10 Best Heavyweights in World Boxing (May 2026)

This weekend, the Heavyweight boxing landscape threatens to be changed forever. Oleksandr Usyk will take on kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven in a highly controversial bout this weekend – before that takes place, we’d like to give our take on how the division looks right now.

Since our last top ten, we’ve seen victories for Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois – both of whom will feature in this list.

As always, to be considered for a spot on this list, a fighter must have won a fight since January 1, 2025. As such, boxers such as Zhilei Zhang, Martin Bakole and Andy Ruiz Jr will not be eligible for inclusion.

10. Murat Gassiev

Murat Gassiev scored a spectacular knockout last time out against Kubrat Pulev, but a win over an aging fighter only goes so far. Not only was Pulev in his mid-40s at the time, Gassiev was losing the contest before he landed his trademark left hook to shut the Bulgarian’s lights out.

A technically-sound fighter with crushing punch power, his biggest drawback is his plodding footwork. Being a smaller fighter, it can be hard for him to find an effective range – however, if he can, he is a force to be reckoned with on the inside. Sadly, one can’t help but feel that he was more suited to being a Cruiserweight.

9. Richard Torrez Jr.

Richard Torrez Jr is far from the perfect fighter – in many ways, he is far more unorthodox than one would expect for someone with such an extensive amateur pedigree. A crafty southpaw, he is very good at landing sneaky shots from awkward angles, even it means sacrificing his defensive shape at times.

Nevertheless, aged just 26, Torrez Jr still isn’t the finished product. He is due to take on Frank Sanchez at the weekend – we’ll soon see how well his placement on this list ages. We’ve certainly been wrong before!

8. Joseph Parker

As before, Joseph Parker continues his descent in our rankings following his inactivity. He tested positive for cocaine in the wake of his gruelling encounter with Fabio Wardley and has yet to resolve the issue.

Parker himself claimed he was ‘confident’ that he would be cleared of any wrongdoing [via TalkSPORT], but this was back in February. We’ve heard nothing but radio silence from the Parker camp since, unfortunately.