Tyson Fury drops below Anthony Joshua as WBC release top ten heavyweight rankings after Oleksandr Usyk result

Tyson Fury has been ranked in second place behind Anthony Joshua by the WBC.

The ‘Gypsy King’ lost his WBC heavyweight title when Oleksandr Usyk beat him in May’s undisputed clash in Saudi Arabia.

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Fury finds himself below Joshua with redemption on his mindCredit: AFP
Having been previously ranked as champion, Fury has now fallen into the challenger pecking order and has been placed as the second-ranked heavyweight contender by the WBC.

The organisation have placed him below long-term British rival Anthony Joshua, who sits behind Usyk, whom he has lost to twice.

AJ has back-to-back impressive wins over Francis Ngannou and Otto Wallin under his belt, and may well compete for the vacant IBF title against Daniel Dubois in September.

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Agit Kabayel rounds out the top three after his impressive underdog win over Frank Sanchez on the Fury vs Usyk bill in May.

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Zhilei Zhang sits in fourth after his huge KO win over Deontay Wilder, while Efe Ajagba makes up the top five holding the WBC ‘silver’ trinket belt.

Jared Anderson is in sixth with Martin Bakole and Kabayel’s rival Sanchez ranked at no.7 and no.8.

Joe Joyce keeps a place in the top ten in ninth, while rising star Bakhodir Jalolov completes the list.

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Fabio Wardley, who currently holds the British title, sits in eleventh and will be hoping to break into the top ten before the conclusion of 2024.

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Joshua is in a rich vein of form and is chasing three-time champion statusCredit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom
It is another damaging blow for the ‘Gypsy King’ who had held the belt since beating Wilder in 2020.

He had since made some big defences against the likes of Derek Chisora, Dillian Whyte and Francis Ngannou on his march to the undisputed clash.

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Luckily for the Briton, he will get a shot at immediate redemption on December 21 when he is signed to face Usyk in a sequel.

It will be a chance to earn back his precious WBC belt, and hand Usyk his first career defeat, just as he had inflicted on him in their previous encounter.

Fury is now back in the gym six months out from the clash, and has vowed to rewrite his name in the history books.

He wrote on social media: “Listen up! I’ve conquered everything in boxing – titles, records, the lot. But I’ve never had to come back from a loss.

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“On December 21st in Riyadh, in the heart of the kingdom, the king will reclaim his throne and become undisputed. @usykaa, I’m coming for you! Get ready for the Gypsy King!

“The path to redemption is all mine. I know what I have to do, I saw my shortcomings and best believe I am inevitable.”

However, Usyk’s compatriot Oleksandr Gvozdyk can only see one outcome when the big money rematch takes place.

“I think it will be even worse for Fury in the rematch,” he told Boxing Scene.

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“I know Usyk – once he catches you, he won’t let you go. Usyk is going to be even more confident in the next fight. Fury is better off fighting Anthony Joshua.

“The first fight was just a brilliant performance. He beat Fury everywhere, in and out of the ring.

“Fury likes to play mind games; in this case, it was the complete opposite. I think Usyk got in his head.

“I didn’t see Fury as confident as before, when he was a killer and super-confident.

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“With Usyk, he was trying to do the same, but you can see in his eyes and by his mimics that he’s different and nervous.

“He was nervous in the ring. Usyk is the well-deserved No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”