Pound for pound: Did Oleksandr Usyk do enough to move up the list?

Pound for pound: Did Oleksandr Usyk do enough to move up the Boxing Junkie list?

Oleksandr Usyk did it again.

The brilliant boxer from Ukraine defeated Anthony Joshua by a split decision in their rematch Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which followed a unanimous decision victory last September.

Usyk’s ability to overcome a naturally bigger man with elite skills is a testament to his unusual ability.

But was it enough for Boxing Junkie’s No. 3 fighter pound-for-pound to move up the list, which is headed by No. 1 Terence Crawford and No. 2 Naoya Inoue?

No.

There is no doubting what Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) is capable of but the more-dynamic Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) and explosive Inoue (23-0, 20 KOs) also are unbeaten and tremendous all-around fighters. They’ve demonstrated it over and over again.

Could Usyk one day land at No. 1? Absolutely. Crawford could lose to No. 4 Errol Spence Jr. in a pending showdown, which would shake up the top of the list.

And if Usyk fights and defeats fellow heavyweight titleholder Tyson Fury, it will be more difficult to keep him out of the Top 2.

Stay tuned.

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 November.
  2. Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – No fight scheduled.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – Reportedly in talks to face Terence Crawford for the undisputed welterweight championship in November.
  5. Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
  6. Dmitry Bivol – Reportedly set to defend his WBA light heavyweight title against Gilberto Ramirez on Nov. 5 in the United Arab Emirates but no official announcement has been made.
  7. Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to defend his undisputed super middleweight titles in a third fight with Gennadiy Golovkin on Sept. 17.
  8. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Reportedly set to face Jamaine Ortiz on Oct. 29 in New York but no official announcement has been made.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada – Scheduled to defend his unified junior bantamweight titles against Argi Cortes on Sept. 3 in Hermosillo, Mexico.
  10. Jermell Charlo – Reportedly set to defend his undisputed junior middleweight championship against Tim Tszyu on Jan. 28 but no official announcement has been made.
  11. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – Had been scheduled to defend his unified titles against Anthony Yarde on Oct. 29. However, the fight was postponed after Beterbiev was injured.
  13. Gennadiy Golovkin – Scheduled to face undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez a third time on Sept. 17.
  14. Jermall Charlo – No fights scheduled.
  15. Shakur Stevenson – Scheduled to defend his unified junior lightweight titles against Robson Conceicao on Sept. 23 in Newark, N.J.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (no fight scheduled); Stephen Fulton Jr. (no fight scheduled); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Devin Haney (scheduled to defend his undisputed lightweight championship in a rematch with George Kambosos Jr. on Oct. 16 in Australia); Josh Taylor (reportedly in talks to defend his WBO junior welterweight title in a rematch with Jack Catterall but no deal is in place).