The surprisingly competitive fight (an understatement) that went down in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury (Ngannou’s name first, because the winner goes first!) sure left us all asking a lot of questions: Who really won? Will Fury now retire? Is Ngannou as good as he looked or did Fury have a terribly bad night? Who now wins if Fury fights Oleksandr Usyk?
But another question, perhaps a tough one to answer, is this: is Francis Ngannou now worthy of being ranked in the world’s Top-10 at heavyweight in the sport of boxing?
On the one hand, Ngannou, 0-1(0) has yet to win a single fight in the ring, therefore some will say no, he cannot be ranked in the Top-10, not above other, far more active fighters who hold wins in the double, or triple digits.
On the other hand, Ngannou – in THE boxing debut of boxing debuts, regardless of weight class – showed so much in the Fury fight. Skill, power, a chin, technique, boxing ability……. How can the 37 year old not be rewarded with a Top-10 ranking? Are there really 10 other active heavyweight boxers who deserve to be ranked above Ngannou? Maybe you think there are.
But here’s a new heavyweight Top-10 you may find yourself agreeing with, screaming about, or finding yourself some place in the middle about:
1: Oleksandr Usyk – the best heavyweight on the planet today, until anyone proves different.
2: Tyson Fury – still unbeaten, but lacking a notable win for some time.
3: Anthony Joshua – two somewhat low-key wins under his belt since back-to-back losses to Usyk.
4: Deontay Wilder – desperately needs action, but has been beaten only by Fury.
5: Zhilei Zhang – coming off two big wins over Joe Joyce
6: Filip Hrgovic – unbeaten, holds a win over Zhang (albeit via controversial decision) and is the IBF mandatory challenger.
7: Joseph Parker – a former WBO champ and is three low-key wins removed from his loss to Joyce.
8: Joe Joyce – beaten only by possible ‘boogeyman’ Zhang.
9: Jared Anderson – the unbeaten young hotshot.
10: Francis Ngannou – shocked the absolute hell out of the reigning lineal and WBC heavyweight champion!
(note, Andy Ruiz is out due to inactivity)
Okay, start firing!
