Canelo vs Crawford and the 25 Best Boxers of the Century: Analysis

The Best Boxers of the Century: An Analysis by Alofoke Deportes

The boxing world is preparing for an epic showdown on September 13th, when Canelo Álvarez, undisputed super middleweight champion, faces Terence Crawford, super lightweight monarch, at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. This fight, considered by many as “the fight of the century”, has motivated Alofoke Deportes to analyze and rank the 25 best boxers who have stepped into the ring since the year 2000. Of the 17 retired boxers on this list, 14 have already been honored with a place in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and the remaining three – Gennadiy Golovkin, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Tyson Fury – will join them when they meet the requirements. Manny Pacquiao, after his recent induction into the Hall of Fame, joins a select group of pugilists who have competed for a world title after receiving this prestigious recognition. The list includes numerous current undisputed champions. The task of selecting the top 25 was not easy, but the panel of experts from Alofoke Deportes, composed of Andreas Hale, Mark Kriegel, Nick Parkinson, Bernardo Osuna, and Andres Ferrari, took care of it. From Floyd Mayweather to Oleksandr Usyk, including Canelo and Crawford, we present the ranking of the best of the century:

• Floyd Mayweather

Key achievements this century: 28-0, 10 KOs (2000-2017); world champion in five divisions; long-time pound-for-pound number one; inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2021. Mayweather, nicknamed “Money”, is undoubtedly the best boxer of the 2000s decade. His ability to generate large earnings and his defensive style, often criticized, made him a legend. He defeated five boxers who are on this list (Manny Pacquiao, Canelo, Oscar De La Hoya, Juan Manuel Márquez and Miguel Cotto), proving his worth. His intelligence in the ring, impenetrable defense, sublime footwork and surgical precision made him almost unbeatable, with an overall record of 50-0, with 27 KOs and world titles in five weight categories. He was the world’s highest-paid athlete in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2018, according to Forbes. Although he retired in 2017, Mayweather remains a great attraction in boxing and is expected to fight Mike Tyson in an exhibition in 2026.

Floyd Mayweather remains boxing’s biggest showman

• Manny Pacquiao

Key achievements this century: 35-6-3, 20 KOs (2000-2025); world champion in eight divisions; inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2025. Pacquiao, who began his professional career at 16, is the only boxer in history to have won world titles in eight weight classes. His aggressive style and punches from all angles overwhelmed great boxers like Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Oscar De La Hoya, and Miguel Cotto. After being brutally knocked out by Juan Manuel Márquez in 2012, Pacquiao recovered and won six more fights for the welterweight title until 2019. At 46, Pacquiao is still active, and he was close to breaking his own record as the oldest welterweight world champion when he drew against Mario Barrios in July.

You can watch Pacquiao’s full fights.

• Bernard Hopkins

Key achievements this century: 19-6-1, 1 NC, 5 KOs (2000-2016); oldest world champion in boxing history at age 49; made 10 of his 20 consecutive middleweight title defenses; world champion in two divisions; inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020.

Hopkins, known for his longevity and his mastery of boxing, proved that age is just a number. After entering the 2000s with a record of 36-2-1, Hopkins established himself as one of the best middleweights of all time, setting a record of 20 title defenses. His victory over Felix “Tito” Trinidad in 2001 consecrated him in boxing, and his technical knockout over Oscar De La Hoya in 2004 made him the undisputed champion at 160 pounds. He continued to reap successes, defeating Jean Pascal for the light heavyweight title in 2011 and becoming the oldest world champion at 46 years old. At 49 years old, he defeated WBA light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov. Hopkins, with his incredible physical condition and his great intelligence in the ring, secured a place among the greats.

The life and career of Bernard Hopkins would make a movie

• Oleksandr Usyk

Key achievements: 23-0, 14 KOs (2013-2025); current undisputed heavyweight champion; previously undisputed in cruiserweight and heavyweight. Usyk, at 38 years old, has defeated Tyson Fury twice and has achieved undisputed champion status on three occasions (two at heavyweight and one at cruiserweight). After winning Olympic gold in 2012, Usyk defended his cruiserweight title six times between 2016 and 2018 and became the first undisputed cruiserweight champion in the four-belt era. He then moved up to heavyweight, where he won a title for the first time in 2021 and has made five defenses since then. He has defeated former champions Fury and Anthony Joshua twice each, which has cleared up any doubt about who should be considered the best heavyweight of the generation. His victory over Daniel Dubois in July was a defining moment in his career. Usyk is the best heavyweight since the era of Lennox Lewis in the late 1990s.

