Tyson Fury has reopened the debate over the world's best heavyweight by knocking out Deontay Wilder.

The 'Gypsy King' put on an absolute clinic to drop his American adversary twice, eventually prompting Wilder's team to throw in the towel, to procure the WBC and Ring Magazine belts.

As a result, fight fans are debating whether Fury or Anthony Joshua should now be considered number one as well as deciding where Wilder should fall to in the rankings.

The 'alphabet' governing bodies don't sift between champions, Ring Magazine have automatically upgraded Fury as their champion and, well, media rankings are ultimately subjective.

But fear not, because the wonderful website that is BoxRec allows us to take a more objective look at the heavyweight landscape after Fury sent Wilder crashing to the canvas.

Statistical heavyweight rankings

Known as 'Boxing's Official Record Keeper', the website ranks fighters using a points system that assesses their professional records, the resumés of their opponents and much more.

You can check out their full method here. 

Maths aside, though; their new heavyweight rankings make for very interesting reading, so check out what the stats say about Fury vs Wilder vs Joshua as well as the chasing pack:

20. Evgeny Romanov - 122.1

Hmm. Despite his age, Romanov is a fighter on the rise with a youthful professional record of 14-0 and is something of a novel act as the only man to knock out Wilder... prior to last weekend.

19. Joe Joyce - 125.0

We'll know a lot more about Joyce after he clashes with fellow prospect Daniel Dubois, who surely should be on this list, but he still boasts a marquee victory over Bryant Jennings on his 10-0 record.

18. Christian Hammer - 144.8

This seems far too generous considering Hammer was recently outboxed by laboured versions of Luis Ortiz and Alexander Povetkin, while Fury sent him to the canvas back in 2015.

17. Oscar Rivas - 151.6

There's no doubting that Rivas is a top quality fighter. Expect the Colombian to be back in some big fights very soon after walloping Jennings and giving Dillian Whyte an absolute war in July.

16. Dominic Breazeale - 169.2

'Trouble' has been absent from the ring ever since Wilder poleaxed him last May and it's hard to see the two-time title challenger getting anywhere near the heavyweight top 10 in the years to come.

15. Joseph Parker - 175.8

This is very harsh. Sure, Parker has been wading through tune-up fights since his double defeats to Joshua and Whyte, but we're still talking about a former champion who outboxed Andy Ruiz Jr.

14. Filip Hrgovic - 189.6

Look, Hrgovic is the best heavyweight prospect in the sport and a future world title challenger... it's just that 14th is far too lofty when Eric Molina is the biggest name on his fledgling 10-0 record.

13. Charles Martin - 212.5

It's easy to underrate Martin for the fact Joshua dispatched him within two rounds in 2016, but the way he dealt with Gerald Washington on Saturday proves he's still a top heavyweight contender.

12. Michael Hunter - 242.6

The bogeyman of the division. Hunter has already taken the scalps of Martin Bakole and Sergey Kuzmin since moving up from cruiserweight and should have been given the decision over Povetkin.

11. Adam Kownacki - 247.4

Kownacki tends to blow hot and cold, although his wins over Artur Szpilka and Washington remain ominous, so his upcoming fight with Robert Helenius will tell us a lot about his title chances.

10. Dereck Chisora - 268.5

It seems a little kind to reward Chisora and his nine defeats with a place in the top 10, even if the Brit's victories over Senad Gashi, Szpilka and David Price have put him on the comeback trail.

9. Luis Ortiz - 271.4

Despite his undoubted talent, Ortiz's professional record looks thinner and thinner the more you look at it and his two shots at the WBC crown both ended with Wilder stopping him inside 12 rounds.

8. Kubrat Pulev - 345.1

Pulev's one major step-up saw him humbled by Wladimir Klitschko, but the Bulgarian is one of the division's trickier customers with sound wins over Hughie Fury, Chisora and Alexander Ustinov.

7. Alexander Povetkin - 363.1

Povetkin has looked pretty sluggish beyond five rounds in recent years, but you can't not reward him when his stacked record features names like Hasim Rahman, Carlos Takam and Ruslan Chagaev.

6. Dillian Whyte - 383.7

It's simply mind-blowing that Whyte has never fought for a world title despite beating Chisora twice, knocking down Parker, obliterating Lucas Browne, seeing off Rivas and ruffling Joshua's feathers.

5. Deontay Wilder - 481.4

Wilder's array of opponents is certainly weaker than advertised. Nevertheless, 10 title defences - including bouts with Fury and Ortiz (x2) - is nothing to be sniffed at, not to mention 41 knockouts.

4. Andy Ruiz Jr - 486.9

Ruiz's record of 33-2 is a little bloated when you look at the standard of opponents, but the former unified champion almost beat Parker and caused one of boxing's biggest ever upsets in 2019.

3. Oleksandr Usyk - 581.0

Retiring Chazz Witherspoon within seven rounds is nothing write home about, but everyone knows Usyk will be a force to be reckoned with after becoming undisputed cruiserweight champion.

2. Tyson Fury - 866.1

Despite some dry spots on his resumé, you can't ignore the fact that Fury outboxed Klitschko in his own back garden, rose from the dead against Wilder and then knocked him out 14 months later.  

1. Anthony Joshua - 914.2

Controversial. However, there can be no denying the strength of Joshua's record when you recall that Whyte, Breazeale, Klitschko, Parker, Povetkin and Ruiz have all come unstuck against him.

GIVEMESPORT's Kobe Tong says

Deciding between Joshua and Fury right now is so, so tough, but I'm going to edge it to the latter after the events of the weekend.

Although Joshua has a denser record with consistently stiffer opponents, Fury deserves props for scoring three victories - yes, I'm counting the first Wilder fight as a win - that his compatriot simply can't match.

Plus, it's hard not to reward the 'Gypsy King' slightly more for the fact he's now collected the belts of all four major governing bodies in his career as well as the Ring Magazine strap and lineal status.

Meanwhile, elevating Usyk all the way to third is a little ham-fisted considering he's only fought at heavyweight once and Ruiz's position is grossly inflated based on his win over Joshua alone.

I would personally keep Wilder in third, swiftly followed by Whyte and his burgeoning resumé, with Usyk and Ruiz bringing up the rear in the top tier of heavyweight fighters.

But regardless of what the stats and I think, the Fury vs Joshua debate will never truly be settled until the British juggernauts exchange leather for all the marbles.