Terence Crawford Recaptures Boxing Throne
After an impressive victory over Canelo Álvarez, Terence “Bud” Crawford returns to the top of boxing, surpassing Oleksandr Usyk in the pound-for-pound rankings, 16 months after Usyk displaced him. Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) defeated Canelo Álvarez, then number 8 in the ranking, by unanimous decision on Saturday in Las Vegas. This victory not only secured him the undisputed super middleweight title, but also catapulted him from third place to the top of the rankings. Crawford’s performance was exceptional, moving up two weight classes to challenge Canelo. Furthermore, he became the only boxer in the four-belt era (since 2007) to be undisputed champion in three different divisions: super lightweight, welterweight, and super middleweight. Canelo (62-3-2, 39 KOs), a four-division champion, suffered his first defeat since losing to Dmitry Bivol in May 2022, when he moved up a division to challenge for the light heavyweight title. Following his loss to Crawford, Canelo drops two places, ranking at number 10. On Sunday, Naoya Inoue also shined in Nagoya, Japan, successfully defending his undisputed super bantamweight championship. He secured a convincing unanimous decision victory over Murodjon Akhmadaliev. Despite his victory, Inoue (31-0, 27 KOs) dropped one spot in the rankings, landing at number 3. This change reflects the growing recognition of Crawford, more than any deficiency in Inoue’s performance. The Alofoke Deportes panel of experts, composed of Andreas Hale, Timothy Bradley Jr., Joe Tessitore, Teddy Atlas, Nick Parkinson, Eric Raskin, Bernardo Osuna, Eric Woodyard, Bernardo Pilatti, Charles Moynihan, Salvador Rodriguez, Claudia Trejos, Jim Zirolli, Michael Mascaro, Aladdin Freeman, Victor Lopez, and Damian Delgado Averhoff, cast their votes.Ranking of the Best Pound-for-Pound Boxers
Here is the updated pound-for-pound ranking of the best boxers, according to the panel of experts:- 1. TERENCE CRAWFORD
- 2. OLEKSANDR USYK
- 3. NAOYA INOUE
- 4. DMITRY BIVOL
- 5. JESSE RODRIGUEZ
- 6. ARTUR BETERBIEV
- 7. SHAKUR STEVENSON
- 8. DAVID BENAVIDEZ
- 9. JUNTO NAKATANI
- 10. CANELO ALVAREZ
1. TERENCE CRAWFORD
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2. OLEKSANDR USYK
RECORD: 24-0, 15 KOs DIVISION: Heavyweight (undisputed champion) LAST FIGHT: Victory by KO in the fifth round (KO5) against Daniel Dubois, July 19th NEXT FIGHT: To be announced Usyk is consolidating himself as the best heavyweight of the century, and his victory over Dubois confirms him as undisputed champion once again.3. NAOYA INOUE
RECORD: 31-0, 27 KOs DIVISION: Super bantamweight (undisputed champion) LAST FIGHT: Unanimous decision victory (UD12) against Murodjon Akhmadaliev, September 14 NEXT FIGHT: December 27 against David Picasso Inoue continues to demonstrate his excellence in the ring, surpassing Akhmadaliev with a unanimous decision. His next fight will be against Picasso on December 27, but the most anticipated confrontation is the clash with the bantamweight champion, Junto Nakatani, in 2026.4. DMITRY BIVOLRECORD: 24-1, 12 KOs DIVISION: Light Heavyweight (unified champion) LAST FIGHT: Won by majority decision (MD12) against Artur Beterbiev, February 22 NEXT FIGHT: To be announced Bivol avenged his only defeat by defeating Beterbiev in an excellent performance on February 22.5. JESSE RODRIGUEZ
RECORD: 22-0, 15 KOs DIVISION: Super Flyweight (Unified Champion) LAST FIGHT: Victory by TKO in the tenth round (TKO10) against Phumelela Cafu, July 19th NEXT FIGHT: November 22 against Fernando Daniel Martínez At 25 years old, Rodriguez is underestimated despite his pound-for-pound status. In November, he will face Martinez, which could consolidate him as the boxer of the year.6. ARTUR BETERBIEV
RECORD: 21-1, 20 KOs DIVISION: Light Heavyweight LAST FIGHT: Defeat by majority decision (MD12) against Dmitry Bivol, February 22 NEXT FIGHT: November 22 against Deon Nicholson Beterbiev suffered the only defeat of his career in the rematch against Bivol on February 22.7. SHAKUR STEVENSON
RECORD: 24-0, 11 KOs DIVISION: Lightweight (champion) LAST FIGHT: Unanimous decision victory (UD12) against William Zepeda, July 12 NEXT FIGHT: To be announced Stevenson dominated Zepeda on July 12 in New York. His tactical and aggressive style allowed him to obtain a convincing victory.8. DAVID BENAVIDEZ
