fury with the knockdown, Fury 96-92.
• Round Eleven: Clinching from Fury, Wilder pinned against rings after hard shot. Big uppercut from Wilder and another one. Wilder is down and fight is waved off. Tyson Fury KO 11 Deontay Wilder

Tyson Fury regains the SportsRatings Heavyweight Belt with the 11th round KO in an incredible fight from both fighters. Wilder will get a lot of respect in the boxing world for his effort.

Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk live round-by-round scoring

#2 Anthony Joshua takes on #23 Oleksandr Usyk in London, England. Both fighters have beaten every man they've faced.

Joshua, 31, is 24-1 with an avenged loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. He is the SportsRatings interim heavyweight belt holder as #1 ranked Tyson Fury is currently considered inactive.

Usyk, 34, is undefeated at 18-0 with all but a few of those wins coming at Cruiserweight where he was the undisputed champion, unifying all the belts—a rarity today. He is only #23 as he has won only two fights at Heavyweight. He has wins over Chazz Witherspoon and Dereck Chisora.

With Usyk's movement and unorthodox style (including his southpaw stance), we see a fight that will be difficult to score and might cause controversy if it goes to a decision. It might most closely resemble Joshua's decision win over Joseph Parker. But predictions from the experts are all over the place; no one has solved Usyk yet, but he has a big size disadvantage and bears no resemblance to the one person able to beat Joshua so far.

The fight should begin on DAZN just after 5:00pm eastern time (USA). ETA is 5:15 as announcements are being made at 5:00pm.

Note: Having some trouble updating on Typepad, so round-by-round results might be slightly behind.

• Round One: Joshua comes to the middle fast, good left to the face from Usyk! Lots of jab-hand pawing as expected given the orthodox vs. southpaw matchup. Good right from Joshua at the midpoint. Good left from Usyk again, and 1-2 followup. Big whiff from Joshua misses by a hair. Usyk dancing all around Joshua who pivots in the center. Usyk jumps in with a left late in the round and probably wins the first round. Usyk 10-9.
• Round Two: Joshua trying to establish the jab now. Hectic pace but little contact overall. Usyk jabs with the right hand. Joshua putting jab out but Usyk's movement making it hard to connect. Usyk staying outside, lunging in, mostly not connecting though. Gets a left in. Good shot to the body by Joshua. Another left from Usyk. Close round, 10-10; Usyk 20-19.
• Round Three: Body shot from Usyk maybe connects. Decent right from Joshua, Usyk undeterred. This is going to be hard to score. Usyk connects with a couple of strong shots! Doesn't hurt joshua but scores. Frenetic pace continues. Body shot by Usyk, he dodges return shots. Joshua having trouble finding him. Joshua is leaving jabs short and haning, another good shot from Usyk, and another that hurts him! Joshua has good shot near the end but round definitely to Usyk 10-9; Usyk 30-28.
• Round Four: Joshua slips after punch connects early. Joshua having trouble getting used to Usyk's movement, another jab hits him. Usyk attacking from various angles, mostly missing but confusing Joshua. Jab/hook connects for Usyk. Joshua connects with perhaps his best punch, and first clinch of the fight initiated by Joshua. Body shot from Usyk. Joshua jab gets 2 from Usyk in return. Close round, AJ did better but didn't really win it. 10-10; Usyk 40-38.
• Round Five: Uppercut from Usyk. Fighters slowing movement a bit, and more shots are connecting though with little effect. Big swing an miss from Joshua. AJ's jabs are looking better, but Usyk connects with a left. Left cross misses though. Good body shot from Joshua. Usyk connects right on the chin, AJ returns fire. Fighters trading glancing jabs, now swinging wildly from both men to end the round! Both fought well and we punt again. 10-10. Usyk 50-48.
• Round Six: The cards are going to be all over, we predict. Usyk defending more early in the round as Joshua jabs. Is he slowing down? Delivers a jab with less activity. Joshua making him miss a bit more. Both fighters missing a lot but then on cue both of them connect. Joshua connects with extended jab. Joshua probably wins that one, his first clear round. Joshua 10-9; Usyk 59-58
• Round Seven: Usyk jab the first big moment in round 7. Good right too. Another jab from Usyk, it seems he took the last round off to rest and is re-energized. Jab and left cross from Usyk. Another jab and two swings, one connects with the left. BIG left knocks AJ back several steps as he almost trips. Usyk unloading with several connections. Big round for Usyk, clearest round yet 10-9. Usyk 10-9, 69-67.
• Round Eight: Not much happens in first minute. Big body punch from AJ. Jab from Usyk. Joshua trying to establish ring dominance now with body shots. Usyk swings wild and misses in combination. Another body shot from AJ, and another. Joshua narrowly takes that one. Joshua 10-9; Usyk 78-77.
• Round Nine: First referee warning for...something. Fighters jabbing at range, AJ whiffs on big shot. Usyk rushes in for body shot, Joshua ties up for only 2nd time in fight. No one is connecting much at all as they're both at range. Joshua holds back of Usyk's neck, they break. Usyk lookng a bit tired but delivers a good left. Another too-close round that many will score either way. 10-10; Usyk 88-87.
• Round Ten: Did Usyk rest up last round? He's pretty active coming into the 10th. Joshua looks pretty fresh too. Usyk with big left, both look strong right now. Both jabbing with confidence in home stretch rounds. Left hand from Usyk scores. Jab from Usyk, right hand from Joshua. Close round halfway through. Big cut under Usyk's eye, fighters clinch and rest a bit. RIght hand from AJ, he sees blood, literally. Ref separeates them. Three strong shots from Usyk though. Both fighters eyes are hurt, another close round, we punt yet again. 10-10; Usyk 98-97.
• Round Eleven: These last two rounds will decide it. Usyk full of energy early, big shot from Usyk, Joshua undeterred, he's got energy too and returns fire. Both have slowed down by the end of the first minute. AJ coming on now as Usyk dodges. AJ is jabbing well now. Lots of movement and little connection until Usyk gets in a right with a minute left. Misses on several swinging lefts and rights. Joshua standing still a bit too much now. Joshua started well but Usyk finished a lot better. Usyk 10-9, 108-106.
• Round Twelve: Usyk going crazy coming at AJ. Fight could go either way as we have five 10-10 rounds but on our card AJ needs a knockdown to get a draw even. Both are connecting, first Usyk and now Joshua a bit more. Usyk backing Joshua up halfway thru round. And again. AJ needs a big shot, needs to take some chances which he's not doing. Gets in a a good right though, and another one. Great jab by Usyk. Usyk slowing down a bit but turns it back on. Swinging like mad at the end, has AJ on the ropes at the finish! Usyk clearly wins the round, and probably the fight. 10-9, Usyk 118-115.

