Top five heavyweight boxers in the world today ranked as former world champion left out in shock omission
SPORTbible have ranked the FIVE best heavyweight boxers in the world right now.
The heavyweight division is thriving, and an undisputed champion will be crowned on Saturday as Tyson Fury takes on Oleksandr Usyk in a blockbuster clash in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Fury will defend his WBC belt against Usyk, who puts his WBA (super), IBF and WBO titles on the line.
Whoever comes out on top will be the best fighter at the weight in a division which has been subject to fierce debate.
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Ahead of Fury and Usyk going to battle for all the marbles, we've named and ranked the FIVE best heavyweights in the world right now.
5 - Filip Hrgovic
Hrgovic is still waiting for his first crack at a world title, but he is in line to compete for the IBF title following Fury vs. Usyk.
The Croatian has been widely avoided in the division and boasts a win over Zhilei Zhang, having compiled a perfect record since turning pro.
Still only 31, the towering heavyweight star not only packs a punch but has incredible boxing IQ and could be a real force in the future.
4 - Joseph Parker
Under the tutelage of Andy Lee, Parker has resurrected his career with huge wins over Deontay Wilder and Zhang.
Following his stoppage defeat to Joe Joyce, the Kiwi, who is part of Team Fury, has produced some of the best performances of his great career and is on track to earn another world title shot.
Despite often being the smaller man, the 32-year-old fights to his strengths and is improving with every fight.
3 - Anthony Joshua
Not long ago Joshua was viewed as the No.1 heavyweight in the world. But after succumbing to Usyk, he lost his spot at the top. However, he's undergone a resurgence. Like Parker, changing trainers has worked wonders as 'AJ' has looked menacing under Ben Davison.
He was fairly gun-shy in his defeats to Usyk but recently showed off his legendary speed and power against Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou. We rate him as the best heavyweight without a world title.
2 - Oleksandr Usyk
Even though he has three of the four major world titles, we have Usyk behind Fury. He's won five fights at heavyweight since moving up from the cruiserweight division and his phenomenal skillset has transferred smoothly to the weight above, showcasing his ability when he dethroned Joshua before beating him in their rematch.
Of course, he has the chance to be the No.1 fighter in the division if he hands Fury the first loss of his pro career.
1 - Tyson Fury
Fury ended not one but two long-reigning, dominant world champions in defeating Wladimir Klitschko and Wilder and owns wins over fringe world level contenders against Wallin and Dillian Whyte.
His body of work in the heavyweight division has been incredible.
He's an extremely skilled boxer and has the chance to claim undisputed status when he meets Usyk.
Zhang, who has not one but two victories over Joyce, narrowly misses out while there's no space for former world champion Wilder, who is 1-3 in his last four fights.
Topics: Boxing, Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder
Nasir Jabbar