SportsRatings: Boxing/MMA

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...

With top 3 idle, Deontay Wilder is interim Heavyweight Champion of the world

It hasn't happened in over 20 years, but as of November 29th the top three ranked boxers in SportsRatings' Heavyweight Top 100 are considered 'inactive', meaning that #4 Deontay Wilder is the interim Heavyweight Champion.

With the rematch between #1 Tyson Fury and #2 Wladimir Klitschko being postponed twice, it has now been over a year since either boxer fought (and over a year and a half since Klitschko won a fight). #3 Alexander Povetkin was scheduled to fight Wilder, but that fight was cancelled due to the meldonium fiasco and now Povetkin hasn't fought since last November 4th.

That leaves Wilder as the interim champion, as seen in our rankings through November 29, 2016:

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	Nov 1	Nov 29	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	November results; •December schedule
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	32.66	24-1-0	last rated win -12 months; •12-17 vs. #19 BERMANE STIVERNE
16	6	5	4	4	DEONTAY WILDER	27.28	13-0-0	[interim HW title holder]
--	22	6	5	5	ANTHONY JOSHUA	25.71	10-0-0	•12-10 vs. #77 ERIC MOLINA
2	4	4	6	6	VITALI KLITSCHKO	21.36	27-2-0	last rated win -50 months.
52	16	8	9	7	LUIS ORTIZ	21.05	11-0-0	UD 12 #20 MALIK SCOTT •12-10 vs. #100 DAVID ALLEN
19	14	7	7	8	LUCAS BROWNE	21.03	10-0-0
47	15	12	8	9	JOSEPH PARKER	18.91	10-0-0	•12-10 vs. #12 ANDY RUIZ JR
4	13	10	10	10	KUBRAT PULEV	18.32	16-1-0	•12-3 vs. Samuel Peter

If December pans out, however, there will be a lot of action in the top ten and potentially a change in the interim titleholder. First, Anthony Joshua—#5, and therefore #2 in interim terms—fights Eric Molina on the 10th. Even if he wins, however, he won't pass Wilder. Neither would #9 Joseph Parker by beating #12 Andy Ruiz Jr. So the interim-title-change will have to happen on December 17th when #3 Alex Povetkin fights #19 Bermane Stiverne. A win by Povetkin, though it would leave him #3 overall, would give him the interim title, his first in a career that has seen him rank at #3 for the past seven years straight, save for a 1-month stint at #2 before Fury defeated Klitschko to knock Povetkin back to #3.

Speaking of Fury and Klitschko, it will be the winner of their rematch who reclaims the undisputed title—if a rematch happens. Failing that, Fury will have to recover from his illness and defend his title, or Klitschko will have to fight again and gain enough points to pass Fury. It's also possible that someone who defeated Klitschko could surpass Fury. Eventually, of course, Fury and Klitschko will lose enough points if they remain inactive that someone else will hold the outright title, but that would take some time—years perhaps. As for Wilder, he is injured and expected to resume his career some time in the first half of 2017.

It's interesting to look back at the last time this happened in our ratings' history. In November of 1994, the top three spots were also held by inactive fighters. To set the stage, in October of that year, Michael Moorer held the title; he had previously knocked Evander Holyfield to #2. Fighting an aging George Foreman, Moorer won every round until the last seconds of the 10th when a shot from Foreman dropped him. Moorer fell to #5, but Foreman—previously #57—only jumped to #4 behind three inactive fighters:

SportsRatings Heavyweight Rankings from November, 1994:

-3y -1y -6m -1m  Rnk Fighter            Record      Rating
  1   3   3   3   1. EVANDER HOLYFIELD (16- 2- 0)   39.47 last rated win -12 months.
  2   2   2   2   2. MIKE TYSON        (26- 1- 0)   39.00 last rated win -41 months.
  3   4   4   4   3. RIDDICK BOWE      (14- 1- 0)   33.88 last rated win -18 months.
 32  49  54  57   4. GEORGE FOREMAN    (41- 4- 0)   33.01 KO  10 #1 MICHAEL MOORER   
 12   1   1   1   5. MICHAEL MOORER    (10- 1- 0)   31.01 L KO  10 #57 GEORGE FOREMAN  

The very next month, Riddick Bowe took over the interim title from Foreman by beating Larry Donald, then in March he claimed the undisputed title by beating Herbie Hide, which put him ahead of Holyfield. Foreman never made it to our top spot in his 90s comeback, but he held onto the lineal title until losing to Shannon Briggs a few years later.

