The heavyweight division is as exciting as it has been in some time and Matchroom CEO Eddie Hearn is working with some of its biggest talents.
In 2024 fans have already had the first undisputed fight for some 25 years when Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk battled it out for ultimate supremacy in May. Usyk came out on top in that one and the pair will go at it again in December.
In the meantime, Anthony Joshua is back in the picture having put together four wins after back-to-back losses to Usyk.
In front of a record crowd at Wembley Stadium later this month, he will take on another in-form man and fellow Brit in Daniel Dubois. ‘DDD’ has stopped Filip Hrgovic and Jarrell Miller in his last two fights and now looks to defend the IBF title he was awarded after Usyk vacated ahead of his rematch with Fury.
Speaking to BoxNation, Hearn was asked to name his current top 5 heavyweights and top of the list was his own man Joshua. He then included Usyk, Fury, a resurgent Joseph Parker and Martin Bakole, who presumably sits alongside Dubois in just trying to break in to that top five.
“AJ, obviously, Usyk, Fury, Parker, but Bakole could beat Parker. Parker is on a great run.”
He then named a fight he would like to see between two form men in the division.
“I tweeted it, Bakole-Zhang. I love it, two absolute colossal lumps. I think Bakole beats him.”
Bakole is coming off a big win against the much-hyped American contender Jared Anderson back in August, while Zhang has stopped Joe Joyce twice, lost on points to Parker and stopped Deontay Wilder in his last four fights.
If the big, competitive fights continue being made as they are now in the division, that top five may become much clearer over the next twelve months.
