The 10 Best Heavyweights of the 21st Century.

My recent holiday in Lanzarote was supposed to be a boxing and social media free week. With hindsight, that was unrealistic. Part way through the vacation, I allowed myself a quick look at Twitter and my attention was caught by an article by Eric Raskin for Boxing Scene. In the piece, which you can read here, he listed his top ten middleweights of this century so far.

Inspired by Eric’s article, and armed only with a pen, a few sheets of paper “borrowed” from the office at the resort where I was staying, and access to Boxrec on a dodgy internet signal, I decided to create my own list. But instead of the best fighters at 160lbs, I would turn my attention to the heavyweights. I decided to largely follow Eric’s lead in terms of his criteria. The start date would be January 1^st, 2001, and the ratings would, by and large, be based on results.

Before you scroll any further, here’s a quick quiz question. Without looking at the ten names, which do you think would be the greater number? The number of fighters who have failed drug tests, or the number of men who hold wins over Derek Chisora.

10. Alexander Povetkin.

A lot was expected of the Russian after he won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Even Teddy Atlas was impressed enough to agree to train Povetkin, although the relationship did not last. A late stoppage win over Chris Byrd and a 12-round decision over Ruslan Chagaev are standout results on his early record before, like so many of that era, he ran into Wladimir Klitschko in October 2013. Povetkin tasted the canvas four times against Wlad before going on to lose a unanimous decision. Having fought his way back into contention he was then stopped in seven rounds by a prime Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium in September 2018. Povetkin ended his career by splitting KO wins with Dillian Whyte. In the first fight, in Eddie Hearn’s garden during Covid, Povetkin got off the floor to stop Whyte in the fourth round. In an immediate rematch, Whyte got revenge with a fifth-round knockout.

What we will never know is how Povetkin would have fared against Deontay Wilder and Bermane Stiverne. The Russian was due to fight both men during 2016. However, on both occasions, he failed drug tests in the lead up to the bouts (in the Stiverne case it was just a matter of hours before the first bell) and the fights never went ahead. The two-time drug cheat fought eight times between 2017 and the end of his career in 2021, in some of what would have been the most financially rewarding bouts of his career. Don’t tell me that cheats don’t prosper.

9. Joseph Parker.

It seems surprising to me that Joseph Parker has been mixing it at top level now for close to ten years. He won a close 12 round decision against Andy Ruiz in his home country of New Zealand in December 2016. This was followed by two setbacks in the UK in 2018; respectable distance losses to Joshua, then Dillian Whyte. In 2021, he hammered out two points wins over Derek Chisora. A punishing 11^th round stoppage loss to Joe Joyce in September 2022 looked like it could be the end of the road, but it was Parker’s career that had a late flourish, while Joyce’s nosedived. Points wins in Riyadh over a faded Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang looked like steering Parker towards a clash with Oleksandr Usyk, however, in October 2025 Parker was stopped in the 11^th round by Fabio Wardley and tested positive for cocaine on the day of the fight. That matter is still unresolved. Where does he go from here?

8. Dillian Whyte.

Jamaican-born Whyte came to prominence by giving Anthony Joshua a tough fight in December 2015, before being stopped in seven rounds. His standing in this list is based in large part by his 12-round win over Joseph Parker in July 2018, and two wins over Derek Chisora, the second of which was an eleventh-round stoppage in December 2018. Not many stop Derek.

His KO loss and then revenge win over Povetkin, only really demonstrated the vulnerability of both men at that stage of their careers. Tyson Fury predictably then dispatched Whyte in six rounds and most recently Moses Itauma managed the same feat in less than three minutes.

Whyte served a two-year ban after testing positive for a banned stimulant (2012-2014). He then tested positive for banned substances in 2019 and again in 2023, although on both occasions the official verdict was that the tests had been the result of contaminated supplements. Those damn unreliable supplements!

