Category: Pound-for-pound

Pound for pound: Where does Artur Beterbiev land after brutal KO?

Pound for pound: Where does Artur Beterbiev land on Boxing Junkie’s list after his brutal KO of Joe Smith Jr.?

A few weeks ago No. 2-ranked Naoya Inoue delivered an epic knockout of future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire but couldn’t overtake No. 1 Terence Crawford on the Boxing Junkie pound-for-pound list.

We wanted to allow Crawford – coming off a sensational victory of his own against Shawn Porter – to decide his fate in an expected showdown with Errol Spence Jr. this fall.

No. 13 Artur Beterbiev gave fans another brutal stoppage this past Saturday in New York City. His took down fellow 175-pound titleholder Joe Smith Jr., who became Beterbiev’s 18th knockout victim in as many fights in the second round.

How does that impact the Montreal-based Russian’s position on the list? He changes places with No. 12 Gennadiy Golovkin.

Now you might have two questions. One, why not let Triple-G decide his own fate? He’s set to face No. 7 Canelo Alvarez in September. Well, unlike Crawford, we believe the 40-year-old Golovkin is in decline to some degree.

Of course, if he beats Alvarez, he can expect to move back up the list.

And, two, why was Beterbiev elevated only one place? While his knockout was spectacular, we have to take Smith’s limitations into account when we assess Beterbiev’s performance. It was an easy fight for him.

If Beterbiev fights and defeats No. 6-ranked Dmitry Bivol, he, too, would almost certainly climb into the Top 10.

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – Reportedly in talks to face Errol Spence Jr. for the undisputed welterweight championship in October.
  2. Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to defend his heavyweight titles in a rematch with Anthony Joshua on Aug. 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – Reportedly in talks to face Terence Crawford for the undisputed welterweight championship in October.
  5. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  6. Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
  7. Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to defend his undisputed super middleweight titles in a third fight with Gennadiy Golovkin on Sept. 17.
  8. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  10. Jermell Charlo – Reportedly in talks to defend his junior middleweight titles against mandatory challenger Tim Tszyu this fall but another mandatory has become a complicating factor.
  11. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – No fight scheduled.
  13. Gennadiy Golovkin – Scheduled to face undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez a third time on Sept. 17.
  14. Jermall Charlo – Was scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 but the fight was postponed after Charlo injured his back in training. The new date hasn’t been announced.
  15. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled,

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Nonito Donaire (no fight scheduled); Stephen Fulton Jr. (no fight scheduled); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Devin Haney (no fight scheduled); Josh Taylor (no fight scheduled).

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Pound for pound: Devin Haney, Stephen Fulton Jr. make their debuts

Pound for pound: Devin Haney and Stephen Fulton Jr. make their debuts on Boxing Junkie’s list.

It’s time for Devin Haney and Stephen Fulton Jr. to receive full recognition for what they bring to the ring.

Haney and Fulton gave masterclass boxing performances this past weekend in separate parts of the world, outclassing George Kambosos Jr. and Daniel Roman to remain unbeaten and underscore their unusual talents in important fights.

Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) unseated Kambosos as the undisputed 135-pound champion while Fulton (21-0, 8 KOs) retained two 122-pound titles.

Thus, both of them climb onto Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list for the first time, entering as Honorable Mentions. Kambosos and Kazuto Ioka, HMs going into Saturday, were pushed out.

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – Reportedly in talks to face Errol Spence Jr. for the undisputed welterweight championship in October.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight title-unification rematch on June 7 in Japan.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Reportedly set to face Anthony Joshua a second time in August but no official announcement has been made.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – Reportedly in talks to face Terence Crawford for the undisputed welterweight championship in October.
  5. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  6. Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
  7. Canelo Alvarez– Has said he’ll face Gennadiy Golovkin a third time on Sept. 17 but no official announcement has been made.
  8. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  10. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  11. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  12. Gennadiy Golovkin – Canelo Alvarez has said he’ll face Triple-G a third time on Sept. 17 but no official announcement has been made.
  13. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification fight on June 18 in New York.
  14. Jermall Charlo – Scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston.
  15. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled,

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); Stephen Fulton Jr. (no fight scheduled); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Devin Haney (no fight scheduled); Josh Taylor (no fight scheduled).

