Pound-for-pound rankings are nonsensical. The fabled lists make no difference whatsoever in the world of boxing, and they are subjective to the opinion of their creator. Yet, we hear about them all the time, and as fans of the combat sport, we can’t help but make our own and argue with friends or pundits over their views.
There is no methodology for making a pound-for-pound list, with some basing theirs on a boxer’s CV and who they have beaten in their careers, while others create the respective rankings on the quality of the fighter — looking at their style and the nature of which they win fights.
Whatever way you look at pound-for-pound rankings, they keep boxing at the forefront of people’s minds between big fights and that’s crucial given the state of the sport in recent years and the scrutiny has come under thanks to YouTube fights and exhibition bouts.
Without further ado, here is our top five pound-for-pound list of current fighters.
- Errol Spence Jr.
Errol Spence Jr. currently comes in at the No.5 spot. The Long Island native has beaten some of the biggest names in the welterweight division, notably stripping Kell Brook, Shawn Porter and Yordenis Ugas of their titles to become the unified champion of the weight class, and despite a recent first career loss to Terence Crawford to take his record 28-1, remains in the top five. The 33-year-old is expected to make the step up to super-welterweight following that defeat.
- Oleksandr Usyk
The current king of the heavyweights, Oleksandr Usyk has proved his mettle in the blue ribband division. The Ukrainian was a regular feature in pound-for-pound lists as he unified the cruiserweight class and any question marks surrounding whether or not he would be able to handle the step up to heavyweight have quickly been answered with back-to-back victories over Anthony Joshua to become the unified champion of the lucrative weight class. A fight against Tyson Fury is a must.
- Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez
Some might rank Canelo higher on their list than third, but for us, this is where the Mexican comes in. The 33-year-old suffered one of the biggest shocks in recent memory when he lost to Dmitry Bivol in 2022, and while he bounced back from what was just his second career defeat with a second win over Gennady Golovkin and then beating John Ryder, they weren’t the most convincing dubs. Canelo is the big favourite in the boxing odds to defeat Jermell Charlo on September 30, and some might argue he has a point to prove.
- Naoye Inoue
Some might argue that Naoye Inoue deserves to be No.1 in the pound-for-pound rankings, and there is a strong case to consider him as the current best fighter in the world, but he’s second for us. The Japanese boxer has an unblemished record of 25-0, is a four-division world champion, and is the current unified super bantamweight champion of the world after beating Stephen Fulton in Tokyo in July. That took his record to 22-0 in title fights.
- Terence Crawford
Coming as the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter, Terence Crawford confirmed greatness when he beat the aforementioned Spence Jr. via TKO in the ninth round of their blockbuster fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas back in July. The only thing pundits and fans alike felt was missing from Crawford’s CV was a win over a quality opponent such as Spence Jr., he has now proved himself in that regard and is the first holder of four belts in welterweight history.
