SportsRatings: Boxing/MMA

Rankings preview: Joshua regains SportsRatings heavyweight belt

Anthony Joshua's successful rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr. was enough to propel him to the top of our rankings, back to where he was before he lost to Ruiz the first time. As such, he takes the SportsRatings heavyweight crown from Tyson Fury, who held it for the last six months. He also jumps over Deontay Wilder, who had just reached his highest ranking at #2. Ruiz Jr falls from #3 to #4.

Preview: SportsRatings Heavyweight Top 15

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	Dec 1	Dec 9	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	December 7 results •12/09-12/31 Schedule
5	1	4	4	1	ANTHONY JOSHUA	46.09	16-1-0	UD 12 #3 ANDY RUIZ JR New SportsRatings Heavyweight Champion
1	2	1	1	2	TYSON FURY	45.38	17-0-1
4	3	3	2	3	DEONTAY WILDER	41.08	18-0-1
26	38	2	3	4	ANDY RUIZ JR	27.98	13-2-0	L UD 12 #4 ANTHONY JOSHUA
21	5	6	5	5	DILLIAN WHYTE	24.97	13-1-0	UD 10 #201 MARIUSZ WACH
3	4	5	6	6	ALEX POVETKIN	22.66	29-2-1	Draw 12 #13 MICHAEL HUNTER
17	7	7	7	7	JARRELL MILLER	19.46	9-0-0	--last rated win -13 months.
10	8	8	8	8	KUBRAT PULEV	18.67	20-1-0
16	33	32	13	9	MICHAEL HUNTER	17.91	6-1-1	Draw 12 #6 ALEX POVETKIN
--	17	15	9	10	EFE AJAGBA	16.95	6-0-0	•12/21 vs. #141 IAGO KILADZE
67	13	13	10	11	ADAM KOWNACKI	16.31	9-0-0
--	11	12	12	12	FILIP HRGOVIC	16.20	5-0-0	KO 3 #123 ERIC MOLINA
--	29	29	11	13	DANIEL DUBOIS	15.65	6-0-0	•12/21 vs. #14 KYOTARO FUJIMOTO
11	9	11	14	14	KYOTARO FUJIMOTO	14.12	10-1-0	--last rated win -35 months; •12/21 vs. #13 DANIEL DUBOIS
--	--	--	15	15	SHAWNDELL WINTERS	13.62	2-0-0

Note how close the top three fighters are; any one of them would take the title with a win over any of the others. Meaning that if Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder fight in 2020, the winner will be the new belt-holder. And no one outside the top three can win the belt with a single win—even beating the champ, like Ruiz Jr did last June—will just elevate the #2 fighter to the top again. This happens when there is no clear-cut champion. In cases like these, it's not "the man who beat the man" because you don't really know exactly who "the man" is! 

Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin hold at #5 and #6, but the distance between them grows. Whyte decisioned Mariusz Wach while Povetkin fought to a draw with Michael Hunter and loses points. Hunter was the big winner from Saturday in our rankings (other than Joshua of course) as he leaps into the top 10 from #13, pushing Efe Ajagba and Adam Kownacki down a spot each. Ajagba fights later this month but it won't improve his placement.

Filip Hrgovic easily beat Eric Molina but it wasn't enough to move him up, thanks to Hunter's performance. He does temporarily pass Daniel Dubois, who is now at #13 ahead of his clash with #14 Kyotaro Fujimoto on the 21st. The winner there will leap into the top 10, passing Hunter for the #9 spot.

So ultimately Ajagba will be bumped out of the top 10 even if he wins, and Hrgovic will drop a spot despite his dominant KO. This is the kind of thing that happens when the top heavyweights stay active! It's hard to get used to, since we haven't seen it in quite a while.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Wladimir Klitschko vs. Anthony Joshua round-by-round scoring

Wladimir Klitschko takes on Anthony Joshua for the interim SportsRatings Heavyweight title, as well as the IBF and WBA belts, at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

1996 Olympic gold medalist Klitschko (64-4, 53 KO), ranked #2 by SportsRatings currently, is a slight underdog to #5-ranked Joshua by the oddsmakers. Klitschko hasn't fought since losing his title to Tyson Fury in November of 2015, and hasn't won a fight since beating Bryant Jennings in April, 2015.

Joshua (18-0, 18 KO), the 2012 Olympic super-heavyweight gold medalist, has won 4 times since Klitschko lost his belt, beating Dillian Whyte, Charles Martin, Dominic Breazeale, and Eric Molina. None are among the biggest names in the division, but note that 3 of the 4 were undefeated before facing Joshua.

Either 41-year-old Klitschko will make a huge comeback win and re-establish himself as the man to beat at heavyweight, or the torch will be passed to the 27-year-old Joshua, who most believe is the future of the division.

Klitschko weighed in at a relatively light 240 1/4 pounds, with Joshua tipping the scales at 250. Both fighters are giants, standing 6' 6" apiece.

