Top 10 British Heavyweights boxers January 2025 – including Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua

With 2024 now in the books, we have seen plenty of shocking twists and turns – including Daniel Dubois shocking knocking out Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury picking up not just his first, but also his second professional loss. 

As such, we have put together a list of the ten best heavyweights from the UK – and few could have predicted how it looks now a year prior. 

January is set to be a quiet month for British heavyweights, with none of our top ten being in action until February. 

Several of them, however, will take to the ring next month. How will our list look in a few weeks’ time?

10. Frazer Clarke

Coming off a devastating loss against domestic rival Fabio Wardley, in which he was brutally knocked out, Frazer Clarke’s stock has taken an undeniable hit recently. 

Nevertheless, at 33, his career is far from over. Possessing excellent timing and an indefatigable heart, the Olympic bronze medallist shouldn’t be counted out just yet. 

With that being said, he needs a win in his next fight. Another defeat – especially another knockout defeat – could see his credibility and longevity permanently compromised.

9. Joe Joyce

Like Clarke, Joe Joyce’s standing has also fallen considerably – however, his fall has been much more drawn out. Two stoppage losses against Zhilei Zhang, followed by an unconvincing win over Kash Ali and a shock defeat against Dereck Chisora firmly plant him at the bottom end of our list. 

With that being said, Joyce is still a challenge for the majority of heavyweights – his toughness, combined with his limitless engine, make him a dangerous opponent for anyone who can’t crack his granite chin. 

Nevertheless, Joyce’s chance at reaching elite level is now all but over – he has been effectively relegated to journeyman status in the twilight of his career. 

8. Moses Itauma

19 year old sensation Moses Itauma cemented his legitimacy with an explosive first round KO over Demsey McKean on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2. 

Itauma has drawn comparisons with a young Mike Tyson – we’re not ready to go that far just yet, but he certainly looks like the real deal. 

He is a difficult fighter to rank as of yet, as we haven’t seen him experience any sort of trouble in the ring – nevertheless, we couldn’t leave him out of our list. 

7. Dillian Whyte

After a lengthy bout of inactivity, Dillian Whyte returned to the ring with a win over Ebenezer Tetteh back in December. It wasn’t a blistering performance from the former world title challenger, but he managed to shake off some ring rust and get some much-needed rounds in the bank. 

His lack of activity means we can’t put Whyte any higher than seventh – furthermore, it has been a while since we have seen a convincing performance from the 36 year old. 

Whyte’s world title dreams may be in the dust, but he could still prove to be an effective gatekeeper as his career slowly begins to wind down. 

6. Dereck Chisora

The mercurial Dereck Chisora has announced that he will only fight twice more, with the first of the two being against Otto Wallin in a couple of months. Nevertheless, he remains a steadfast gatekeeper and one of the more dangerous British heavyweights on the scene. 

His surprise win over Joe Joyce only bolstered Del Boy’s legacy – while he sports two previous losses to the man just below him in the list (Whyte), many believe he would win a hypothetical (and unlikely) third bout between the two. 

Chisora began to hit his stride too late in his career – despite this, he has undoubtedly left a lasting impression on the British boxing fandom. 

5. Martin Bakole

Martin Bakole assumed bogeyman status after he annihilated up-and-coming Jared Anderson in the summer – he has not fought since then, despite rumours of a fight with Zhilei Zhang. 

The Congolese-born Scot often draws comparisons with George Foreman, owing to his behemothic power and granite chin. Regardless, we cannot place him any higher than fifth as he has yet to be truly challenged – not to mention that disappointing loss against Michael Hunter back in 2018. 

He claims to have beaten many top heavyweights in sparring – but we will have to wait and see if he can replicate his performances in the gym in front of a live crowd. 

4. Fabio Wardley

Fabio Wardley’s stunning first round knockout over Frazer Clarke saw him rocket up our list – while some tipped him to beat the Olympian, no one thought he would do it in such convincing fashion. 

With little amateur pedigree to speak of, Wardley’s rise over the past couple of years has been startling. He may be a crude fighter, but his effectiveness cannot be denied. 

A big fight should be on the horizon for him in 2025 – he isn’t ready for a world title shot yet by any means, but he is in a good position to continue stepping up. 

3. Anthony Joshua

The golden child of British boxing suffered one of his most damaging defeats last year, when he was outclassed and knocked out by Daniel Dubois. Therefore, he has to occupy the spot just below him (spoilers!). 

Thankfully, he seems to be taking the defeat in his stride. He is keen to get back into the ring, with Tyson Fury being his top target. 

Hopefully, we will see this long-awaited clash at some point this year – despite the Gypsy King’s insistence on digging his heels in. As things stand, AJ needs a statement win if he wishes to return to world title contention. 

2. Daniel Dubois

Many wrote off Daniel Dubois after he was stopped by Oleksandr Usyk – but he has since proven his detractors wrong with big wins over Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua. 

The only British heavyweight who currently owns a world title, his best is yet to come – it is easy to forget that Dubois is still only 27 years old. 

He faces a stern test in the form of Joseph Parker on the Dmitri Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev 2 card – if he wins that fight convincingly, we would have no reservations in handing him the number one spot.

1. Tyson Fury

Yes, we’ve all heard that Tyson Fury has retired yet again – but does anyone believe that? Fury is, above all else, a businessman – and no businessman would leave such an enormous amount of money on the table. 

It is widely believed that he will fight Anthony Joshua at some point in the future. A prime Fury would win that contest handily, but does he have the mobility to avoid AJ’s aggression at this stage in his career?

Nonetheless, Fury remains the top British heavyweight – should he fight anyone lower than him on this list, he would undoubtedly enter as the betting favourite.