Both Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker picked up impressive victories in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last weekend in what could prove to be the most vital wins of their careers.

Parker – despite twice trying the canvas – outboxed a tired and often timid Zhilei Zhang. The Kiwi was disciplined and effective right from the start throughout the 36 minutes of action, and under the watchful eye of Andy Lee, he was able to maintain his composure and take risks despite losing both rounds 10-8 in the fight. Zhang’s quick hands won out on a few occasions, but Parker’s ability to smother most of those attacks with his pointed reflexes and quick footwork negated any real threat of stopping the gigantic Chinese heavyweight.

This was Parker’s fifth fight since the start of 2023, and his rhythm and winning dynamics were on display at the Kingdom Arena.

We often quickly judge a heavyweight after a loss, consigning him to the growing scrapyard of former gigantic threats in the division. Perhaps this is because he lacks the opportunity to move up a weight class like the weight classes below. A welterweight’s destitute performance, for example, can easily – and often be attributed to a tough weight cut or being outgrown in the division; he gets a tidy slate when he resumes his career in pastures modern.

It’s gratifying to see such marked progress from the heavyweight and with his modern coaching team headed up by the excellent and experienced Andy Lee, the increased activity is a major factor in the modern and improved performances.

Wins over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang in the space of three-and-a-half months have catapulted Parker into the division’s top four, and he now looks most worthy of another title shot after Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua jostle for medal spots.

The same goes for Anthony Joshua. Now, with Ben Davison at his side, Joshua has fought four times in 12 months and is as close as we ever thought he would be to regaining his best form in the division. AJ has regained the earth-shattering power that allowed him to scuttle through the early stages of his pro career, stopping Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou in a combined seven rounds – something his domestic foe Tyson Fury was unable to do on both occasions.

He said it himself before this weekend’s competition. “This is the first time since 2017 that I’ve had three fights in a row, and being consistent has paid off again,” he said. “That’s why fighters do so well on their way to the top, because they fight every other week and they look amazing. Once you get to the top, everything slows down and the only way out is retirement. I’m trying to rebuild myself and get that activity.”

It has become the norm for many champions to fight once, maybe twice, per calendar year, especially in the heavier weights. And rarely is it because of the desire of the individual fighter. Belt politics, obligation, and teams playing hardball with other champions often lead to delay after delay when you are sitting on the mountaintop, but in a sport where you are protecting your undefeated record used most importantly, we may be seeing the beginning of a shift towards risk rewarding.

There is no doubt that Saudi Arabia’s injection of cash into the sport helps with this level of activity. Their desire to cleanse the sport of their terrible human rights record is unquenchable and however long this obsession with boxing (and snooker, Formula 1, golf, WWE and football) lasts, the more opportunities, especially for heavyweights, to fight in what could become a carousel division will be available.

Beyond the bigger picture, it’s tough not to be pleased with the progress Parker and Joshua have shown over the past 15 months. If more fighters follow in their footsteps, who knows how the heavyweight landscape could look.

The next update will be on Monday, April 1st. This isn’t a amusing joke, it’s just the date it will happen.

Ranked fights during this period:

• cruiser weight: (8) Arsen Goulamirian vs. Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, March. thirty
• average weight: (7) Elijah Garcia vs. Kyrone Davis, March 30
• average weight: (9) Nathan Heaney vs. Brad Pauls, March 16
• Super Welterweight: (1) Tim Tszyu vs. (3) Sebastian Fundora, March 30
• Delicate: (4) William Zepeda vs. (7) Maxi Hughes, March. 16
• Delicate: (10) Raymond Muratalla vs Xolisani Ndongeni, March. 29
• Super Featherweight: (5) Oscar Valdez vs. Liam Wilson, March 29
• Super bantam weight: (6) Sam Goodman vs. Mark Schleibs, March 13
• Flyweight: (3) Julio Cesar Martinez vs. Angelino Cordova, March 30
• P4P for women: (6) Seniesa Estrada vs. (7) Yokasta Valle, March 29

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Comments: Boxing rankings are fun, frustrating and weird and should be viewed subjectively no matter who does them, unless they are done by the people who unfortunately matter – the sanctioning bodies – in which case it should be viewed as a ill joke.

The reason it’s amusing/frustrating/weird is because you can poke holes in it All. Take the up-to-date top four here – Usyk, Fury, Joshua, Parker. Who has the most momentum there? Maybe AJ in a sense, but in a more real sense it’s really Joseph Parker.

