Anthony Joshua, Daniel Dubois and Tyson Fury are some of the best heavyweights of the modern era, but not the hardest hitting according to one man who fought them all.
Joshua is now 35 and has not held a world title since he lost his belts to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 but up until then he had been one of the main men in the division. He has fought 32 times, won 28 and knocked out 25 of his opponents.
Dubois has more recently been a champion but lost his title to Usyk back in August, and is also known for being a big puncher who has stopped the likes of Joshua, Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic.
Fury retired back in January, having been a former world champion who knocked out Deontay Wilder twice in their three fights, but like his fellow Brits, he surrendered his belt to Usyk in December last year, though many hope he will still fight Joshua.
One man who fought them all was the durable Kevin Johnson, who went the distance with both Fury and Dubois but was beaten by Joshua inside two rounds, one of only three times that Johnson was stopped in 60 professional fights.
Speaking to a Russian paper, American former world title challenger Johnson declared one man hit harder than them all.
“Alex Leapai from Australia. Alex Leapai is the physically strongest boxer I have ever met in my life. Not only in a fight – I went back to Australia later, lived there for a while, and we sparred together every day. He is powerful.”
Leapai once challenged Wladimir Klitschko for the unified heavyweight titles but was stopped in the fifth round, then retired in 2019 after losing to Joseph Parker, with his final record reading 31 wins, 8 defeats and 4 draws, 25 of those wins by knockout.
Joshua and Dubois are both set to return to the ring at the end of this year or start of next as they make another tilt at world honours, while Fury continues to tease a comeback.
