With recent developments in the Boxing World like the retirement of Tyson Fury and Daniel Dubois´ upset of Anthony Joshua for the IBF World Title, it looks like a new crop of Heavyweights are set to take over Boxing’s Biggest Divison.
With the recent retirement of British Heavyweight Boxer and former Lineal Heavyweight Champion, Tyson Fury following his loss to Oleksander Usyk. Many boxing fans are speculating who the future stars of the heavyweight division may be, especially in the wake of fellow former Heavyweight Stars Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder taking embarrassing losses over the last few years. Tyson Fury´s loss to Oleksander Usyk was a rematch of a fight conducted in May 2024 for all four major World Titles in boxing, these being the WBC, IBF, WBO, and WBA belts. Following Usyks first win over Tyson Fury, the Ukrainian boxer who is currently ranked as the #1 Pound-For-Pound Boxer by Ring Magazine, dropped the IBF and WBO World Titles in pursuit of a rematch against Tyson Fury which netted Usyks camp over $100,000,000.00 through a 55-45 split of generated money. The IBF Title then went to the fighter which the IBF ranked as the second best boxer in the world, a British Boxer named Daniel DuBois. DuBois had been a rising name throughout the boxing world, formerly fighting on the undercard of Jake Paul’s boxing bout against former UFC Superstar Tyron Woodley before knocking down (but still losing to) Oleksander Usyk. DuBois’ rise through the Heavyweight Rankings began with his shocking knockdown of Usyk, as the British Heavyweight then beat two skilled contenders in the Heavyweight Division, these being the Croatian Filip Hrgovic and the American Jarrell Miller, both fights taking place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After these two fights, DuBois faced Anthony Joshua for the IBF World Title, wherein DuBois won a shocking upset victory, knocking out the Heavyweight Star in the 5th round of the bout.
DuBois knocked out Anthony Joshua in the 5th round of the IBF Heavyweight World Championship at Wembley Stadium in the United Kingdom.
The other belt Usyk dropped, the WBO World Title went to the second best boxer in the world (according to the WBO), Joseph Parker. Parker had formerly been the WBO World Champion in the late 2010s before a loss to Anthony Joshua as well as Joe Joyce. Parker rose back into the inner sanctum of Heavyweight Boxers after an upset victory against Deontay ¨The Bronze Bomber¨ Wilder, beating the American boxer down over 12 rounds and scoring a unanimous decision from the fight’s judges. Parker then fought Zhilei Zhang in a fight to determine the second best boxer in the world according to the WBO. Parker beat Zhang (despite being knocked down multiple times by the Chinese Heavyweight) in a controversial bout, and was then awarded the title of WBO World Champion after Oleksander Usyk dropped this belt, along with the IBF World Title, to pursue a second fight against Tyson Fury. Joseph Parker is a much more technical-minded boxer than Daniel DuBois, oftentimes going for a win that would be decided by judges instead of a win by knockout.
Joseph Parker won the title of WBO ¨Interim¨ World Champion after beating Zhilei Zhang for the title on March 8th, 2024. Parker was then awarded the full WBO World Championship Belt after Oleksander Usyl declined to fight the New Zealand fighter.
The fighter which Joseph Parker beat, Zhilei Zhang, has a long career in boxing which began with a Silver Medal in the 2008 Olympics. However, the Chinese Heavyweight did not gain footing in Boxing’s biggest division until Zhang won two upset victories over rising Heavyweight Superstar, Joe Joyce. Knocking the Young British Heavyweight out both times with the WBO Interim Title (That would later become Joseph Parker’s WBO World Title) on the line in both fights. Previously, Zhang had lost two large bouts against the previously mentioned Filip Hrgovic as well as against Anthony Joshua in the Gold Medal Bout of the 2008 Olympics. Zhang is known for his knockout ability, as well as being one of the best Southpaw fighters in his division, alongside his superstar status in China. Zhang´s first fight against Joe Joyce received 340 Million Views across the world, with Zhang remaining a star on Chinese Social Media, regularly receiving tens of millions of views on various social media platforms across the most populous nation in the world.
Besides the ¨Big Three¨ of Heavyweight Boxers (Zhang, Parker, and DuBois), there are a number of up and coming Heavyweights across the world who have the opportunity to make a name for themselves in an ever-changing Boxing Landscape. These boxers include Agit Kabayel, a German Heavyweight boxer known for his speed and technical ability who will face Zhilei Zhang for the WBC Interim Title on February 22nd, Kabayel previously beat Frank Sanchez on the undercard of Tyson Fury´s first loss to Oleksander Usyk, Sanchez himself being a prominent contender from Cuba in terms of Heavyweight Boxing. Moses Itauma, an extremely young fighter from England (only recently turning 20 years old) who is known for both his speed and knockout ability, especially when compared to his weight (250) compared to the normal weight of other Heavyweight Boxers (generally about 220). Other English fighters include Johnny Fisher, an athlete hailing from a small town on the Eastern Outskirts of London, who rose to prominence partly with the use of Social Media (alogside his father/manager) and an online personality known for being characteristically British. Fisher recently won a controversial bout against David Allen where many thought the Welsh Allen had won the fight. Michael Bakole recently upset Jared Anderson in a shocking bout which showcased Bakoles arm strength with a 5th round Knockout of the Amercan Anderson. American Heavyweight Boxing seems to be in a recessive period with the recent ¨Big Three¨ of Heavyweight Boxing (Deontay Wilder, Jarrell Miller, and Jared Anderson) all encountering harmful losses within the last few years, however, with certain fighters like Michael ¨The Bounty¨ Hunter making their rise throughout the Heavyweight rankings after competing in the Cruiserweight Division. Hunter is the son of the late Mike Hunter, a bonafide ¨Challenger¨ who competed in the 1980s and 1990s on programs like Tuesday Night Fights, who died in 2006 after an altercation with Los Angeles Police.
Michael ¨The Bounty¨ Hunter seems to be the last hope for American Heavyweight Boxing, Hunter is shown here with a WBA belt. Hunter is known for his support of charitable causes, such as Ellipsis, Boxnblaze, and the Gumbiner Foundation for Growth.
Of course, with Heavyweight Boxing being the largest division of boxing. The recent involvement of the Saudi Arabian Government in the sport will determine which fights will happen next, which fights will have a World Title on the Line, and which fighters will be given second chances after potential losses. With Oleksander Usyk set to drop the WBC and WBA World Title Belts after moving to the Cruiserweight Division, it seems that the new crop of Heavyweight Boxers will have a slew of titles to compete for, and make their own legacy in Professional Boxing.
