Anthony Joshua has been ranked No.1 by The Ring magazine with rival Tyson Fury missing out after giving up his belt.
'AJ' suffered his second consecutive defeat by Oleksandr Usyk in September, which has left out of the heavyweight world title picture for the first time in several years. Meanwhile, Fury declared he had retired from the sport after his successful title defence against Dillian Whyte, but has now announced he will return on December in Cardiff.
Fury's on-off retirement from the sport appears the reason he has been left out of the Ring Magazine rankings with the likes of Whyte and Luis Ortiz making the top 10 ahead of him in fifth and sixth respectively. Joshua tops the pile having recently fought for the title belt against Usyk, which was put on the line for their sequel after the 'Gypsy King' ditched the title.
Deontay Wilder sits behind Joshua ahead of his heavyweight return against Robert Helenius next weekend, with Joe Joyce and Andy Ruiz Jr tucked in third and fourth position after their recent wins. Joseph Parker remains in the top 10 at seventh despite his defeat by Joyce, while Zhilei Zhang clings on to 10th position behind Filip Hrgovic and Frank Sanchez.
Usyk currently holds the belt and he was expected to defend it against previous title holder Fury in an undisputed title clash before the end of the year. However the Ukrainian has elected to take a break from the sport before accepting the fight, which will see the meeting delayed until next year.
The 'Gypsy King' looked as if he would take on Joshua before Christmas after offering his rival the chance to challenge for his WBC heavyweight crown. However after setting a 10-day deadline for the fight to be signed off, Joshua missed his opportunity and despite a brief U-turn from the champion, the fight is now effectively dead in the water.
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Despite having been left out of the Ring Magazine rankings after his repetitive retirement claims, Fury's dad John has revealed his son is ready to fight anyone in the way of him becoming undisputed champion. "Tyson wants to show the public and the world he's the number one heavyweight in the world and cement his place in history," Fury Sr said.
"Two different leagues: AJ is a good fighter; Tyson is a brilliant one. It's a gulf in class, same for Usyk and all. Tyson wants all the belts and to have notable scalps along the way. He wants to get them all polished off while he’s at his best."
