Category: Pound-for-pound

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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Pound for pound: Did Tyson Fury do enough to climb the list?

Pound for pound: Did Tyson Fury do enough to climb the list?

Heavyweight champ Tyson Fury gave the most spectacular performance of his career this past Saturday in London, stopping Dillian Whyte with a booming upper cut in the sixth round.

In the process, he retained his title and bolstered his position as the top big man of his era.

But was it enough to bump our No. 6 fighter pound-for-pound higher on the list?

No.

One, as impressive as Fury’s victory was, we had to take Whyte’s limitations into consideration when we assess the winner’s performance. Bottom line: Defeating Whyte isn’t a great achievement.

And, two, we had to look at the fighters ahead of Fury on the list: No. 1 Terence Crawford, No. 2 Canelo Alvarez, No. 3 Naoya Inoue, No. 4. Oleksandr Usyk and No. 5 Errol Spence Jr.

We couldn’t find justification for Fury to overtake the top three or Usyk and Spence, who are coming off impressive victories over Anthony Joshua and Yordenis Ugas. Joshua and Ugas are better fighters than Whyte.

Thus, Fury, our top heavyweight, remains at No. 6 for now. Of course, that could change if he gets a shot at Usyk, who is expected to face Joshua in a rematch this summer.

Next up on the pound-for-pound list: Honorable Mention Shakur Stevenson, who faces Oscar Valdez in a 130-pound title-unification bout this Saturday in las Vegas (ESPN, ESPN+).

Also, we took this opportunity to acknowledge that Stevenson was inadvertently removed from the list recently. As a result, we ended up with six fighters with legitimate claims on five Honorable Mention positions.

We finally settled on the five Honorable Mentions you see below.

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.
  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.
  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. 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.
  15. Josh Taylor – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled); 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); Shakur Stevenson (scheduled to fight Oscar Valdez on April 30).

Pound for pound: Did Tyson Fury do enough to climb the list?

Pound for pound: Did Tyson Fury do enough to climb the list?

Heavyweight champ Tyson Fury gave the most spectacular performance of his career this past Saturday in London, stopping Dillian Whyte with a booming upper cut in the sixth round.

In the process, he retained his title and bolstered his position as the top big man of his era.

But was it enough to bump our No. 6 fighter pound-for-pound higher on the list?

No.

One, as impressive as Fury’s victory was, we had to take Whyte’s limitations into consideration when we assess the winner’s performance. Bottom line: Defeating Whyte isn’t a great achievement.

And, two, we had to look at the fighters ahead of Fury on the list: No. 1 Terence Crawford, No. 2 Canelo Alvarez, No. 3 Naoya Inoue, No. 4. Oleksandr Usyk and No. 5 Errol Spence Jr.

We couldn’t find justification for Fury to overtake the top three or Usyk and Spence, who are coming off impressive victories over Anthony Joshua and Yordenis Ugas. Joshua and Ugas are better fighters than Whyte.

Thus, Fury, our top heavyweight, remains at No. 6 for now. Of course, that could change if he gets a shot at Usyk, who is expected to face Joshua in a rematch this summer.

Next up on the pound-for-pound list: Honorable Mention Shakur Stevenson, who faces Oscar Valdez in a 130-pound title-unification bout this Saturday in las Vegas (ESPN, ESPN+).

Also, we took this opportunity to acknowledge that Stevenson was inadvertently removed from the list recently. As a result, we ended up with six fighters with legitimate claims on five Honorable Mention positions.

We finally settled on the five Honorable Mentions you see below.

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.
  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.
  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. 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.
  15. Josh Taylor – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled); 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); Shakur Stevenson (scheduled to fight Oscar Valdez on April 30).

Pound for pound: Yordenis Ugas drops out, Tyson Fury next pound-for-pounder in action

Pound for pound: Yordenis Ugas dropped off Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list after losing to Errol Spence Jr. on Saturday.

Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list changes this week. And more shakeups could lie ahead.

Yordenis Ugas, who had been on the list as an Honorable Mention after upsetting Manny Pacquiao to win a 147-pound title, drops out after losing decisively in his title-unification bout against Errol Spence Jr. on Saturday in Arlington, Texas.

The Cuban has been replaced as an HM by junior bantamweight contender Roman Gonzalez, who rebounded from a loss to two-belt champion Juan Francisco Estrada to easily outpoint Julio Cesar Martinez on March 5.

Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 6 Tyson Fury, who is scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte on Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London.

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.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  6. Tyson Fury– Scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte on April 23 in London.
  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.
  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. 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.
  15. Josh Taylor – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled); 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); Teofimo Lopez (no fight scheduled); .

Pound for pound: Yordenis Ugas drops out, Tyson Fury next pound-for-pounder in action

Pound for pound: Yordenis Ugas dropped off Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list after losing to Errol Spence Jr. on Saturday.

Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list changes this week. And more shakeups could lie ahead.

Yordenis Ugas, who had been on the list as an Honorable Mention after upsetting Manny Pacquiao to win a 147-pound title, drops out after losing decisively in his title-unification bout against Errol Spence Jr. on Saturday in Arlington, Texas.

The Cuban has been replaced as an HM by junior bantamweight contender Roman Gonzalez, who rebounded from a loss to two-belt champion Juan Francisco Estrada to easily outpoint Julio Cesar Martinez on March 5.

Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 6 Tyson Fury, who is scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte on Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London.

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.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  6. Tyson Fury– Scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte on April 23 in London.
  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.
  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. 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.
  15. Josh Taylor – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled); 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); Teofimo Lopez (no fight scheduled); .

Pound for pound: No. 9 Gennadiy Golovkin holds position, other top fighters getting busy

Pound for pound: Gennadiy Golovkin has stayed put on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list while other top fighters are getting busy.

Gennadiy Golovkin did more than enough in his knockout victory over Ryota Murata on Saturday to retain his spot on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list. Even at 40.

Triple-G, ranked No. 9 going into the middleweight title-unification bout in Japan, overcame some early challenges to break down and then stop Murata in the ninth round.

Is Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) good enough to beat Canelo Alvarez if they meet a third time in September? Who knows? What we do know, based on his performance against Murata, is that he remains a formidable fighter even if he’s a step slower than he was.

Thus, he remains at No. 9 on the list for the time being.

Of course, changes could be on tap as a number of pound-for-pounders are scheduled to see action in the coming weeks.

No. 5 Errol Spence Jr. and Honorable Mention Yordenis Ugas are set for a welterweight title-unification showdown this coming Saturday in Arlington, Texas.

And eight other ranked fighters have scheduled bouts the next two months: No. 2 Alvarez (Dmitry Bivol), No. 3 Naoya Inoue (HM Nonito Donaire), No. 6 Tyson Fury (Dillian Whyte), No. 10 Jermell Charlo (Brian Castano), No. 12 Gervonta Davis (Rolando Romero), No. 13 Jermall Charlo (Maciej Sulecki) and HM George Kambosos (Devin Haney).

Plus, a few others – including Oleksandr Usyk and Artur Beterbiev – are near deals to fight soon.

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.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – Scheduled to face Yordenis Ugas in a welterweight title-unification bout on April 16 in Arlington, Texas.
  6. Tyson Fury– Scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte on April 23 in London.
  7. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  8. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  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 but no deal is in place.
  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. 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.
  15. Josh Taylor – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled); Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); George Kambosos (scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against Devin Haney on June 5); Teofimo Lopez (no fight scheduled); and Yordenis Ugas (scheduled to face Errol Spence Jr. on April 16).

Pound for pound: No. 9 Gennadiy Golovkin holds position, other top fighters getting busy

Pound for pound: Gennadiy Golovkin has stayed put on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list while other top fighters are getting busy.

Gennadiy Golovkin did more than enough in his knockout victory over Ryota Murata on Saturday to retain his spot on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list. Even at 40.

Triple-G, ranked No. 9 going into the middleweight title-unification bout in Japan, overcame some early challenges to break down and then stop Murata in the ninth round.

Is Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) good enough to beat Canelo Alvarez if they meet a third time in September? Who knows? What we do know, based on his performance against Murata, is that he remains a formidable fighter even if he’s a step slower than he was.

Thus, he remains at No. 9 on the list for the time being.

Of course, changes could be on tap as a number of pound-for-pounders are scheduled to see action in the coming weeks.

No. 5 Errol Spence Jr. and Honorable Mention Yordenis Ugas are set for a welterweight title-unification showdown this coming Saturday in Arlington, Texas.

And eight other ranked fighters have scheduled bouts the next two months: No. 2 Alvarez (Dmitry Bivol), No. 3 Naoya Inoue (HM Nonito Donaire), No. 6 Tyson Fury (Dillian Whyte), No. 10 Jermell Charlo (Brian Castano), No. 12 Gervonta Davis (Rolando Romero), No. 13 Jermall Charlo (Maciej Sulecki) and HM George Kambosos (Devin Haney).

Plus, a few others – including Oleksandr Usyk and Artur Beterbiev – are near deals to fight soon.

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.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – Scheduled to face Yordenis Ugas in a welterweight title-unification bout on April 16 in Arlington, Texas.
  6. Tyson Fury– Scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte on April 23 in London.
  7. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  8. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  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 but no deal is in place.
  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. 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.
  15. Josh Taylor – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled); Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); George Kambosos (scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against Devin Haney on June 5); Teofimo Lopez (no fight scheduled); and Yordenis Ugas (scheduled to face Errol Spence Jr. on April 16).