The only other time the top three heavyweights were inactive was almost 100 years earlier, from September 1895 to January of 1896:

-3y -1y -6m -1m  Rnk Fighter            Record      Rating
  2   1   1   1   1. BOB FITZSIMMONS   (15- 1- 2)   19.13 last rated win -16 months.
  1   2   2   2   2. PETER JACKSON     (14- 0- 3)   18.17 last rated win -38 months.
  3   3   3   3   3. JAMES J CORBETT   ( 9- 0- 4)   16.07 last rated win -24 months.
 10  12  12  12   4. TOMMY RYAN        ( 3- 0- 0)   14.76 W   3 #5 HENRY BAKER      
  6   6   6   6   5. JOE CHOYNSKI      (15- 4- 3)   14.62 KO  13 #30 JIM HALL         

Here in January of 1896, though 19th century records aren't 100% accurate, we see all-time greats Bob Fitzsimmons, Peter Jackson, and James Corbett all inactive for over a year, making Tommy Ryan the interim champ with his win over #5 Henry Baker. Previously, Baker and Dan Creedon had held the interim belt. But the very next month Fitzsimmons beat #9 Peter Maher to re-establish a proper champion.

It's an interesting time in the heavyweight division, with popular favorites like Anthony Joshua, Luis Ortiz, and Joseph Parker all vying for a title that seems up for grabs. It's ironic that Wilder is our interim champion, after Povetkin has been at #3 for so long, and the Povetkin-Wilder fight was cancelled earlier this year. If Klitschko and Fury can't get it together, it could be the rescheduling of that fight that decides the interim champ, and maybe eventually the undisputed champ. There are many others waiting in the wings, but someone will have to beat Klitschko or Fury if he wants to be our real champ within the next several years!

Browne, Ortiz win big fights, advance in top ten

Lucas Browne's win was an upset while Luis Ortiz' defeat of Tony Thompson was expected, and both move up in our rankings. Ortiz slides up two spots to #8, while Browne leaps all the way to #7.

SportsRatings Top Ten Heavyweight rankings through fights of March 5, 2016:

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	Mar 1st	Mar 5th	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	March 1-5 results
5	4	1	1	1	TYSON FURY	64.56	15-0-0
1	1	2	2	2	WLAD KLITSCHKO	57.16	42-4-0
3	3	3	3	3	ALEX POVETKIN	33.60	24-1-0
2	2	4	4	4	VITALI KLITSCHKO	29.40	27-2-0	last win -42 months.
17	6	5	5	5	DEONTAY WILDER	26.29	12-0-0
24	12	6	6	6	CHARLES MARTIN	24.83	5-0-0
21	13	17	18	7	LUCAS BROWNE	21.31	10-0-0	KO 10 #7 RUSLAN CHAGAEV
50	31	10	10	8	LUIS ORTIZ	19.78	10-0-0	KO 6 #43 TONY THOMPSON
36	16	9	8	9	ERKAN TEPER	18.33	7-0-0
9	11	8	9	10	ANDY RUIZ JR	17.98	9-0-0	last win -15 months.

Over the next several months there is the potential, at least, for many interesting fights. There is of course the rematch of new #1 Tyson Fury with former perennial champ Wladimir Klitschko for several belts including the WBA, WBO, and IBO. That fight is most likely to occur in June.

The WBC mandatory pits #3 Alexander Povetkin with #5 Deontay Wilder. When, or if, that fight takes place is anybody's guess right now, but May 21st has been suggested for some time.

Then there is the only officially scheduled rumble, with #6 Charles Martin taking on #15 Anthony Joshua for the IBF title on April 9th.

New #7 Browne faces a mandatory defense of his version of the WBA belt against Fres Oquendo, currently at #162 in our rankings. Ortiz presumably faces #33 Alexander Ustinov next.

With #4 Vitali Klitschko long inactive and officially retired, that leaves only #9 Erkan Teper, currently on steroids ban, and Andy Ruiz Jr., who hasn't faced a reasonable opponent in over a year.

The heavyweight division suddenly become more interesting with Klitschko's loss. If he beats Fury in the rematch—as we would expect—then what becomes of that interesting scenario? It doesn't disappear. Klitschko certainly looks vulnerable now, and even if he becomes champ again he won't hold the belt for several more years. While Martin and Browne probably aren't championship caliber. Ortiz has been very impressive and Wilder can't be dismissed. The worst-case scenario is a Klitschko win over Fury, Povetkin defeating Wilder, and Ortiz being upset by Ustinov.

