Heavyweights are living through a golden era

For a little more than a decade, boxing's heavyweight division has been living through a dream era. The unlimited-weight category is packed with huge talent, emerging stars and figures who have already entered the sport's history.

Deontay Wilder and Joseph Parker helped define this generation as world champions and major protagonists, even as both approach the end of their careers. Behind them, a new group is pushing forward: Bakhodir Jalolov, Andrii Novitskyi, Lenier Pero, Richard Torrez, Efe Ajagba, Frank Sánchez, Damián Knyba, Filip Hrgovic and Moses Itauma. Any one of them, the writer argues, can surprise any other.

Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua remain active legends. Their stature, the article says, can be compared with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in tennis. In the heavyweight division, unlike boxing more broadly, many of the biggest names have already faced one another.

Only one major matchup still dominates the public's demands: Fury against Joshua. Negotiations remain uncertain, but the writer says he is optimistic that an agreement will be reached. He calls the potential fight one of the biggest in boxing history, comparable in scale with the Ali-Frazier trilogy or Ali's “Rumble in the Jungle” against George Foreman. Eddie Hearn wants the bout at Wembley before 90,000 spectators.

The current champions listed are Filip Hrgovic for the IBF, Murat Gassiev for the WBA, Daniel Dubois for the WBO and Agit Kabayel for the WBC. Writing in a personal and affectionate tone, the author recalls watching major fights involving Fury, Wilder and Usyk, meeting Jalolov and Novitskyi, and forming a close friendship with Andy Ruiz, whom he describes as one of the best people in world boxing.