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Pound for pound: Devin Haney, Stephen Fulton Jr. make their debuts

Pound for pound: Devin Haney and Stephen Fulton Jr. make their debuts on Boxing Junkie’s list.

It’s time for Devin Haney and Stephen Fulton Jr. to receive full recognition for what they bring to the ring.

Haney and Fulton gave masterclass boxing performances this past weekend in separate parts of the world, outclassing George Kambosos Jr. and Daniel Roman to remain unbeaten and underscore their unusual talents in important fights.

Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) unseated Kambosos as the undisputed 135-pound champion while Fulton (21-0, 8 KOs) retained two 122-pound titles.

Thus, both of them climb onto Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list for the first time, entering as Honorable Mentions. Kambosos and Kazuto Ioka, HMs going into Saturday, were pushed out.

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – Reportedly in talks to face Errol Spence Jr. for the undisputed welterweight championship in October.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight title-unification rematch on June 7 in Japan.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Reportedly set to face Anthony Joshua a second time in August but no official announcement has been made.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – Reportedly in talks to face Terence Crawford for the undisputed welterweight championship in October.
  5. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  6. Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
  7. Canelo Alvarez– Has said he’ll face Gennadiy Golovkin a third time on Sept. 17 but no official announcement has been made.
  8. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  10. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  11. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  12. Gennadiy Golovkin – Canelo Alvarez has said he’ll face Triple-G a third time on Sept. 17 but no official announcement has been made.
  13. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification fight on June 18 in New York.
  14. Jermall Charlo – Scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston.
  15. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled,

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); Stephen Fulton Jr. (no fight scheduled); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Devin Haney (no fight scheduled); Josh Taylor (no fight scheduled).

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Pound for pound: Gervonta Davis jumps two spots after brutal KO

Pound for pound: Gervonta Davis has jumped two spots on the Boxing Junkie list after his brutal KO of Rolando Romero.

Critics might say that Gervonta Davis must beat a top pound-for-pounder to be one himself, which is a reasonable argument for any fighter.

However, the fact is that he has a strong resume, with a number of convincing victories over elite opposition in multiple divisions. And, just as important, he has aced the eye test repeatedly with his ability to deliver memorable knockouts.

That includes this past Saturday, when he instantaneously turned a competitive fight with capable Rolando Romero into a highlight reel knockout in Round 6. That’s what he does.

Thus, “Tank” moves up the Boxing Junkie pound-for-pound list once again, this time from No. 13 to No. 11. That means he has leap-frogged over middleweight titleholder Gennadiy Golovkin and 175-pound champ Artur Beterbiev, who dropped one position each.

And with even bigger fights ahead for Davis this might just be the beginning.

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight title-unification rematch on June 7 in Japan.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Reportedly set to face Anthony Joshua a second time in August but no official announcement has been made.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  5. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  6. Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
  7. Canelo Alvarez– Has said he’ll face Gennadiy Golovkin a third time on Sept. 17 but no official announcement has been made.
  8. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBC junior bantamweight title against Joshua Franco in June.
  10. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  11. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  12. Gennadiy Golovkin – Canelo Alvarez has said he’ll face Triple-G a third time on Sept. 17 but no official announcement has been made.
  13. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification fight on June 18 in New York.
  14. Jermall Charlo – Scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston.
  15. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled,

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to defend junior bantamweight title against Donnie Nietes on July 13); George Kambosos (scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against Devin Haney on June 5); Josh Taylor (no fight scheduled).

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Pound for pound: Gervonta Davis jumps two spots after brutal KO

Pound for pound: Gervonta Davis has jumped two spots on the Boxing Junkie list after his brutal KO of Rolando Romero.

Critics might say that Gervonta Davis must beat a top pound-for-pounder to be one himself, which is a reasonable argument for any fighter.

However, the fact is that he has a strong resume, with a number of convincing victories over elite opposition in multiple divisions. And, just as important, he has aced the eye test repeatedly with his ability to deliver memorable knockouts.

That includes this past Saturday, when he instantaneously turned a competitive fight with capable Rolando Romero into a highlight reel knockout in Round 6. That’s what he does.

Thus, “Tank” moves up the Boxing Junkie pound-for-pound list once again, this time from No. 13 to No. 11. That means he has leap-frogged over middleweight titleholder Gennadiy Golovkin and 175-pound champ Artur Beterbiev, who dropped one position each.