If we split our 10-10 rounds that translates to 116-112 or 115-113 for Usyk. Making three "extreme" cards we have Usyk 118-110, Usyk 115.5-112.5, and Joshua 115-113 on a split decision.

Waiting for the decision.

Decision: 117-112, 116-112, 115-113 all for Usyk. Oleksandr Usyk remains undefeated and takes Joshua's belts. He will jump to #2 on our rankings, and becomes our interim Heavyweight Champion—pending results of Fury-Wilder III. Amazing.

Our 3-round margin was close to the 3.7 average margin of the judges. The 117-112 score probably included a 10-10 round adding an extra point. It went about as we expected in terms of being difficult to judge, but the result went to Usyk and unlike we thought, it seems unlikely to be a controversial result as Usyk came on strong in the final rounds to secure the win.

It looks like we have a 3rd man in the mix for best heavyweight in the world, and for the moment, it's between Usyk and Fury.

The Rematch: Fury vs. Wilder 2 Round-by-Round Scoring

It's SportsRatings #2 Tyson Fury vs. SportsRatings #3 Deontay Wilder in a rematch, with the winner—assuming there is one this time—taking over the #1 spot from Anthony Joshua.

The first fight was as close as it could be, with Fury generally outboxing Wilder with his odd, slippery style, but Wilder scoring two knockdowns—one in the final round that took Fury to the 9-count to recover. He did, however, and survived the 12th round. To the judges, everything evened out to a draw. Both fighters lost their perfect records, but both remain undefeated.

At the time it ruined the unofficial 4-man "Heavyweight Playoff" in effect; with no winner, there was no one to go on to fight Joshua for undisputed status. Things got more complicated when Joshua lost to Andy Ruiz, Jr, but Joshua won that rematch and hopefully will be next on the agenda for tonight's winner.

Fury is 29-0-1 with 20 KOs while Wilder is 42-0-1 with 41 KOs. Somebody's O has got to go. We can't have another draw...let's hope. In our system, Fury has 17 significant wins, Wilder 16, and they are in a near-tie for the #2 spot in our rankings.

In in the undercard's heavyweight feature, Charles Martin and Gerald Washington waltzed for 5 rounds before Martin scored a 1-punch TKO in the 6th.

The fight is ready to start at around 12:15 EST.

Live round-by-round scoring follows:

• Round 1: Quick jabs from Wilder, Fury trying to command the ring with his awkward style, swinging wide for Wilder. BIG punch from Wilder, Fury takes it well though. Fury with a big punch that misses but shows he's going to be on the attack. Another bum rush from Fury keeps Wilder on his back foot. Fury clearly trying to be different in this fight so Wilder can't use last fight's timing. BIG jab by Fury. Wilder had the best punch but Fury had more, and that last jab clinched it. Fury 10-9.
• Round 2: Wilder's style looks awkward due to Fury's posturing. Good hook from Fury, GOOD stiff right from Wilder. Jab from Fury. Lots of punches are connecting, none are hurting so far. Lots of distance between the fighters but both have a huge reach, so it evens out. Fury connects again. Wilder connects again! This is good action, much better than I expected actually. Fury with a great punch overhand against the ropes. Good round for both of them, Wilder ends the round with a solid punch, but Fury returns fire at the bell (maybe after!) 10-10; Fury 20-19.
• Round 3: Fury is dancing a bit, Wilder keeping distance. Fury gets good shots in and ties up Wilder awkwardly. Big punch again from Fury. Good start for the Gypsy King. Gets Wilder in another headlock, punches in that clinch too. Looks like Wilder is in Fury's range, but not the other way around. Wilder unsure of what to do. Fury punching a lot when the ref says to stop, has to pull them apart. Knockdown of Wilder by Fury! With 30 seconds left. Wilder  in trouble. Wilder tries to clinch and falls down again-- he is unsteady on his feet as the round ends. Fury 10-8; 30-27.
• Round 4: Fury punches again in the clinch when told not to; ref warns him. The two whiff on huge punches and Wilder slips to the ground again. Wilder is going for the big punch, he seems desperate. Fury's jabs keep getting in. More clinching, with Fury putting his weight on Wilder. Fury is bullying Wilder, but mostly clinching and wrestling this round. 10-9 Fury; 40-36.
• Round 5: Big one-two from Fury at the start has Wilder in trouble, sloppy fighting ensues. Fury landing big punches from the clinch. Fury really leaning on Wilder; body shot puts Wilder down! He's in real trouble, looking very tired. Fury should be stopped from doing the headlock. Wilder ready to drop, Fury wrestling and bullying him more. Is the headlock legal now? Fury gets a point deducted, and it's fair. With the deduction and knockdown, 9-8 round; Fury 49-44.
• Round 6: Fury bullrushes in again, has Wilder in trouble again. Fury is trying to bury him against the ropes. Fury unloading again, Wilder firing back occasionally. Both are swinging, Fury getting the best of the infighting. Good action, Wilder holding up impressively against the onslaught really. Wilder steps aside from the ropes, but gets hit again. Fury actually licked blood off Wilder's shoulder... Fury 10-9; 59-53.
• Round 7: Big punch from Fury again. Wilder still holding on for now. Slower action for the first minute with Fury walking Wilder down. Wilder's big shot misses as Fury ducks it. Two more miss. Holy shit, the ref waved it off after a few punches from Fury. Wilder looked dazed but that was a really unusual stoppage!
  
