Tag: Tyson Fury

Pound-for-pound: Where do Dmitry Bivol, Naoya Inoue stand after convincing victories?

Pound-for-pound: Did Dmitry Bivol and Naoya Inoue do enough in their convincing victories to climb Boxing Junkie’s list?

Dmitry Bivol and Naoya Inoue gave dominating performances within a span of two days.

Bivol, the 175-pound titleholder, shut out Lyndon Arthur on the card featuring big-name heavyweights Saturday in Saudi Arabia. And Inoue stopped Marlon Tapales in 10 rounds to become only the second boxer to win all four major titles in a second division Tuesday in Tokyo.

Did they do enough to move up on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list? No.

No. 4-ranked Bivol didn’t face a serious threat in Arthur, who is no more than a solid contender. He could soon have a chance to climb, though. No. 3 Usyk presumably would drop if he loses to No. 9 Fury. And Bivol could be on a collision course with No. 14 Artur Beterbiev.

No. 2 Inoue overcame a more legitimate challenge against Tapales, a capable, rugged unified champion going into the fight. The Japanese star’s ability to deliver a knockout and make “undisputed” history were significant accomplishments.

However, it wasn’t enough to supplant No. 1 Terence Crawford, who was the first to become undisputed champion in two divisions when he knocked out Errol Spence Jr. in July.

Inoue’s best (only?) chance to reach No. 1 on the list is if Crawford falters, perhaps against No. 7 Jermell Charlo in a much-talked-about potential matchup.

Note: Honorable Mention Kazuto Ioka is scheduled to face Josber Perez on New Year’s Eve in Japan. Ioka is expected to defeat the obscure Venezuelan, which would leave Ioka in his current position here.

Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 14 Artur Beterbiev is scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith on Jan. 13 in Quebec City, Canada

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

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 9 Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
  4. Dmitry Bivol– No fight scheduled.
  5. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  6. Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
  7. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  8. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  9. Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
  10. Devin Haney– No fight scheduled.
  11. Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez – No fight scheduled.
  12. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  13. Vasiliy Lomachenko – No fight scheduled.
  14. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith on Jan. 13 in Quebec City, Canada.
  15. Shakur Stevenson– No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (no fight scheduled); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to defend his 115-pound title against Josber Perez on New Year’s Eve in Japan); Teofimo Lopez (no fight scheduled).

[lawrence-related id=40363,40283]

Pound-for-pound: Where do Dmitry Bivol, Naoya Inoue stand after convincing victories?

Pound-for-pound: Did Dmitry Bivol and Naoya Inoue do enough in their convincing victories to climb Boxing Junkie’s list?

Dmitry Bivol and Naoya Inoue gave dominating performances within a span of two days.

Bivol, the 175-pound titleholder, shut out Lyndon Arthur on the card featuring big-name heavyweights Saturday in Saudi Arabia. And Inoue stopped Marlon Tapales in 10 rounds to become only the second boxer to win all four major titles in a second division Tuesday in Tokyo.

Did they do enough to move up on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list? No.

No. 4-ranked Bivol didn’t face a serious threat in Arthur, who is no more than a solid contender. He could soon have a chance to climb, though. No. 3 Usyk presumably would drop if he loses to No. 9 Fury. And Bivol could be on a collision course with No. 14 Artur Beterbiev.

No. 2 Inoue overcame a more legitimate challenge against Tapales, a capable, rugged unified champion going into the fight. The Japanese star’s ability to deliver a knockout and make “undisputed” history were significant accomplishments.

However, it wasn’t enough to supplant No. 1 Terence Crawford, who was the first to become undisputed champion in two divisions when he knocked out Errol Spence Jr. in July.

Inoue’s best (only?) chance to reach No. 1 on the list is if Crawford falters, perhaps against No. 7 Jermell Charlo in a much-talked-about potential matchup.

Note: Honorable Mention Kazuto Ioka is scheduled to face Josber Perez on New Year’s Eve in Japan. Ioka is expected to defeat the obscure Venezuelan, which would leave Ioka in his current position here.

Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 14 Artur Beterbiev is scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith on Jan. 13 in Quebec City, Canada

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

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 9 Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
  4. Dmitry Bivol– No fight scheduled.
  5. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  6. Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
  7. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  8. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  9. Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
  10. Devin Haney– No fight scheduled.
  11. Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez – No fight scheduled.
  12. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  13. Vasiliy Lomachenko – No fight scheduled.
  14. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith on Jan. 13 in Quebec City, Canada.
  15. Shakur Stevenson– No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (no fight scheduled); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to defend his 115-pound title against Josber Perez on New Year’s Eve in Japan); Teofimo Lopez (no fight scheduled).