7. Deontay Wilder.

The Bronze Bomber was 40-0 and had ten successful defenses of the WBC title in the bank, going into his first fight with Tyson Fury back in December 2018. Look a little deeper at those sparkling statistics and one will find that wins over the likes of Berman Stiverne and Luiz Ortiz are overshadowed by the one name that is not on his record, that of Anthony Joshua. Before the tidal wave of Saudi money swept into the sport, too often the best in the division priced themselves out of meeting their rivals.

However, Wilder’s epic trilogy with Tyson Fury is almost enough to warrant Deontay his place on this list on its own. That is despite coming out of the three fights without a win. Subsequent losses to Parker and Zhilei Zhang strongly suggest that the Fury trilogy took something out of Wilder that he can’t get back. Deontay faces off with Derek Chisora in April. He will either become another on this list to add a win over Chisora to their resume, or surely it will be the end of the road.

6. Vitali Klitschko.

The older of the Klitschko brothers fought extensively during the 1990s, but it is fair to say his best results came during the period that we are debating. Before his retirement in 2012, Vitali secured wins over heavyweight perennials such as Larry Donald, Vaughn Bean, Kirk Johnson, Corrie Sanders, Sam Peter, Chris Arreola, Shannon Briggs and, of course, Derek Chisora.

Three problems. We never got to see him in a return fight against Chris Byrd. He lost the first bout with Byrd in April 2000 after suffering a torn rotator cuff when well ahead on points. We never got to see him face his brother. Understandably Wlad and Vitali would never share a ring, but that does not make things easy for me when trying to put together a pointless list like this. Shame on them.

Finally, the only defeat he suffered during this century was against Lennox Lewis. The story of that fight is remarkable. When Lewis’ original opponent, Kirk Johnson, pulled out, Vitali stepped in at two weeks’ notice. Lewis was champion and Vitali was the WBC number one contender. Lewis needs to be given huge credit for agreeing to face his number one contender on such short notice. The fight was savage and fairly even after six rounds, but the fight was stopped in Lewis’ favour, with Vitali having suffered facial cuts that required 60 stitches. Lewis subsequently retired, depriving Klitschko of the opportunity of a rematch.

5. Lennox Lewis.

Lewis was a heavyweight of the 90s whose limited career overflowing into this century still warrants a place on this list. His knockout loss to Hasim Rahman in April 2001 and his knockout win (a round quicker) in the rematch that November, showed the worst and best of Lewis. He could be sloppy and complacent in underestimating and opponent, but when he was focused, he was sharp and deadly. His win over Mike Tyson in June 2002 did more for his bank balance than it does for his legacy. It is the win over Vitali Klitschko, as detailed above, that secures Lewis his place on the list. I do not criticize Lewis at all for refusing a rematch. How often do we bemoan the fact that fighters go on too long? Lewis was smart enough to know the right time to retire. And yes, the fight was in the balance on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage, but it was a legitimate stoppage due to the terrible damage to Vitali’s face. A win over one of the best heavyweights of the century puts Lennox Lewis one spot above the man whose face he cut to ribbons.

4. Wladimir Klitschko.

What do Sam Peter, Calvin Brock, Sultan Ibragimov, Ruslan Chagaev, Mariusz Wach, Alexander Povetkin, Kubrat Pulev, and Bryant Jennings have in common? Wlad Klitschko handed each of them their first defeat. He also holds wins over Chris Byrd (x2) and David Haye.

His biography on Boxrec notes that Klitschko defeated 23 opponents for the World Heavyweight Championship, more than any other heavyweight in history, and that he won 25 World Heavyweight Title fights, the second most in heavyweight history. There may be lies, damned lies, and statistics, but those are fine statistics.