  Ok, Wilder's corner threw in the towel. That makes a lot more sense than the ref stoppage. They must have decided before the round that if he got cornered against the ropes to throw the towel.

Fury defeats Wilder by a round 7 TKO. Tyson Fury is our new heavyweight champion after dominating this fight.

 

 

 

 

Anthony Joshua - Andy Ruiz Jr II live round-by-round scoring

Anthony Joshua seeks to avenge his only loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia in a fight roughly scheduled to start at 4pm eastern time in the U.S. 

Joshua (22-1) was beaten soundly by Ruiz (33-1) in June in a 7th round TKO. Joshua had floored Ruiz Jr in the 3rd round but wore himself out going for the kill, and Ruiz battled back, took the advantage, and got the stoppage.

Ruiz Jr is ranked #3 in our Heavyweight Boxing Top 100, with only a very close majority decision loss to Joseph Parker staining his record. Joshua is ranked #4 after having held our #1 spot for many months prior to the loss.

The winner of this bout will claim—or reclaim—the SportsRatings belt, currently held by Tyson Fury. Along with Deontay Wilder, there are 4 fighters within striking distance of the top, and it comes down to who fights who and who beats who before a definitive champion can be crowned. This fight is one more step toward that goal.

Ruiz Jr caused a stir by weighing in 15 pounds heavier than in the first bout, this despite looking like he was losing a lot of weight at times in recent months. He wore a sombrero and sweats to the weigh-in, so it's hard to really know how much of the 283 pounds was him, but it's clear he added weight while Joshua came in 10 pounds lighter than in June at 237.

Both fighters entered the ring through a foggy laser-light show in Diriyah.

The fight is ready to start.

• Round 1: Joshua being cautious, Ruiz a bit tentative too early. Ruiz not quite pressing forward as much as he did last fight. Joshua being very cautious, keeping his distance. Body shot from Ruiz. 1-2 by Joshua. Jab from Joshua. They mix it up a bit near the end of the round, cut over Ruiz's eye. Not much happened to the end but Joshua won the 2nd half of the round for sure. Joshua 10-9.
• Round 2: Ruiz looks more determined at the start, Joshua looks more confident. Ruiz tags Joshua with a still jab. Joshua targetting the eye with the right. Another jab from Joshua. Great left from Joshua. Joshua keeping Ruiz away so far as Ruiz stalks. Flurry from Joshua out of the clinch. Joshua's left eye is also cut above. Good round for Joshua 10-9; 20-18.
• Round 3: Ruiz moving in fast, targeting the body. Body shots again from Ruiz. Jab keeping him away mostly. Ruiz misses several hooks as Joshua moves away. Not much contact in first half of round. Joshua defending well but no offense in first 2 minutes. Finally a good jab and body shot from Joshua, but not enough to earn the round. 10-10; 30-28 Joshua.
• Round 4: Joshua pawing at Ruiz's hands, keeping him from getting set. Jab from Joshua. Ruiz ducks big hook from Joshua, misses on return shots though. Joshua blocks Ruiz punches, gets in a jab and good straight right. Good action late between both, Ruiz lands a few big punches at the end. Makes the round a draw again. 10-10; 40-38 Joshua. 
• Round 5: Joshua none the worse for wear early in the 5th so far. Joshua jabs, tries to clinch and Ruiz fights through it. Ruiz continues to stalk. Good jabs from Joshua serving him well, keeping Ruiz at bay. Ruiz telegraphs a punch, good counter from Joshua. Joshua 10-9; 50-47.
• Round 6: Whiff from Ruiz, counter from Joshua connects. Ruiz lunging in but missing. Jabs from Joshua, to the head and the body. Ruiz being held at bay as Joshua dances around the perimeter of the ring. Good stiff right from Joshua. 10-9; 60-56.
• Round 7: Ruiz still stalking but Joshua has nullified him in the last few rounds, now letting his hands go a bit. Ruiz is swinging in the clinch and referee warns about hitting the back of the head. Joshua whiffs and almost leaves himself open, but recovers. Some in-fighting and Joshua scoring more. But that's what Ruiz needs. Joshua jumps into clinch. Ruiz swings wildly trying to change the rhythm of the fight. Ruiz connects with a good left, but Joshua wins the round. 10-9; 70-65.
• Round 8: First minute of round 8 is more of the same, then Ruiz finally gets in decent shot. Ref cautions both fighters about clinch work and Ruiz hitting back of head. Big shots from Ruiz, a clinch, and ref tries to get in the middle of it, separating them. Joshua jabs and clinches, and Ruiz fights through it and scores with more big shots. Ruiz's best round so far. Ruiz 10-9; Joshua 79-75.
• Round 9: Ruiz stalking again, Joshua connects with jab and immediately clinches in the corner. Left arm out, he fends off Ruiz's stalking. Whenever Joshua clinches now, Ruiz flails his arms hoping to catch Joshua with a kill shot. Jabs exchanged, Joshua whiffs with a wild shot. Ruiz moves in with jabs, flurry from Joshua, but Ruiz responds in kind. 10-10; Joshua 89-85.
• Round 10: Ruiz good shot early, but Joshua keeps him at bay for next minute. Very few shots from Ruiz getting inside, Joshua content to use jab, avoid mixing it up. Ruiz still looking for big shot or opportunity in clinch, Joshua not giving it to him. Joshua doing all the (very little) scoring here. Joshua 10-9; 99-94.
• Round 11: Joshua moves in, jabbing at will early on. Ruiz keeps coming. Needs something big with 2 rounds left. Joshua still moving around the ring well, which might be the idea of his 10 pound weight cut. Ruiz can't get in close enough to unfurl his power punches, except in brief moments in the clinch. More jabs from Joshua, who is doing all the scoring. 10-9 Joshua; 109-103. 
• Round 12: Ruiz more concerned now in the last round but Joshua fending him off, again with jabs, and tying him up effectively. Ruiz frustrated by inability to let his hands go. Ruiz demands Joshua fight him toe to toe but Joshua doesn't fall for it. A clear decision win for Anthony Joshua. 10-9; 119-112.

