Former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has been ranked No.1 by The Ring magazine in the latest rankings while rival Tyson Fury misses out after he gave up his belt when he announced he was retired in August.
Joshua suffered his second consecutive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in September, which has put him 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 to be 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 rematch after the ‘Gypsy King’ ditched the title.
The Ring Magazine belt is not a typical world title like the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO, but regarded as a prestigious trophy handed out only when the best fight the best.
Although Fury has now confirmed suspicions that he’s not really retired after all, Ring have not yet decided to re-rank him. It appears this will not happen until he fights again on December 3.