Boxing: Haney returns to the Top 10 P4P, Benavidez rises, Canelo out

Devin Haney Returns to the World Boxing Top 10

In a shocking move, Devin Haney has returned to the top 10 of the pound-for-pound ranking, according to the latest update from Alofoke Deportes. This return marks the first time in 20 months that Haney has appeared on this prestigious list, following his unanimous decision victory over Brian Norman Jr. last Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he conquered the WBO welterweight title. After the majority decision defeat against Ryan Garcia in April 2024, a result that was later transformed into “no decision” due to a positive doping test by Garcia, Haney had fallen out of the top 10. In 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. In 2025, I came to recover it. In 2026, I’m going for everything.

Devin Haney

Haney now holds the tenth position, displacing Canelo Álvarez. 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+. 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, and I made it look easy.

David Benavidez

On the same card, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez stopped Fernando Martinez in the tenth round, unifying three super flyweight titles. Rodriguez retains his fifth place on the list. The Alofoke Deportes experts’ voting was based on a descending points system, awarding 10 points to first place, 9 to second, and so on. In case of a tie, the highest ranking was considered, and then the most votes in that position.

The Complete Ranking

• TERENCE CRAWFORD

Record: 42-0, 31 KOs Division: Super middleweight (undisputed champion) Last fight: Victory (UD12) against Canelo Álvarez, September 13th Next fight: To be announced Crawford shone by surpassing Canelo, unifying the super middleweight title. He is the embodiment of the pound-for-pound boxer, moving up two weight classes and dominating a rival considered the face of boxing, leaving him frustrated. With his third undisputed status, Crawford consolidates himself as the best pound-for-pound boxer today.

• OLEKSANDR USYK

Record: 24-0, 15 KOs Division: Heavyweight (unified champion) Last fight: Victory (KO5) against Daniel Dubois, July 19 Next fight: To be announced Usyk consolidates himself as the best heavyweight of the century, by defeating Dubois. His victory over Dubois made him undisputed champion once again. Joseph Parker could be his next rival, but with two victories over Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Dubois, Usyk seems to have not much competition.

• NAOYA INOUE

Record: 31-0, 27 KOs
Division: Super bantamweight (undisputed champion)
Last fight: Victory (UD12) against Murodjon Akhmadaliev, September 14th
Next fight: December 27th vs. David Picasso Inoue continues to showcase his excellence in the ring. This time, he used his skill to overcome Akhmadaliev by unanimous decision. He will compete for the fourth time in 2025 against Picasso on December 27, but the fight everyone is waiting for 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: Victory (UD12) against Artur Beterbiev, February 22nd
Next fight: To be announced Bivol avenged his only defeat by defeating Beterbiev on February 22nd. He is likely to face Beterbiev in a rematch in his next fight. If he is victorious, an expected showdown with Benavidez could be the main event in 2026.

• JESSE RODRIGUEZ

Record: 23-0, 16 KOs
Division: Super flyweight (unified champion)
Last fight: Victory (KO10) against Fernando Martínez, November 22
Next fight: To be announced “Bam” did his job in a dominant fashion against Martinez, adding the WBA title to his collection at super flyweight. Rodriguez is one of the best boxers in the world and one of the most entertaining to watch.

• ARTUR BETERBIEV

Record: 21-1, 20 KOs Division: Light Heavyweight Last fight: Loss (UD12) against Dmitry Bivol, February 22 Next fight: To be announced Beterbiev suffered the only loss of his professional career in a rematch against Bivol on February 22, but still did a great job against another pound-for-pound boxer. Beterbiev will remain active and will face Nicholson on the Riyadh season card on November 22, headlined by David Benavidez against Anthony Yarde.

• DAVID BENAVIDEZ

Record: 31-0, 25 KOs
Division: Light Heavyweight (champion)
Last fight: Victory (TKO7) against Anthony Yarde, November 22nd
Next fight: May 2nd vs. Gilberto Ramírez Benavidez demonstrated his power with a ferocious beating of Yarde before stopping him in the seventh round. “The Mexican Monster” has stated that he will move up to cruiserweight for his next fight, challenging “Zurdo” Ramirez on May 2nd in an effort to become a three-division champion.

• SHAKUR STEVENSON

Record: 24-0, 11 KOs Division: Lightweight (champion) Last fight: Victory (UD12) against William Zepeda, July 12 Next fight: To be announced Stevenson dominated Zepeda on July 12 in New York. The biggest criticism he faces is that he almost makes it look too easy and sticks to decision victories. Stevenson used a body jab, uppercuts, and effective combinations to slow down Zepeda and put an end to any complaints about the lack of offense.

• JUNTO NAKATANI

Record: 31-0, 24 KOs
Division: Bantamweight (unified champion)
Last fight: Victory (TKO6) against Ryosuke Nishida, June 8th
Next fight: December 27th vs. Sebastian Hernandez Reyes The other Japanese pound-for-pound boxer on this list unified the bantamweight titles on June 8 against IBF titleholder Nishida. “Big Bang” is exciting to watch and has won his five bantamweight fights by knockout since moving up from super flyweight last February. An eventual showdown with compatriot Inoue appears to be on the horizon in what would be the biggest fight in Japanese history. Nakatani will make his super bantamweight debut on December 27 against Sebastian Hernandez Reyes.

• DEVIN HANEY

Record: 33-0 1NC, 15 KOs
Division: Welterweight Champion
Last fight: Victory (UD12) against Brian Norman Jr., November 22nd
Next fight: To be announced Haney defeated with relative ease the strongest boxer in the welterweight division by dominating Norman to become the WBO champion. Haney, a three-division champion who just turned 27, enters the list with his impressive set of skills and instincts.

The Classification Method

The rankings are based on a descending points system, with a vote for first place awarding 10 points, a vote for second place awarding nine points, and so on. A tie goes to the wrestler with the higher ranking, then to the one with more votes in that ranking. Others who received votes: Teofimo Lopez Jr. (76), Canelo Alvarez (6), Gervonta Davis (1).

How Our Writers Voted

Below is the breakdown of the votes from the Alofoke Deportes experts.

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

Hale: 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. DavisPilatti: 1. Usyk, 2. Inoue, 3. Crawford, 4. Rodriguez, 5. Benavidez, 6. Bivol, 7. Haney, 8. Stevenson, 9. Nakatani, 10. BeterbievZirolli: 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), Usyk (3) Second place: Usyk (12), Crawford (2), Inoue (2) Third place: Inoue (14), Crawford (1), Usyk (1) Fourth place: Bivol (9), Rodriguez (6), Stevenson (1) Fifth place: Rodriguez (7), Bivol (5), Beterbiev (2), Benavidez (2) Sixth place: Beterbiev (7), Bivol (2), Stevenson (2), Nakatani (2), Rodriguez (1), Benavidez (1), Haney (1) Seventh place: Benavidez (8), Stevenson (4), Rodriguez (1), Beterbiev (1), Nakatani (1), Haney (1) Eighth place: Beterbiev (5), Stevenson (5), Nakatani (3), Rodriguez (1), Benavidez (1), Lopez (1) Ninth place: Nakatani (6), Benavidez (3), Stevenson (3), Alvarez (2), Haney (1), Lopez (1) Tenth place: Haney (6), Nakatani (3), Alvarez (2), Beterbiev (1), Benavidez (1), Stevenson (1), Lopez (1), Davis (1)