And with even bigger fights ahead for Davis this might just be the beginning.

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight title-unification rematch on June 7 in Japan.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Reportedly set to face Anthony Joshua a second time in August but no official announcement has been made.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  5. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  6. Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
  7. Canelo Alvarez– Has said he’ll face Gennadiy Golovkin a third time on Sept. 17 but no official announcement has been made.
  8. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBC junior bantamweight title against Joshua Franco in June.
  10. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  11. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  12. Gennadiy Golovkin – Canelo Alvarez has said he’ll face Triple-G a third time on Sept. 17 but no official announcement has been made.
  13. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification fight on June 18 in New York.
  14. Jermall Charlo – Scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston.
  15. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled,

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to defend junior bantamweight title against Donnie Nietes on July 13); George Kambosos (scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against Devin Haney on June 5); Josh Taylor (no fight scheduled).

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Pound for pound: Jermell Charlo earns a promotion with his KO victory

Pound for pound: Jermell Charlo earned a promotion with his KO victory over Brian Castano last Saturday.

Jermell Charlo continues his ascent.

The smaller of the Charlo twins stopped Brian Castano in the 10th round of their rematch to become the undisputed junior middleweight champion Saturday in Carson, California, which was arguably his finest performance.

As a result, Charlo (No. 11 last week) swaps places with Gennadiy Golovkin (No. 10) on the list, meaning he cracks the Top 10.

And, obviously, Charlo will have the opportunity to climb even higher because the 31-year-old Houstonian has more important fights in his future.

Meanwhile, Golovkin could face No. 7 Canelo Alvarez a third time in September. If he gets that pay-per-view fight and wins it, the 40-year-old would move up the list.

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight title-unification rematch on June 7 in Japan.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Reportedly set to face Anthony Joshua a second time on July 23 but no official announcement has been made.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  5. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  6. Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
  7. Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
  8. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBC junior bantamweight title against Joshua Franco in June.
  10. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  11. Gennadiy Golovkin – In talks to face Canelo Alvarez a third time in September but no official announcement has been made.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification fight on June 18 in New York.
  13. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero on May 28 in Brooklyn, New York.
  14. Jermall Charlo – Scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston.
  15. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled,

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to defend junior bantamweight title against Donnie Nietes on July 13); George Kambosos (scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against Devin Haney on June 5); Josh Taylor (no fight scheduled).

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Pound for pound: Jermell Charlo earns a promotion with his KO victory

Pound for pound: Jermell Charlo earned a promotion with his KO victory over Brian Castano last Saturday.

Jermell Charlo continues his ascent.

The smaller of the Charlo twins stopped Brian Castano in the 10th round of their rematch to become the undisputed junior middleweight champion Saturday in Carson, California, which was arguably his finest performance.

As a result, Charlo (No. 11 last week) swaps places with Gennadiy Golovkin (No. 10) on the list, meaning he cracks the Top 10.

And, obviously, Charlo will have the opportunity to climb even higher because the 31-year-old Houstonian has more important fights in his future.

Meanwhile, Golovkin could face No. 7 Canelo Alvarez a third time in September. If he gets that pay-per-view fight and wins it, the 40-year-old would move up the list.

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight title-unification rematch on June 7 in Japan.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Reportedly set to face Anthony Joshua a second time on July 23 but no official announcement has been made.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  5. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  6. Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
  7. Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
  8. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBC junior bantamweight title against Joshua Franco in June.
  10. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  11. Gennadiy Golovkin – In talks to face Canelo Alvarez a third time in September but no official announcement has been made.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification fight on June 18 in New York.
  13. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero on May 28 in Brooklyn, New York.
  14. Jermall Charlo – Scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston.
  15. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled,

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to defend junior bantamweight title against Donnie Nietes on July 13); George Kambosos (scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against Devin Haney on June 5); Josh Taylor (no fight scheduled).

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Pound for pound: Down goes Canelo, down goes Canelo

Pound for pound: Canelo Alvarez, No. 2 going into his fight with Dmitry Bivol, takes a tumble down the list while Bivol joins the club.

Canelo Alvarez can no longer argue that he’s the No. 1 fighter in the world.

