Category: Rankings

Pound for pound: How did things shake out after Canelo, Crawford wins?

Pound for pound: How did things shake out after Canelo, Crawford wins?

Boxing Junkie decided to wait until after the recent Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford fights to update its pound-for-pound list.

Alvarez delivered another impressive performance, stopping Caleb Plant to become the first undisputed super middleweight champion on Nov. 6. And Crawford, facing the biggest test of his career, took out Shawn Porter in 10 rounds this past Saturday.

So how did those performances impact the ranking? It didn’t.

Crawford, who has been No. 1 since Teofimo Lopez Jr. knocked Vasiliy Lomachenko from his perch in October of last year, retains his position. In fact, he strengthens it. And Alvarez, No. 2 since Lopez-Lomachenko, also stays put.

The one knock against Crawford was that he had never fought anyone at Porter’s level. Now he has. And he performed beautifully, patiently breaking down the former two-time titleholder and then stopping him in 10 rounds.

We can debate who should be No. 1 – Crawford? Alvarez? Naoya Inoue? Oleksandr Usyk? – but everyone must agree that Crawford now has a stronger case.

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. Teofimo Lopez Jr. – Scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against George Kambosos Jr. on Nov. 27 in New York.
  7. Tyson Fury– No fight scheduled.
  8. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Scheduled to fight Richard Commey on Dec. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBA and WBA junior bantamweight titles in what would be a third fight against Roman Gonzalez in November.
  10. Gennadiy Golovkin – Scheduled to fight Ryota Murata in a middleweight title-unification fight on Dec. 29 in Japan.
  11. Jermell Charlo – Expected to face Brian Castano a second time in February but no deal is in place.
  12. Josh Taylor – Scheduled to defend his undisputed junior welterweight championship against mandatory challenger Jack Catterall on Feb. 26 in Glasgow, Scotland.
  13. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his light heavyweight titles against Marcus Browne on Dec. 17 in Montreal.
  14. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Isaac Cruz in a lightweight bout on Dec. 5 in Los Angeles.
  15. Jermall Charlo – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (scheduled to fight Artur Mann on Oct. 16 in Riga, Latvia); Kazuto Ioka (in talks with Jerwin Ancajas for a junior bantamweight title-unification bout); Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (expected to meet Carlos Cuadras as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official); Yordenis Ugas (no fight scheduled); and Oscar Valdez (no fight scheduled).

*-Because of an editing error, Kazuto Ioka was removed from the list when he shouldn’t have been. He returns in this version.

Pound for pound: How did things shake out after Canelo, Crawford wins?

Pound for pound: How did things shake out after Canelo, Crawford wins?

Boxing Junkie decided to wait until after the recent Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford fights to update its pound-for-pound list.

Alvarez delivered another impressive performance, stopping Caleb Plant to become the first undisputed super middleweight champion on Nov. 6. And Crawford, facing the biggest test of his career, took out Shawn Porter in 10 rounds this past Saturday.

So how did those performances impact the ranking? It didn’t.

Crawford, who has been No. 1 since Teofimo Lopez Jr. knocked Vasiliy Lomachenko from his perch in October of last year, retains his position. In fact, he strengthens it. And Alvarez, No. 2 since Lopez-Lomachenko, also stays put.

The one knock against Crawford was that he had never fought anyone at Porter’s level. Now he has. And he performed beautifully, patiently breaking down the former two-time titleholder and then stopping him in 10 rounds.

We can debate who should be No. 1 – Crawford? Alvarez? Naoya Inoue? Oleksandr Usyk? – but everyone must agree that Crawford now has a stronger case.

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. Teofimo Lopez Jr. – Scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against George Kambosos Jr. on Nov. 27 in New York.
  7. Tyson Fury– No fight scheduled.
  8. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Scheduled to fight Richard Commey on Dec. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBA and WBA junior bantamweight titles in what would be a third fight against Roman Gonzalez in November.
  10. Gennadiy Golovkin – Scheduled to fight Ryota Murata in a middleweight title-unification fight on Dec. 29 in Japan.
  11. Jermell Charlo – Expected to face Brian Castano a second time in February but no deal is in place.
  12. Josh Taylor – Scheduled to defend his undisputed junior welterweight championship against mandatory challenger Jack Catterall on Feb. 26 in Glasgow, Scotland.
  13. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his light heavyweight titles against Marcus Browne on Dec. 17 in Montreal.
  14. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Isaac Cruz in a lightweight bout on Dec. 5 in Los Angeles.
  15. Jermall Charlo – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (scheduled to fight Artur Mann on Oct. 16 in Riga, Latvia); Kazuto Ioka (in talks with Jerwin Ancajas for a junior bantamweight title-unification bout); Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (expected to meet Carlos Cuadras as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official); Yordenis Ugas (no fight scheduled); and Oscar Valdez (no fight scheduled).

