Pound-for-pound: Where does Canelo Alvarez fit in after victory over John Ryder?

One could interpret Canelo Alvarez’s unanimous decision victory over John Ryder on Saturday in more than one way. The undisputed 168-pound champion outclassed a solid challenger to win at least nine of the 12 rounds, which is a solid performance by …

One could interpret Canelo Alvarez’s unanimous decision victory over John Ryder on Saturday in more than one way.

The undisputed 168-pound champion outclassed a solid challenger to win at least nine of the 12 rounds, which is a solid performance by any measure.

At the same time, the 32-year-old, 17½-year professional veteran didn’t look like one of the best fighters in the world and failed to stop a tough, but far inferior opponent.

Alvarez probably deserved about a 5 on a scale of 1-10. And that might be generous.

So where does that leave him on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list, on which he sat at No. 8 going into the fight on Saturday night?

The talented Jermell Charlo (No. 9) and Gervonta Davis (No. 10) sit directly below the Mexican superstar and are 10 times hotter than he is at the moment.

Still, we decided we couldn’t demote Alvarez after a clear victory over a legitimate contender. Thus, he holds his position on the list.

It’s important to add one thing, though: Alvarez is expected to face 175-pound champion Dmitry Bivol a second time in September and will be the underdog, meaning his long stint in the Top 10 could come to an end then.

Stay tuned.

Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 15 Devin Haney is scheduled to defend the undisputed 135-pound championship against No. 11 Vasiliy Lomachenko on May 20 in Las Vegas.

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

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – Reportedly has re-entered talks to face No. 4 Errol Spence Jr. for the undisputed 147-pound championship but no deal has been reached.
  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 concreate has emerged from the negotiations.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – Reportedly has re-entered talks to face No. 1 Terence Crawford for the undisputed 147-pound championship but no deal has been reached..
  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 – Expected to defend his undisputed 154-pound championship against top contender Tim Tszyu this summer but no agreement is in place.
  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 (reportedly scheduled to challenge 115-pound titleholder Joshua Franco on June 24 in Japan but no announcement has been made); Josh Taylor (scheduled to defend his WBO 140-pound title against Teofimo Lopez on June 10 in New York).

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