Devin Haney Returns to the Top 10 of the Pound-for-Pound Ranking
In an exciting comeback, Devin Haney has managed to position himself again in the top 10 of the pound-for-pound ranking of the best boxers. This achievement marks his re-entry to the list after 20 months, following his unanimous decision victory over Brian Norman Jr. in Saudi Arabia, where he conquered the WBO welterweight title. The American boxer, after the majority decision loss against Ryan García in April 2024, a result that later turned into a “no decision” due to a positive test for a banned substance by García, had fallen out of the top 10. Haney, who suffered three knockdowns in that fight, had not managed to regain his place until now.Haney is in tenth place, 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 climbing to seventh place in the rankings.“In 2024, I lost everything, everything fell apart,” Haney declared after his recent fight. “In 2025, I came to get it back. In 2026, I’m going for everything.”
Devin Haney
On the same card, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez stopped Fernando Martinez in the tenth round, unifying three super flyweight titles and maintaining his fifth place on the list. The Alofoke Deportes expert panel, comprised of Andreas Hale, Timothy Bradley Jr., Joe Tessitore, Teddy Atlas, Nick Parkinson, Eric Raskin, Bernardo Osuna, Eric Woodyard, Bernardo Pilatti, Charles Moynihan, Salvador Rodriguez, Jim Zirolli, Michael Mascaro, Aladdin Freeman, Victor Lopez, and Damian Delgado Averhoff, shared their votes for the creation of the ranking.“I rate my performance a B+”, Benavidez said during his post-fight interview. “I’m not going to lie. I think I could have done some things better, but there’s always room for improvement. People wanted to see the knockout. They were saying I couldn’t stop this guy, that I didn’t have power at 175 pounds, and you know, I made it look easy”.
David Benavidez
The Complete Ranking
1. TERENCE CRAWFORD
Record: 42-0, 31 KOs Division: Super Welterweight (undisputed champion) Last fight: Victory by unanimous decision against Canelo Álvarez, September 13 Next fight: To be announced Crawford demonstrated his brilliance by overcoming Canelo, a pound-for-pound rival, to become undisputed champion. His dominance in two weight categories solidifies him as the best pound-for-pound boxer of the moment.2. OLEKSANDR USYK
Record: 24-0, 15 KOs Division: Heavyweight (unified champion) Last fight: KO victory against Daniel Dubois, July 19 Next fight: To be announced Usyk consolidates his position as one of the best heavyweights of the century, after his resounding victory over Dubois. With two victories against Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Dubois, Usyk seems to have no rival.3. NAOYA INOUE
Record: 31-0, 27 KOs Division: Super Bantamweight (undisputed champion) Last fight: Victory by unanimous decision against Murodjon Akhmadaliev, September 14 Next fight: December 27 vs. David Picasso Inoue continues to demonstrate his excellence in the ring, this time surpassing Akhmadaliev. His next fight will be against Picasso on December 27, but everyone is waiting for the match against Junto Nakatani in 2026.4. DMITRY BIVOL
Record: 24-1, 12 KOs Division: Light Heavyweight (unified champion) Last fight: Majority decision victory against Artur Beterbiev, February 22 Next fight: To be announced Bivol avenged his only defeat by defeating Beterbiev. A rematch with Beterbiev is expected in his next fight, and a possible clash with Benavidez in 2026.5. JESSE RODRIGUEZ
Record: 23-0, 16 KOs Division: Super Flyweight (unified champion) Last fight: KO victory against Fernando Martinez, November 22 Next fight: To be announced “Bam” Rodriguez dominated Martinez to add the WBA title to his collection. He is the youngest boxer in the pound-for-pound ranking and one of the most exciting to watch.6. ARTUR BETERBIEV
Record: 21-1, 20 KOs Division: Light Heavyweight Last fight: Majority decision loss against Dmitry Bivol, February 22 Next fight: To be announced Beterbiev suffered his only professional defeat against Bivol, but proved his worth. Due to a surgery of Bivol, Beterbiev will face Nicholson in the Riyadh Season card.7. DAVID BENAVIDEZ
Record: 31-0, 25 KOs Division: Light Heavyweight (champion) Last fight: TKO victory against Anthony Yarde, November 22 Next fight: May 2 vs. Gilberto Ramirez Benavidez, with his impressive power and speed, defeated Yarde. His next fight will be against “Zurdo” Ramirez on May 2nd, with the intention of becoming a champion in three divisions.8. SHAKUR STEVENSON
Record: 24-0, 11 KOs Division: Lightweight (champion) Last fight: Unanimous decision victory against William Zepeda, July 12 Next fight: To be announced Stevenson dominated Zepeda, adding aggressiveness to his tactical style. Despite his success, he is often criticized for making victories seem easy.9. JUNTO NAKATANI
Record: 31-0, 24 KOs Division: Bantamweight (unified champion) Last fight: TKO victory against Ryosuke Nishida, June 8 Next fight: December 27 vs. Sebastian Hernandez Reyes Nakatani, the other Japanese boxer in the rankings, unified the bantamweight titles. A match with Inoue is expected in 2026.10. DEVIN HANEY
Record: 33-0 1NC, 15 KOs Division: Welterweight (champion) Last fight: Unanimous decision victory against Brian Norman Jr., November 22 Next fight: To be announced Haney, after defeating Norman, demonstrates his worth and silences his critics. A champion in three divisions, Haney joins the ranking with his impressive skill.