Usyk cements his legacy as the best heavyweight of his generation

• Canelo Álvarez

Key achievements: 63-2-2, 39 KOs (2005-2025); four-division world champion; current (and only) undisputed super middleweight champion. An early defeat to Mayweather at age 23 didn’t stop Canelo from achieving greatness. The second-highest ranked active boxer on this list, 35-year-old Canelo, can improve his position depending on how he fares in his fight against Terence Crawford. The current and only undisputed super middleweight champion has held world titles in four weight classes, defeating great opponents throughout his career. Canelo cemented himself as one of the best boxers of this era in his trilogy against Golovkin, with a record of 2-0-1 against the tough middleweight puncher. Although he failed to beat Dmitry Bivol in his attempt to become light heavyweight champion in 2022, Canelo has been the face of boxing since Mayweather’s retirement in 2017. The hunter will become the prey on September 13th, when he defends his titles against Crawford, but Canelo’s status as one of the best boxers of this century is firmly established.

Boxing’s biggest star returns to Mexico, to his horses and to a moment 11 years in the making

• Andre Ward

Key achievements: 32-0, 16 KOs (2004-2017); world champion in two weight classes; inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2021. Ward retired in 2017 at the age of 33 with an impeccable record after unifying the world titles at super middleweight and light heavyweight. Ward won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics and, as a professional, retired as ESPN’s number 1 pound-for-pound boxer. His best victories were a decision over Carl Froch in the final of the Super Six World Boxing Classic in 2011 and an eighth-round technical knockout victory over Sergey Kovalev in 2017 in a rematch, after Ward controversially won the first fight seven months earlier. Ward was an intelligent boxer, a consummate technician with a great jab that allowed him to handle strong punchers like Froch and Kovalev. He is arguably the best super middleweight in history.

Andre Ward’s Top Five Wins

• Terence Crawford

Key achievements: 41-0, 31 KOs (2008-2025); world champion in four weight classes, undisputed at welterweight and super lightweight; current super middleweight champion. Crawford quietly debuted in 2008 without the publicity that some of his peers received, and he has used that as motivation to torment his opponents for the last two decades. His one-sided demolition of Errol Spence Jr. in 2023 made him the first male boxer to become undisputed champion in two weight categories (welterweight and super lightweight) during the four-belt era. On September 13, Crawford will seek to become undisputed champion in a third division when he goes up to 168 pounds to challenge Canelo Álvarez. His unwavering will to win and his fierce finishing ability have made Crawford one of the best boxers of this generation. For a boxer who began his career at 130 pounds, the possibility of defeating Canelo, an all-time great much bigger, gives Crawford the opportunity to solidify his place.

You can watch Crawford’s full fights.

• Juan Manuel Márquez

Key achievements this century: 26-5-1, 17 KOs (2000-2014); world champion in four weight classes; inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020. Márquez starred in one of the most memorable and surprising knockouts of recent years when he sent the great Pacquiao to the canvas in the sixth round of their 2012 fight. The pair faced each other on four occasions; after a draw, Pacquiao won two fights before Márquez’s right hand put a shocking end to their last encounter. Márquez (56-7-1, 40 KOs in total) had been in trouble in the fifth round, but demonstrated the toughness that defined his career to recover and finish Pacquiao. “El Dinamita” won titles in four weight categories (featherweight, super lightweight, lightweight and super lightweight) and defeated boxers such as Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Díaz and Joel Casamayor. Watch it on ESPN: Márquez knocks out Pacquiao

• Roy Jones Jr.

Key achievements this century: 26-9, 14 KOs (2000-2023); four-division world champion; long-reigning pound-for-pound number one; inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2022. Jones is undeniably one of boxing’s most gifted athletes. If he had competed during the social media era, he would likely be the most viral boxer of all time. Unfortunately, in terms of this list, his best years were during the 1990s. However, Jones still managed to have significant success in the early 2000s, as he joined Bob Fitzsimmons as the only boxers to capture world titles in middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight when he jumped two weight divisions to beat John Ruiz for the WBA heavyweight title in 2003. Jones (66-10, 47 KOs total) returned to light heavyweight eight months later and achieved his last significant victory, a majority decision over Antonio Tarver that unified the titles. But the weight fluctuation devastated his body, and Jones was never the same, with a 17-9 record for the rest of his career after starting with 49-1. Still, the second half of his career shouldn’t discredit how spectacular “Captain Hook” the boxer was.

