WHO IS THE BEST HEAVYWEIGHT OF THE LAST 20 YEARS?
We rank the leading 25 big men of the century so far
25 OLEG MASKAEV 2-1 (1) WORLD TITLE FIGHT RECORD
Best wins: Hasim Rahman, Derrick Jefferson, Sinan Samil Sam MASKAEV could look like an elite heavy in one fight and utterly dreadful in his next. Hasim Rahman’s bogeyman, the Russian held the WBC title for a little while but losing it to Samuel Peter does little for his reputation. That he made it that far is good going when one considers he started the century with back-to-back KO losses to Lance Whitaker and Kirk Johnson.
24 FRES OQUENDO 0-2
Best wins: Clifford Etienne, Bruce Seldon, Maurice Harris NOTORIOUS for being the WBA’S mandatory contender for pretty much the entire century, Oquendo was once a top class big man unlucky not to snare a portion of the title. He was on the wrong end of a few contentious decisions, blew a lead against David Tua and was nip-and-tuck with several fighters a long way above him in these rankings.
23 JOSEPH PARKER 3-1
Best wins: Andy Ruiz Jnr, Carlos Takam, Hughie Fury LET’S face it, though not exactly thrillers, Parker’s close victories over Andy Ruiz Jnr, Carlos Takam and Hughie Fury are decent on paper. Didn’t cover himself in glory while losing to Anthony Joshua but was far from disgraced, and he must still wonder what might have been when he looks back on his thrilling loss to Dillian Whyte.
22 DILLIAN WHYTE 0-0
Best wins: Joseph Parker, Dereck Chisora (twice), Oscar Rivas DILLIAN WHYTE enters the Top 25 due to a run of form between 2015 and 2020 that should have resulted in a major title shot. The win over Joseph Parker remains his best result and the two victories over Dereck Chisora highlighted his box office appeal. Had he secured victory over Alexander Povetkin, he would have been much higher.
21 JAMES TONEY 0-1-2-1NC
Best wins: Evander Holyfield, Fres Oquendo, Hasim Rahman (draw) THE darling of nearly every fight fan, Toney’s spell at heavyweight has unquestionably been overromanticised. Admittedly brilliant while bamboozling an old Evander Holyfield, his win over John Ruiz was changed to a no-contest when PEDS were found in his system. That affects his rating, so too does his indifferent-cum-disappointing form following that 2005 affair.
20 SAMUEL PETER 1-2 (1)
Best wins: James Toney (x2), Oleg Maskaev, Jameel Mccline THE Nigerian earns his spot thanks to two deserved points wins over a James Toney losing interest in his waistline but still clinging to some of his old form. After losing to
Vitali Klitschko, Peter descended rapidly but there was a time when he was among the biggest punchers in the division. However, his reign as WBC champion is not the greatest advert for the division at that time.
19 KUBRAT PULEV 0-1
Best wins: Alexander Ustinov, Tony Thompson, Alex Dimitrenko KUBRAT PULEV is the archetypal perennial heavyweight contender who struggles to win the big one but hangs around picking off the scraps to remain a factor. The Bulgarian thoroughly deserved his 2014 crack at Wladimir Klitschko after beating a string of familiar but still-useful contenders. Hasn’t really impressed since but he remains very hard to beat.
18 NIKOLAI VALUEV 6-2 (3)
Best wins: John Ruiz (x2), Evander Holyfield, Siarhei Liakhovich THIS hairy beast astonished many with his dimensions but the fact he managed to get those gargantuan limbs moving together in time is a feat he never really gets credit for. He defeated several established contenders during his time and, believe it or not, a battle with Wladimir Klitschko was briefly the heavyweight fight we all wanted to see. His championship record, looking at numbers alone, is solid.
17 ROY JONES JNR 1-0
Best wins: John Ruiz IT’S true that Roy Jones Jnr only fought once as a heavyweight and others below him also got the better of John Ruiz (and more besides). But his rise from 175lbs to heavyweight, bypassing cruiserweight completely, has to be taken into consideration when ranking his accomplishments – so too that he outscored a peak Ruiz before others failed to do the same with such aplomb.
16 CORRIE SANDERS 1-1 (1)
Best wins: Wladimir Klitschko, Al Cole, Michael Sprott
TAKES his place in the Top 20 by virtue of his two-round shellacking of a pre-peak Wladimir Klitschko. Phenomenally heavy-handed but ill-disciplined, it can be argued that Sanders never fulfilled his potential. That view is underlined when looking at his record to identify his best victories: Beating Klitschko leads the way but it’s a long way down after that.
15 RUSLAN CHAGAEV 3-1
Best wins: Nikolai Valuev (x2), John Ruiz, Volodymyr Vyrchys ASK 100 boxing fans to name their favourite heavyweight of the century and it’s unlikely that Chagaev would get a single vote. But the Germany-based Uzbekistani was an effective and skilled fighter who was too good for all but the very best. A former WBA champion who broke into the Top 10 following victory over Volodymyr Vyrchys in 2006 and remained a fixture for 10 years.
14 DAVID TUA 0-1
Best wins: Michael Moorer, Fres Oquendo, Hasim Rahman (draw) LIKE a bowling ball hurtling down an alley, Tua generally took out anything that stood in his way. But those who could move a bit, like Lennox Lewis and Chris Byrd, always presented problems. Perhaps already past his peak by the time the new century came along, Tua still scored a string of highlight-reel KOS against solid opposition.
13 DAVID HAYE 3-1 (2)
Best wins: Nikolai Valuev, John Ruiz, Dereck Chisora HAMPERED by injuries as he rose from cruiserweight, Haye can only be judged on the activity he managed: The WBA title-winning victory over Nikolay Valuev was tight but worthy of praise; John Ruiz was past his best; Audley Harrison, well, say no more; the win over Dereck Chisora was arguably his best showing at heavyweight and he did better against a peak Wladimir Klitschko than most. Don’t forget the bombings of Monte Barrett and Tomasz Bonin, either.
12 LAMON BREWSTER 4-2 (2)
Best wins: Wladimir Klitschko, Andrew Golota, Luan Krasniqi FOR a little while, after outlasting an anxious Wladimir Klitschko and wiping out the always erratic Andrew Golota, then-wbo champion Brewster was among the most feared fighters in the division. The humdinger with Luan Krasniqi is a forgotten classic but he suffered an eye injury during his 2006 loss to Siarhei Liakhovic that he never recovered from.
11 ANDY RUIZ JNR 1-2 (1)
Best wins: Anthony Joshua, Alex Dimitrenko, Tor Hamer PERHAPS a touch high but Ruiz Jnr has to be rewarded for his jawdropping victory over Anthony Joshua which is one of the biggest upsets in history and, after Tyson Fury’s win over Wladimir Klitschko, is on a par with Hasim Rahman beating Lennox Lewis as the century’s most impressive heavyweight result. His effort in Part II was disappointing, though.
10 JOHN RUIZ 4-5-1-1NC (1)
Best wins: Evander Holyfield, Hasim Rahman, Andrew Golota NOT the most popular fighter due to his spoiling tactics but he generally found a way to win. Deserved to win all three of his fights with Evander Holyfield at the beginning of the century and was a factor until he was stopped by David Haye in 2010. Being the wrong end of Roy Jones’ one-fight foray into the weight class will forever tarnish his reputation and was lucky, in a way, that Toney’s win over him was ruled out.