Pound for pound: Where do Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos land in shake-up?

Pound for pound: Where do Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos land in shake-up?

Another pound-for-pounder has fallen.

George Kambosos turned in one of the biggest upsets in recent years Saturday in New York, taking down previously unbeaten Teofimo Lopez (ranked No. 6 going into the fight) by a split decision to become undisputed lightweight champion.

Lopez (16-1, 12 KOs) must drop down or off the list, right? And what do we do with Kambosos?

After careful consideration, this is what was decided:

Lopez has several strong victories, including his own upset of then-No. 1 Vasiliy Lomachenko in October of last year. And he narrowly lost to Kambosos, who outworked his American counterpart in the end.

Thus, Lopez will fall out of the Top 15 but remain on this list as an Honorable Mention. In other words, he barely hung on.

And Kambosos, who now has beaten in succession in hostile territory Mickey Bey, Lee Selby and the No. 6 fighter in the world, joins Lopez in the Honorable Mention category.

Kazuto Ioka moves up from Honorable Mention to No. 15 to replace Lopez. And Oscar Valdez, Honorable Mention on the last list, drops out to make room for Kambosos.

The list could change further before the end of the year. No. 3 Naoya Inoue, No. 8 Lomachenko, No. 10 Gennadiy Golovkin, No. 13 Artur Beterbiev and No. 14 Gervonta Davis are set to fight before the start of 2022.

Here’s how the list looks:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Canelo Alvarez– Announced that he plans to challenge WBC cruiserweight titleholder Ilunga Makabu but no date or site is set.
  3. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to defend his IBF and WBA bantamweight titles against Alan Dipaen on Dec. 14 in Tokyo.
  4. Oleksandr Usyk – Expected to fight Anthony Joshua a second time in the spring but no deal is in place.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  6. Tyson Fury– No fight scheduled.
  7. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Scheduled to fight Richard Commey on Dec. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
  8. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBA and WBA junior bantamweight titles in what would be a third fight against Roman Gonzalez but no date or site is set.
  9. Gennadiy Golovkin – Scheduled to fight Ryota Murata in a middleweight title-unification fight on Dec. 29 in Japan.
  10. Jermell Charlo – Expected to face Brian Castano a second time on Feb. 26 but no deal is in place.
  11. Josh Taylor – Scheduled to defend his undisputed junior welterweight championship against mandatory challenger Jack Catterall on Feb. 26 in Glasgow, Scotland.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his light heavyweight titles against Marcus Browne on Dec. 17 in Montreal.
  13. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Isaac Cruz in a lightweight bout on Dec. 5 in Los Angeles.
  14. Jermall Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  15. Kazuto Ioka – Scheduled to face Jerwin Ancajas in a junior bantamweight title-unification bout on Dec. 31 in Tokyo.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled); George Kambosos (no fight scheduled); Teofimo Lopez (no fight scheduled); Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (expected to meet Carlos Cuadras as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official); and Yordenis Ugas (expected to defend his welterweight title against Eimantas Stanionis but no date or site is set).

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Pound for pound: Where do Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos land in shake-up?

Pound for pound: Where do Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos land in shake-up?

Another pound-for-pounder has fallen.

George Kambosos turned in one of the biggest upsets in recent years Saturday in New York, taking down previously unbeaten Teofimo Lopez (ranked No. 6 going into the fight) by a split decision to become undisputed lightweight champion.

Lopez (16-1, 12 KOs) must drop down or off the list, right? And what do we do with Kambosos?

After careful consideration, this is what was decided:

Lopez has several strong victories, including his own upset of then-No. 1 Vasiliy Lomachenko in October of last year. And he narrowly lost to Kambosos, who outworked his American counterpart in the end.

Thus, Lopez will fall out of the Top 15 but remain on this list as an Honorable Mention. In other words, he barely hung on.

And Kambosos, who now has beaten in succession in hostile territory Mickey Bey, Lee Selby and the No. 6 fighter in the world, joins Lopez in the Honorable Mention category.

Kazuto Ioka moves up from Honorable Mention to No. 15 to replace Lopez. And Oscar Valdez, Honorable Mention on the last list, drops out to make room for Kambosos.

The list could change further before the end of the year. No. 3 Naoya Inoue, No. 8 Lomachenko, No. 10 Gennadiy Golovkin, No. 13 Artur Beterbiev and No. 14 Gervonta Davis are set to fight before the start of 2022.

