Heavyweight Division

[Infern0]

(02-13-2016, 03:50 PM)diehard Wrote: BOXING NEWS
McGuigan warns Joshua: Don’t fight Martin
By Karl Freitag

Heavyweight Anthony Joshua is rated WBC #2 (behind only Alexander Povetkin), WBO #2 (behind only Joseph Parker), and IBF #4 (behind only Erkan Teper who is currently suspended for PEDs, and with the one and two ratings vacant).

However, BoxNation boxing analyst, Carl Frampton’s manager/promoter and former world champion Barry McGuigan warns Joshua to steer clear of a proposed bout with largely unproven IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin. Even though McGuigan believes Joshua well might get past Martin and become heavyweight champion, he could pay a heavy price down the line by having to defend against better quality opponents than he’s ready for.

The question is, if the #2 fighter with three of the four major sanctioning bodies isn’t ready for a world title shot, who is? Conversely, if Joshua isn’t ready (and granted he has never faced a top ten fighter), why is he rated so highly?

Joshua is still a prospect, it speaks volumes to how poor this division is that a heavyweight "champion" is calling out a prospect, and that people kind of expect joshua to answer.

As to why Joshua is ranked #2, well it's the same reason Parker is ranked #1 by the WBO despite having fought arguable even worse opposition than Joshua

There is nobody else. 

Here is a realistic rankings of heavyweights

1. Tyson Fury
2. Wladamir Klitschko
3. Deontay Wilder
4. Alexander Povetkin
5. Luis Ortiz
6. Kubrat Pulev
7. Charles Martin
8. Erkan Teper
9. Bermane Stiverne
10 Anthony Joshua

I would have Parker at #11 on my list just below joshua as I rank Whyte and Johnson (people forget Johnson schooled alex leapai not long ago, he is only awful against top level guys, he'd beat bowie tupo and kali meehan) better wins than Meehan and Botha, and Sprott, skelton and co better than your bowie tupos and jason bergmans (not by much but still) There isn't much in it but Parker got huge amount of boxrec points and flew up the rankings for that meehan win and i don't rate meehan at all, especially in 2015

But the point remains, neither of these guys should be near a world title fight yet. If things in the division were on merit, your title fights would be

Fury vs Klitschko 2
Wilder vs Povetkin
Martin vs Ortiz

Joshua, Parker should be fighting the likes of Stiverne and Pulev, who have only lost to the champions, and if they come through those guys, then they should be ranked at the top of the division.

But it's boxing and tings dont work the way they should