*-Because of an editing error, Kazuto Ioka was removed from the list when he shouldn’t have been. He returns in this version.

Cardinals slip in latest TD Wire power rankings after loss to Panthers

The new No. 1 are the Tennessee Titans, while the Cardinals slip two spots following their loss to the Panthers.

The Arizona Cardinals are no longer the No. 1 team in the NFC. After their 34-10 loss to the Carolina Panthers and the Green Bay Packers’ 17-0 win over the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay became the top seed.

The Cardinals also lost their No. 1 status in Touchdown Wire’s power rankings by Nick Wojton. They dropped from No. 1 to No. 3 entering Week 11.

A loss, but as referenced before, the Cardinals were without important players vs the Panthers. Those included QB Kyler Murray and No. 1 playmaker in WR DeAndre Hopkins. Arizona won their first game without this duo, which is still impressive.

They now trail the Tennessee Titans and the Packers in these rankings.

It was a reminder of how quickly things can change and how hard it is to win when a backup quarterback is having to start.

Murray perhaps could have rallied the team after an early deficit. With Colt McCoy, there was no way to get back into the game after having spotted the Panthers 17 points.

The Cardinals have a road game against the Seahawks and the hope is that Murray and Hopkins can return, although at the time of publishing, the team had not yet begun to practice, so their practice status is unknown.

If the Cardinals can pull off a road win in Seattle, it is possible they will be back at the No. 1 spot in a week.

[listicle id=461618]

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

Latest show:

Previous shows:

and

Cardinals catapulted back to top of TD Wire power rankings

The Cardinals impressed many with their win over the 49ers while playing with backups.

After a heartbreaking loss in Week 8 at home to the Green Bay Packers, the Arizona Cardinals bounced back in Week 9 to defeat the San Francisco 49ers 31-17 on the road. They did it without quarterback Kyler Murray, receivers DeAndre Hopkins or A.J. Green, defensive end J.J. Watt, and they lost running back Chase Edmonds in the game after only one play.

That performance, combined with the Week 9 losses of the Packers, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams, made it easy for them to find themselves atop the latest power rankings from Touchdown Wire’s Nick Wojton.

And speaking of not having your best… Murray, Hopkins and WR A.J. Green didn’t play and the depth pieces in Arizona still stood out. QB Colt McCoy and RB James Conner led a 31-17 win over the 49ers in an NFC West win. How are you supposed to not give the Cards your No. 1 spot this week?

They had dropped all the way to No. 4 with their loss to the Packers but once again prove they are one of the league’s elite.

They have the best record in the NFL. They are No. 2 in the league scoring. They are No. 3 in scoring defense. That is a recipe for greatness.

They will return home this week to take on the Carolina Panthers, who have lost five of their last six games.

Beat them handily and they should remain atop next week’s rankings. If they struggle, then they could find themselves fall again.

[listicle id=461336]

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

Latest show:

Previous shows:

and

Cardinals regain top spot in new USA TODAY power rankings

They move up from No. 3 to No. 1 after their win over the 49ers in Week 9.

The Arizona Cardinals’ fall from the top spot in USA TODAY’s power rankings was a short one. After falling 24-21 to the Green Bay Packers, they dropped from No. 1 overall to No. 3.

However, one week later, after all the other top teams in the NFC either lost or did not play, and after the Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-17 on the road without Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green or Chase Edmonds, they find themselves in the No. 1 slot of Nate Davis’ new power rankings for USA TODAY.

Are they unequivocally the league’s top team? Hard to say, but it’s not like anyone else has an airtight claim. What Arizona does have is the NFL’s best record (8-1) and a proclivity for overcoming adversity, whether it’s coach Kliff Kingsbury and others benched by COVID-19, or injuries sidelining QB Kyler Murray (ankle), WR DeAndre Hopkins (hamstring), RB Chase Edmonds (ankle), and DE J.J. Watt (shoulder), who might still eventually return. And OLB Chandler Jones, who dealt with the virus himself, also appears back on track, registering his first sack since notching five in Week 1 to become the franchise’s all-time leader (67). Yep, let’s call the Cards the best. At least for now.

The NFC is incredibly close. The Cardinals should be, for now, at the top again. They  have the best record. They have the best resume, having gone 5-0 on the road with wins over  three playoffs teams from last season and one (the 49ers) who many felt would be a playoff team this year. They have scored over 30 points seven times. They have held opponents to 20 or fewer points seven times.

They would be undefeated if A.J. Green had simply turned around in the end zone against the Packers at the end of the game.

Are they the best team in the NFL? I can’t think of anyone better at the moment.

[listicle id=461319]

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

Latest show:

Previous shows:

and

Loss to Packers drops Cardinals from No. 1 in new power rankings

The Packers and Rams both pass the Cardinals in USA TODAY’s latest power rankings.

