Usyk made a sensational return to the WBO rankings: the Ukrainian immediately leapfrogged Joshua and Wilder
4 August 05:28
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) has updated its heavyweight rankings. Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk immediately took second place upon his return to the list, ahead of a number of star opponents, including Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder.
This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian", citing the official WBO rankings.
Usyk Returns to the WBO Rankings
The Ukrainian’s return to the rankings came as a surprise to many fans. Last year, Usyk relinquished his WBO title, and because he held championship belts from other leading boxing organizations, he could not be included in the rankings.
After the list was updated, the Ukrainian immediately took second place.
The only boxer ahead of Usyk among the contenders is Britain’s Moses Ituma.
Daniel Dubois remains the WBO heavyweight champion, having won the title with a technical knockout victory over Fabio Wardley.
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Updated WBO Heavyweight Rankings
As of early August, the rankings are as follows:
- Champion — Daniel Dubois (United Kingdom);
- Moses Ituma (United Kingdom);
- 2. Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine);
- Filip Hrgovic (Croatia);
- Anthony Joshua (United Kingdom);
- Fabio Wardley (United Kingdom);
- Joseph Parker (New Zealand);
- Bahodir Jalolov (Uzbekistan);
- Deontay Wilder (United States);
- Frank Sanchez (Cuba);
- 10. Viktor Vykhryst (Ukraine).
Thus, two Ukrainian boxers are ranked in the top 10 of the WBO rankings.
Vykhryst retained his spot in the top ten
Another Ukrainian representative— Viktor Vykhryst, who holds the WBO Europe title—retained his tenth-place position in the organization’s rankings.
Why Usyk’s return is important
His return to the WBO rankings opens up the possibility for the Ukrainian to challenge for the organization’s championship belt again in the future. Furthermore, his high ranking confirms that Usyk remains one of the world’s strongest heavyweight boxers even after losing his undisputed champion status.
As a reminder, Oleksandr Usyk previously held the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO championship titles, and his name consistently appears on the list of the best boxers of our time, regardless of weight class.
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