Boxing: Haney returns to the Top 10, Benavidez rises, and Canelo out.

Devin Haney Returns to the World Boxing Top 10

In an exciting turn for the boxing world, Devin Haney has regained his place among the top ten pound-for-pound boxers, according to the Alofoke Deportes ranking. This achievement comes after his unanimous decision victory over Brian Norman Jr. last Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he was crowned WBO welterweight champion.

Following the majority decision defeat against Ryan Garcia in April 2024, a result that was later transformed into a “no decision” due to a positive test for a banned substance by Garcia, Haney had fallen out of the top 10. During that fight, Haney suffered three knockdowns, but despite the modification of the result, he had not managed to re-enter the list until now.

“In 2024, I lost everything, everything fell apart,” Haney stated after his recent victory. “In 2025, I came to get it back. In 2026, I’m going for everything.”

Devin Haney

Haney is in tenth place, displacing super middleweight Canelo Álvarez.

David Benavidez and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez Shine Too

In the main event of Saturday’s fight card, David Benavidez defended his WBC and WBA super middleweight titles with a dominant performance against Anthony Yarde. Benavidez achieved a technical knockout in the seventh round, maintaining his undefeated record and moving up one place in the rankings, placing him at number 7.

“I rate my performance a B+,” Benavidez commented during the post-fight interview. “I could have done some things better, but there’s always room for improvement. People wanted to see the knockout. They said I didn’t have power at 175 pounds, but I made it look easy.”

David Benavidez

Additionally, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez stopped Fernando Martinez in the tenth round, unifying three super flyweight titles and maintaining his fifth place in the rankings. The Alofoke Deportes expert panel, made up of prominent analysts, shared their votes to determine the rankings.

Pound-for-Pound Ranking of the Best Boxers

Below, we present the complete list of the best pound-for-pound boxers, with results updated as of November 26th:

• TERENCE CRAWFORD

Record: 42-0, 31 KOs
Division: Super middleweight (undisputed champion)
Last fight: Unanimous decision victory over Canelo Álvarez, September 13th
Next fight: To be determined Crawford demonstrated his superiority by defeating Canelo, a renowned rival. He moved up two weight classes and dominated a boxer considered the face of boxing, solidifying himself as the best pound-for-pound fighter today and, possibly, of this generation.

• OLEKSANDR USYK

Record: 24-0, 15 KOs
Division: Heavyweight (unified champion)
Last fight: KO victory in the fifth round over Daniel Dubois, July 19th
Next fight: To be determined Usyk is consolidating himself as the best heavyweight of the century. His victory over Dubois reaffirmed him as undisputed champion. With two victories over Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Dubois, Usyk seems to have no rivals.

• NAOYA INOUE

Record: 31-0, 27 KOs
Division: Super bantamweight (undisputed champion)
Last fight: Unanimous decision victory over Murodjon Akhmadaliev, September 14th
Next fight: December 27th vs. David Picasso Inoue continues to demonstrate his excellence in the ring. His dominance over Akhmadaliev was exceptional. He is expected to compete for the fourth time in 2025 against Picasso on December 27, and the most anticipated match is the clash with the bantamweight champion, Junto Nakatani, in 2026.

• DMITRY BIVOL

Record: 24-1, 12 KOs
Division: Light Heavyweight (unified champion)
Last fight: Majority decision victory over Artur Beterbiev, February 22nd
Next fight: To be determined

Bivol avenged his only defeat by defeating Beterbiev on February 22nd. He is likely to face Beterbiev in a third fight. If he is victorious, an expected showdown with Benavidez could be possible in 2026.

• JESSE RODRIGUEZ

Record: 23-0, 16 KOs
Division: Super flyweight (unified champion)
Last fight: KO victory in the tenth round over Fernando Martínez, November 22nd
Next fight: To be determined

“Bam” demonstrated his dominance against Martinez, adding the WBA title to his collection at super flyweight. Rodriguez is one of the best and most entertaining boxers in the world.

• ARTUR BETERBIEV

Record: 21-1, 20 KOs
Division: Light Heavyweight
Last fight: Majority decision loss against Dmitry Bivol, February 22nd
Next fight: To be determined

Beterbiev suffered the only defeat of his professional career in a rematch with Bivol on February 22. Despite this, he remained active and faced Nicholson on the undercard of the Riyadh event on November 22.

• DAVID BENAVIDEZ

Record: 31-0, 25 KOs
Division: Light heavyweight (champion)
Last fight: Technical knockout victory in the seventh round over Anthony Yarde, November 22
Next fight: May 2 vs. Gilberto Ramírez Benavidez showed his power and speed, defeating Yarde. “The Mexican Monster” has announced that he will move up to cruiserweight for his next fight, challenging “Zurdo” Ramirez on May 2nd.

• SHAKUR STEVENSON

Record: 24-0, 11 KOs
Division: Lightweight (champion)
Last fight: Unanimous decision victory over William Zepeda, July 12th
Next fight: To be determined

Stevenson dominated Zepeda on July 12 in New York. Despite his exceptional performance, the main criticism is that he often makes it look too easy and focuses on decision victories.