But it’s uncomplicated to forget now, and High Ed Hearn would rather you did, that AJ wasn’t getting rave reviews for his wins over Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius, or maybe he was a world-class boxing champion treating an MMA fighter like a novice boxer, for once he’s True? reason to assume that unless you’re making money promoting him, he’s the best heavyweight in the world right now.

On the other hand, I liked his look in December against Otto Wallin, and that returned his spite (!) and showed strongly in the match with Ngannou. AJ was there to emphasize the only thing he could during the fight: that Francis Ngannou should not fight him in a boxing ring. And he succeeded. No matter how cordial AJ was before or after, he threatened Ngannou in the ring and came to knock him out, which he did.

But you can’t put AJ above Usyk or Fury, even considering how poorly Fury fought Ngannou last year and how much he had to turn his fight with the MMA star into a slow-burning bore to pull off a well-deserved but uninspiring victory. I tend to agree with Tyson that “style makes the fight” would be a substantial factor in a fight between him and AJ, and that’s what we saw in their fights with Ngannou. AJ’s style against “The Predator” was “seek and destroy.” Fury’s style was “show up in bad shape for a bit of fun and a substantial, uncomplicated payday – oops, I’m on my butt!”

Usyk, of course, defeated Joshua twice, tidy and square. Maybe a sharpened Joshua, who I think has probably gotten into a good rhythm and has been looking at Usyk with different eyes since the rematch in the camps, could finally beat Usyk. But maybe not! Maybe Usyk is just not right for him and always will be.

Meanwhile, Usyk didn’t look amazing when he beat Daniel Dubois last year, and now he’s scheduled to fight Fury in May. If both are fit, I still feel like Fury is a bad match for Usyk. Styles again.

Then there’s Joseph Parker, who won the title many years ago and is still only 32 years senior and now has the two biggest wins of his career over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang, two fearsome fighters he’s defeated in boxing. Both Wilder and Zhang are flawed fighters and the results were similar.

Zhang was hazardous and knocked Parker down twice, but Joe Parker clearly won that fight, and Zhang has only himself to blame for not having 12 rounds of fuel left in his game. He’s in his 40s, so it’s never going to be something that’s right for him. Wilder was hazardous, of course, but he did absolutely nothing for the entire 12 rounds. Parker was ready to try, but he just never did.

So what’s Parker’s impression, really? REALLY? And that’s what I mean – holes in everything, if you want to do that. It’s a really solid foursome right now, but you could find a way to discredit any of them pretty easily.

Let’s do this again a bit, just to close this section, for fun. Zhang drops to sixth place with the loss, because now you have to go back to respecting the official result of his fight with Filip Hrgovic, who didn’t exactly airy up the world as a pro, but is sturdy and competent.

Being No. 6 is nothing to scoff at, and he remains someone who would be hazardous for about half a fight against anyone, but maybe Joe Joyce was just made for Zhang. Joyce doesn’t and/or can’t defend himself. A terrible flaw for a guy who has incredible power, good timing, and basic boxing skills. No defense gives him a chance to call you out before the tank empties. How good is Zhang?!?!

In compact, they are all terrible.

Upcoming Fights: (8) Jared Anderson vs. Ryad MerhyApril 13… (1) Oleksandry Usyk vs. (2) Tyson FuryMay 18

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Upcoming Fights: (8) Arsen Goulamirian vs. Gilberto “Zurdo” RamirezMarch 30… (1) Jai Opetaia vs. Mairis BriedisMay 18th… (2) Chris Billam-Smith vs. (3) Richard RiakporheTBA

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Upcoming Fights: (1) Dmitry Bivol vs. (2) Artur Beterbiev1st of June … (7) Oleksandr Gvozdyk vs. David BenavidezTBA

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Upcoming Fights: (8) Diego Pacheco vs. Shawn McCalmanApril 6… (1) Canelo Alvarez vs. (4) Jaime MunguiaMay 4

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Upcoming Fights: (9) Nathan Heaney vs. Brad PaulsMarch 16

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Comments: Israil Madrimov jumps to No. 1 after beating Magomed Kurbanov to win the WBA title in Saudi Arabia. Kurbanov was never the most impressive fighter or anything, and his two best wins are questionable, but Madrimov just torched him and took him to the woodshed. In a division that has largely stagnated, that’s impressive and essential.

Xander Zayas is No. 1. 10. I agree it’s a bit too early to say for sure – same with Agyarko, but what they’ve done so far is as impressive as any other viable option.