RECORD: 30-0, 24 KOs DIVISION: Light Heavyweight (champion) LAST FIGHT: Won by unanimous decision (UD12) against David Morrell, February 1st NEXT FIGHT: November 22 against Anthony Yarde Benavidez will face Yarde in November.9. JUNTO NAKATANI
RECORD: 31-0, 24 KOs DIVISION: Bantamweight (unified champion) LAST FIGHT: Victory by TKO in the sixth round (TKO6) against Ryosuke Nishida, June 8 NEXT FIGHT: To be announced Nakatani unified the bantamweight titles on June 8th. A historic clash with Inoue is expected in the future.10. CANELO ALVAREZ
RECORD: 63-3-2, 39 KOs DIVISION: Super Middleweight LAST FIGHT: Unanimous decision loss (UD12) against Terence Crawford, September 13 NEXT FIGHT: To be announced Canelo was outmatched by Crawford, losing his super-middleweight titles. At 35 years old, it remains to be seen what the next step will be for the legendary Mexican boxer.Classification Methodology
Rankings are based on a descending points system, where a vote for first place awards 10 points, a vote for second place awards nine points, and so on. In case of a tie, the boxer with the highest ranking is prioritized, and secondly, the one with the most votes in that position. Other boxers who received votes include Teofimo Lopez Jr., Gervonta Davis, Janibek Alimkhanuly, and Rafael Espinoza.Expert Voting
Here’s how the Alofoke Deportes experts voted:Bradley: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3: Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Nakatani, 7. Stevenson, 8. Beterbiev, 9. Alvarez, 10. BenavidezHale: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Benavidez, 8. Stevenson, 9. Alvarez, 10. NakataniAtlas: 1. Usyk, 2. Crawford, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Benavidez, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Stevenson, 8. Rodriguez, 9. Nakatani, 10. EspinozaTessitore: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Beterbiev, 5. Bivol, 6. Rodriguez, 7. Nakatani, 8. Benavidez, 9. Stevenson, 10. DavisParkinson: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Beterbiev, 6. Rodriguez, 7. Nakatani, 8. Alvarez, 9. Stevenson, 10. BenavidezRaskin: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Beterbiev, 6. Rodriguez, 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. Alvarez, 10. BenavidezRodriguez: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Nakatani, 8. Benavidez, 9. Stevenson, 10. AlvarezTrejos: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Stevenson, 8. Alvarez, 9. Benavidez, 10. NakataniWoodyard: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Stevenson, 7. Benavidez, 8. Davis, 9. Beterbiev, 10. NakataniMoynihan: 1. Usyk, 2. Crawford, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Beterbiev, 6. Stevenson, 7. Rodriguez, 8. Benavidez, 9. Alvarez, 10. DavisPilatti: 1. Usyk, 2. Inoue, 3. Crawford, 4. Bivol, 5. Beterbiev, 6. Rodriguez, 7. Benavidez, 8. Stevenson, 9. Nakatani, 10. AlimkhanulyZirolli: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Stevenson, 5. Bivol, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Rodriguez, 8. Lopez, 9. Nakatani, 10. BenavidezMascaro: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Rodriguez, 5. Bivol, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Nakatani, 8. Benavidez, 9. Davis, 10. LopezFreeman: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Rodriguez, 5. Bivol, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Stevenson, 8. Nakatani, 9. Alvarez, 10. LopezLopez: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Beterbiev, 6. Rodriguez, 7. Stevenson, 8. Benavidez, 9. Nakatani, 10. AlvarezDelgado Averhoff: 1. Crawford, 2. Usyk, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Benavidez, 8. Stevenson, 9. Lopez, 10. NakataniAlofoke Deportes Expert Survey Results
First place: Crawford (14), Usyk (3)
Second place: Usyk (14), Crawford (2), Inoue (1)Third place: Inoue (16), Crawford (1)Fourth place: Bivol (13), Rodriguez (2), Beterbiev (1), Stevenson (1)Fifth place: Rodriguez (7), Beterbiev (5), Bivol (4), Benavidez (1)Sixth place: Beterbiev (8), Rodriguez (5), Stevenson (3), Nakatani (1)Seventh place: Stevenson (6), Nakatani (5), Benavidez (4), Rodriguez (2)
Eighth place: Benavidez (6), Stevenson (3), Beterbiev (2), Canelo (2), Rodriguez (1), Nakatani (1), Lopez (1), Davis (1)Ninth place: Alvarez (6), Stevenson (4), Nakatani (4), Beterbiev (1), Benavidez (1), Lopez (1)Tenth place: Nakatani (5), Benavidez (4), Alvarez (2), Lopez (2), Davis (2), Akhmadaliev (1), Espinoza (1)