Roy Jones Jr. is one of the greatest in history

• Naoya Inoue

Key achievements: 30-0, 27 KOs (2012-2025); four-weight world champion, undisputed in two weight divisions; current undisputed super bantamweight champion. “The Monster” is among the best boxers in the world, currently number 2 in ESPN’s pound-for-pound rankings and the current undisputed super bantamweight champion. Inoue, 32, possesses speed, power, and skillful footwork that allows him to find various angles to throw punches. He has achieved undisputed status in two weight categories after unifying the four bantamweight belts in 2022. He has also won titles in four divisions and made eight defenses of the bantamweight world title from 2018 to 2022, seven at super flyweight from 2014 to 2018, and one at light flyweight in 2014. He made his super bantamweight debut in style when he demolished Stephen Fulton in eight rounds in July 2023. The best days of the undefeated Inoue could be yet to come, with a possible matchup against the number 1 bantamweight and Japanese rival Junto Nakatani in 2026.

12 reasons why Naoya Inoue defines boxing you must see

• Gennadiy Golovkin

Key achievements: 42-2-1, 37 KOs (2006-2022); two-time unified champion; shares the record of 20 consecutive middleweight title defenses with Hopkins. The combination of sublime power and a granite jaw made Golovkin a fixture on pound-for-pound lists from 2015 to 2020. “GGG” recorded 23 consecutive knockout victories from 2008 to 2016 and tied Hopkins’ record for most middleweight title defenses (20) in May 2018, before losing a majority decision to Canelo four months later. Although he fell short in his high-profile trilogy with Canelo (0-2-1), it can be argued that Golovkin won at least one of their matchups. The Kazakh boxer left the sport without having been knocked down in 45 professional and 350 amateur fights, securing his place as the possessor of one of the most durable jaws in boxing history.

Introducing Gennadiy Golovkin: Boxing’s KO King

• Joe Calzaghe

Key achievements this century: 19-0, 9 KOs (2000-2008); longest reigning super middleweight champion. Calzaghe retired in 2009 with an undefeated record of 46 fights after a career spent primarily at super-middleweight. He was boxing’s third-longest reigning world champion (10 years, 11 months). Calzaghe (46-0, 32 KOs total) complained of being avoided before overcoming Jeff Lacy and Sakio Bika in 2006 and then Mikkel Kessler in 2007, all in title unification fights. He enjoyed a glorious end to his career, including a unanimous decision over the previously undefeated Kessler to successfully defend his WBO super-middleweight title for the twenty-first time and claim Kessler’s WBA and WBC belts. After that, Calzaghe’s hand speed was too much for Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. in decision victories at light heavyweight in the United States. He is arguably the greatest British boxer in memory.

10 years later: Remembering Joe Calzaghe’s finest fight

• Erik Morales

Key achievements this century: 17-9, 7 KOs (2000-2012); first Mexican-born boxer to win championships in four weight classes; inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2018. Morales set the stage for his inclusion on this list with an epic and bitter trilogy with his Mexican compatriot Marco Antonio Barrera from 2000 to 2004. Although Morales (52-9, 36 KOs total) lost two of those three fights, he spent the early years of the 2000s demolishing the opposition. His ruthless aggression and precise punches overwhelmed his opponents. “El Terrible” was one of the few boxers capable of stopping Manny Pacquiao’s meteoric rise by defeating him in their 2005 encounter. A whirlwind of violence that oscillated between the cold-blooded fighter and the ring strategist at any moment, Morales is one of Mexico’s best.

Erik “El Terrible” Morales, elected to the Hall of Fame

• Vasiliy Lomachenko

Key achievements: 18-3, 12 KOs (2013-2025); three-weight world champion; won his first world title in only his third professional fight. One of the best amateur boxers of all time amassed an incredible record of 396-1 with two Olympic gold medals before making his professional debut in 2013. Instead of building his record by facing unimpressive opposition, Lomachenko was thrown into the fire immediately. He challenged for a world title in only his second fight, but fell short in a controversial split decision against Orlando Salido in March 2014. But “Hi-Tech” delivered on his second effort less than four months later, defeating Gary Russell Jr. in his third fight to capture featherweight gold. In just 21 fights, Lomachenko held world championships in three weight classes and ascended to the top of the pound-for-pound rankings with a dizzying run from 2016 to 2018 in which he earned the nickname “No Mas-Chenko” by forcing four of his five opponents (Nicholas Walters, Jason Sosa, Miguel Marriaga, and Guillermo Rigondeaux) to quit in the corner between rounds. Lomachenko faced tough matchups throughout his career, but his brilliant footwork, feline reflexes, and overwhelming speed made him one of the most talented boxers to ever step into the ring. Lomachenko decided to end his career at 37 years old and will surely be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Why Vasiliy Lomachenko Was Different From the Rest

• Oscar De La Hoya

Key achievements in this century: 8