• JUNTO NAKATANI

Record: 31-0, 24 KOs
Division: Bantamweight (unified champion)
Last fight: Technical knockout victory in the sixth round over Ryosuke Nishida, June 8th
Next fight: December 27th vs. Sebastian Hernandez Reyes

Nakatani unified the bantamweight titles on June 8th. A highly anticipated fight with Inoue could be the biggest event in Japanese history. Nakatani will debut at super bantamweight on December 27th against Sebastian Hernandez Reyes.

• DEVIN HANEY

Record: 33-0 1NC, 15 KOs
Division: Welterweight Champion
Last fight: Unanimous decision victory over Brian Norman Jr., November 22nd
Next fight: To be determined

Haney easily defeated Norman and became the WBO champion. Haney, who just turned 27, joins the list thanks to his impressive set of skills and instincts.

Methodology of the Classifications

The rankings are based on a descending points system, where the vote for first place awards 10 points, second place 9 points, and so on. In case of a tie, the boxer with the highest ranking is prioritized, followed by the one with the most votes in that position. Other boxers who received votes include Teofimo Lopez Jr., Canelo Álvarez, and Gervonta Davis.

Alofoke Deportes Experts’ Voting

The individual votes of the Alofoke Deportes experts are presented below:Bradley: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3: Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Nakatani, 7. Stevenson, 8. Beterbiev, 9. Benavidez, 10. HaneyHale: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Benavidez, 8. Stevenson, 9. Nakatani, 10. HaneyAtlas: 1. Usyk, 2. Crawford, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Benavidez, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Stevenson, 8. Rodriguez, 9. Nakatani, 10. HaneyTessitore: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Rodriguez, 5. Beterbiev, 6. Bivol, 7. Benavidez, 8. Nakatani, 9. Stevenson, 10. LopezParkinson: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Haney, 7. Benavidez, 8. Beterbiev, 9. Nakatani, 10. StevensonRaskin: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Stevenson, 8. Benavidez, 9. Alvarez, 10. NakataniOsuna: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Stevenson, 7. Nakatani, 8. Beterbiev, 9. Benavidez, 10. HaneyRodriguez: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Rodriguez, 5. Bivol, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Benavidez, 8. Nakatani, 9. Stevenson, 10. AlvarezWoodyard: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Stevenson, 7. Benavidez, 8. Beterbiev, 9. Nakatani, 10. HaneyMoynihan: 1. Usyk, 2. Crawford, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Beterbiev, 6. Rodriguez, 7. Benavidez, 8. Stevenson, 9. Alvarez, 10. Davis

Pilatti: 1. Usyk, 2. Inoue, 3. Crawford, 4. Rodriguez, 5. Benavidez, 6. Bivol, 7. Haney, 8. Stevenson, 9. Nakatani, 10. Beterbiev

Zirolli: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Stevenson, 5. Bivol, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Rodriguez, 8. Lopez, 9. Benavidez, 10. NakataniMascaro: 1. Crawford, 2. Inoue, 3. Usyk, 4. Rodriguez, 5. Bivol, 6. Nakatani, 7. Benavidez, 8. Beterbiev, 9. Stevenson, 10. HaneyFreeman: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Rodriguez, 5. Bivol, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Stevenson, 8. Nakatani, 9. Haney, 10. BenavidezLopez: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Benavidez, 8. Stevenson, 9. Nakatani, 10. AlvarezDelgado Averhoff: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Rodriguez, 5. Bivol, 6. Benavidez, 7. Bterebiev, 8. Stevenson, 9. Lopez, 10. Nakatani

Alofoke Deportes Experts Survey Results

First place: Crawford (13 votes), Usyk (3 votes)

Second place: Usyk (12 votes), Crawford (2 votes), Inoue (2 votes)

Third place: Inoue (14 votes), Crawford (1 vote), Usyk (1 vote)

Fourth place: Bivol (9 votes), Rodriguez (6 votes), Stevenson (1 vote)

Fifth place: Rodriguez (7 votes), Bivol (5 votes), Beterbiev (2 votes), Benavidez (2 votes)

Sixth place: Beterbiev (7 votes), Bivol (2 votes), Stevenson (2 votes), Nakatani (2 votes), Rodriguez (1 vote), Benavidez (1 vote), Haney (1 vote)

Seventh place: Benavidez (8 votes), Stevenson (4 votes), Rodriguez (1 vote), Beterbiev (1 vote), Nakatani (1 vote), Haney (1 vote)

Eighth place: Beterbiev (5 votes), Stevenson (5 votes), Nakatani (3 votes), Rodriguez (1 vote), Benavidez (1 vote), Lopez (1 vote)Ninth place: Nakatani (6 votes), Benavidez (3 votes), Stevenson (3 votes), Alvarez (2 votes), Haney (1 vote), Lopez (1 vote)

Tenth place: Haney (6 votes), Nakatani (3 votes), Alvarez (2 votes), Beterbiev (1 vote), Benavidez (1 vote), Stevenson (1 vote), Lopez (1 vote), Davis (1 vote)