[lawrence-related id=40363,40283]

Pound-for-pound: ‘Bam’ Rodriguez has earned his way into Top 15

Pound-for-pound: Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez has earned his way into the Top 15 of Boxing Junkie’s list of best fighters.

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez appears to have won over virtually everyone.

The now-unified 112-pound champion dismantled previously unbeaten technician Sunny Edwards on Saturday in Glendale, Arizona, forcing the Londoner’s cornermen to end the assault after nine rounds.

The victory was his third over an elite opponent in his past five fights, including a decision over veteran Carlos Cuadras to win a vacant title at 115 and a knockout of possible future Hall of Famer Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.

He also defeated Cristian Gonzalez by a one-sided decision even though he fought almost the entire bout with a broken jaw, proving he’s also as tough as anyone in the sport.

That level of success, his perfect record and “A” grades on the eye test has a lot of discerning observers using the hyphenated compound word starting with the letter “P” to describe the 23-year-old Texan: pound-for-pound.

Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) entered his fight with Edwards as an Honorable Mention on Boxing Junkie’s list, as did the loser. What now for one of the sport’s fastest rising young stars?

Remember: There were some damn good fighters sitting directly above him in the Top 15 going into his fight against Edwards, including Nos. 11 through 15 Errol Spence, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Artur Beterbiev, Shakur Stevenson and David Benavidez.

In the end we decided that Rodriguez had to leap frog all of the above to No. 11, directly below another hot commodity, No. 10 Devin Haney.

And Rodriguez’s rapid rise might not stop there. He has said he plans to move back up to 115, where he would like to fight No. 5-ranked Juan Francisco Estrada. That matchup would give him another opportunity to surge farther up the list.

The fact Spence, Lomachenko, Beterbiev and Steveson fell one notch each (to Nos. 12, 13, 14 and 15) didn’t give us much pause. Benavidez slipping out of the Top 15 did.

Benavidez had just cracked the Top 15 after his sensational sixth-round knockout of Demetrius Andrade on Nov. 25, a victory that unscored the 27-year-old’s place among the best in the business.

Alas, he sat at No. 15 going into the weekend, meaning Rodriguez’s ascension dropped him back down to Honorable Mention for the time being. Consider him No. 16 for all intents and purposes.

And his fate will be in his own hands if he gets the matchup he wants in the spring, one with No. 6 Canelo Alvarez. If Benavidez gets that fight and wins – particularly if it’s convincing — he’ll have an excellent chance of entering the coveted Top 10.

One more bit of business: Edwards falls off the list entirely after his one-sided setback, which  created a new opening.

It was filled by 140-pound titleholder Teofimo Lopez Jr., who re-enters the Boxing Junkie list after his impressive unanimous decision victory over previously unbeaten Josh Taylor to claim his belt in June.

Lopez now has victories over Lomachenko and Taylor in his last five fights. And while he lost a decision and his earlier titles in an upset against George Kambosos Jr. he did so with a dangerous condition in which air was present between his lungs.

Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 4 Dmitry Bivol is scheduled to defend his 175-pound title against Lyndon Arthur on Dec. 23 in Saudi Arabia.

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

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder Marlon Tapales for the undisputed 122-pound championship on Dec. 26 in Japan.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 9 Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
  4. Dmitry Bivol– Scheduled to defend his 175-pound title against Lyndon Arthur on Dec. 23 in Saudi Arabia.
  5. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  6. Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
  7. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  8. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  9. Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
  10. Devin Haney– No fight scheduled.
  11. Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez – No fight scheduled.
  12. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  13. Vasiliy Lomachenko – No fight scheduled.
  14. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith on Jan. 13 in Quebec City, Canada.
  15. Shakur Stevenson– No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (no fight scheduled); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to defend his 115-pound title against Josber Perez on New Year’s Eve in Japan); Teofimo Lopez (no fight scheduled).

[lawrence-related id=40204,40190,40186,40149]

Pound-for-pound: ‘Bam’ Rodriguez has earned his way into Top 15

Pound-for-pound: Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez has earned his way into the Top 15 of Boxing Junkie’s list of best fighters.