The judges agree: 118-110, 119-109, 118-110. Anthony Joshua regains his titles, as well as the SportsRatings Heavyweight belt.

Not the most exciting fight to be sure, especially in the anticlimactic  later rounds, but that's how Joshua needed it. An exciting fight would have seen the same result as last June. Joshua did what he should have done the first time around—produce a boring fight. It was expected to be boring last time, and it was nothing but boring. This time, people wanted fireworks and got a fire extinguisher. That's how Joshua fought—like he was fending Ruiz off with a fire extinguisher.

Joshua-Ruiz undercard: Alexander Povetkin vs. Michael Hunter scoring; Dillian Whyte vs. Wach, Hrgovic vs. Molina, Majidov vs. Little

As we've noted, the Joshua-Ruiz undercard rounds out one of the best heavyweight cards of the last 20 years. Here is a live recap of the heavyweight fights on the card and round-by-round scoring of the Alex Povetkin-Michael Hunter bout. The top 3 bouts on the card are available in the U.S. on DAZN; the earlier bouts are available on YouTube on Sky Sports (but not in the United States).

Mahammadrasul Majidov TKO 2 #174 Tom Little

Two-time amateur world champ Majidov beat Tom Little (10-8) in only his 2nd official pro bout. Little was #174 in our rankings and just 5-7 in rated bouts, so it wasn't any surprise. Majidov will enter our top 100 in January, and we grade his potential an A- meaning he should be a top 5 prospect. Majidov won the amateur world championship in 2011 and 2013, beating Anthony Joshua to win gold the first time. But at 33 he's starting his pro career pretty late, and he could be past his peak. We see a career trajectory like Kubrat Pulev's: a quick dash to the top 10, perhaps pushing into the top 5, but failing to beat the top 3 fighters.

#12 Filip Hrgovic KO 3 #123 Eric Molina

Rising prospect Hrgovic, 27, dominated journeyman Eric Molina, who was counted out in the third round despite complaining about punches to the back of the head. Hrgovic avoided Molina's attempts to hit him with a game-changing haymaker and overwhelmed him with his own power punches. Hrgovic is just outside our top 10 and with all the other action today it's unlikely this win will put him there just yet. But it was a strong performance and shows he is a danger to anyone.

Upcoming: #5 Dillian Whyte vs. #201 Mariusz Wach

Whyte (26-1) continues his quest for another title shot, taking on former contender Wach (35-5) in a scheduled 10-rounder.

First round had a lot of action, both fighters looking (too) big and hitting hard. Great shot from Whyte near the end. 10-9. Round two more of the same, but Whyte outlanding Wach 2-1 or 3-1, but Wach got a few really big shots in. Whyte returned fire, great action. No one was rocked despite the bombs. 20-18. Both fighters slowed down in the 3rd round. But still throwing heavy hands, both chins holding up very well. Closer round but still Whyte. 30-27. Round 4 Wach moving forward with effective jabs. Blocking most of Whyte's big shots, but Whyte gets a few in later in the round. 39-37. Round 5 Whyte came out with more urgency, disrupting Wach's jabs with strong shots, using Philly Shell defense. Wach is holding up but he's being hit regularly. Great action at end as both fighters let it go. 49-46. Round 6: Whyte throwing combos to Wach's single punches. Wach is looking tired but is unhurt and still throwing hard. Whyte throwing hard too, and looks stronger. Wach flurry at end shows he's still in it, but falling behind. 59-55. Seventh round, more of the same: hard shots from both fighters, very clean, scoring shots all around, and no sign of either fighter being rocked. Good body shot variations from Whyte, then he goes to the head. Wach generally headhunting. Both chins are holding up! 69-65. 8th Round, Wach eager to come out, but Whyte peppering him with body and head shots, still looking strong. Wach's work rate is well down, jabs looking weaker. Whyte takes round but Wach finishes round strong. 79-74. Round 9: Wach and Whyte trading toe to toe in the 9th! Both letting their hands go, both having their moments. Whyte getting hit hard but then coming back with his own. Wach ends with flurry. Incredible round. 88-84. Round ten: Wach needs a knockout and he knows it. Whyte not taking any chances though. Wach will just not drop! Or even be rocked by Whyte's punches. Whyte on the defense on the ropes, fighting back. Whyte's punching variety is amazing, body shots, uppercut, windmills. Last half minute Whyte rocks Wach with big combo. Wach dodges 3 huge windmills and will survive. Our final score: Whyte 98-93. Judges say: 98-93, 97-93, 97-93 for Whyte.

Upcoming: #6 Alex Povetkin vs. #14 Michael Hunter - round by round scoring

Povetkin looks for one last drive toward a title as Hunter seeks to break into the top ten.

