Boxing: Anthony Joshua Finishes 2023 Above Deontay Wilder In World Ranking

Nigerian-born British professional boxer and a former unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has moved above American heavyweight boxer, Deontay Wilder in the latest world ranking published by the Ring Magazine.

LagosTimes  Nigeria Understands that Anthony Joshua enjoyed this upward movement in the ranking after his knockout victory against Otto Wallin on Thursday, December 23.

Six heavyweight boxers from the recently published Top 10 world ranking squared off at the “Day of Reckoning” event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on December 23.

In the two headline heavyweight bouts, Joseph Parker defeated Wilder by unanimous decision, which was the biggest stunner of the night. Hours after, Joshua knocked out Wallin after five rounds of action.

Thanks to this victory, Anthony Joshua overtook Wilder and rose to second position on the world rankings.

Oleksandr Usyk is presently ranked number one in the “champion” rankings, jointly with Tyson Fury, who is a point behind the Ukrainian boxer. Anthony Joshua is second, Zhilei Zhang is third, and Joseph Parker is fourth.

After losing to Parker, Wilder’s third-place standing, which dates back to 2019, slipped all the way to number nine.

Filip Hrgović of Croatia who recorded a first-round knockout on the “Day of Reckoning,” has moved to the 5th place on the world ranking. Joe Joyce, Jared Anderson, Agit Kabayel, and Frank Sanchez occupy the remaining spots in the Top 10, according to Ring Magazine.