The Arizona Cardinals lost their perfect record in Week 8, losing for the first time all season in a 24-21 defeat to the Green Bay Packers. With the loss, they also lost their spot at the top of Nate Davis’ power rankings for USA TODAY.

After holding the top spot for multiple weeks, The 7-1 Cardinals fell to No. 3 overall behind the 7-1 Los Angeles Rams and 7-1 Green Bay Packers.

The ’72 Dolphins are safe … and so, too, might some current teams be given Arizona has likely lost DE J.J. Watt (shoulder) and might not have the best version of Murray (ankle) or WR DeAndre Hopkins, whose hamstring limited him to 13 snaps in Week 8, for some time.

It is completely understandable. They lost, so they should not be No. 1, especially with some questions with injuries. They are not the same defense without Watt. Injuries to Murray and Hopkins change the dynamic of the offense.

Should the Rams hold the No. 1 spot, though? They were blown out by the Cardinals in their home stadium.

This is picking at nits, obviously, but the Cardinals are probably where they should be because of the uncertainty of Murray’s injury, but considering the Packers are the hottest team in the league and took down the league’s best team, shouldn’t they be No. 1?

[listicle id=460215]

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

Latest show:

Previous shows:

and

Cardinals maintain hold on No. 1 spot in power rankings; NFC fills top 5

After another convincing win in Week 7, the Cardinals remain atop USA TODAY’s power rankings.

The Arizona Cardinals remain unbeaten entering Week 8 following their 31-5 win over the Houston Texans. As they have held the No. 1 spot in Nate Davis’ power rankings for USA TODAY for multiple weeks, it is no surprise that they remain there.

They have the best record in the league as the only undefeated team in the NFL and are No. 1 in these rankings.

Don’t believe in league’s only unbeaten team? Arizona also boasts the NFL’s largest point differential (+111), is the toughest team to score on (16.3 points allowed per game), is getting defensive reinforcements off the COVID-19 list (including OLB Chandler Jones) and is already effectively integrating new TE Zach Ertz, the first player to catch a TD pass in successive weeks … for different teams. Oh yeah – and Kyler Murray.

They are among the league leaders in points scored. They also are allowing the fewest points per game on defense, have the best third-down defense in the league and the best fourth-down defense as well, having forced turnovers on downs a league-leading 12 times.

They really have no weakness right now and have a chance to really take control of the NFC with a Thursday night game against the Green Bay Packers, No. 5 in these rankings.

The NFC dominates the top of these power rankings. The top five teams are all in the NFC — Arizona at No. 1, followed by the Rams, Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers.

The Cardinals don’t often get national love. They are getting it now and, if they follow it up with a win on Thursday, they will have the attention of the nation.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

Latest show:

Previous shows:

and

Pound-for-pound: Welcome aboard, Shakur Stevenson

Pound-for-pound: Welcome aboard, Shakur Stevenson.

Shakur Stevenson has made it impossible to keep him off Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list.

The gifted junior lightweight has now won major titles in two divisions and we saw what we saw on Saturday, a brilliant performance against a quality opponent in reigning beltholder Jamel Herring.

Stevenson has a combination of speed and ability that might be unrivaled among active fighters. It was certainly too much for the veteran Herring, who was dominated from the opening bell and stopped in the 10th round.

In the process, the winner claimed the WBO 130-pound title and a place among the pound-for-pound best. Stevenson comes in as an Honorable Mention, although our best bet is that the 24-year-old will begin a steady climb.

He replaces Kazuto Ioka, who was an Honorable Mention going into Saturday.

Here’s how the new list looks:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – Scheduled to defend his WBO welterweight title against Shawn Porter on Nov. 20 Las Vegas.
  2. Canelo Alvarez – Scheduled to fight Caleb Plant to unify all four major 168-pound titles on Nov. 6 in Las Vegas.
  3. Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
  4. Oleksandr Usyk – Expected to fight Anthony Joshua a second time but no deal is in place.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  6. Teofimo Lopez Jr. – Scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against George Kambosos Jr. on Nov. 27 in New York.
  7. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  8. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Expected to fight Richard Commey on Dec. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City but the deal hasn’t be finalized.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBA and WBA junior bantamweight titles in what would be a third fight against Roman Gonzalez in November.
  10. Gennadiy Golovkin – In talks to fight Ryota Murata in a middleweight title-unification fight on Dec. 28 in Japan.
  11. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  12. Josh Taylor – Scheduled to defend his undisputed junior welterweight championship against mandatory challenger Jack Catterall on Dec. 18 in Glasgow, Scotland.
  13. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his light heavyweight titles against Marcus Browne on Dec. 17 in Montreal.
  14. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero in a lightweight bout on Dec. 5 in Los Angeles.
  15. Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled).

