As Joe Joyce aims to stretch his unbeaten run to 14 this Saturday, we take a closer look at the world’s very best unbeaten heavyweights…
1 Tyson Fury
Unbeaten in 33 pro fights (23 stoppages), the closest Fury has so far come to losing is a 2019 draw against Deontay Wilder, which most felt he won. That aside, he has dominated all he has faced, including Wladimir Klitschko, Wilder (twice), and Dillian Whyte.
2 Oleksandr Usyk
A former cruiserweight champion of the world now campaigning at heavyweight, Usyk took his record to 19-0 (13) with a brilliant performance against Anthony Joshua in September 2021. He now looks to repeat the trick in August.
3 Joe Joyce
Though the oldest on this list at 36, Joyce has moved at a decent pace since turning pro in 2017 and has built his 13-0 (12) record on names like Daniel Dubois, also at the time unbeaten, Carlos Takam, Bryant Jennings and Bermane Stiverne.
4 Frank Sánchez
Cuba’s Sánchez was flying under the radar as a heavyweight contender until he met fellow unbeaten Efe Ajagba in 2021 and walked away with a decision win. Since then, the Miami-based boxer has outpointed Christian Hammer to move his record to 20-0 (13), with one No Contest.
5 Agit Kabayel
A frustrating boxer blighted by inactivity, Kabayel, 22-0 (14), became European heavyweight champion in 2017 and beat Dereck Chisora later that year, but has stagnated ever since. Recently the German stopped Pavel Sour inside a round.
6 Filip Hrgović
Talked about a lot since turning pro, Croatia’s Hrgović has made it to 14-0 (12) with relative ease, besting other unbeaten fighters like Emir Ahmatovic and Marko Radonjic along the way.
7 Arslanbek Makhmudov
At 14-0, with 14 knockouts, Russia’s Makhmudov has demonstrated he can punch in emphatic victories over Erkan Teper (stopped in a round), Samuel Peter (stopped in a round), and Mariusz Wach (who lasted into the sixth).
8 Zhan Kossobutskiy
Kossobutskiy, a heavy-handed southpaw from Kazakhstan, has finished 17 of his 18 pro wins inside the distance and this year stopped Johann Duhaupas in five rounds.
9 Bakhodir Jalolov
A world and Olympic champion as an amateur, hot prospect Jalolov is 27 years of age and stands at 6’7. As a pro, the Uzbek has a record of 11-0 (11) and, though yet to really step up, last time out stopped Jack Mulowayi in eight.
10 Vladyslav Sirenko
Ukraine’s Sirenko is 19-0 (16) as a pro and last year knocked out Andriy Rudenko (six rounds) and Alexander Ustinov (one round) to put himself on the heavyweight map.