• Round 1: Hunter's unorthodox moving is wreacking havoc for Povetkin early on, hitting Povetkin will angles all over, esp. right hands. Povetkin gets his composure but generally unable to figure Hunter out in this round. Hunter's work early wins this one. Hunter 10-9.
• Round 2: Hunter's speed still bothering Povetkin, who is missing with lots of punches. Hunter almost wobbles him with a right. Good counter by Povetkin late, otherwise round was pretty even. 10-10; Hunter 20-19.
• Round 3: Povetkin finally adjusting to the speed of the fight, some good work early. Hunter clinching when Povetkin gets close. Fight speed slowing down a bit late in the 3rd. Another close hard-to-score round. 10-10; 30-29 Hunter.
• Round 4: Mixing it up again, both mostly whiffing and dodging each others hooks. Some good power from Povetkin but didn't land flush. Ducking low at times to avoid Hunter's swinging; Hunter clinching in close. Hunter misses twice late, pace is showing for both of them. Povetkin's best round 10-9; 39-39. This is going to be a close one, every round counts.
• Round 5: Good 1-2 from Hunter; rest of round is very close again until mid-round Povetkin rocks Hunter with near-knockdown against the ropes. Hunter looks recovered but Povetkin catches him again and has to clinch. Good jabs from Hunter but Povetkin has the clear power advantage. A few late (past-bell) punches from Hunter but Povetkin wins that one. 10-9; Povetkin 49-48. 
• Round 6: Hunter still looking fast as he jumps in with jabs; if he can win rounds and avoid big punches he can still win this fight. Jab lands again. Povetkin looking a bit tired, lower work rate this round. Hunter clips him with hook and Povetkin clinches. Hunter's round 10-9; 58-58.
• Round 7: Who has more left i this close fight? Ring is looking foggy from humidity. Povetkin swinging but not connecting cleanly, neither fighter gaining advantage in first half of round. Hunter lands well and Povetkin clinches again, unhurt but stunned a bit. Pretty even round but slight edge to Hunter 10-9; 68-67
• Round 8: More very even sparring; Povetkin has a moment mid-round. Not much there but Povetkin had the only real moment; very close yet again, this one to Povetkin 10-9; 77-77
• Round 9:  Hunter full of energy at start but nothing much comes of it. Lots more missing in the first minute. One clean punch from Povetkin; return from Hunter seconds later. Both getting tired late, lots of clinches, initiated by both men. 10-10; 87-87.
• Round 10: Are we headed for a draw? Either that or a very, very close decision it seems. Inside work from both men. More clinching too. Hooks from Hunter miss in the clinch. Povetkin looking weary, he clinches, and Hunter doesn't argue. Mostly clinching, another draw round. 10-10; 97-97.
• Round 11: Head-snapping jabs connect for both fighters. Now they're diving in at the same time, meeting in clinch. Big shots from Hunter and Povetkin looks wobbly. He's staying up and fighting back; he rushes in and heads clashed. Hunter connects with 2 more big shots, clearly winning this round in a very tight fight. Povetkin weary and gets hit again. Clear round for Hunter 10-9; Hunter 107-106. 
• Round 12: Povetkin needs this round or Hunter probably wins, though any decision will probably be split/majority. Povetkin still looks a bit dazed, looking for big punches to turn the tide. Povetkin rushes in, fighters collide and they sprawl to the ground. Fight resumes, more clinching from Povetkin, but Hunter isn't connecting like he did last round. One minute to go, round is even so far. Good left from Hunter. Povetkin needs something but still clinches. Another tight round 10-10; Hunter 117-116.

Looks like a split decision coming, in favor of either fighter. We favor Hunter, and splitting the five 10-10 rounds could make it 117-111 Hunter or 116-112 Povetkin. We think a very close result goes to Hunter, but the cards overall ought to be very tight.

The verdict: 115-113 Povetkin; 115-113 Hunter; and 114-114 split draw. 

You know what? That's actually fair, as disappointing as it is. All the verdicts were very close, so no judge was far off from another. It will be interesting to see the round-by-round cards, and check against the five rounds we gave a 10-10.

The draw might put Hunter in our top 10 after all, while Povetkin will lose points but remain at #6.

Suddenly: Wilder KOs Ortiz in rematch

There wasn't much action for 7 rounds. There were hardly any exchanges. And that meant there wasn't much drama, except for the question: was Deontay Wilder really going to lose by a wide decision? He was clearly behind on the cards, and hardly throwing anything other than a pawing jab.

Then it all came to a quick end for Luis Ortiz, at the end of round 7.

Here's how we scored the fight:

• Round 1: Not much action; a lot like the first fight, Ortiz is cautious due to Wilder's power, Wilder is cautious due to his own chin and nearly being stopped by Ortiz in the first fight. One exchange and a clash of heads is all that happens. 10-10
• Round 2: Ortiz had the best moment in an otherwise uneventful round. 10-9 Ortiz; 20-19
• Round 3: More of the same. Very little being done by Wilder, Ortiz is the more aggressive though not much more effective. 10-9 Ortiz; 30-28
• Round 4: Wilder lands his first right hand, but again Ortiz had the better round, with a combination that sent Wilder back and had him pounding his chest to show he wasn't hurt. 10-9 Ortiz 40-37
• Round 5: This round is even close than the previous ones, but still Ortiz was connecting a bit while Wilder is mostly missing. 10-9 Ortiz; 50-46
• Round 6: Another round to Ortiz, as he's making Wilder back up while Wilder only occasionally works the body or the jab, but misses wide with the right hand. 10-9 Ortiz; 60-55
• Round 7: Well behind on the cards certainly, Wilder is looking like he's ok with risking losing a wide decision while he specs out the kill shot. Ortiz is getting more confident, and late in this round is clearly is winning it, probably his best one yet, when BAM! suddenly Wilder connects with the right hand and Ortiz absolutely crumbles to the ground. He struggles with this mouthpiece (shades of Mike Tyson vs. Buster Douglas) before struggling up near the end of the count, but isn't vertical enough or aware enough to really beat the count, and he's waved off. 