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez appears to have won over virtually everyone.

The now-unified 112-pound champion dismantled previously unbeaten technician Sunny Edwards on Saturday in Glendale, Arizona, forcing the Londoner’s cornermen to end the assault after nine rounds.

The victory was his third over an elite opponent in his past five fights, including a decision over veteran Carlos Cuadras to win a vacant title at 115 and a knockout of possible future Hall of Famer Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.

He also defeated Cristian Gonzalez by a one-sided decision even though he fought almost the entire bout with a broken jaw, proving he’s also as tough as anyone in the sport.

That level of success, his perfect record and “A” grades on the eye test has a lot of discerning observers using the hyphenated compound word starting with the letter “P” to describe the 23-year-old Texan: pound-for-pound.

Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) entered his fight with Edwards as an Honorable Mention on Boxing Junkie’s list, as did the loser. What now for one of the sport’s fastest rising young stars?

Remember: There were some damn good fighters sitting directly above him in the Top 15 going into his fight against Edwards, including Nos. 11 through 15 Errol Spence, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Artur Beterbiev, Shakur Stevenson and David Benavidez.

In the end we decided that Rodriguez had to leap frog all of the above to No. 11, directly below another hot commodity, No. 10 Devin Haney.

And Rodriguez’s rapid rise might not stop there. He has said he plans to move back up to 115, where he would like to fight No. 5-ranked Juan Francisco Estrada. That matchup would give him another opportunity to surge farther up the list.

The fact Spence, Lomachenko, Beterbiev and Steveson fell one notch each (to Nos. 12, 13, 14 and 15) didn’t give us much pause. Benavidez slipping out of the Top 15 did.

Benavidez had just cracked the Top 15 after his sensational sixth-round knockout of Demetrius Andrade on Nov. 25, a victory that unscored the 27-year-old’s place among the best in the business.

Alas, he sat at No. 15 going into the weekend, meaning Rodriguez’s ascension dropped him back down to Honorable Mention for the time being. Consider him No. 16 for all intents and purposes.

And his fate will be in his own hands if he gets the matchup he wants in the spring, one with No. 6 Canelo Alvarez. If Benavidez gets that fight and wins – particularly if it’s convincing — he’ll have an excellent chance of entering the coveted Top 10.

One more bit of business: Edwards falls off the list entirely after his one-sided setback, which  created a new opening.

It was filled by 140-pound titleholder Teofimo Lopez Jr., who re-enters the Boxing Junkie list after his impressive unanimous decision victory over previously unbeaten Josh Taylor to claim his belt in June.

Lopez now has victories over Lomachenko and Taylor in his last five fights. And while he lost a decision and his earlier titles in an upset against George Kambosos Jr. he did so with a dangerous condition in which air was present between his lungs.

Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 4 Dmitry Bivol is scheduled to defend his 175-pound title against Lyndon Arthur on Dec. 23 in Saudi Arabia.

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

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder Marlon Tapales for the undisputed 122-pound championship on Dec. 26 in Japan.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 9 Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
  4. Dmitry Bivol– Scheduled to defend his 175-pound title against Lyndon Arthur on Dec. 23 in Saudi Arabia.
  5. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  6. Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
  7. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  8. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  9. Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
  10. Devin Haney– No fight scheduled.
  11. Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez – No fight scheduled.
  12. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  13. Vasiliy Lomachenko – No fight scheduled.
  14. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith on Jan. 13 in Quebec City, Canada.
  15. Shakur Stevenson– No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (no fight scheduled); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to defend his 115-pound title against Josber Perez on New Year’s Eve in Japan); Teofimo Lopez (no fight scheduled).

[lawrence-related id=40204,40190,40186,40149]

Report: Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua agree to fight if they win on Dec. 23

Report: Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua have agreed to fight in March if they win their fights and don’t get injured on Dec. 23.

A massive showdown between Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua reportedly is set, assuming they don’t lose or get injured in their upcoming fights.

The former heavyweight titleholders have agreed on financial terms for a fight on March 9 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ESPN reported on Wednesday. The outlet cited “sources”.

The deal will be finalized if Wilder defeats former beltholder Joseph Parker and Joshua beats Otto Wallin and they emerge healthy on their Dec. 23 card in the same location.

Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, spoke to ESPN about the Wilder-Joshua matchup last week in San Francisco, where Devin Haney defeated Regis Prograis on Saturday.

