Anthony Joshua ranked heavyweight boxing stars from past and present, but there was no space for Tyson Fury amongst the top tier of previous champions.
The 34-year-old is attempting to put himself in the frame for another world title shot when he fights Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on Friday, March 8 and has been nominating his pick of the best boxers in the history of the division.
Joshua is a former two-time world champion himself and wants to become a three-time record belt holder by facing the eventual winner of Tyson Fury’s clash against Oleksandr Usyk.
Ahead of his showdown with former UFC star Ngannou, Joshua was presented with a list of heavyweights and asked to place them into five separate groups ranging from GOAT [greatest of all time] to sparring partner.
The Englishman placed a total of seven fighters in the GOAT category while others mixed in the champion, world level and mid level rankings.
British fighter Anthony Joshua ranked heavyweight boxing stars from past and present
There was no space for reigning heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in Joshua’s top tier rankings
An honest and modest Joshua started by immediately thrusting former heavyweight superstar Muhammad Ali into the top tier who was later joined by Derek Chisora, Evander Holyfield, Wladimir Klitschko, Joe Lewis, Mike Tyson and Rocky Marciano.
Joshua previously beat former Ukrainian champion Klitschko to claim his first WBA title at the age of 27 in front of 90,000 spectators at Wembley in 2017.
A matchup against Fury has been touted ever since and looked to be close to coming to fruition before he was surprisingly beaten in two separate bouts by Usyk.
Joshua and Fury would be one of the biggest fights in the history of boxing, but there was only space for the Gypsy King and Usyk amongst the champion rankings.
Deontay Wilder, Frank Bruno and Joseph Parker also made it into the grouping with Joshua placing himself in the group of superstar boxers as well alongside his peers.
Meanwhile, upcoming opponent Ngannou who floored Tyson Fury in his first professional boxing bout last year was added into the third ‘world level’ tier by Joshua.
Joshua placed his upcoming opponent Francis Ngannou in the ‘world level’ tier of fighters
Wladimir Klitschko was given a ‘GOAT’ ranking by Joshua despite previously being knocked out by the Brit
The Cameroonian has displayed his outrageous power in the build-up to Friday’s fight, but remains the underdog for the big-money clash in Riyad.
David Haye, Dillian Whyte and Daniel Dubois were also place in the same group.
A host of other heavyweight contenders including one of Joshua’s most recent opponent Robert Helenius and fellow Brit Joe Joyce were put into the mid level tier.