Wilder will move up to #2 in our Heavyweight Top 100, his highest ranking ever, and behind only #1 Tyson Fury, who he fought to a draw a year ago.

-3 yrs	-1 yr	-6 mo	Nov Rank	Dec Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	November results
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
5	1	1	4	4	ANTHONY JOSHUA	36.63	15-1-0	--last rated win -14 months.
28	5	5	5	5	DILLIAN WHYTE	24.91	12-1-0
3	4	4	6	6	ALEX POVETKIN	24.70	29-2-0
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
68	11	12	11	10	ADAM KOWNACKI	16.31	9-0-0

Fury should be Wilder's next opponent, if everything works out. By then, the winner of the Ruiz-Joshua rematch will have vaulted to #1, and the Fury-Wilder winner will take it back.

It's really quite an exciting time in the Heavyweight division; more people should be paying attention as this mini-era will be fondly remembered one day.

November 2019 HW Rankings: Usyk Finally Makes HW Debut; Wilder vs. Ortiz II Looms

There's not much change of note in the November Heavyweight Boxing Top 100; this session is more noteworthy for a few that make their debut on the list, and some fights that take place in the coming month.

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	Oct 2019	Nov 2019	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	October results; •November schedule
1	2	2	1	1	TYSON FURY	45.38	17-0-1
12	38	30	2	2	ANDY RUIZ JR	39.57	13-1-0
4	3	3	3	3	DEONTAY WILDER	39.23	17-0-1	•11/23 vs. #9 LUIS ORTIZ
5	1	1	4	4	ANTHONY JOSHUA	37.02	15-1-0	--last rated win -13 months.
30	6	5	5	5	DILLIAN WHYTE	24.91	12-1-0
3	4	4	6	6	ALEX POVETKIN	24.70	29-2-0
22	7	6	7	7	JARRELL MILLER	19.87	9-0-0
10	8	8	8	8	KUBRAT PULEV	18.64	19-1-0	•11/09 vs. #226 RYDELL BOOKER
9	14	9	9	9	LUIS ORTIZ	17.22	15-1-0	•11/23 vs. #3 DEONTAY WILDER
--	18	15	10	10	EFE AJAGBA	16.95	6-0-0

October 2019 Fight Results

As noted, not much excitement:

• Frank Sanchez Faure (14-0-0) moved from #23 to #18 with a 10-round decision win over #133 Jack Mulowayi
• Vladyslav Sirenko (13-0-0) made the biggest jump in the Top 100, leaping from 69 to 23 with a first round TKO of former #26 Ivan Di Berardino, who fell to #83 and to 9-2-1.
• Darmani Rock (17-0-0) took care of #156 Maurenzo Smith pretty quickly, scoring a 2nd round TKO and sliding up 6 spots to #48
• Dereck Chisora (32-9-0) finally made it back into the top 100 after winning the most prominent heavyweight bout of the month with a 4th round TKO (towel thrown) of David Price, who was #77 last month. Chisora is at #87 and has won 3 of his last 7 significant bouts (he is 13-9-0 in rated fights). Price dropped out of the rankings and fell to 25-7-0.

November 2019 Upcoming Bouts

The November schedule looks considerably better than October, notwithstanding cancellations, etc. In order of our interest:

• 11/23 #3 Deontay Wilder vs. #9 Luis Ortiz. This is the big one. It's not the rematch we really need (Wilder vs. Fury) but it's the one we get, and as heavyweight boxing fans we've learned to be satisfied with a morsel here and there. It's not a bad match, as the first fight was a barnburner. Wilder can pass Ruiz Jr for #2 on our rankings with a win; a loss would send Wilder to around #7, while Ortiz would leap to #4 and serious consideration for the Ruiz-Joshua rematch winner. Another loss to Wilder would sent Ortiz well out of the top 10, and at his advanced age (whatever it really is) probably means his last hurrah.
• 11/30 #58 Zhilei Zhang vs. #73 Sergey Kuzmin. I will be quite pleased if we make it to Thanksgiving and this fight is still on. Zhang, who showed promise as an Olympic silver medalist with a 20-0-0 start, hasn't had a significant win in 2 1/2 years and has slid from the mid-20s to #58. Either he or Kuzmin (15-1-0), who lost recently to #14 Michael Hunter, will get a much-needed boost.
• 11/09 #9 Kubrat Pulev vs. #226 Rydell Booker. A keep-busy fight for Pulev, who is the mandatory for Anthony Joshua if Joshua beats Ruiz in their rematch. A win here does nothing for Pulev, of course, while a loss ends his top 10 run and his title hopes. It would also be a huge comeback for Booker, who was gone from the sport for 12 years while in prison for dealing cocaine. Win or lose, Rydell Booker has always had the best name for a boxer—of all time—in my estimation. Boxrec doesn't list this fight as of this writing, and it does look like a good candidate for cancelation as Pulev has nothing to gain here.
• 11/15 #49 Junior Fa vs. #77 Devin Vargas. Another intra-top 100 fight; Fa has an unblemished 18-0-0 record with 4 significant wins, while Vargas is 21-5-0 and spent several years outside the top 100 before returning with a win over Niall Kennedy in August.
• 11/02 #82 Martin Bakole Ilunga vs. #98 Rodney Hernandez. Not the highest-ranked fighters but maybe a fun one to watch. Bakole is 14-1-0 with 5 significant wins, 2 of them after falling to Michael Hunter. Hernandez is a storied 13-8-2, with a 3-7-2 record on our watch—but 6 of those losses are to fighters still in the top 100. Watch this one to see Hernandez explode with power early in each round and, after tiring, take punishment that would kill most humans.
• 11/23 #22 Shawndell Winters vs. #118 Sergiej Werwejko. Winters is pretty new to our top 100, having just beaten Sasha Teslenko in September. At 12-2-0, he's fighting Werwejko, who is 11-2-0 and has won three minor fights since losing to Ali Demirezen a year ago.
• 11/27 #57 Cassius Chaney vs. #153 Nick Jones. Chaney (17-0-0) is coming off a 1st round KO of non-rated Santander Silgado, while Jones (7-2-0) is attempting to come back from back-to-back losses to Efe Ajagba and Rodney Hernandez. Something tells me Jones is transitioning to sure-thing journeyman unless he gets the upset here.

