After Oleksandr Usyk’s shock upset victory over Anthony Joshua for the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO belts, the Ukrainian moved up to #5 in the pound-for-pound rankings and has caused a lot of stir in how things currently stand, so let’s have a look at the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in the world of boxing.
10. Gervonta Davis
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Gervonta Davis, the Junior Welterweight Champion holds an impressive record of 25 victories having faced zero defeats till date. Out of his 25 victories, 24 of them have been straight KO’s so there’s no questioning this man’s power. Davis recently moved up two weight divisions in June to stop the unbeaten Mario Barrios and now is rumored to return to the ring in December to fight Rolando Romero.
9. Josh Taylor
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Josh ‘The Tartan Tornado’ Taylor, at the age of 30, holds a professional record of 18 wins and 0 losses. The Boxer from the UK made a resounding statement when he put Jose Ramirez on the canvas twice before winning the tie in their 140-pound unification bout. With that fight, the Brit’s future looks bright as he can now add the great Teofimo Lopez Jr. as one of his next opponents.
8. Teofimo Lopez Jr.
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A surprising name that has fallen down the pecking order in recent times is Teofimo Lopez Jr. and one of the key reasons for that to happen is his inactivity. The last time he stepped foot inside the ring was when he upset Lomachenko at the 135-pound summit. But the wait is finally over as it’s confirmed that Lopez will fight George Kambosos Jr. in Triller for the unified Lightweight Championship. A win there could finally see him move up the ladder again.
7. Tyson Fury
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The “Gypsy King” is one of the deadliest Heavyweights the boxing world has ever seen. The fighter from Manchester holds an impressive record of 30 wins without any defeats. Out of his 30 victories, 21 were straight KOs. Fury might have lost a shot at Anthony Joshua and the Undisputed Heavyweight title but Fury should still have his hands full as he takes on Deontay Wilder in their trilogy bout for the WBC title.
6. Vasiliy Lomachenko
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Vasiliy Lomachenko (15-2-0) is known to be one of the boxing veterans but sadly for him, after his loss to Teofimo Lopez Jr. the Ukrainian’s opportunity for a rematch was turned down, which has left the boxer with no big opponents in recent times. But still, at the age of 33, Lomachenko reminded the fans of his greatness when he finished Masayoshi Nakatani in style in June 2021.
5. Oleksandr Usyk
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Oleksandr Usyk made his way into the top 5 pound-for-pound fighters in boxing after convincingly outboxing Anthony Joshua in front of more than 65,000 fans in London as he was crowned the Unified Heavyweight Champion. A contractually obliged match is on the cards again for the pair, likely to be in early 2022 and Usyk would love nothing more than to prove it wasn’t a one-fight-wonder.
4. Terence Crawford
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Terence Crawford, the Welterweight champion is #4 on the pound-for-pound list and has a total of 26 knockout victories in his long boxing career. After years of struggle, the final fight of his Top Rank deal is set to take place in November where he takes on Shaw Porter for the unbeaten champion’s title.
3. Errol Spence Jr.
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Errol Spence Jr, the Unified Welterweight Champion sits third on the list with an impressive record of 27 wins and 0 losses but lately, things haven’t fallen in his favour. Surgery on a detached retina pulled him out of a PPV fight against the retired Manny Pacquiao in August and since then fans have raised concerns regarding the 31-year-old’s future. But when Spence has been active, he has displayed his potential to become one of the best in the ring.
2. Naoya Inoue
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With a savage finish on Michael Dasmarinas in June, the Japanese ‘Monster’ moved up to second in pound-for-pound rankings and took his professional record to 19-0, of which 17 were KO victories. The Unified Bantamweight Champion is rumored to be heading into a mouthwatering unification bout against John Riel Casimero in December.
1. Canelo Alvarez
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There is no surprise that the Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez is named as the #1 Pound-for-Pound boxer in the world at the moment. With an unbelievable record of 56 wins and 1 loss, the unified Super Middleweight champion has set a date for his undisputed title bout at 168 pounds against IBP champion Caleb Plant which will take the headlines on November 6th.
[Image Credit: Canelo Alvarez]
Shashank Iyer