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (scheduled to fight Artur Mann on Oct. 16 in Riga, Latvia), Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (expected to meet Carlos Cuadras as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official), Yordenis Ugas (no fight scheduled) and Oscar Valdez (no fight scheduled).

 

Pound-for-pound: Welcome aboard, Shakur Stevenson

Pound-for-pound: Welcome aboard, Shakur Stevenson.

Shakur Stevenson has made it impossible to keep him off Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list.

The gifted junior lightweight has now won major titles in two divisions and we saw what we saw on Saturday, a brilliant performance against a quality opponent in reigning beltholder Jamel Herring.

Stevenson has a combination of speed and ability that might be unrivaled among active fighters. It was certainly too much for the veteran Herring, who was dominated from the opening bell and stopped in the 10th round.

In the process, the winner claimed the WBO 130-pound title and a place among the pound-for-pound best. Stevenson comes in as an Honorable Mention, although our best bet is that the 24-year-old will begin a steady climb.

He replaces Kazuto Ioka, who was an Honorable Mention going into Saturday.

Here’s how the new list looks:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – Scheduled to defend his WBO welterweight title against Shawn Porter on Nov. 20 Las Vegas.
  2. Canelo Alvarez – Scheduled to fight Caleb Plant to unify all four major 168-pound titles on Nov. 6 in Las Vegas.
  3. Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
  4. Oleksandr Usyk – Expected to fight Anthony Joshua a second time but no deal is in place.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  6. Teofimo Lopez Jr. – Scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against George Kambosos Jr. on Nov. 27 in New York.
  7. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  8. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Expected to fight Richard Commey on Dec. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City but the deal hasn’t be finalized.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBA and WBA junior bantamweight titles in what would be a third fight against Roman Gonzalez in November.
  10. Gennadiy Golovkin – In talks to fight Ryota Murata in a middleweight title-unification fight on Dec. 28 in Japan.
  11. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  12. Josh Taylor – Scheduled to defend his undisputed junior welterweight championship against mandatory challenger Jack Catterall on Dec. 18 in Glasgow, Scotland.
  13. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his light heavyweight titles against Marcus Browne on Dec. 17 in Montreal.
  14. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero in a lightweight bout on Dec. 5 in Los Angeles.
  15. Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled).

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (scheduled to fight Artur Mann on Oct. 16 in Riga, Latvia), Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (expected to meet Carlos Cuadras as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official), Yordenis Ugas (no fight scheduled) and Oscar Valdez (no fight scheduled).

 

Pound-for-pound: Mikey Garcia drops off the list after upset loss

Mikey Garcia dropped off Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list after his upset loss to Sandor Martin on Saturday.

Mikey Garcia didn’t look like Mikey Garcia against Sandor Martin last Saturday.

The 33-year-old former four-division titleholder, who had been out of the ring for almost 20 months, was outboxed by the obscure Spaniard en route to losing a stunning majority decision.

That’s two losses in three fights for Garcia, who was shut out by Errol Spence Jr. in March 2019.

As a result, Garcia, No. 11 on the Boxing Junkie list, drops out. He has been replaced by veteran 115-pound titleholder Kazuto Ioka of Japan, who enters as an Honorable Mention.

Here’s how the new list looks:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – Scheduled to defend his WBO welterweight title against Shawn Porter on Nov. 20 Las Vegas.
  2. Canelo Alvarez – Scheduled to fight Caleb Plant to unify all four major 168-pound titles on Nov. 6 in Las Vegas.
  3. Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
  4. Oleksandr Usyk – Expected to fight Anthony Joshua a second time but no deal is in place.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  6. Teofimo Lopez – Tentatively scheduled to defend his undisputed lightweight championship against George Kambosos as soon as next month but no date has been locked in.
  7. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  8. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Expected to fight Richard Commey on Dec. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City but the deal hasn’t be finalized.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBA and WBA junior bantamweight titles in what would be a third fight against Roman Gonzalez in November.
  10. Gennadiy Golovkin – In talks to fight Ryota Murata in a middleweight title-unification fight on Dec. 28 in Japan.
  11. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  12. Josh Taylor – Scheduled to defend his undisputed junior welterweight championship against mandatory challenger Jack Catterall on Dec. 18 in Glasgow, Scotland.
  13. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his light heavyweight titles against Marcus Browne on Dec. 17 in Montreal.
  14. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero in a lightweight bout on Dec. 5 in Los Angeles.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (scheduled to fight Artur Mann on Oct. 16 in Riga, Latvia), Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled), Kazuto Ioka (in talks to face Jerwin Ancajas in a junior bantamweight title-unification bout in December);  Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (Sor Rungvisai is expected to meet Carlos Cuadras as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official), Yordenis Ugas (no fight scheduled) and Oscar Valdez (no fight scheduled).