Anthony Joshua is back in action on Saturday night as he looks to continue on his road to redemption by taking out Otto Wallin – which should put him on course for an epic clash against Deontay Wilder.
Wilder is fighting on the same card in Saudi Arabia – dubbed the ‘Day of Reckoning’, with some of the biggest names in boxing featuring in Riyadh.
With so many star boxers present on the card, much of the talk has turned to who has the best record on their resumes as we edge closer to a Joshua vs Wilder bout, while Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk will take place in February.
Joshua has fought some high-level fighters during his career to reach this point – taking on veterans like Wladimir Klitschko, Kubrat Pulev and Alexander Povetkin before succumbing to the class of Oleksandr Usyk back to back, while Wilder has tussled with Tyson Fury three times.
Mail Sport takes a look at Joshua, Wilder, Fury and Usyk and determines who has the best CV to date.
ANTHONY JOSHUA
Joshua smashed his way past his first 14 opponents with ease – with none of those opponents taking him past the third round as he quickly announced himself on the scene as a dangerous power-puncher between his debut in 2013 and 2015.
But it was after he blasted out bitter rival Dillian Whyte in the latter year that he began taking on highly-ranked fighters as he stopped Charles Martin in 2016 to become IBF world champion.
Joshua then knocked out the highly-rated Dominic Breazeale in the same year before a seismic showdown with former world champion Klitschko – who reigned for nine years – in 2017. AJ knocked him down once in round five before himself getting floored in the sixth.
But the Brit pulled off one of the most stunning moments in British boxing as he sent the Ukrainian tumbling twice in the 11th before the referee waved it off.
Joshua stopped veteran fighter Wladimir Klitschko in 2017 in arguably his highlight victory
AJ has dethroned three world champions – including Andy Ruiz Jr in their 2019 rematch
In the following years AJ has earned credit for always taking on dangerous opponents – including Joseph Parker in 2018, which saw Joshua win on points and add his WBO belt to his collection.
He then stopped the feared and experienced Povetkin before coming back from a shock loss to Andy Ruiz in 2019 before avenging the loss later that year. Since then he’s also knocked out Pulev and Robert Helenius off the back of two crushing losses to Usyk.
Joshua was credited with bravery for stepping up to face the Ukrainian when he easily could have avoided him, but ended up being outclassed by the pound-for-pound great.
Overall, the Watford-born star can say he’s defeated five former world champions – including three reigning champions.
DEONTAY WILDER
The feared one-punch king has a fearsome record when it comes to knockouts. Of his 43 victories, 42 have come by way of knockout, with only Bermaine Stiverne surviving after a unanimous defeat to Wilder in 2015 – and the American would later rectify that with a brutal first-round KO of the Haitian in their second fight in 2017.
Wilder had racked up a succession of KO victories early in his career, but it wasn’t until his stunning first-round stoppage of former British boxing star Audley Harrison in 2013 that he started gaining attention in the UK.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ would go on to demonstrate more of that menacing punching power against esteemed opponents in Malik Scott, Chris Arreola and Gerald Washington after capturing the WBC belt in 2015.
Deontay Wilder made a real statement with two stunning KO victories over Luis Ortiz
He took on Tyson Fury three times – drawing one fight and losing the other two
He then made a real statement of his power as he smashed out the highly-rated Cuban fighter Luis Ortiz in 2018 in the tenth round – coming up with the goods just when it looks like Ortiz could shock the American.
Wilder then took on former world champion at the time Tyson Fury, knocking him to the canvas in rounds nine and 12 before the British heavyweight somehow got to his feet and rescued a draw.
Wilder brushed that setback off with yet another first-round KO win over Breazeale before stopping Ortiz again – this time more quickly and more emphatically.
Back-to-back stoppage defeats to Fury then followed in 2020 and 2021 to tarnish Wilder’s near-perfect record, which took some of the shine off his armour after his vulnerabilities were exposed.
Since then, he’s recovered with a statement KO over the experienced Robert Helenius last year before taking on the challenge of Joseph Parker in Saudi Arabia this weekend.
