Boxing pound for pound rankings

And while non-sports fans may drift toward preparing for imminent holidays, those who connect their revelry to in-ring celebrations still have plenty to look forward to. No fewer than 11 world title fights are on the docket to wrap up the year, and boxing pound for pound rankings include several fighters for whom reasonable claims for pound-for-pound inclusion can be made.

Naoya Inoue made another statement with a hard-fought but dominant victory over Marlon Tapales to become only the second men's fighter to win an undisputed championship in a second division in the four-belt era Terence Crawford beat Errol Spence Jr. Inoue , 23 KOs , No. Inoue, a four-division champion who previously won titles at junior flyweight, junior bantamweight and bantamweight, picked up some first-place votes but not enough to unseat Crawford at No. He plans to stay at junior featherweight for the foreseeable future and defend his belts, before moving up in weight. WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol moved up one place after a one-sided unanimous decision victory over Lyndon Arthur. Bivol leapfrogs Canelo Alvarez to take the No.

Boxing pound for pound rankings

The holiday season has come and gone. And with its exit comes boxing's awakening from an early-winter nap into a particularly important second month on the calendar. Nine world title fights with varying levels of legitimacy are on the February docket, but none more important than a true 21st century novelty in Saudi Arabia. Click through to see who made our top 10 and let us know how you'd have done it with a line or two in the comments section. What better place to start than with the guy who occupies one side of the marquee in the sport's most important fight? An undisputed heavyweight title fight is a guaranteed lead item across all forms of modern sports media, and it's a perfect time for Fury to prove his desultory effort against former UFC menace Francis Ngannou in October was a one-off due to half-hearted training. It'll be the fifth fight and fourth official title defense for the year-old Brit since he vaporized Deontay Wilder to win the WBC title four years ago. He'd not heard a final bell since that bout until Ngannou pushed him to the brink before dropping a round split decision. He fought just once, but the magnitude of that fight—a one-sided round thrashing of previously unbeaten and heavily favored Josh Taylor—netted him the Scot's pound title belt and a lower-half spot in many pound-for-pound lists. Just how long he holds it will depend on how he fares when he returns to the ring to defend against 10th-ranked contender Jamaine Ortiz, who's as a pro but certainly best known for giving former three-division champion and Lopez victim Vasiliy Lomachenko quite a competitive scare before dropping a narrow round nod 15 months ago in New York. Gervonta Davis has been a champion on one level or another for the last seven years, moving from his initial celebration at pounds to a dubious claim at in to the lightweight laurels he currently holds after Devin Haney vacated the division.

The Russian, who fights out of Canada, has been dominant as the unified light-heavyweight champion. So it's no surprise that he's got a vast menu of options.

The Ukrainian southpaw one of two on this list The two-time Olympic champion is in the twilight of his career now, which only made his terrific showing against No 7 on this list even more impressive. Lomachenko came up narrowly short, but many observers felt that he had won. The Russian, who fights out of Canada, has been dominant as the unified light-heavyweight champion. Even at 38, Beterbiev looked as powerful as ever, dropping Smith twice in round seven to force a stoppage. He also set up a clash with compatriot and WBA champion Dmitry Bivol — one of the most-desired bouts in all of boxing.

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Boxing pound for pound rankings

Crawford , 31 KOs became the first men's undisputed welterweight champion in the four-belt era. He's the only men's fighter in boxing to be undisputed four belts in two different divisions. Crawford won all the titles at junior welterweight in before moving up to welterweight. Claressa Shields is a two-division undisputed champion in women's boxing having captured all four belts at junior middleweight and middleweight. Crawford's victory was so dominant that Spence , 22 KOs , the former No. But Crawford wasn't the only top fighter to shine this past week. Naoya Inoue, No. Inoue , 22 KOs , is a former undisputed bantamweight champion who moved up in weight looking for bigger and better challenges. His performance on July 25 in Japan was good enough to make a claim for the No.

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The unbeaten American entered our list following his second straight clinic against George Kambosos Jr. Alvarez, 8. Expert picks for top college hoops games Cameron Salerno 3 min read. Even at 38, Beterbiev looked as powerful as ever, dropping Smith twice in round seven to force a stoppage. Osuna: 1. So when he climbed to to face unbeaten, long-reigning divisional king Josh Taylor, there were few willing to stand up and claim Lopez would emerge as a new monarch. Spence, Want an ad-free experience? Alvarez, 5. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? The Ukrainian southpaw one of two on this list Beterbiev, 9. Who's next: Timothy Bradley Jr. Toggle limited content width. WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol moved up one place after a one-sided unanimous decision victory over Lyndon Arthur.

Naoya Inoue made another statement with a hard-fought but dominant victory over Marlon Tapales to become only the second men's fighter to win an undisputed championship in a second division in the four-belt era Terence Crawford beat Errol Spence Jr. Inoue , 23 KOs , No.

Bivol, 4. And four rounds later, the fight was over in his direction. The 10 must-see fights in February -- and why you should watch. Boxing pound-for-pound rankings: Inoue, Bivol and 'Bam' pick up votes. But as No. Email Print. Or he could pay off months of rumors and skip two rungs on the ladder to challenge pound king Canelo Alvarez. Bivol, Categories : Boxing awards Boxing-related lists The Ring magazine. WBO and The Ring. Crawford wasn't just better than Spence, he proved he would be a handful for any welterweight in history.