“The reason that fight is happening with both on the same night is to prepare for and build a fight between the two,” Hearn said. “… The contracts aren’t signed, talks continue, but everybody wants to make that fight.

” … Everyone’s saying, ‘Well, why are you fighting a tough fight before Deontay Wilder?’ That was the fight that was proposed to us from Saudi. Joshua’s never turned down a fight. Wallin’s been on our list for the last two fights.

“The only reason we haven’t boxed him is because he’s a southpaw. So, to fight a southpaw on six weeks’ notice with a new trainer, not ideal, but [the Saudis] like the fight. They fancy the fight. Fingers crossed.”

Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) rebounded from back-to-back knockout losses to Tyson Fury by stopping Robert Helenius in the first round on Oct. 15, his first victory since November 2019.

Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs) has won consecutive fights – a decision over Jermaine Franklin in April and seventh-round knockout of Helenius on Aug. 12 – after back-to-back setbacks against Oleksandr Usyk.

The Englishman, who had been working with Derrick James, will be have trainer Ben Davison in his corner for his fight against Wallin.

Talk of a meeting between Wilder and Joshua began in 2019, when both were titleholders. However, it remains one of the biggest possible matchups in the sport.

[lawrence-related id=33506,38502]

Report: Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua agree to fight if they win on Dec. 23

Report: Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua have agreed to fight in March if they win their fights and don’t get injured on Dec. 23.

A massive showdown between Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua reportedly is set, assuming they don’t lose or get injured in their upcoming fights.

The former heavyweight titleholders have agreed on financial terms for a fight on March 9 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ESPN reported on Wednesday. The outlet cited “sources”.

The deal will be finalized if Wilder defeats former beltholder Joseph Parker and Joshua beats Otto Wallin and they emerge healthy on their Dec. 23 card in the same location.

Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, spoke to ESPN about the Wilder-Joshua matchup last week in San Francisco, where Devin Haney defeated Regis Prograis on Saturday.

“The reason that fight is happening with both on the same night is to prepare for and build a fight between the two,” Hearn said. “… The contracts aren’t signed, talks continue, but everybody wants to make that fight.

” … Everyone’s saying, ‘Well, why are you fighting a tough fight before Deontay Wilder?’ That was the fight that was proposed to us from Saudi. Joshua’s never turned down a fight. Wallin’s been on our list for the last two fights.

“The only reason we haven’t boxed him is because he’s a southpaw. So, to fight a southpaw on six weeks’ notice with a new trainer, not ideal, but [the Saudis] like the fight. They fancy the fight. Fingers crossed.”

Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) rebounded from back-to-back knockout losses to Tyson Fury by stopping Robert Helenius in the first round on Oct. 15, his first victory since November 2019.

Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs) has won consecutive fights – a decision over Jermaine Franklin in April and seventh-round knockout of Helenius on Aug. 12 – after back-to-back setbacks against Oleksandr Usyk.

The Englishman, who had been working with Derrick James, will be have trainer Ben Davison in his corner for his fight against Wallin.

Talk of a meeting between Wilder and Joshua began in 2019, when both were titleholders. However, it remains one of the biggest possible matchups in the sport.

[lawrence-related id=33506,38502]

Pound-for-pound: Devin Haney continues his ascent up the Boxing Junkie list

Pound-for-pound: Devin Haney continues his ascent up the Boxing Junkie list of the best fighters in the world.

Devin Haney turned in the best performance of his career Saturday in his hometown of San Francisco, shutting out overmatched 140-pound champ Regis Prograis to win a major title in a second division.

If there was any doubt about Haney’s place among the best fighters in the world beforehand, there isn’t now.

The question we faced was whether his impressive victory merited an upgrade on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list (Top 15 plus five Honorable Mentions).

We feel it did.

Haney entered the fight ranked No. 14, one spot behind fellow young star Shakur Stevenson.

We normally wouldn’t bump a fighter up more than one or two notches after a victory over an opponent who wasn’t on the pound-for-pound list going into the fight. However, this case is unusual.

Consider three things:

  • One, Haney didn’t simply defeat Prograis, he embarrassed him. He dropped him and won every round on all three scorecards.
  • Two, he moved up in weight and directly into a world championship fight.
  • And, three, Prograis was no easy mark. He was a respected, once-beaten, two-time titleholder.

Yes, it was a special night for Haney.

As a result, he moves up to No. 10, which knocks previous No. 10 Errol Spence Jr., No. 11 Vasiliy Lomachenko, No. 12 Artur Beterbiev and Stevenson down one spot each.