But if any of Fury, Wilder, or Ortiz survive the next round the heavyweight division is moving in a more entertaining direction.

Top Ten Boxing: Wilder KOs Szpilka, Glazkov hurts knee, loses to Martin

The Heavyweight boxing "title" double-header was of mixed results, as the first fight ended in a fluke and the 2nd ended in spectacular fashion. Deontay Wilder destroyed Artur Szpilka with a massive right hand in the 9th round after Vyachaslav Glazkov went down in the 3rd to Charles Martin due to a knee injury.

The Wilder fight was close through the 8th as Szpilka's movement caused Wilder problems. The WBC belt holder lived up to his name, swinging wildly early in the fight trying to land one big shot. For his part, Szpilka made Wilder look bad but didn't generate a lot of offense of his own. After flustering Wilder for 8 rounds he paid the price going after a left hook and ran right into Wilder's right, which spun Szpilka's neck around and his body followed to the canvas. He never got up and was carried off on a stretcher.

In the battle for the vacant IBF belt, Glazkov managed to leave on his own power after possibly tearing an ACL during the fight. The first two rounds were very preliminary as Glazkov tried to deal with Martin's size. After the referee warned the fighters about their feet—Martin is a 6'5" southpaw so his right foot and Glazkov's left were inches apart—Martin stepped on Glazkov's foot during an exchange and Glazkov appeared to twist his right knee and slipped to the ground. After that he seemed very tentative and during the next exchange—where Martin's punch didn't land—Glazkov crumbled to the ground and informed the referee he couldn't continue. It was a similar result to the Klitschko-Solis fight except Glazkov walked out of the ring.

What happens in our rankings? Here's a preview of next month's top ten:

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	Jan Rank	Feb Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	January results
4	4	4	1	1	TYSON FURY	64.56	15-0-0
1	1	1	2	2	WLAD KLITSCHKO	57.16	42-4-0
3	3	3	3	3	ALEX POVETKIN	33.60	24-1-0
2	2	2	4	4	VITALI KLITSCHKO	30.99	27-2-0	last rated win -40 months.
20	6	6	6	5	DEONTAY WILDER	26.29	12-0-0	KO 9 #22 ARTUR SZPILKA
--	12	12	13	6	CHARLES MARTIN	24.83	5-0-0	TKO 3 #5 VYACH GLAZKOV
9	9	7	7	7	RUSLAN CHAGAEV	20.92	18-2-0
23	11	9	8	8	ANDY RUIZ JR	18.38	9-0-0	last rated win -13 months.
67	16	10	10	9	ERKAN TEPER	18.33	7-0-0
25	31	37	11	10	LUIS ORTIZ	18.18	9-0-0

A win is a win, and Charles Martin takes advantage of that fact to fly up to #6 as Glazkov falls from #5 to #12. Wilder moves up a notch to #5, his highest ranking ever on our Top 100. He's still below the retired Vitali Klitschko (inactive over 3 years) due to a generally weak schedule despite a 36-0 record. He also rates below mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin (#3), as well as of course Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko.

Though most fans would like to see Wilder face one of those above him, we have a feeling that Martin will be his next opponent. Martin didn't look bad in the first few rounds but his win was a fluke and he would be a much less daunting challenge than Povetkin.

Wladimir Klitschko vs. Tyson Fury Live Round by Round Scoring

World champion Wladimir Klitschko takes on SportsRatings #4 ranked Tyson Fury in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Wladimir Klitschko
64-3-0 (53 KO)
6'-6"
246 lbs.

Tyson Fury
24-0-0 (18 KO)
6'-9"
246 lbs.

Fury and Klitschko have entered the ring.

National anthems and introductions have commenced, along with obligatory "let's get ready to rumble."

Round-by-round scoring:

