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Deontay Wilder has insisted he is ready to face Anthony Joshua if acceptable terms can be reached between the two camps, according to the WBC champion’s manager Shelley Finkel.
Wilder is currently lost for an opponent after Tyson Fury ruled out an immediate rematch, and with Joshua already in camp for his 1 June bout against Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller.
However, Finkel, after a saga of fraught negotiations with Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has renewed hope that Wilder and Joshua could meet in an undisputed heavyweight title fight at the end of 2019.
“When the conditions are right, Deontay would love to fight Anthony Joshua,” Finkel told Sky Sports .
It’s believed that Dominic Breazeale , who had been mandated to face Dillian Whyte for a crack at Wilder, may now be fast-tracked into a title fight with the Alabamian.
Show all 16 1 /16February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world Who is the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world? The ranking of The Independent's 10 best male boxers on the planet. Take a look through to see who comes out on top.
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February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world On the rise: Anthony Joshua Joshua recaptured his world heavyweight titles in dominant fashion, but in a new manner for the Briton: boxing beautifully off the back foot. He is now back in the mix, even if he is just behind Wilder and Fury, to be considered the best heavyweight in the world. All three are just on the outside of our list though until they fight each other
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February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world On the rise: Deontay Wilder Nobody can deny he has a claim as the most powerful puncher pound-for-pound, but despite wiping out Luis Ortiz, the Bronze Bomber needs to beat Tyson Fury clearly to justify a place inside the top 10 here
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February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world In the mix: Tyson Fury Like Joshua and Wilder before, with a legitimate case to be the No 1 heavyweight in the world, Fury is just on the outside of our top 10 - if he manages to comprehensively beat Wilder - staying away from that big right hand for the full 12 rounds - he will be the first of the trio to leap back inside the top 10
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February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world On the rise: Josh Taylor (16-0) Josh Taylor's win over Regis Prograis to win the WBSS at 140 pounds was a massive statement - he'll need to become the undisputed light welterweight champion by beating Jose Ramirez to make his place inside the top 10 indisputable
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February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world On the rise: Miguel Berchelt (37-1) Miguel Berchelt smashed Jose Sosa to pieces inside four rounds to defend his WBC super featherweight title - now 37-1 and undefeated since 2014 with 16 consecutive wins and six straight defences
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February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 10. Juan Francisco Estrada (39-3-0) The two-weight world champion grabbed the lineal super flyweight title against Sor Rungvisai to snatch his pound-for-pound status and the WBC gold.
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February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 9. Mikey Garcia (39-1-0) Despite coming up short against Errol Spence in their welterweight bout, Garcia is still a modern great as a four-weight world champion.
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February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 8. Gennady Golovkin (39-1-1) Despite suffering the first loss of his career against Canelo Alvarez, Golovkin's stellar career keeps him in our rankings. The boxing legend is now a two-time world champion.
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February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 7. Manny Pacquiao (62-7-2) The Filipino looked sensational to outpoint Keith Thurman, flooring the American and rolling back the years at 40 years old to confirm himself as the No 3 welterweight in the world at worst. Considering the illustrious names on his resume, a place inside the top 10 pound-for-pound list and a world class win this year confirms his place here.
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February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 6. Errol Spence (26-0-0) Spence beat Shawn Porter to unify the welterweight division as he goes in search of more belts. Danny Garcia looks set to be next.
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February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 5. Oleksandr Usyk (17-0-0) The undisputed, undefeated, unified cruiserweight world champion has successfully moved up in weight, beating Chazz Witherspoon on his heavyweight debut.
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February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 4. Naoya Inoue (19-0-0) The man nicknamed the 'monster' beat Nonito Donaire to win the World Boxing Super Series and move to 19-0 after a hard fought battle.
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February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 3. Terence Crawford (35-0-0) Another three-weight world champion, Crawford enters our top three and reaffirmed his place as one of the sport's greats after a knockout win against Amir Khan.
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February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 2. Canelo Alvarez (53-1-2) One loss and a whole heap of controversy but Canelo's record is one to be celebrated, a now four-weight world champion and still not even 30 years of age. The biggest star in the sport and an impressive KO win of Sergey Kovalev cements his standing, arguably has a claim to the throne, but he just misses out here.
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February top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world 1. Vasyl Lomachenko (14-1-0) There can only be one. The king of the amateur game has stepped up to become the king of the professionals. Just 15 fights into his career and despite one career defeat, the current unified lightweight world champion sets records for days. Loma won a world title in his third fight, became a two-weight champion in his seventh, and a three-weight champion in his twelfth fight. The king. Less magic against a brave Luke Campbell, but more brutality, slashing body shots and exquisite balance and movement. Who's next? Commey, Lopez, Davis?
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“Of course I want to fight for the world title, but at the same time, I understand the fans want to see me and Dillian Whyte fight,” Breazeale said. “I’m a fan pleaser and I’m ready to fight.
“My preference would be Wilder, of course, definitely. World title shot. It’s everything I’ve been waiting for, for the last 15 months.”
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