P4P Boxing: Usyk, Bam Rodriguez and Stevenson Rise After Epic Victories

Boxing Ranking: Usyk Solidifies His Dominance, Rodríguez Ascends

The boxing scene continues to be vibrant, with outstanding performances that have reshaped the landscape of heavyweights and other categories. In this analysis, we review the results that have impacted the ranking of the best boxers of the moment. Three fighters within the top 10 were in action since the last update, and they all offered exciting fights.

Oleksandr Usyk: Undisputed King

Oleksandr Usyk solidified his number one position with a resounding victory over Daniel Dubois in their rematch at Wembley Stadium, London. Usyk imposed his rhythm throughout the fight, knocking down Dubois twice in the fifth round, before the referee stopped the fight. With this victory, Usyk was consecrated as a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion, solidifying his candidacy as one of the best boxers of the last 25 years.

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez: Unification and Rise

At the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, Jesse “Bam” Rodríguez dominated Phumelela Cafu, achieving a technical knockout victory in the tenth round and unifying the WBC and WBO super flyweight titles.

“I felt it was a good performance. Probably my best performance to date, against my toughest opponent, my toughest fight yet. Cafu was much tougher than I thought he would be, but we got the job done no matter what”.

Jesse “Bam” Rodríguez

Rodríguez has maintained an impressive record since 2022, winning the WBC super flyweight title. He has a record of 7-0 with 5 KOs in title fights. This triumph allows him to move up one place, ranking at number 5 above Artur Beterbiev.

Shakur Stevenson: Masterclass

Shakur Stevenson put on an impressive display against William Zepeda, winning by unanimous decision at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. Stevenson, often criticized for his defensive style, added offense against Zepeda, achieving victories with scorecards of 118-110, 118-110, and 119-109. Stevenson surpassed Zepeda in total punches (295 to 272) and power punches (199 to 153). His performance allowed him to move up three places, ranking at number 7.

“He came, he pressured me. He pushed me to another level. At the end of the day, I told everyone, whatever it takes to get the job done, I have ‘dog’ in me. I’m not a puppy. I’m not a poodle. I’m a tough guy, so I have ‘dog’ in me”.

Shakur Stevenson

The Alofoke Deportes expert panel, composed of various analysts, has cast their votes to determine the ranking. Here’s the updated ranking:

• OLEKSANDR USYK
• NAOYA INOUE
• TERENCE CRAWFORD
• DMITRY BIVOL
• JESSE RODRIGUEZ
• ARTUR BETERBIEV
• SHAKUR STEVENSON
• CANELO ALVAREZ
• DAVID BENAVIDEZ
• JUNTO NAKATANI

Note: The results are up to July 23.

Boxer Analysis:

1. OLEKSANDR USYK: Usyk is solidifying his position as the best heavyweight of the century with a definitive victory over Dubois, once again becoming the undisputed champion. His next step could be to face Joseph Parker, although with two victories over Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Dubois, Usyk has few rivals to face.

2. NAOYA INOUE: Inoue remains a dominant and exciting boxer. His thrilling battle with Ramon Cardenas further solidified the Japanese superstar as must-see. He already has a fight scheduled in September against Murodjon Akhmadaliev and could move up to featherweight or face his compatriot Junto Nakatani in 2026.

3. TERENCE CRAWFORD: The lack of activity is the only argument against Crawford being number 1. However, his inactivity will finally end after a year when he moves up to super middleweight to challenge Canelo Álvarez, for the opportunity to become the only boxer in the four-belt era to be undisputed in three weight categories.

4. DMITRY BIVOL: Bivol avenged his only defeat in an excellent performance against Artur Beterbiev on February 22nd. He will avoid (for now) David Benavidez, as he will likely participate in a rematch with Beterbiev in his next fight. If he is victorious, he could have a highly anticipated showdown with “The Mexican Monster” in 2026.

5. JESSE RODRIGUEZ: At 25 years old, Rodriguez remains underrated despite his pound-for-pound status. He picked up another world title by defeating WBC titleholder Phumelele Cafu in the tenth round. When we talk about the smaller weight categories, we often mention Inoue’s name. But perhaps we should talk much more about “Bam”. He will face WBA champion Fernando Martinez in November, which will be an opportunity to put his name on the ballot for Boxer of the Year.

6. ARTUR BETERBIEV: Beterbiev suffered the only loss of his professional career in a rematch with Dmitry Bivol on February 22, but still gave a great account of himself against another pound-for-pound boxer. Considering the competitive nature of both fights, it makes sense that the Russian maintains his place on the P4P list. He will likely have the opportunity to avenge the blemish in a rematch later this year. Although he is over 40, Beterbiev still performs at an elite level.

7. SHAKUR STEVENSON: Stevenson finally got the kind of opponent that the fans were asking for and, once again, emerged victorious, adding a bit more aggression to his impeccable tactical style. He dominated William Zepeda on July 12 in New York in an exciting performance. As exceptional as Stevenson has been, the biggest complaint he faces is that he almost makes it look too easy inside the ring and navigates to decision victories. He was supposed to have his hands full with a high-volume puncher in Zepeda, but he was able to handle everything Zepeda threw at him. Stevenson used a body jab, uppercuts, and an effective combination to slow down Zepeda and put an end to any complaints about his lack of offense.

8. CANELO ALVAREZ: Boxing’s biggest star disappointed in his most recent outing against William Scull, despite becoming the undisputed champion at 168 pounds again. However, Canelo needed to get past that fight to possibly set up the biggest fight of the year when he accepts Terence Crawford’s challenge at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on September 12. Putting aside the recent opposition, Canelo has built an excellent resume and will have the opportunity to add another future Hall of Famer to his portfolio.

