Pound-for-pound: Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko fight should shake up list

Pound-for-pound: The Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko fight on Saturday should shake up Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list.

Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list could look considerably different after this coming Saturday.

That’s when No. 11 Vasiliy Lomachenko is set to challenge No. 15 Devin Haney on pay-per-view for Haney’s undisputed 135-pound championship at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Whomever wins has a good chance of climbing the list barring a disputed result or some other unforeseen outcome.

That’s because ranked fighters are actually taking the risk of facing one another in ring, which is the best way to prove you belong among the best in the business.

For Haney, success would merely be more of the same for the fast-rising 24-year-old. For Lomachenko, 35, a victory and boost in the rankings would be redemption after he fell out of favor by losing to Teofimo Lopez in 2020.

We’ll update the list one way or another early next week.

Next pound-for-pounder up: Honorable Mention Josh Taylor is scheduled to defend his WBO 140-pound title against Teofimo Lopez on June 10 in New York.

Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – Reportedly is near a deal to face No. 4 Errol Spence Jr. for the undisputed 147-pound championship but no announcement has been made.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to challenge 122-pound titleholder and Honorable Mention Stephen Fulton Jr. on July 25 in Tokyo.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Reportedly in talks to defend his three heavyweight titles against Daniel Dubois but nothing concrete has emerged from the negotiations.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – Reportedly is near a deal to face No. 1 Terence Crawford for the undisputed 147-pound championship but no announcement has been made.
  5. Dmitry Bivol – Expected to defend his 175-title against Canelo Alvarez in a rematch in September but no agreement has been reached..
  6. Tyson Fury – Reportedly considering a title defense against former beltholder Andy Ruiz Jr. or Zhilei Zhang in July.
  7. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  8. Canelo Alvarez– Expected to challenge 175-titleholder Dmitry Bivol in a rematch in September but no agreement has been reached
  9. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  10. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  11. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Scheduled to challenge undisputed 135-pound champion and No. 15 Devin Haney on May 20 in Las Vegas.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – Reportedly near a deal to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith in August in Canada but the deal hasn’t been finalized.
  13. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
  14. Roman Gonzalez – No fight scheduled.
  15. Devin Haney – Scheduled to defend his undisputed 135-pound championship against No. 11 Vasiliy Lomachenko on May 20 in Las Vegas..

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (no fight scheduled); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Stephen Fulton Jr. (scheduled to defend his 122-pound title against No. 2 Naoya Inoue on July 25 in Tokyo); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to challenge 115-pound titleholder Joshua Franco on June 24 in Tokyo); Josh Taylor (scheduled to defend his WBO 140-pound title against Teofimo Lopez on June 10 in New York).

[lawrence-related id=37361,37355]

Pound-for-pound: Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko fight should shake up list

Pound-for-pound: The Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko fight on Saturday should shake up Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list.

Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list could look considerably different after this coming Saturday.

That’s when No. 11 Vasiliy Lomachenko is set to challenge No. 15 Devin Haney on pay-per-view for Haney’s undisputed 135-pound championship at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Whomever wins has a good chance of climbing the list barring a disputed result or some other unforeseen outcome.

That’s because ranked fighters are actually taking the risk of facing one another in ring, which is the best way to prove you belong among the best in the business.

For Haney, success would merely be more of the same for the fast-rising 24-year-old. For Lomachenko, 35, a victory and boost in the rankings would be redemption after he fell out of favor by losing to Teofimo Lopez in 2020.

We’ll update the list one way or another early next week.

Next pound-for-pounder up: Honorable Mention Josh Taylor is scheduled to defend his WBO 140-pound title against Teofimo Lopez on June 10 in New York.

Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – Reportedly is near a deal to face No. 4 Errol Spence Jr. for the undisputed 147-pound championship but no announcement has been made.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to challenge 122-pound titleholder and Honorable Mention Stephen Fulton Jr. on July 25 in Tokyo.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Reportedly in talks to defend his three heavyweight titles against Daniel Dubois but nothing concrete has emerged from the negotiations.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – Reportedly is near a deal to face No. 1 Terence Crawford for the undisputed 147-pound championship but no announcement has been made.
  5. Dmitry Bivol – Expected to defend his 175-title against Canelo Alvarez in a rematch in September but no agreement has been reached..
  6. Tyson Fury – Reportedly considering a title defense against former beltholder Andy Ruiz Jr. or Zhilei Zhang in July.
  7. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  8. Canelo Alvarez– Expected to challenge 175-titleholder Dmitry Bivol in a rematch in September but no agreement has been reached
  9. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  10. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  11. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Scheduled to challenge undisputed 135-pound champion and No. 15 Devin Haney on May 20 in Las Vegas.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – Reportedly near a deal to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith in August in Canada but the deal hasn’t been finalized.
  13. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
  14. Roman Gonzalez – No fight scheduled.
  15. Devin Haney – Scheduled to defend his undisputed 135-pound championship against No. 11 Vasiliy Lomachenko on May 20 in Las Vegas..

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (no fight scheduled); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Stephen Fulton Jr. (scheduled to defend his 122-pound title against No. 2 Naoya Inoue on July 25 in Tokyo); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to challenge 115-pound titleholder Joshua Franco on June 24 in Tokyo); Josh Taylor (scheduled to defend his WBO 140-pound title against Teofimo Lopez on June 10 in New York).

[lawrence-related id=37361,37355]