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ESPN's British boxers end of year pound-for-pound rankings

Anthony Joshua tops the best British boxers in 2017, with George Groves, Lee Selby, Billy Joe Saunders and Carl Frampton among the best of the rest. Getty Images

Anthony Joshua tops ESPN's end of year pound-for-pound rankings for British boxers after a knockout year for the world heavyweight champion.

The rankings look very different from 12 months ago, reflecting the change in fortunes for some of British boxing's top names.

British boxing ended 2016 with 13 world titleholders. This year, it is down to seven with Anthony Joshua, George Groves, Billy Joe Saunders, Lee Selby, Ryan Burnett and Kal Yafai full world champions, while Jamie McDonnell holds the secondary version of the WBA world bantamweight title.

Carl Frampton -- No. 1 a year ago -- has not fallen as emphatically as some of the other fighters in ESPN's in the British rankings as James DeGale (No. 2 in 2016) and Kell Brook (No. 3) fall out of the top 10 following world title losses.

Meanwhile George Groves and Ryan Burnett enter the rankings having won world title bouts this year.

1. Anthony Joshua (up from No. 4)

The WBA and IBF champion has pulled in record crowds to Wembley Stadium and the Principality Stadium for wins over Wladimir Klitschko and Carlos Takam on April 29 and Oct. 28 respectively.

Joshua's thrilling 11th round win over Klitschko, who had previously reigned for nine and a half years, also earned him No. 1 status in ESPN's heavyweight rankings.

With Tyson Fury in exile after dethroning Klitschko on points in November 2015, Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs) became the new global heavyweight No. 1.

The 28-year-old was watched by an aggregate attendance of 168,000 in 2017 and more big fights are planned for next year. First up is the expected fight with New Zealand's Joseph Parker, the WBO champion, in a world title unification planned for March or April.

Then, assuming the north London-based boxer wins, the plan is for a fight against WBC champion Deontay Wilder.

2. George Groves (up from No. 11)

Londoner Groves (27-3, 20 KOs) deserves a lot of credit for the way he has resurrected his career this year.

Failure in three world title attempts would be enough to crush a lot of fighters but Groves emerged stronger this year, stopping Russia's Fedor Chudinov in six rounds at Bramall Lane in April for the vacant WBA super-middleweight belt.

He continued to look good when he knocked out English rival Jamie Cox in four rounds in October. With his old rival James DeGale losing his world title belt and status as the division's No. 1 in a shock points loss to American Caleb Truax earlier this month, Groves is now No. 2 in ESPN's super-middleweight rankings.

But victory over English rival Chris Eubank Jr in the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) semifinal on Feb. 17 will give him a good case to be regarded as No. 1. If Groves, 30 in March, can win the WBSS, he may even retire as the megafight with DeGale now looks uncertain.

DeGale, who Groves out-pointed in 2011, is considering his future. Eubank Jr and Callum Smith, who is in the other WBSS semifinal, are now Groves' biggest rivals and he could fight both in 2018.

3. Lee Selby (up from No. 7)

Personally and professionally 2017 was difficult for Selby, but the Welshman ended it on a high with a fourth title defence.

His mum died days before a title defence against Argentina's Jonathan Barros in July after their fight had to be scrapped at a day's notice in January.

Selby (26-1, 9 KOs) unanimously out-pointed Mexico's untested Eduardo Ramirez on Dec. 9 and a harder test looms next in a mandatory defence against Josh Warrington (26-0), most probably in the challenger's home city of Leeds.

Selby, 30, is arguably Britain's most skillful world champion but he lacks the profile and has yet to land the big fight he so desperately craves. When he gets it, he will have the stage to show off his slick combinations and graceful movement.

4. Billy Joe Saunders (up from No. 16)

Saunders produced a career-best performance when he out-boxed, out-smarted and widely out-pointed David Lemieux in front of the Canadian's home crowd.

It was a dominant display from WBO world middleweight champion Saunders (26-0, 18 KOs), who previously won the belt from Ireland's Andy Lee two years ago but had a frustrating 2016.

Saunders, 28, showed against dangerous puncher Lemieux that, when on form, he is a brilliant and elusive boxer.

Saunders, who also out-pointed American Willie Monroe Jr in September, wants to face the winner of the rematch between the world's leading middleweights, WBC-WBA-IBF champion Gennady Golovkin and Saul Alvarez, next September.