Note: Spence and Lomachenko are coming off losses – Spence to Terence Crawford and Lomachenko to Haney – and Stevenson gave a shaky performance in his unanimous decision victory over Edwin De Los Santos.

Beterbiev, 38, can bounce back up the list depending on how he performs against Callum Smith on Jan. 13

Next pound-for-pounder up: Honorable mentions Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and Sunny Edwards will face off on Saturday in Glendale, Arizona.

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

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder Marlon Tapales for the undisputed 122-pound championship on Dec. 26 in Japan.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 9 Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
  4. Dmitry Bivol – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound title against Lyndon Arthur on Dec. 23 in Saudi Arabia.
  5. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  6. Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
  7. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  8. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  9. Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
  10. Devin Haney – No fight scheduled.
  11. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  12. Vasiliy Lomachenko – No fight scheduled.
  13. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith on Jan. 13 in Quebec City, Canada.
  14. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
  15. David Benavidez – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Sunny Edwards (scheduled to face Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in a 112-pound title-unification bout on Dec. 16 in Glendale, Arizona); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled);  Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to defend his 115-pound title against Josber Perez on New Year’s Eve in Japan); Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (scheduled to face Sunny Edwards in a 112-pound title-unification bout on Dec. 16 in Glendale, Arizona).

[lawrence-related id=40041,40037]

Pound-for-pound: Devin Haney continues his ascent up the Boxing Junkie list

Pound-for-pound: Devin Haney continues his ascent up the Boxing Junkie list of the best fighters in the world.

Devin Haney turned in the best performance of his career Saturday in his hometown of San Francisco, shutting out overmatched 140-pound champ Regis Prograis to win a major title in a second division.

If there was any doubt about Haney’s place among the best fighters in the world beforehand, there isn’t now.

The question we faced was whether his impressive victory merited an upgrade on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list (Top 15 plus five Honorable Mentions).

We feel it did.

Haney entered the fight ranked No. 14, one spot behind fellow young star Shakur Stevenson.

We normally wouldn’t bump a fighter up more than one or two notches after a victory over an opponent who wasn’t on the pound-for-pound list going into the fight. However, this case is unusual.

Consider three things:

  • One, Haney didn’t simply defeat Prograis, he embarrassed him. He dropped him and won every round on all three scorecards.
  • Two, he moved up in weight and directly into a world championship fight.
  • And, three, Prograis was no easy mark. He was a respected, once-beaten, two-time titleholder.

Yes, it was a special night for Haney.

As a result, he moves up to No. 10, which knocks previous No. 10 Errol Spence Jr., No. 11 Vasiliy Lomachenko, No. 12 Artur Beterbiev and Stevenson down one spot each.

Note: Spence and Lomachenko are coming off losses – Spence to Terence Crawford and Lomachenko to Haney – and Stevenson gave a shaky performance in his unanimous decision victory over Edwin De Los Santos.

Beterbiev, 38, can bounce back up the list depending on how he performs against Callum Smith on Jan. 13

Next pound-for-pounder up: Honorable mentions Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and Sunny Edwards will face off on Saturday in Glendale, Arizona.

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

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder Marlon Tapales for the undisputed 122-pound championship on Dec. 26 in Japan.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 9 Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
  4. Dmitry Bivol – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound title against Lyndon Arthur on Dec. 23 in Saudi Arabia.
  5. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  6. Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
  7. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  8. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  9. Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
  10. Devin Haney – No fight scheduled.
  11. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  12. Vasiliy Lomachenko – No fight scheduled.
  13. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith on Jan. 13 in Quebec City, Canada.
  14. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
  15. David Benavidez – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Sunny Edwards (scheduled to face Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in a 112-pound title-unification bout on Dec. 16 in Glendale, Arizona); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled);  Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to defend his 115-pound title against Josber Perez on New Year’s Eve in Japan); Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (scheduled to face Sunny Edwards in a 112-pound title-unification bout on Dec. 16 in Glendale, Arizona).

[lawrence-related id=40041,40037]

Pound-for-pound: Does David Benavidez crack Top 15 after sensational KO?

Pound-for-pound: Does David Benavidez crack the Top 15 on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list after his brutal KO of Demetrius Andrade?

This one is tricky.

David Benavidez couldn’t have looked much better than he did against Demetrius Andrade on Saturday in Las Vegas, where he put the former two-division titleholder down and pummeled him until the fight was stopped after the sixth round.