On the minus side, early in the period that we are looking at, he suffered KO losses to Corrie Sanders in March 2003 and then Lamon Brewster in April 2004. The Sanders defeat was not avenged but Wlad stopped Brewster in six rounds in a rematch in July 2007. Klitschko ended his career with two further defeats. Tyson Fury hypnotised him into not throwing punches in Dusseldorf in November 2015, but then Wlad went out on his shield in eleven rounds against AJ at Wembley in April 2017. Wladimir Klitschko, despite occasional rumours of a comeback, has not fought since, while some say AJ was never the same fighter.

3. Anthony Joshua.

Could it really be that AJ’s best win was nearly nine years ago? That was the night, mentioned above, when he came out on top in a titanic struggle against Wlad Klitschko in front of 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium in April 2017. There have been plenty of other good wins; Dillian Whyte W-TKO7, Joseph Parker W-UD12, Alexander Povetkin W-TKO7, Kubrat Pulev W-KO9. It is hard to overstate the impact that Anthony Joshua has had on British boxing since he won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

He gained revenge for his shocking loss to Andy Ruiz in an immediate rematch, but that Madison Square Garden debut was catastrophic for his reputation. AJ’s next defeat would come against Oleksandr Usyk, on points in September 2021. Another immediate rematch followed, but Usyk repeated the trick, although the second time around the judges had it as a split decision.

The third man to beat AJ was Daniel Dubois, and for the first time there has not been an immediate rematch. What does this say about AJ’s frame of mind and the effect of that fifth round KO loss? Just a few months ago AJ suffered a loss that puts sporting defeats into stark perspective, when two of his closest friends were killed in a car crash in which AJ also sustained injuries. In the last week, social media has been full of videos of a blossoming bromance between AJ and heavyweight king Usyk. They have been hanging out and training together. Could support from rival-turned-friend Usyk help AJ towards one more winning run at world level?

As was mentioned with Vitali Klitschko and more pertinently, Deontay Wilder, AJ’s legacy has also been harmed by who is not on his record. The Wilder fight should have happened and would have hugely enhanced the reputation of whoever came out on top. And don’t get me started on an AJ-Fury fight. Even today I am reading Fury being quoted as saying a fight between the two of them would still be the biggest fight in the world of boxing. The evidence of our eyes tells us neither man is anything like the fighter they were a few years ago. All it would prove now is who is the most washed up.

2. Tyson Fury.

As much as the Fury-Wilder trilogy appears to have emptied Deontay Wilder’s tank, the same might possibly be said of Tyson Fury. However, those three fights created the legend (or monster?) of the Gypsy King. The fights with Wilder may have brought him widespread acclaim, but his November 2015 points win over Wladimir Klitschko is at least as significant when it comes to assessing his place in this top ten.

Fury may well be the only person in the world who thinks that he won both his fights with Oleksandr Usyk. There is more disgrace in refusing to accept defeat than in losing to the best heavyweight in the world. Still, we should not be surprised. While the quality of some of his wins is undeniable, it is also undeniable that he embarrassed himself in scraping home a win over debutant Francis Ngannou. Also, as much as he deserves enormous credit for his comeback from a period of poor mental health, his backdated two-year ban for testing positive for the steroid Nandrolone should never be forgotten.

Having been out of the ring since the second Usyk defeat, Fury returns in April against Arslanbek Makhmudov.

1. Oleksandr Usyk.

What more can you say about the true heavyweight king? He is the champion that the sport needs and will be sorely missed when he is gone. A win over Derek Chisora helped him acclimatise to the heavyweight division, before double wins over AJ, Fury, and Daniel Dubois established him as number one in the heavyweight division. All that was after he had done the same thing in the cruiserweights.

Next up for Usyk is a former kickboxer whose name I don’t know, and I’m not prepared to Google it for the sake of this article. Usyk is entitled to a patsy, but the shame is on the WBC for sanctioning it as a title fight. Far more dangerous fights lay ahead for Usyk if he chooses to remain active, but those challenges would be against relatively unproven fighters. As of right now, Oleksandr Usyk is the current heavyweight champion of the world and the greatest heavyweight of the 21^st century.