Upcoming Fights: (1) Tim Tszyu vs (3) Sebastian FundoraMarch 30… (7) Yoenis Tellez vs. Joseph JacksonApril 26

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Upcoming Fights: (3) Jaron Ennis vs. (7) Cody CrowleyMay 4

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Upcoming Fights: (1) Devin Haney vs. (7) Ryan GarciaApril 20… (4) Jack Catterall vs. Josh TaylorApril 27

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Upcoming Fights: (4) William Zepeda vs. (7) Maxi HughesMarch 16… (10) Raymond Muratalla vs Xolisani NdongeniMarch 29… (1) Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. (9) George Kambosos JrMay 11

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Upcoming Fights: (4) Oscar Valdez vs. Liam WilsonMarch 29… (1) Joe Cordina vs. Anthony CacaceMay 18

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Comments: I even had Vargas vs. Ball on my card, but if anyone deserved to win, it was Nick Ball. I think he made a bigger impression in that fight than Rey Vargas. But as annoying as Vargas was, he was still competitive.

Despite this, Vargas loses one spot, Ball advances several times. They should rematch. Unless the WBC orders it – and even if they do – I don’t know if Vargas will be interested.

Upcoming Fights: TBA

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Upcoming Fights: (6) Sam Goodman vs. Mark SchleibsMarch 13… (1) Naoya Inoue vs. (2) Luis NeryMay 6

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Upcoming Fights: TBA

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Upcoming Fights: (7) Suzumi Takayama vs. Akio FurutaniApril 25

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Upcoming Fights: TBA

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Upcoming Fights: TBA

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Upcoming Fights: (1) Yudai Shigeoka vs (5) Melvin JerusalemMarch 31 … (2) Ginjiro Shigeoka vs ArAr AndalesMarch 31

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Upcoming Fights: (6) Seniesa Estrada vs. (7) Yokasta ValleMarch 29

Former HBO commentator Jim Lampley sits down with Fight Hub TV’s Marcos Villegas to discuss Canelo Alvarez’s career and why he will never be able to fully satisfy boxing fans with his accomplishments in the sport. With many wanting to see Canelo fight David Benavidez, and recent reports suggesting he may instead fight Jaime Munguia, Lampley shares his perspective on the matter.

Lampley on fans wanting Canelo to fight Benavidez

“He’s been at it a long time. He’s been doing it since he was a boy. He’s worked really tough in the gym. You’ve got to commend him for his tenacity, his persistence and his dedication to his cause over a long period of time.

“Now he’s even hearing from a lot of his fans that ‘just wait until you get in the ring with David Benavidez, Benavidez is a whole up-to-date thing, he’s got more power than you ever dreamed of, he’s going to do it, I’m going to finish you.’ He doesn’t want to hear that. He doesn’t want to be treated with such disrespect by people whose respect, in his opinion, he’s worked very tough to earn over a long time.

At this point, does he really need to keep proving himself by taking the biggest fight available, or should he be paid to fight whoever he wants because he’s Canelo Alvarez? There’s probably a debate going on in the back of his mind: “Haven’t I done enough?” Shouldn’t he be allowed to fight whoever I want?

“Whatever he thinks of Benavidez, right now it’s clearly not enough for him to say I want to go straight to David Benavidez and have the fight that everyone wants to see. Sometimes you don’t want that anymore and we’ll see where it all goes.”

On whether Canelo has an obligation to fight the biggest challenges available

“Some fighters inspire a passionate, absolutely unquestioning love in the public, and some don’t. Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield twice, he annihilated Mike Tyson, he was the undisputed No. 1 heavyweight of his era, and he never got the full recognition of the public for that because there was something about Lewis’s personality that made them feel like, ‘He’s not committed to me,’ he’s not willing to go to great lengths to please me as a fighter, he’s a businessman, he picks and chooses, so why should I be impressed? He’s 6-foot-6.

“Lennox couldn’t get to that sweet spot in his life where his performance said he should belong. He eventually had to accept that, ‘Okay, the crowd wanted Tyson to beat me for some reason, the crowd wanted Evander to beat me for some reason – at the end of the day, I am who I am,’ and if they don’t love me, it doesn’t matter.

“For some reason, a part of the audience didn’t buy everything Canelo did enough to make him permanently immortal at this point. I say he’s immortal at this point, but I’m not a fan, I’m a businessman who comments on boxing.