The best fighters in the world aren’t too busy these days.
Of the 20 on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list – the Top 15 plus five honorable mentions – only five have scheduled fights. And only two of those five are competitive on paper. Three more on the list are in serious talks to face a particular opponent but no deals have been struck.
The rest are playing a waiting game, waiting for the what they believe to be the right opponent at the right time, perhaps waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to subside. All we can do it wait with them and wonder how things will play out.
Meanwhile, we can focus on the fights coming up.
The pound-for-pound list could look different on Feb. 27, when No. 2-ranked Canelo Alvarez defends his super middleweight titles against mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim. It’s not likely, though. The Mexican star is a 21-1 favorite, per BetMGM.
The list is more likely to change on March 13, when No. 10 Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman Gonzalez face one another in a compelling 115-pound title-unification bout. Estrada is only a 1½-1 favorite.
Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (honorable mention) also is scheduled to face Kwanthai Sithmorseng on March 13, although Sor Rungvisai should be a heavy favorite.
No. 12 Artur Beterbiev will face Adam Deines, which Beterbiev should win easily. And, in a competitive fight, Miguel Berchelt (honorable mention) is scheduled to defend his 130-pound title against No. 1 contender Oscar Valdez.
Here is where the pound-for-pounders stand.
BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND
- Terence Crawford — No fight scheduled.
- Canelo Alvarez – Scheduled to defend his 168-pound titles against mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim on Feb. 27.
- Naoya Inoue — No fight scheduled.
- Errol Spence Jr. – Reportedly in talks to face Yordenis Ugas in a 147-pound title-unification bout.
- Oleksandr Usyk – Reportedly in talks to face Joe Joyce for the WBO “interim” heavyweight title.
- Teofimo Lopez — No fight scheduled.
- Vasiliy Lomachenko — No fight scheduled.
- Tyson Fury – Reportedly in talks to face Anthony Joshua in a heavyweight title-unification bout.
- Gennadiy Golovkin — No fight scheduled.
- Juan Francisco Estrada — Scheduled to face Roman Gonzalez in a 115-pound title-unification bout on March 13.
- Mikey Garcia — No fight scheduled.
- Artur Beterbiev — Scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Adam Deines on March 20.
- Manny Pacquiao — No fight scheduled
- Jermell Charlo — No fight scheduled.
- Gervonta Davis — No fight scheduled.
Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Miguel Berchelt (scheduled to defend his 130-pound title against Oscar Valdez on Feb. 20), Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled), Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled), Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (scheduled to face Kwanthai Sithmorseng on March 13) and Josh Taylor (no fight scheduled).
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