• Round One: The boxers both look very tall in the ring, both fighting at distance early, nothing landing, pawing at each other. Left hook from Fury comes close, a few jabs from Klitschko. Fury's guard is low, throwing jabs from low trajectory. Lots of nothing going on, first clinch of the fight. Fury is hyperactive, leads with left again, gets in a jab. Exchange at end of round. Who won the round? Hard to say. Punting on this one. 10-10
• Round Two: Fury and Klitshchko exchange jabs....Fury keeping guard very low, staying at distance. Fury rushes in for attack and lands with the left. Fury trying to knock Klitschkos arms away, takes short hit from Klitschko. Round ends with Fury maybe the more successful with very little again, no damage done. Fury 10-9; Fury 20-19.
• Round Three: Klitschko likely playing the long game, waiting for Fury to slow down his activity. For now he's being very careful. His jabs are very tentative as Fury stays far back. Fury doing almost nothing at midpoint of round. Big swing from Klitschko misses, Fury now in southpaw. Two clinches, Fury hits the back of the head in clinch. Fury didn't connect with anything else this round, give this one to Klitschko for actually trying something. Klitschko 10-9; 29-29.
• Round Four: Klitschko more agressive at the start with jabs. Fury counters with sloppy left hook. Near middle of round both have slowed down and are back to early output. More clinching. Two big swings from Fury hit Klitschko's gloves. Good exchange but both miss. Another exchange and both connect. Another too-close round. 10-10; 39-39.
• Round Five: Quick clinch as fighters are closer together. Fury ducking low into clinches. More back of head punches in clinch. Fury connects with jabs, moves out of range. Fury looking confident in middle of round, dancing. Another low duck clinch from Fury. Fury misses big and spins out. Klitschko actually has cut on his face, probably from heads connecting. Fury 10-9; Fury 49-48.
• Round Six: Fury continues movement at range. Solid left jab from Fury. Klitschko still looks tentative. Good left jab from Fury again. Klitschko stalking him down but not letting fists go. Fury mocks him with hands behind back. Jab again from Fury, attempts rare combo. Klitschko jab. Fury ducks jabs. Fury 10-9; Fury 59-57.
• Round Seven: Left hook from Fury misses, Fury backfist punch connects after another miss. Fury jumping in and attacking. Klitschko is looking very annoyed. Fury connects with close combo. Klitschko's counters not as effective as usual. Fury backs up Klitschko, another clinch. Fury puts hands behind back again, another clinch. Another round for Fury 10-9; Fury 69-66.
• Round Eight: Klitschko's corner seems to know he may be behind on cards, and at some point he will have to take chances. Fury backed into corner, clinch again. Fury hangs back, another clinch. Fury jumps in again with arms swinging. Klischko's jab connects. Fury bodyshots at break of clinch. Fury ducks into clinch again. Klitschko trying to get jab working. Klitschko jumps in this time, clinch again. That was just a clinchfest. 10-10; Fury 79-76.
• Round Nine: More action early, but both fighters quick to clinch. Klitschko lands two solid rights. Fury warned again for rabbit punches. Klitschko misses with right. Huge left by Fury after having his back turned. Jab from Fury. Did Fury win the round with that punch? Punting again, dammit. 10-10; Fury 89-86;
• Round Ten: Jabs from both fighters, Fury swinging away. Fury staying at distance, Klitschko hasn't got his rhythm yet. Big swing from Fury coming off clinch misses. Both wrestle in corner. Klitschko gets in close, and he goes for the clinch? Fury 10-9; Fury 99-95.
• Round Eleven: Corner pleading for Klitschko to throw the right hand. Klitscho does start more aggressive. Klitschko moves in, then backs out. More clinching. Doesn't seem to reflect the urgency that his corner had. He looks resigned to whatever the cards say. One minute to go in the round. Wladimir looks tentative again. Solid left hook by Fury. Fury hits him again. Fury hits the side of Wlad's head in the clinch, and Fury gets a point deducted for rabbit punch. 9-9 with deduction; Fury 108-104.
• Round Twelve: Fury hits the back of head in the clinch again, another warning for both boxers. Fury gets in a good punch as the two wrestle. Big right hand from Klitschko, best of the night. Left from Klitschko. Big clinch, then Fury is hurt again. Fury hit again, and hanging on with one minute left. Fury still keeping guard low at the one time he needs to keep them high. Huge right from Klitschko again. Big round from Wladimir but it might not be enough. Almost a 10-8 round but Fury stayed up. Klitschko 10-9; Fury 117-114.

The scores could go either way, especially in Germany. Did Fury really "take away" the title? Not really, but he probably outpointed him on the cards. The point deduction could conceivably be the difference in a fight where neither fighter did much of anything, which might mean Klitschko keeping his title.

115-112; 115-112; 116-111; winner: Tyson Fury. Amazing.

The cards basically reflected what we saw, winning by a narrow decision—two judges matching our 3-point win, and one with a 5-point win. Wladimir Klitschko has no one to blame but himself—he really only woke up in the last round; if he had opened up even a couple rounds earlier he could have knocked Fury out, or managed to win a decision. Instead he remained tentative for 11 rounds and lost the fight.

Now Tyson Fury is singing a song, so we will sign out.