Tyson Fury's eagerly-awaited return to the boxing scene in the UK is right around the corner, with Dillian Whyte lying in wait.
22.01.2022 - 13:45 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Tyson Fury remains behind heavyweight rival Oleksandr Usyk in the rankings for the world's top 25 boxes, ahead of a potential showdown between the pair later this year.
Fury is set to fight in the first quarter of the year, expected to be against Dillian Whyte, while Usyk will go toe-to-toe once again with Anthony Joshua - which presents the final hurdle for both fighters before an expected unification bout.
That would go down as one of the most fiercely anticipated fights of this generation, which would crown the first ever four-belt unified world heavyweight champion.
However, it's not the heavyweights that are on top of the world as BoxRec's rankings have Usyk third and fourth respectively - behind two from a lower weight class.
Mexican fighter Canelo Alvarez remains top of the pile, with the four-weight world champion way ahead of the rest, and WBO welterweight world champion Terence Crawford is behind him.
Following a month with little boxing action, with events in the UK suspended in January, there's been little movement in the rankings - though there was one major leap in particular.
Deontay Wilder, having lost to Fury in October and being unactive since, has surged up the rankings from 14th to seventh - putting him behind only the aforementioned quartet, Anthony Joshua and Maris Briedis.
You can see the full rankings below.
Top 25 boxers (last month's ranking in brackets)
25. Chris Eubank Jr. (25)
24. Nonito Donaire (24)
23. Jose Carlos Ramirez (23)
22. Gervonta Davis (21)
21. Brian Carlos Castano (20)
20. Jermell Charlo (19)
19. Dmitry Bivol (22)
18. Naoye Inoue (18)
17. Roman Gonzalez (17)
16. Jose Zepeda (16)
15. Dillian Whyte (15)
14. Regis Prograis (13)
13. Oscar Valdez (12)
12. Juan Francisco Estrada (11)
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