Top 100 Debuts / Career Prognostication

Here we give our outlook/forecast for how far each of the new fighters debuting in the Top 100 will do. Our intentionally simple system looks at the fighter's amateur experience, his age, and how he's done in his career so far (to the point of his top 100 debut). Using this system, the last two heavyweights to get an A+ rating (forecast to be #1 HW champ) were Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko. Deontay Wilder got an A (forecast to make the top 3), while Tyson Fury got just a B+ (top 10). Andy Ruiz, Jr, graded at an A- (in or near top 5).Five fighters make it in this month; presented in order of debut rank.

• #26 Marcin Siwy (20-0-0) Age: 28
  Amateur exp: Average
  Polish boxer Siwy defeated Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko (6-5-1) to make our list, winning a unanimous 8-round decision by comfortable but not dominant cards. The rest of his record is similarly bland, but he gets credit for not losing so far. He's still young, big, and looks tough but is not getting a lot of stoppages against the weak competition so far.
  Grade: B
  Forecast: Siwy could be an eventual top 15 contender in the alpha-belts, but not a Ring top ten.
  
  
• #44 Oleksandr Usyk (17-0-0) Age: 32
  Amateur exp: Excellent
  Here's the one we've been waiting for forever. Finally cruiserweight champ Usyk has his first win, a yawning affair over Chazz Witherspoon but we'll take it. It allows us to use our method to forecast Usyk's heavyweight success. So far, he's done nothing wrong, winning the world championships and olympic gold medal and beating every cruiserweight of note. Though he has only one pro win at heavyweight, he's already beaten several in our top 100: Usyk defeated #14 Michael Hunter and #69 Tony Bellew at cruiserweight, and holds amateur (World Series of Boxing) wins at heavyweight over #49 Junior Fa and #25 Joe Joyce. Usyk's only slight drawbacks are his age (32) and size (he weighed 215 vs. Witherspoon). Can he compete with the real giants? We will probably soon see, as he is being fast-tracked for title contention.
  Grade: A-
  Forecast: We see a probable top-5 ranking for Usyk, which likely means a belt of some kind, but not beating the very top of the heap to reach our #1 spot. We'll guess that he peaks outside the top 3.
  
  
• #59 Sahret Delgado (8-0-0) Age: 25
  Amateur exp: Average
  Delgado stopped 7 opponents before decisioning Joel Caudle (8-4-2) to break into the top 100. The Puerto Rican (fighting out of New Jersey) is still quite young and noted for his power. But again, the first "real" fighter he faced wouldn't drop. Similar size to Siwy, which isn't necessarily a good thing (a bit too short at 6'2" for his nearly 270 pounds).
  Grade: B
  Forecast: Another top 15 prospect some day, but not a top ten fighter.
  
  
• #66 Kenzie Morrison (17-0-2) Age: 29
  Amateur exp: None
  Though he was formerly known as James Witt, he's now James McKenzie Morrison or just Kenzie Morrison. He's another of the late Tommy Morrison's sons, along with Tre Lippe (Morrison), who coincidentally just dropped out of our top 100 last month. He looks a lot like his father, is currently undefeated, and just KOed Keenan Hickman (6-5-1) in the first round to debut in our top 100. Morrison has 15 stoppages among 17 wins, which is good, and the competition hasn't been awful. But those two draws—to journeyman Aaron Chavers (8-9-1) over 6 rounds (he avenged it with a stoppage) and Chris Harris (2-4-2) don't bode well. Neither does his lack of amateur experience; we don't give points for pedigree. He's still young, but should be peaking soon, so it's good that he's making his move now.
  Grade: C
  Forecast: Some upside; a few more wins should put him into the top 30-40, but we don't foresee him making our top 25.
  
  
• #68 Mike Balogun (15-0-0) Age: 36
  Amateur exp: Pro football
  Balogun jumped to about 6 different NFL teams before trying his hand at boxing. Ex-footballers don't exactly have a stellar record in the ring; we give credit only for experience in other combat sports (kickboxing and MMA). To be fair, though, he hasn't lost yet, beating Mike Bisset (15-13-1) with a first-round KO on October 24th. He has 11 stoppages so far, with a few familiar journeymen on the list. At age 36, time is running out for Balogun to make some noise.
  Grade: C
  Forecast: Like Morrison, Balogun should score a few more rated wins and rank in the 30s but not much higher before he meets someone who outclasses him.

We'll try to make these forecasts monthly and see how they do in the long run. Should be interesting!

Tyson Fury vs. Otto Wallin round-by-round scoring

Tyson Fury enters the ring in a sombrero and Mexican robe to a traditional Mexican song, on Mexican Independence Day to face undefeated Otto Wallin in a matchup roughly as serious as his last fight with Tom Schwarz. But since he's our top-ranked Heavyweight, we'll cover this one start to finish. Otto Wallin is #59, and has but one significant win. This one would be much more significant.

