Eddie Hearn still believes Anthony Joshua is the best heavyweight in the world despite being knocked out by Andy Ruiz Jr.
The Matchroom Boxing chief was asked by SPORTbible to rank his top five boxers in the division, and stayed loyal to his man AJ.
Joshua was stunned by Ruiz Jr in June and lost his WBA, IBF and WBO titles as well as his status as the No 1 heavyweight in the world.
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The pair will meet in a rematch in Saudi Arabia on December 7 with AJ looking for revenge from his New York nightmare.
But Hearn still thinks Joshua is better than Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and the man who knocked him out at Madison Square Garden.
He told SPORTbible: "In my mind, it's Anthony Joshua, Andy Ruiz, Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and Dillian Whyte - they're my top five.
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"Oleksandr Usyk will be in there but he hasn't had a fight at heavyweight yet, so I'm not putting him in."
Hearn added: "That's my mind, that's what I truly believe is the rankings.
"But there's two versions of that - there's my mind and there's on paper.
"On paper, I say Andy Ruiz, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Dillian Whyte.
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"For me, Ruiz has the best win, because he knocked out, in my opinion, the best heavyweight on the planet."
Deontay Wilder holds the WBC heavyweight title and was held to a thrilling draw by Tyson Fury when the pair met in Los Angeles last December.
But Hearn still ranks Fury ahead of the American, and even backs Ruiz to beat Wilder as well.
The promoter said: "Tyson Fury on paper - it's hard not to put him No 1.
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"But I just truly believe Joshua is the best heavyweight on the planet, so to beat him, you go to number one.
"On paper, Ruiz and Fury are one and two right now. I don't think Ruiz beats Fury, but I think he beats Wilder.
"Styles make fights and I don't think Ruiz would get that close to Fury, I think Fury would make that fight the biggest stinker.
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"Joshua did all the things to make it a brilliant fight.
"He went in with his chin in the air and he just started trading - he didn't have any defence.
"But Fury would box on the back foot at range and he would grab him up close.
"But Wilder would engage. And I think whilst Wilder has the power to knock anyone out, Ruiz has a very good chin, throws a lot of punches, and if he hits Wilder I think he knocks him out."
BBC 5 Live Podcast Eddie Hearn: No Passion, No Point is available on BBC Sounds and other platforms including iTunes
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Tyson Fury, Andy Ruiz Jr, Anthony Joshua, Eddie Hearn, Deontay Wilder