Tyson Fury will have to make do with second place.
Tyson Fury has been pipped to the title of the best heavyweight boxer in the world by his arch-nemesis.
Fury, AKA the Gypsy King, is one of the more vocal heavyweight boxers around. The Englishman is never afraid to back himself both in and outside of the ring, and would confidently argue that he is the best in the business.
However, for now at least, Fury still has his work cut out to convince everyone that that is indeed the case.
That’s because in the latest heavyweight boxing rankings published by Ring Magazine, Fury is not the world number one.
The 34-year-old fighter has come in at number two in the rankings, pipped to top spot by Ukrainian WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
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The pair spent months trading insults and threats as their representatives attempted to organise a fight earlier this year, but in the end the proposed fight fell through.
It has been reported that Usyk was prepared to agree a 70-30 purse split in Fury’s favour to make the fight happen, but still the two parties could not reach a deal.
Despite that, Fury still finds himself above both Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua in the rankings.
Wilder is rated No2 in the world, while AJ, fresh from his win over Jermaine Franklin, has been places at No3.
Olympic champions Joshua defeated Franklin by a unanimous decision in his return to the ring last weekend, and after the fight hinted that he could take on world No2 Fury in the not-too-distant future.
After Fury and Joshua, fellow British fighter Joe Joyce is ranked at No4 ahead of Andy Ruiz at No5 and Fury’s recent foe Dillian Whyte at No6.
The American currently does not have any fights scheduled, but there has been talk that he could soon face one of AJ, Martin Bakole Ilunga, Hughie Fury or Filip Hrgovic.
Luis Ortiz and Joseph Parker come in at 7th and 8th in the rankings, while Hrgovic is rated at No9 in the world, just beating out Cuban fighter Frank Sanchez.
