Pound-for-pound: Terence Crawford’s reign at No. 1 in jeopardy

Pound-for-pound: Terence Crawford’s long reign at No. 1 is in jeopardy.

There has been only one pound-for-pound king since Boxing Junkie unveiled its rankings in the fall of 2019: Terence Crawford.

That could finally change on July 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where Crawford will face fellow 147-pound titleholder and No. 4-ranked Errol Spence Jr. for the undisputed championship.

If Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) wins, he will remain No. 1 and arguably justify Boxing Junkie’s decision to stick with him over the past four years. If he loses, a new king would have to be crowned.

A case could be made that Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) should rise to No. 1 if he has his hand raised in the super fight, particularly if his victory is convincing. Taking down No. 1 carries a great deal of weight.

Or, if Spence’s victory isn’t conclusive enough, No. 2 Naoya Inoue would be considered for the top spot if he gets past 122-pound titleholder and Honorable Mention Stephen Fulton Jr. on July 25 in Tokyo, which is the next fight involving a pound-for-pounder.

If Fulton beats Inoue, then No. 3-ranked Oleksandr Usyk would be in position to climb the rankings as the heavyweight titleholder prepares to defend his belts against Daniel Dubois on Aug. 26 in Poland.

And, of course, a potential Crawford-Spence rematch could also have pound-for-pound ramifications.

Only one thing seems certain right now: The Boxing Junkie list probably will look different in a matter of weeks.

Stay tuned.

Next pound-for-pounder up: Inoue vs. Fulton.

Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – Scheduled to face No. 4 Errol Spence Jr. for the undisputed 147-pound championship on July 29.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to challenge 122-pound titleholder and Honorable Mention Stephen Fulton Jr. on July 25 in Tokyo.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to defend his three heavyweight titles against Daniel Dubois on Aug. 26 in Poland.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – Scheduled to face No. 1 Terence Crawford for the undisputed 147-pound championship on July 29.
  5. Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
  6. Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face MMA star Francis Ngannou in a boxing match on Oct. 28 in Saudi Arabia.
  7. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  8. Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to defend his 168-pound titles against Jermell Charlo on Sept. 30.
  9. Jermell Charlo – Scheduled to challenge 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 30.
  10. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  11. Vasiliy Lomachenko – No fight scheduled.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith on Aug. 19 in Quebec City, Canada.
  13. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
  14. Roman Gonzalez – No fight scheduled.
  15. Devin Haney – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (no fight scheduled); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Stephen Fulton Jr. (scheduled to defend his 122-pound title against No. 2 Naoya Inoue on July 25 in Tokyo); Kazuto Ioka (no fight scheduled); Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (reportedly will face Sunny Edwards in a 112-pound title-unification bout in December but no announcement has been made).

[lawrence-related id=37748,37544,37525]