Benavidez’s stock certainly went up. However, was it enough for the Honorable Mention (going into the fight) to crack our Top 15?

Yes.

The question was how he would fit in. This is what we did:

  • No. 14 Roman Gonzalez, who has lost twice to Juan Francisco Estrada in his last three fights, drops to Honorable Mention. The 36-year-old future Hall of Famer has no fight scheduled.
  • No. 15 Devin Haney, coming off a victory over No. 11 Vasiliy Lomachenko in a close fight, moves up to No. 14. The 135-pound titleholder will challenge 140-pound champ Regis Prograis on Dec. 9, meaning his position here could change.
  • And Benavidez enters at No. 15, the highest position he has attained.

Honorable Mention Jermall Charlo, a 160-pound titleholder, held his position by outpointing smaller, but determined Jose Benavidez Jr. on the David Benavidez-Andrade card after a 2½-year layoff.

Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 14 Haney faces Prograis on Dec. 9 in San Francisco.

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

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder Marlon Tapales for the undisputed 122-pound championship on Dec. 26 in Japan.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 9 Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
  4. Dmitry Bivol – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound title against Lyndon Arthur on Dec. 23 in Saudi Arabia.
  5. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  6. Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
  7. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  8. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  9. Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
  10. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  11. Vasiliy Lomachenko – No fight scheduled.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith on Jan. 13 in Quebec City, Canada.
  13. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
  14. Devin Haney – Scheduled to challenge 140-pound titleholder Regis Prograis on Dec. 9 in San Francisco.
  15. David Benavidez – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Sunny Edwards (scheduled to face Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in a 112-pound title-unification bout on Dec. 16 in Glendale, Arizona); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled);  Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to defend his 115-pound title against Josber Perez on New Year’s Eve in Japan); Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (scheduled to face Sunny Edwards in a 112-pound title-unification bout on Dec. 16 in Glendale, Arizona).

[lawrence-related id=39510,39507,39503,39500,39495,39488]

Pound-for-pound: Does David Benavidez crack Top 15 after sensational KO?

Pound-for-pound: Does David Benavidez crack the Top 15 on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list after his brutal KO of Demetrius Andrade?

This one is tricky.

David Benavidez couldn’t have looked much better than he did against Demetrius Andrade on Saturday in Las Vegas, where he put the former two-division titleholder down and pummeled him until the fight was stopped after the sixth round.

Benavidez’s stock certainly went up. However, was it enough for the Honorable Mention (going into the fight) to crack our Top 15?

Yes.

The question was how he would fit in. This is what we did:

  • No. 14 Roman Gonzalez, who has lost twice to Juan Francisco Estrada in his last three fights, drops to Honorable Mention. The 36-year-old future Hall of Famer has no fight scheduled.
  • No. 15 Devin Haney, coming off a victory over No. 11 Vasiliy Lomachenko in a close fight, moves up to No. 14. The 135-pound titleholder will challenge 140-pound champ Regis Prograis on Dec. 9, meaning his position here could change.
  • And Benavidez enters at No. 15, the highest position he has attained.

Honorable Mention Jermall Charlo, a 160-pound titleholder, held his position by outpointing smaller, but determined Jose Benavidez Jr. on the David Benavidez-Andrade card after a 2½-year layoff.

Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 14 Haney faces Prograis on Dec. 9 in San Francisco.

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

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder Marlon Tapales for the undisputed 122-pound championship on Dec. 26 in Japan.
  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 9 Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
  4. Dmitry Bivol – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound title against Lyndon Arthur on Dec. 23 in Saudi Arabia.
  5. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  6. Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
  7. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
  8. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
  9. Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
  10. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  11. Vasiliy Lomachenko – No fight scheduled.
  12. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith on Jan. 13 in Quebec City, Canada.
  13. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
  14. Devin Haney – Scheduled to challenge 140-pound titleholder Regis Prograis on Dec. 9 in San Francisco.
  15. David Benavidez – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Sunny Edwards (scheduled to face Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in a 112-pound title-unification bout on Dec. 16 in Glendale, Arizona); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled);  Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to defend his 115-pound title against Josber Perez on New Year’s Eve in Japan); Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (scheduled to face Sunny Edwards in a 112-pound title-unification bout on Dec. 16 in Glendale, Arizona).

[lawrence-related id=39510,39507,39503,39500,39495,39488]