TYSON FURY
Fury has defeated every man he’s faced – even when it looked like he might get beat, he found a way to secure the victory.
After stunning Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 to become the unified heavyweight world champion, he lost his way and retired, before starting up again with underwhelming fights against the likes of Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta.
He then took on Wilder and earned huge credit for claiming a draw when he looked like he could easily be stopped, before taking on undefeated German star Tom Schwartz – who he stopped in the second round – and another undefeated fighter in the Swedish Otto Wallin.
Fury beat division king Wladimir Klistchko in his prime with a superb display in 2015
He then came out of retirement to knock Deontay Wilder off his perch in 2020 to hand him his first defeat – before defeating him again in 2021
There were some fans calling him to step up the level of quality in his opponents – but in the last five years, there is no question about the calibre he has faced. He knocked out Wilder in successive fights before stopping Dillian Whyte in 2022.
Despite saying he was retired, he then opted to face old rival Dereck Chisora – who he had already beaten twice before – stopping him in the tenth round.
Fury also received criticism for failing to agree an undisputed bout with Usyk and instead taking on former UFC star Francis Ngannou for his first ever boxing fight. However, the Cameroonian caused him huge problems as he dropped him in the third round before losing narrowly on points.
With Fury set to take on Usyk in February, the Gypsy King can rightly say that he has taken on some of the best fighters in the world in their prime and beaten them all.
OLEKSANDR USYK
Unlike his heavyweight rivals, Usyk boasts some impressive names on his resume across two weight classes.
Usyk is known as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in any division and after winning a gold medal in the 2012 Olympic Games, working his way through a series of wins in the cruiserweight division before becoming WBO champion in 2016.
Along his journey, he collected notable wins over Michael Hunter and Mairis Briedis in a unification bout – adding his WBC belt to his collection. He then became undisputed cruiserweight in his next fight by outpointing Murat Gassiev.
In Usyk’s final bout as a cruiser, he knocked out British fighter and former world champion Tony Bellew before stepping up to heavyweight.
After stopping Chazz Witherspoon in his first fight in the top division, Usyk then defeated veteran heavyweight Dereck Chisora in his second fight before stunning the world by shocking Anthony Joshua in 2021 to become the unified heavyweight champion of the world.
Oleksandr Usyk has worked his way up from conquering the cruiserweight division to becoming heavyweight world champion by defeating Anthony Joshua (R)
He also saw off the challenge of Daniel Dubois and has now set up a fight against Fury
He won two decisions back-to-back against Joshua, who barely laid a glove on the Ukrainian across both fights, to confirm himself as one of the best fighters in the world as talk began circling towards an undisputed clash against Fury.
But when that fell apart, Usyk opted to further display his boxing pedigree by taking on another powerhouse in Daniel Dubois, who had only lost once before they fought and had a menacing record of 18 KO victories out of a possible 20.
Despite suffering a scare when Dubois dropped him – a body shot which was controversially classed as below the belt – Usyk recovered to stop ‘Dynamite’ in the ninth round.
With an undisputed showdown against Fury now in the offing, Usyk may not boast the greatest resume but it’s shaping up to be as good as any by the time he eventually hangs up the gloves.
VERDICT
It’s a close call between Joshua and Fury – but you have to hand it to the Gypsy King considering the pedigree of fighters he’s beaten, and in their prime.
He defeated Wladimir Klitschko when he was enjoying one of the most dominant reigns in the history of the sport – then retired and came back two years later to stun Wilder with his first ever defeat when he was the most feared man in boxing.
Then on top of that, he’s beaten Dereck Chisora three times, handed Wallin and Schwartz their first and only defeats, stopped Dillian Whyte and beat a very dangerous Francis Ngannou – when he was not at his best and the Cameroonian now being tipped for some of the biggest fights in the business.
When including Usyk on that CV too ahead of their showdown in February, it would be difficult to argue against Fury, even though Joshua has fought a succession of highly-ranked fighters consistently throughout his career.
Fury edges his rivals with a superb CV having beaten a host of top fighters in their prime