5. Carl Frampton (down from No. 1)

By his own admission, Frampton (24-1, 14 KOs) has endured the worst year of his career. First, he lost the WBA world featherweight title on points to Mexican Leo Santa Cruz in a Las Vegas rematch in January.

Then, a WBC title eliminator against Andres Gutierrez fell through at less than a day's notice after the Mexican Andres Gutierrez slipped in the shower and Frampton missed the weight.

A third fight with Santa Cruz, or a crack at Selby, did not happen for Frampton who split with his promoter and trainer, Barry McGuigan and Shane McGuigan respectively. When Frampton did fight again, it was harder than expected when he was taken to points by little-known Horacio Garcia in December.

Despite the upheaval and disappointments this year, 2018 looks promising for Frampton, with a fight against four-weight world champion Nonito Donaire likely for April 7 and then a good chance he will challenge the winner of Selby-Warrington at Windsor Park in September.

6. Tony Bellew (unchanged)

Bellew (29-2-1, 19 KOs) upset the odds with his 11th round stoppage of former world heavyweight titleholder David Haye in March to maintain his status on the list.

The Liverpool boxer fought smartly to take advantage after Haye injured his Achilles tendon and the pair are due to meet in a rematch on May 5.

Bellew, the former WBC world cruiserweight champion, is not interested in fighting friend Anthony Joshua, but the 35-year-old, who is ranked WBC No. 5, could emerge as an opponent for Tyson Fury in late 2018 if he beats Haye again.

7. Ryan Burnett (up from outside No. 20)

Burnett had a dream 2017 after the Belfast boxer won the IBF bantamweight title from Lee Haskins in June and then unified the belts by beating WBA champion Zhanat Zhakiyanov in October.

The 25-year-old won both fights by deserved unanimous verdicts and there are big fights available to him against the likes of WBA 'regular' champion Jamie McDonnell, WBO titleholder Zolani Tete and WBC king Luis Nery.

Burnett (18-0, 9 KOs) replaces McDonnell in ESPN's British rankings, after the Doncaster boxer had a frustrating year.

McDonnell has impressively won seven world title fights and still holds the WBA's secondary version of their world title, but his only fight in 2017 was a no contest in November against Liborio Solis, who he looked fortunate to beat a year previously.

8. Terry Flanagan (down from No. 5)

After giving up his WBO world lightweight title in October, Flanagan (33-0, 13 KOs) is set for a world light-welterweight title shot in 2018.

The Manchester boxer is being lined up to face American Maurice Hooker (23-0-3, 16 KOs) for the WBO light-welterweight title crown -- vacated by Terrence Crawford -- in the UK on April 14.

Flanagan's only fight this year was a fifth and final defence of the lightweight belt he won in 2015, when he found Russia's Petr Petrov hard work in a unanimous points win in April.

9. Kal Yafai (up from No. 18)

Yafai (23-0, 14 KOs) made steady progress in 2017, making two defences of his WBA super flyweight title against Japan's Sho Ishida and Suguru Muranaka.

The points wins keep Yafai in contention for higher profile fights against some of his rivals in a competitive division which also features the likes of Roman Gonzalez, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Carlos Cuadras, Juan Francisco Estrada and Naoya Inoue.

10. Callum Smith (up from No. 12)

Smith (23-0, 17 KOs) turned down a crack at the vacant WBC super-middleweight to to enter the WBSS and hopes the decision pays off with a fight against either British rival Groves or Eubank in the final in May.

After a unanimous decision over Sweden's Erik Skoglund on Sep. 16, Smith will face Germany's former world light-heavyweight champion Juergen Braehmer (49-3, 35 KOs) in the semifinals in early 2018.

Smith, 27, will be favourite to beat 39-year-old Braehmer and next year promises to be busier than 2017, which featured just one fight for the Liverpool boxer.

Those just outside the top 10 include bantamweight Jamie McDonnell, super-middleweight Chris Eubank Jr, heavyweight Dillian Whyte, light-heavyweight Anthony Yarde, lightweight Luke Campbell, junior welterweight Josh Taylor, lightweight Anthony Crolla and featherweight Scott Quigg.

The likes of James DeGale, Kell Brook, Amir Khan and David Haye are absent as they look to reassert themselves in 2018 following defeats. Tyson Fury, who hopes to get his boxing licence back in January, is also missing having not boxed since November 2015.