Terence Crawford Destroys Usyk and Tops the Pound-for-Pound Ranking
After 16 months, Terence Crawford returns to the top of boxing, surpassing Oleksandr Usyk in the pound-for-pound ranking. This change comes after Usyk’s victory over Tyson Fury for the heavyweight title in May 2024. Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) achieved an impressive unanimous decision victory over Canelo Álvarez in Las Vegas on Saturday, which catapulted him from third place to number one. This triumph not only demonstrated his skill, but also his courage in moving up two weight classes to challenge Canelo for the undisputed super middleweight championship. Crawford’s victory makes him the only boxer in the four-belt era (since 2007) to be undisputed champion in three divisions: super lightweight, welterweight, and super middleweight. Canelo Álvarez (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 defeat to Crawford, Canelo drops two positions, ranking at number 10. Naoya Inoue also had an outstanding performance on Sunday in Nagoya, Japan, successfully defending his undisputed super bantamweight championship with a convincing unanimous decision victory over Murodjon Akhmadaliev. Despite his victory, Inoue (31-0, 27 KOs) drops one spot, landing at number 3 in the rankings. This change reflects the growing support for Crawford, more than any flaw in Inoue’s performance. The Alofoke Deportes panel of experts, made up 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, shared their votes.Results updated as of September 17th.
The Ranking
- TERENCE CRAWFORD
- OLEKSANDR USYK
- NAOYA INOUE
Division: Super bantamweight (undisputed champion)
Last fight: Victory by unanimous decision (UD12) against Murodjon Akhmadaliev, September 14th
Next fight: December 27th vs. David Picasso Inoue was exceptional in defeating Akhmadaliev. However, Crawford’s performance against Canelo made it difficult for Inoue to maintain his position. Inoue continues to demonstrate his excellence in the ring, using his skill to dominate 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 current bantamweight champion, Junto Nakatani, in 2026.
- DMITRY BIVOL
- JESSE RODRIGUEZ
Division: Super Flyweight (unified champion)
Last fight: Technical knockout victory in the tenth round (TKO10) against Phumelela Cafu, July 19
Next fight: November 22 vs. Fernando Daniel Martinez At 25 years old, Rodriguez continues to be underestimated despite his pound-for-pound status. He added another world title by defeating Cafu. In the smaller weight categories, Inoue is often mentioned, but perhaps we should talk more about “Bam”. He will face Martinez in November, which will give him the opportunity to be considered the boxer of the year.
- ARTUR BETERBIEV
Division: Light Heavyweight
Last fight: Defeat by majority decision (MD12) against Dmitry Bivol, February 22
Next fight: November 22 vs. Deon Nicholson Beterbiev suffered the only loss of his professional career in a rematch against Bivol on February 22, but still had a great performance against another pound-for-pound boxer. Unfortunately, the rematch will have to wait, as Bivol underwent back surgery that will keep him out of action until next year. Beterbiev will stay active and face Nicholson on November 22 at the Riyadh Season event, headlined by David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde.
- SHAKUR STEVENSON
Division: Lightweight (champion)
Last fight: Unanimous decision victory (UD12) against William Zepeda, July 12
Next fight: To be confirmed Stevenson finally had the type of opponent that the fans were asking for and, once again, he emerged victorious, adding a bit more aggression to his impeccable tactical style. He dominated Zepeda on July 12 in New York in an exciting performance. The biggest criticism Stevenson faces is that he almost makes it look too easy and is limited to winning by decision. He was expected to have problems with a high-volume puncher like Zepeda, but he was able to handle everything Zepeda threw at him. 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.
- DAVID BENAVIDEZ
For some reason, nobody wants to fight Benavidez. He did everything necessary at 168 pounds, but couldn’t get a fight with Canelo. Now he finds himself in a similar position at light heavyweight, as Bivol vacated the WBC title to face Beterbiev in a rematch, instead of facing Benavidez. With victories over Caleb Plant, Demetrius Andrade, and David Morrell on his resume, it’s only a matter of time until Benavidez, nicknamed “The Mexican Monster”, tests himself against the biggest names in the sport. But first, he will face Yarde in November. The most terrifying thing is that he is only 28 years old and hasn’t yet reached his physical prime.
- JUNTO NAKATANI
Division: Bantamweight (unified champion)
Last fight: Technical knockout victory in the sixth round (TKO6) against Ryosuke Nishida, June 8
Next fight: To be confirmed The other pound-for-pound boxer from Japan 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 between Nakatani and Inoue seems to be on the horizon, in what would be the biggest fight in Japanese history.
- CANELO ALVAREZ