Round-by-round scoring follows: 

• Round 1: Good jabs from Fury at a distance. Fury keeping distance, starting slow, Wallin lunges for the body. Pushes Wallin's face to keep distance. Wallin lunging to get to him. Wallin works his way inside, clinch follows. Not much action, but Fury's jabs probably win him the round. Fury 10-9
• Round 2: Wallin looking confident, moving in on him as Fury stays outside. Fury dodges a series of punches, backing up. Wallin goes to body, Fury returns with jab. Again to the body of Fury. Fury swings wildly and misses, as does Wallin, who pins Fury to the ropes, gets in some shots, but Fury fires back effectively! They exchange at end of round, too. Fury got in 2 best shots of the round, but it was pretty even 10-10. Fury 20-19.
• Round 3: Fury now actively trying to keep Wallin off with stiff jabs and one-twos, but Wallin is undeterred. Fury looking very serious now. Now Fury is stalking Wallin instead. Low punch by Wallin, gets mention from ref. Fury misses with big punch. Fury is cut from something. Fast-paced round but not much connected, but apparently a Wallin left caused the cut. Fury 10-9; 30-28.
• Round 4: Fury holding off Wallin early again. Fury is mad about something, maybe another low blow? as ref separately them. Speculation about the cut ending the fight and Fury needing urgency. He's staying outside more again. Fury rubbing the cut eyebrow. Fury jumps in leading with punch, clinches. Neither fighter has his rhythm on offense. 10-10 Fury 40-38.
• Round 5: Sounds like Fury's corner thinks it was from a headbutt, so they don't think he has to worry about it, interesting. Good jabs from Fury, Wallin responding but mostly short. Wallin jumps in, then big punch from Fury. Now they're telling Fury's corner it was from a punch.  Tie-up, and the fight is getting into dirty boxing, good left from Wallin. Good short jab from Fury. No one's round really, but Wallin can't claim it either. 10-10 Fury 50-48. 
• Round 6: Wallin really trying to make it a brawl. Fury loops a left and misses, and Wallin takes advantage; Wallin is gaining confidence. Wallin jumps right in after a break and scores. Wallin's work-rate is a lot higher this round and he keeps coming. Fury's cut is bleeding badly, and the doctor is looking at it. Fury has great urgency after doctor restarts fight. Fury ducking down and both fighters using uppercuts. Wallin poked at the cut deliberately at the end of the round...should have been penalized then. But he probably won that round. Wallin 10-9; Fury 59-58.
• Round 7: Fury clubbing and swinging, trying to get a knockout. Big right from Fury but Wallin is unfazed. Another big punch from Fury. Inside work from Fury. Good counter from Wallin, but Fury keeps coming, bullying him. Fury 10-9; 69-67.
• Round 8: Fury jabbing outside again. Wallin targeting the eye and Fury leaning in close helps him. Big right from Fury from close in. Wallin hanging on, looking tired but not fatigued, returns with a few good shots. Two are almost wrestling against ropes. Great uppercut from low stance, good bodywork too. Fury 10-9; 79-76.
• Round 9: Fury resumes attack with urgency. Wallin looks none the worse for wear though, still full of fight. Wallin's trainer yelling for him to "hit that cut!" Wallin uppercuts the cut several times. Fury still ducking low to let him do it. Fury moves in an attacks again. HUGE uppercut misses from Fury. Fury gives him 1-2 1-2, Wallin says bring it on. Fury closes with huge punch but round ends. Fury 10-9; 89-85.
• Round 10: Fury backs Wallin to ropes and batters him, Wallin somehow survives intact. Wallin jabs and jabs, but Fury uppercuts him against ropes. Wallin's only hope is the cut, pinned against the ropes taking punishment. Wallin's back is covered with Fury's blood from the cut. Fury is slowing down a bit later in the round but still has some big shots to unfurl. Wallin is surviving admirably though. Fury 10-9; 99-94.
• Round 11: Wallin looks spry and active as the round starts, and he's moving in on Fury early. But a minute in he's against the ropes again. Fury 3-punch combo. Fury lets loose with combos near the end of the round, bullying Wallin. Fury 10-9; 109-103
• Round 12: Very unlikely the fight is stopped due to the cut now, so Wallin needs a miracle. Fury dancing now, Wallin staying back too. Fury jumps in with combo. Huge left from Wallin rocks Fury! Wallin sees Fury hurt, Fury is staying close though, despite being wobbled. Cut looks terrible, too. Has to survive half a round in this shape. Fury is holding...good uppercut from Fury but Wallin is boxing and Fury is just sleepwalking. Fury looks better now with seconds left. Fury survives the round. Wallin 10-9; Fury 118-113. 

We think the scorecards could range from 115-113 Fury to 118-110, but it should be unanimous.

Decision: 116-112, 117-111, 118-110 all for Fury

Judges decisions were all within the range of our card, if you give the 10-10 rounds to each fighter. WOW Wallin has a horrible cut of his own over his eye.

Fury showed both his strengths and weaknesses with this bout. Fury isn't the kind that kind end a fight quickly; he's best when he can take his time and win rounds. This time, though, he had to try to win quickly, and though he won the rounds, he left himself open to Wallin's late surge. Everyone who has followed Fury's career knows it doesn't take much to put him on unsteady legs, and that happened in Round 12.

But he also showed how good he can be in a messy bout, and showed his heart, which no one has questioned since he came back from the 12th round knockdown by Deontay Wilder. Hopefully he doesn't take any more of these fights before facing Wilder in a rematch for the heavyweight title.

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.