The fight is set to begin sometime around 5pm eastern U.S. time. Both fighters have entered the ring. Arnold Schwarzeneggar is in the crowd. Vitali Klitschko's wife is the performer for the Ukranian national anthem. 

Round-by-round scoring follows:

• Round One: Klitschko jabbing hurredly at the start. Joshua gets a few decent right hands in. Wlad wary of Joshua's punches. Rare fight where Klitschko doesn't dwarf his opponent and have a huge reach advantage. Wlad jabbing less as the round goes on. Wlad finds his way in but clinches. Interesting first round with no clear winner but Joshua landed the only punches that mattered. Joshua 10-9.
• Round Two: BIG right from Klitshko to start round 2, Joshua takes it well and is using his jab more early. Joshua doing better controlling ring space in round 2. Fighters still testing each other. Not much else happening this round, less action as the round continues. If we gave Joshua r1 for bigger punches, we can give this to Wlad for that opening punch, as neither round was dominant. 10-9 Klitschko, 19-19.
• Round Three: A lot of action early in the round from both. Joshua pushing forward missing with big punches. Klitschko trying to hold a bit but isn't going to be able to do it. So far Klitschko hasn't folded from big pressure, and Joshua hasn't backed down from Wlad's jab at all. Ref is separating the clinch quickly. Both fighters having trouble with the other's style, lots of misses. We punt on this one. 10-10, 29-29. 
• Round Four: Another big right from Klitschko to start the round! Joshua takes it well again. Joshua connects with a not-as-big right hand. Clinch and Joshua warned for hitting on break, no big deal. Wlad whiffs as Joshua ducks. Good body shots by Joshua. Klitschko has been lighter on his feet as Joshua stays planted but Joshua moving more now. Jab by Joshua who probably did better in the 2nd half of the round but overall hard to score as Joshua missed on his biggest shots. Fuck it, 10-10, 39-39.
• Round Five:  Joshua explodes out of the gate with a flurry and puts Wlad down! Klitschko holding on with 2 minutes left in round and a bad cut. Now at midpoint of round Joshua is looking tired, as is Klitschko. Big shots from Klitschko but Joshua battling back too!! Joshua is dead tired and Klitschko is hitting him with everything he's got! Round ends, should be 10-8 for Joshua but did Klitschko battle back enough to make it just 10-9? Joshua never went down, so 10-8 Joshua, 49-47.
• Round Six: Cut on Wlad's eye is bad. Fighters start where they left off but not as exhausted. Pause while Joshua's mouthpiece is put in. Klitschko right puts Joshua down!! Now both are clinching and punching, Joshua is ducking low and is in trouble.  Klitschko keeps missing with crosses as Joshua ducks, but then landing uppercuts. Incredible fight. Klitschko 10-8; 57-57.
• Round Seven: Wow, here we go. Klitschko walking down Joshua, who looks uncertain but recovered mostly. Klitschko looks confident but still has that bad cut. Klitschko scoring but not threatening Joshua at this point, taking his time while Joshua is trying to rest and recover his confidence. Joshua is still TALKING to Klitschko, seems foolish at this point. Klitschko is being conservative, picking off jabs when possible. Wlad clinches and Joshua looks happy for the chance to rest, and he comes alive for this first time in the round with less than 30 seconds left. Round was all Klitschko, 10-9; 67-66.
• Round Eight: Joshua comes to the center early, looking more recovered now. Klitschko still confident. Joshua decent body shot with left hand. Huge right from Klitschko whiffs! Joshua throwing heat, for first time in 3 rounds. Klitschko jabbing well again, and moving well. Decent punches from both connect. Wlad clinches with 20 seconds left. Another close round, we'll keep it even: 10-10; Klitschko 77-76.
• Round Nine: Again both look to start fast, this is great. Joshua is fully recovered and Wlad's cut isn't an issue anymore. Wlad misses with a right while Joshua goes to the body. Two are tangled up. Joshua makes Wlad miss again, Wlad backs up to avoid body shot. Joshua connects with two shots with a minute left. Action pause as both tire a bit. Right hand from Joshua, and two quick body shots. Joshua 10-9; 86-86.
• Round Ten: Joshua jumps in quickly with 1-2, Klitschko bouncing, dancing away. Two collide jumping in, clinch, separate. Jab from Klitschko, Joshua answers. Again the action slows later in the round. Both fighters dodging the big shots well. Joshua clubbed with right hand late. Another close round. 10-10; 96-96. This is going to be a close decision assuming it makes it that far. Should be an amazing final 2 rounds.
• Round Eleven: Joshua hurts Wlad early with 3 big punches. Klitschko running away for his life in the 11th. Klitschko returns fire but eats another punch before clinching. A huge uppercut from Joshua how did Klitschko stay up! Now he's down!!! 1:30 left in round...now Joshua puts him down again and that might be it...no he's up with 1 minute left!!! Fight is stopped with 30 seconds left, ANTHONY JOSHUA WINS

That was the best heavyweight fight I've seen in a long time. The final stoppage was a bit quick I think, but after being down twice, there was no leeway to protest, and Klitschko has not protested.

