POUND FOR POUND RANKINGS

Questions about Usyk’s viability at heavyweight were answered emphatically against Anthony Joshua, twice over. Then a controversial low blow (or was it?) against Daniel Dubois raised eyebrows in Usyk’s last win. It was at least less embarrassing than Tyson Fury’s performance against MMA fighter Francis Ngannou. Usyk can expect a better version of Fury when they face off with all the titles on the line in February. Can Usyk become the first man since Evander Holyfield to win the undisputed Cruiserweight and Heavyweight crowns?

Nine years and change after winning his first major title at lightweight, Terence Crawford delivered the defining statement on his career. An anticipated superfight with Errol Spence became a violent showcase for “Bud” Crawford. Three knockdowns punctuated a veritable shutout in one of the best big fight performances one will ever see. Crawford became the first fighter since Barney Ross to lay claim to history’s throne at lightweight, junior welterweight, and welterweight. Boots Ennis, Keith Thurman, Yordenis Ugas, Jermell Charlo, and contractually another round with Spence, give Crawford plenty of possibilities for an encore.

Inoue moved to his fourth competitive weight class in 2023, knocking off unified titlists in consecutive fights to become the first undisputed Jr. featherweight champion since the modern birth of the class in 1976. It followed a 2022 campaign where Inoue won a pair of unification bouts to become the first undisputed bantamweight champion in fifty years. Across four weight divisions over the last near-decade, Inoue has at some point beaten a top rated fighter, by TBRB or The Ring, in each division. Fulton was supposed to be a test but Inoue put on a masterclass, winning every round before scoring an emphatic stoppage. He won almost every round on all judge’s cards again before the Tapales knockout. His combination of skill, power, speed, and reflexes can appear comparable to the displays Roy Jones once put on.

Rodriguez has proven to be a gamer with his most impressive outings coming against his most impressive opponents. After a highly skilled first half, Rodriguez took over and punished Sunny Edwards in their flyweight unification bout. The win goes nicely with a pair of 2022 victories over two of the “Hardcore Four” that made for a golden age at junior bantamweight. Rodriguez was the first fighter to stop Sor Rungvisai since his second pro fight in 2009. Roman Gonzalez, Juan Francisco Estrada, and Carlos Cuadras couldn’t do the same. Rodriguez is likely headed back up the scale. 25-year old Junto Nakatani is already headed to bantamweight and they will be just pounds apart in the near future. It’s not too early to start beating the drums for what could be a special fight in the next few years.

: Alvarez slipped from his perch atop the rankings after his loss to Bivol but rebounded with a lopsided trilogy win over Golovkin. Alvarez was riding a lengthy unbeaten streak that included unifying the super middleweight class and his future for the moment is cloudy. His leading contender at super middleweight, David Benavidez, strengthened his demands for a title shot with his wins over Caleb Plant and Demetrius Andrade. Alvarez was last seen making easy work of Jermell Charlo in a clash of undisputed champions.

Beterbiev got more than he bargained for with a spirited challenge from Anthony Yarde. As spirited as it was, Yarde ended up being the latest victim of a perfect statistical run. Beterviev has yet to need the judges. The most fearsome light heavyweight in the world has only the most cerebral, Dmitrii Bivol, in the way of joining a recent trend toward undisputed champions in the sport. Beterbiev’s mandatory with former super middleweight titlist Callum Smith was postponed as the latest health issues plagued Beterbiev in a career full of them. Could Beterbiev-Smith upset the Bivol apple cart?

Bivol slips with a largely inactive 2023 but he was a popular choice for 2022 Fighter of the Year when he made the most of big opportunities. Bivol was masterful in outboxing super middleweight king Saul Alvarez and clinically dissected undefeated Gilberto Ramirez as an encore. In 2023, he was limited to a lopsided unanimous decision over the badly outclassed Arthur. 2024 would benefit from a showdown with the man who holds the lineal crown and the other three alphabet titles at light heavyweight, knockout machine Artur Beterbiev. They have co-reigned in the division for more than half a decade without fighting each other.

Davis was elevated to primary titlist for the WBA at lightweight when Devin Haney vacated, giving him his fourth full championship along with three reigns at junior lightweight. Davis has emerged as one of the game’s biggest draws, headlining the richest fight of 2023 against Ryan Garcia to build on a run of ticket selling events from coast to coast in the US. His charisma, boxing skill, and concussive power are as fan friendly as it gets. Davis also won a secondary title at junior welterweight. Still campaigning at lightweight, the best fights in the division for now would be versus Shakur Stevenson, Vasyl Lomachenko, William Zepeda, and Frank Martin.

 Lopez’s upsets of Lomachenko and Taylor give him as good a pair of wins as can be found in the sport. It makes a loss to George Kambosos and a listless performance against Sandor Martin even more head scratching. Lopez appears to fight to the level of opponents, which gives him all the more incentive to keep facing top tier threats. Lopez’s ‘retirement’ didn’t amount to much and he’s fighting in a talent rich area of the scale so there’s more to come from this mercurial talent.