9. DAVID BENAVIDEZ: For some reason, nobody wants to fight Benavidez. He did everything he needed to at 168 pounds, but couldn’t get a fight with Canelo Álvarez. Now he finds himself in a similar position at light heavyweight, as Dmitry Bivol vacated the WBC title to be able 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 “The Mexican Monster” tests himself against the biggest names in the sport. But first, he will meet Anthony Yarde in November. The scary thing is that he’s only 28 years old and hasn’t reached his physical peak.

10. JUNTO NAKATANI: The other pound-for-pound boxer from Japan on this list unified the bantamweight titles on June 8 against IBF titleholder Ryosuke Nishida. “Big Bang” is exciting to watch and has won his five bantamweight fights by knockout since moving up from super flyweight last February. A highly successful showdown with compatriot Naoya Inoue seems to be on the horizon in what would be the biggest fight in Japanese history.

The ranking system is 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 fighter with the highest ranking, then to the one with the most votes in that ranking.

Others who received votes: Teofimo Lopez Jr. (5), Gervonta Davis (5), Janibek Alimkhanuly (1).

This is how our editors voted:

Bradley: 1. Usyk, 2. Crawford, 3: Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Beterbiev, 6. Alvarez, 7. Nakatani, 8. Rodriguez, 9. Stevenson, 10. BenavidezHale: 1. Usyk, 2. Crawford, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Alvarez, 8. Benavidez, 9. Stevenson, 10. NakataniAtlas: 1. Usyk, 2. Crawford, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Benavidez, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Stevenson, 8. Rodriguez, 9. Nakatani, 10. AlvarezTessitore: 1. Usyk, 2. Crawford, 3. Inoue, 4. Beterbiev, 5. Bivol, 6. Rodriguez, 7. Nakatani, 8. Benavidez, 9. Stevenson, 10. AlvarezParkinson: 1. Usyk, 2. Inoue, 3. Crawford, 4. Bivol, 5. Beterbiev, 6. Rodriguez, 7. Alvarez, 8. Nakatani, 9. Stevenson, 10. BenavidezRaskin: 1. Usyk, 2. Inoue, 3. Crawford, 4. Bivol, 5. Beterbiev, 6. Rodriguez, 7. Stevenson, 8. Benavidez, 9. Alvarez, 10. NakataniOsuna: 1. Usyk, 2. Inoue, 3. Crawford, 4. Bivol, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Stevenson, 7. Nakatani, 8. Beterbiev, 9. Alvarez, 10. BenavidezRodriguez: 1. Usyk, 2. Inoue, 3. Bivol, 4. Crawford, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Alvarez, 7. Beterbiev, 8. Nakatani, 9. Benavidez, 10. StevensonTrejos: 1. Usyk, 2. Inoue, 3. Crawford, 4. Bivol, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Stevenson, 7. Alvarez, 8. Benavidez, 9. Nakatani, 10. Beterbiev

Woodyard: 1. Usyk, 2. Crawford, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Alvarez, 6. Rodriguez, 7. Stevenson, 8. Benavidez, 9. Davis, 10. Beterbiev

Moynihan: 1. Usyk, 2. Crawford, 3. Inoue, 4. Bivol, 5. Alvarez, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Stevenson, 8. Rodriguez, 9. Benavidez, 10. DavisPilatti: 1. Usyk, 2. Inoue, 3. Bivol, 4. Beterbiev, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Benavidez, 7. Stevenson, 8. Crawford, 9. Nakatani, 10. AlimkhanulyZirolli: 1. Usyk, 2. Crawford, 3. Inoue, 4. Stevenson, 5. Bivol, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Rodriguez, 8. Alvarez, 9. Lopez, 10. NakataniMascaro: 1. Usyk, 2. Inoue, 3. Crawford, 4. Rodriguez, 5. Bivol, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Nakatani, 8. Benavidez, 9. Davis, 10. LopezFreeman: 1. Usyk, 2. Inoue, 3. Crawford, 4. Rodriguez, 5. Bivol, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Stevenson, 8. Nakatani, 9. Alvarez, 10. LopezLopez: 1. Usyk, 2. Inoue, 3. Crawford, 4. Bivol, 5. Beterbiev, 6. Alvarez, 7. Rodriguez, 8. Benavidez, 9. Stevenson, 10. NakataniDelgado Averhof: 1. Usyk, 2. Inoue, 3. Bivol, 4. Crawford, 5. Rodriguez, 6. Beterbiev, 7. Benavidez, 8. Stevenson, 9. Alvarez, 10. Lopez

Alofoke Deportes Experts Survey:

First place: Usyk (17)

Second place: Inoue (10), Crawford (7)

Third place: Inoue (7), Crawford (7), Bivol (3)

Fourth place: Bivol (10), Crawford (2), Rodriguez (2), Beterbiev (2), Stevenson (1)

Fifth place: Rodriguez (6), Bivol (4), Beterbiev (4), Alvarez (2), Benavidez (1)

Sixth place: Beterbiev (7), Rodriguez (4), Alvarez (3), Stevenson (2), Benavidez (1)

Seventh place: Stevenson (6), Nakatani (4), Alvarez (3), Rodriguez (2), Beterbiev (1), Benavidez (1)Eighth place: Benavidez (7), Rodriguez (3), Nakatani (3), Crawford (1), Beterbiev (1), Stevenson (1), Alvarez (1)

Ninth place: Stevenson (5), Alvarez (4), Nakatani (3), Benavidez (2), Davis (2), Lopez (1)

Tenth place: Nakatani (4), Benavidez (3), Lopez (3), Beterbiev (2), Alvarez (2), Stevenson (1), Davis (1), Akhmadaliev (1)