The Mexican superstar, the consensus pound-for-pound king but No. 2 in Boxing Junkie’s rankings going into this past Saturday, lost a close, but clear decision to light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

One unavoidable price he must pay is a fall from his lofty perch.

The question is, how far should he drop? And at what number should the previously unranked Bivol enter Boxing Junkie’s rankings after his monumental upset?

First, Alvarez.

On one hand, some might argue that the undisputed 168-pound champion shouldn’t be punished too severely because he took a significant risk by moving up in weight to face a top 175-pounder. Also, the scores were close (115-113 on all three cards).

And, of course, we can’t dismiss everything Alvarez has accomplished over a dominating run the past several years.

On the other hand, Alvarez had fought at 175 in the past, stopping capable, but aging Sergey Kovalev. And many observers believe Bivol’s victory was decisive in spite of the official scores. Even the judges gave him seven of the final eight rounds.

In the end, Boxing Junkie decided to drop Alvarez from No. 2 to No. 7, which reflects what we saw on Saturday night but keeps him among the best handful of boxers.

Now Bivol.

One could argue that the Russian shouldn’t enter the list above Alvarez because of one victory, as significant as it was.

The problem with that argument is that Bivol had a number of important successes going into the fight with Alvarez, including one-sided victories over Sullivan Barrera, Isaac Chilemba, Jean Pascal and Joe Smith Jr. in succession.

Another factor working against Bivol is that he wasn’t ranked going into the fight, which could make a huge leap seem awkward.

However, after consideration, it was decided that Bivol’s strong resume and convincing victory over the reigning No. 2 fighter – a man many believed to be all but unbeatable – merits placement above Alvarez on the pound-for-pound list.

He comes in at No. 6, behind only No. 1 Terence Crawford, No. 2 Naoya Inoue, No. 3. Oleksandr Usyk, No. 4 Errol Spence Jr. and No. 5 Tyson Fury.

Next up on the pound-for-pound list: No. 10 Jermell Charlo and unranked Brian Castano are scheduled to meet on Saturday to unify all the 154-pound titles.

The addition of Bivol drops Kazuto Ioka from No. 15 to Honorable Mention. And it pushes HM Mairis Briedis out of the rankings.

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight title-unification rematch on June 7 in Japan.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Reportedly set to face Anthony Joshua a second time on July 23 but no official announcement has been made.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  5. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  6. Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
  7. Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
  8. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBC junior bantamweight title against Joshua Franco in June.
  10. Gennadiy Golovkin – Had been expected to face Canelo Alvarez a third time in September but that matchup is now up in the air.
  11. Jermell Charlo – Scheduled to face Brian Castano for the undisputed junior middleweight championship on May 14 in Carson, California.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification fight on June 18 in New York.
  13. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero on May 28 in Brooklyn, New York.
  14. Jermall Charlo – Scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston.
  15. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled,

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to defend junior bantamweight title against Donnie Nietes on July 13); George Kambosos (scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against Devin Haney on June 5); Josh Taylor (no fight scheduled).

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Pound for pound: Down goes Canelo, down goes Canelo

Pound for pound: Canelo Alvarez, No. 2 going into his fight with Dmitry Bivol, takes a tumble down the list while Bivol joins the club.

Canelo Alvarez can no longer argue that he’s the No. 1 fighter in the world.

The Mexican superstar, the consensus pound-for-pound king but No. 2 in Boxing Junkie’s rankings going into this past Saturday, lost a close, but clear decision to light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

One unavoidable price he must pay is a fall from his lofty perch.

The question is, how far should he drop? And at what number should the previously unranked Bivol enter Boxing Junkie’s rankings after his monumental upset?

First, Alvarez.

On one hand, some might argue that the undisputed 168-pound champion shouldn’t be punished too severely because he took a significant risk by moving up in weight to face a top 175-pounder. Also, the scores were close (115-113 on all three cards).

And, of course, we can’t dismiss everything Alvarez has accomplished over a dominating run the past several years.

On the other hand, Alvarez had fought at 175 in the past, stopping capable, but aging Sergey Kovalev. And many observers believe Bivol’s victory was decisive in spite of the official scores. Even the judges gave him seven of the final eight rounds.

