Pound for pound: Oleksandr Usyk next up among best of best

Editor’s note: Boxing Junkie erred when it indicated recently that Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennadiy Golovkin II on Sept. 17 is the next fight involving a fighter or fighters on our pound-for-pound list. We regret the error. Oleksandr Usyk is the next …

Editor’s note: Boxing Junkie erred when it indicated recently that Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennadiy Golovkin II on Sept. 17 is the next fight involving a fighter or fighters on our pound-for-pound list. We regret the error.

Oleksandr Usyk is the next pound-for-pounder up.

The talented heavyweight titleholder, coming off his impressive unanimous-decision victory over Anthony Joshua to win his belts last September in London, will meet Joshua in a pay-per-view rematch on Aug. 20 in Jedda, Saudi Arabia.

Usyk (No. 3 on the list) gave a brilliant boxing performance against Joshua, bolstering his reputation as one of the best in the business and leading many to believe he’ll beat his rival again.

Usyk’s career was on hold as a result of Russia’s invasion of his native Ukraine. However, his country’s leaders encouraged to him to get back into ring, where he can inspire his countryman.

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 – 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 November.
  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 – Reportedly targeting this fall for his return to the ring.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  10. Jermell Charlo – Reportedly set to defend his junior middleweight titles against Tim Tszyu on Jan. 28 but no official announcement has been made.
  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 – No fights scheduled.
  15. Shakur Stevenson – Scheduled to defend his 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 (no fight scheduled); Josh Taylor (no fight scheduled).