Unlike Tyson Fury, who "beat" Klitschko by barely engaging, Anthony Joshua took it to him, almost suffered the consequences himself, but held on and came back with a huge 11th round.

Gold medalist Joshua really looks like the future of the heavyweight division, and tonight was the true passing of the torch, in epic fashion in one of the great heavyweight fights of all time. Wlad Klitschko has nothing to be ashamed of putting on this performance at age 41 after one of the great careers in boxing history. 

And, if there was ever a fight that was going to renew interest in heavyweight boxing, this was it. We shall see.

Povetkin takes interim title; will the result stand?

Alexander Povetkin claimed his first share of the SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing title in his long career, but he did so under the dodgiest of circumstances and won a fight which could conceivably be overturned to a No Contest.

Povetkin, who has been #3 in the Heavyweight rankings for around 7 straight years, beat Johann Duhaupas by KO in the 6th round in Russia. This result, coupled with the inactivity of #1 ranked Tyson Fury and #2 Wladimir Klitschko, makes the Povetkin our Interim Champion—despite remaining #3 in the rankings. And despite some questions about Povetkin's worthiness.

SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing Top 10 as of December 18, 2016:

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	Dec 1	Dec 18	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	December 1-17 results
5	1	1	1	1	TYSON FURY	62.77	15-0-0	last rated win -12 months.
1	2	2	2	2	WLAD KLITSCHKO	51.30	42-4-0	last rated win -19 months.
3	3	3	3	3	ALEX POVETKIN	33.78	25-1-0	KO 6 #18 JOHANN DUHAUPAS [new Interim HW champion]
16	6	5	4	4	DEONTAY WILDER	27.28	13-0-0
--	15	6	5	5	ANTHONY JOSHUA	26.40	11-0-0	TKO 3 #77 ERIC MOLINA
46	17	12	9	6	JOSEPH PARKER	22.64	11-0-0	MD 12 #12 ANDY RUIZ JR
54	12	8	7	7	LUIS ORTIZ	21.63	12-0-0	TKO 7 #100 DAVID ALLEN
19	16	7	8	8	LUCAS BROWNE	21.03	10-0-0
2	4	4	6	9	VITALI KLITSCHKO	20.27	27-2-0	last rated win -51 months.
4	14	10	10	10	KUBRAT PULEV	18.32	16-1-0	RET 3 Samuel Peter

Povetkin tested positive for Ostarine just prior to the fight, which was to have been a match against Bermane Stiverne. Normally that would mean cancellation of the fight—just as it did for Povetkin's prior matchup with Deontay Wilder. In that case, Povetkin's Meldonium level was scant and likely due to ingestion in 2015, which was legal. But this time, it meant that despite the WBC withdrawing its sanctioning of the fight, the fight went off as planned—with last-minute replacement Duhaupas subbing for Stiverne, who was uninterested in a fight that wouldn't be a sanctioned eliminator.

Confused yet? Another interesting note is that the man Povetkin took the Interim title from is none other than Deontay Wilder—the man who would have faced the winner of Povetkin-Stiverne.

If Povetkin's "B" sample also tests positive, the fight may be ruled a No Contest...or perhaps not. Lately fighters have been testing positive and getting bans of various lengths while their results stand. Lucas Browne is one case; his win over Ruslan Chagaev was not overturned as investigators were sympathetic to his arguments that he consumed clenbuterol inadvertantly.

So if the results stand, Povetkin will remain the interim champ until April 29, 2017 when #2 Wladimir Klitschko faces #5 Anthony Joshua in London. Unless that fight doesn't happen for some reason.

And if the result of Povetkin's fight is overturned, then the interim championship will revert retroactively back to #4 Wilder, and he'll hold it until April.

Another question: Why don't we disqualify Povetkin for his alleged drug use? Because, quite plainly and simply, there is no way to know who is using what, due to the ineffectiveness of testing in the sport of boxing. We use official results, and hopefully when cheaters are caught, results are overturned and bans are issued. This way we can keep a record of fights and use that—and only that—in making our rankings, without all sorts of modifiers and notes about PED allegations and test results.

Unfortunately that doesn't always work out. Erkan Teper tested positive multiple times and his wins over Duhaupas (funny how the same names pop up?) and David Price remained. He was banned for two years by the German Boxing Federation but still allowed to fight by other organizations. Luckily, he was defeated by Christian Hammer which knocked Teper out of the top ten. Karma sometimes works in strange ways. Duhaupas had no such luck against Povetkin, but hopefully the Klitschko-Joshua fight gives us a more worthy Interim Champion.

Assuming of course, that those two are clean fighters. One never knows...