In the end, Boxing Junkie decided to drop Alvarez from No. 2 to No. 7, which reflects what we saw on Saturday night but keeps him among the best handful of boxers.

Now Bivol.

One could argue that the Russian shouldn’t enter the list above Alvarez because of one victory, as significant as it was.

The problem with that argument is that Bivol had a number of important successes going into the fight with Alvarez, including one-sided victories over Sullivan Barrera, Isaac Chilemba, Jean Pascal and Joe Smith Jr. in succession.

Another factor working against Bivol is that he wasn’t ranked going into the fight, which could make a huge leap seem awkward.

However, after consideration, it was decided that Bivol’s strong resume and convincing victory over the reigning No. 2 fighter – a man many believed to be all but unbeatable – merits placement above Alvarez on the pound-for-pound list.

He comes in at No. 6, behind only No. 1 Terence Crawford, No. 2 Naoya Inoue, No. 3. Oleksandr Usyk, No. 4 Errol Spence Jr. and No. 5 Tyson Fury.

Next up on the pound-for-pound list: No. 10 Jermell Charlo and unranked Brian Castano are scheduled to meet on Saturday to unify all the 154-pound titles.

The addition of Bivol drops Kazuto Ioka from No. 15 to Honorable Mention. And it pushes HM Mairis Briedis out of the rankings.

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight title-unification rematch on June 7 in Japan.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Reportedly set to face Anthony Joshua a second time on July 23 but no official announcement has been made.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  5. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  6. Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
  7. Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
  8. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBC junior bantamweight title against Joshua Franco in June.
  10. Gennadiy Golovkin – Had been expected to face Canelo Alvarez a third time in September but that matchup is now up in the air.
  11. Jermell Charlo – Scheduled to face Brian Castano for the undisputed junior middleweight championship on May 14 in Carson, California.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification fight on June 18 in New York.
  13. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero on May 28 in Brooklyn, New York.
  14. Jermall Charlo – Scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston.
  15. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled,

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to defend junior bantamweight title against Donnie Nietes on July 13); George Kambosos (scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against Devin Haney on June 5); Josh Taylor (no fight scheduled).

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Pound for pound: Shakur Stevenson ascends the list

Pound for pound: Shakur Stevenson ascends the list after his victory over Oscar Valdez on Saturday.

Sometimes fighters make it impossible to keep them off pound-for-pound lists.

Shakur Stevenson did that this past Saturday in Las Vegas, outclassing previously unbeaten and respected Oscar Valdez to unify two 130-pound titles by a unanimous decision and leave no doubt that he’s among the best in the business.

Stevenson not only won handily, he embarrassed an elite opponent with his sublime skill. That’s a rarity. It’s Mayweather-esque.

Thus, the pride of Newark, New Jersey, ascends from Honorable Mention to No. 14 on the Boxing Junkie list, pushing Kazuto Ioka (No. 14 last week) to No. 15 and Josh Taylor (No. 15 last week) to Honorable Mention.

And stay tuned. We expect the 24-year-old to climb much higher over the next year or two.

Next up on the pound-for-pound list: No. 2 Canelo Alvarez challenges light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol on pay-per-view Saturday in Las Vegas..

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to challenge WBA light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol on May 7.
  3. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight title-unification rematch on June 7 in Japan.
  4. Oleksandr Usyk – In talks to defend his heavyweight titles against Anthony Joshua in a rematch this summer.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  6. Tyson Fury– No fight scheduled.
  7. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  8. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBC junior bantamweight title against Joshua Franco in June.
  9. Gennadiy Golovkin – No fight scheduled but expected to face Canelo Alvarez a third time in September.
  10. Jermell Charlo – Scheduled to face Brian Castano for the undisputed junior middleweight championship on May 14 in Carson, California.
  11. Artur Beterbiev – In talks to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification fight on June 18 in New York.
  12. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero on May 28 in Brookly, New York.
  13. Jermall Charlo – Scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston.
  14. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
  15. Kazuto Ioka – The WBO has ordered a rematch between Ioka and Donnie Nietes for Ioka’s junior bantamweight belt but no deal is in place.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (expected to defend his IBF cruiserweight title against Jai Opetaia in June or July); Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); George Kambosos (scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against Devin Haney on June 5); Josh Taylor (no fight scheduled).

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