Here’s how the list looks:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Canelo Alvarez– Announced that he plans to challenge WBC cruiserweight titleholder Ilunga Makabu but no date or site is set.
  3. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to defend his IBF and WBA bantamweight titles against Alan Dipaen on Dec. 14 in Tokyo.
  4. Oleksandr Usyk – Expected to fight Anthony Joshua a second time in the spring but no deal is in place.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  6. Tyson Fury– No fight scheduled.
  7. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Scheduled to fight Richard Commey on Dec. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
  8. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBA and WBA junior bantamweight titles in what would be a third fight against Roman Gonzalez but no date or site is set.
  9. Gennadiy Golovkin – Scheduled to fight Ryota Murata in a middleweight title-unification fight on Dec. 29 in Japan.
  10. Jermell Charlo – Expected to face Brian Castano a second time on Feb. 26 but no deal is in place.
  11. Josh Taylor – Scheduled to defend his undisputed junior welterweight championship against mandatory challenger Jack Catterall on Feb. 26 in Glasgow, Scotland.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his light heavyweight titles against Marcus Browne on Dec. 17 in Montreal.
  13. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Isaac Cruz in a lightweight bout on Dec. 5 in Los Angeles.
  14. Jermall Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  15. Kazuto Ioka – Scheduled to face Jerwin Ancajas in a junior bantamweight title-unification bout on Dec. 31 in Tokyo.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled); George Kambosos (no fight scheduled); Teofimo Lopez (no fight scheduled); Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (expected to meet Carlos Cuadras as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official); and Yordenis Ugas (expected to defend his welterweight title against Eimantas Stanionis but no date or site is set).

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Pound-for-pound: Josh Taylor moves up the Boxing Junkie list

Pound-for-pound: Josh Taylor moves up the Boxing Junkie list

Josh Taylor added significantly to his pound-for-pound credentials by outpointing Jose Ramirez to become undisputed 140-pound champ Saturday in Las Vegas.

But what’s his appropriate position on Boxing Junkie’s list? That wasn’t an easy decision.

On one hand, Taylor, who entered the week as an Honorable Mention, has defeated Regis Prograis and Jose Ramirez in a span of three fights and his last six victims had a combined record of 136-1. That’s beyond impressive.

A Top-10 ranking would be justified.

On the other hand, Taylor almost gave away what could’ve been a more-convincing victory on Saturday. He put Ramirez down twice in the middle rounds to take control of the fight but became passive and was outworked in the final third of the fight.

All three judges scored it 114-112, meaning the fight would’ve been a draw had Ramirez remained on his feet. Boxing Junkie had the same score.

In the end, Taylor gave a strong overall performance to beat an elite opponent to become the sixth undisputed champion in the four-belt era. He certainly deserves credit for that.

Thus, the 30-year-old Scottish fighter jumps from Honorable Mention to No. 13 on the list, between No. 12 Jermell Charlo and No. 14 Artur Beterbiev.

And, of course, Taylor could get the opportunity to climb much higher on the list. He’s expected to defend his titles against Jack Catterall next and possibly then challenge 147-pound champ and No. 1-rated Terence Crawford.

For the record, Boxing Junkie took advantage of Taylor’s victory to make other minor adjustments to the list.

Here is where the pound-for-pounders stand.

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford — No fight scheduled.
  2. Canelo Alvarez – Expected to fight Caleb Plant to unify all four major 168-pound titles in September but no deal is in place.
  3. Naoya Inoue — Scheduled to fight Michael Dasmarinas on June 19 in Las Vegas.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – Scheduled to face Manny Pacquiao in a welterweight title-unification bout on Aug. 21, although no formal announcement has been made.
  5. Oleksandr Usyk – In talks to challenge heavyweight titleholder  Anthony Joshua this summer.
  6. Teofimo Lopez — Scheduled to defend his 135-pound titles against George Kambosos Jr. on June 19 in Miami.
  7. Vasiliy Lomachenko — Scheduled to fight Masayoshi Nakatani on June 26 in Las Vegas.
  8. Tyson Fury – Scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Deontay Wilder on July 24 in Las Vegas.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada — The WBC announced that Estrada will meet Roman Gonzalez in a third fight as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official.
  10. Gennadiy Golovkin — Reportedly in talks to face Ryota Murata in a middleweight title-unification fight in December. Also rumored to be considering an interim fight against Esquiva Falcao.
  11. Mikey Garcia — No fight scheduled.
  12. Jermell Charlo — Scheduled to face Brian Castano in a 154-pound title-unification fight on July 17.
  13. Josh Taylor — Expected to face mandatory challenger Jack Catterall in his next fight but no deal is in place.
  14. Artur Beterbiev — Reportedly in talks to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification bout this fall.
  15. Manny Pacquiao — Scheduled to face No. 4 Errol Spence Jr. in a welterweight title-unification bout on Aug. 21.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled), Jermall Charlo (scheduled to face Juan Montiel on June 19), Gervonta Davis (scheduled to face Mario Barrios in a 140-pound bout on June 26),  Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (the WBC announced that Sor Rungvisai will meet Carlos Cuadras as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official), and Oscar Valdez (expected to defend his title against Robson Conceicao in late summer or fall but nothing is official).

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