For so long, Mexican star Canelo Alvarez rode at the top of the mythical yet so passionately debated pound-for-pound charts. The consensus pick for the top spot, Canelo, who had ruled at 154, 160, 168 and 175, was the man. Now, having lost in a fight that will almost certainly go down as 2022’s Upset of the Year, this to the superb Dmitry Bivol, Canelo has been knocked off the top. But by whom? Can we place Bivol, who may not be the best light-heavyweight in the world today, as the new pound-for-pound No1?
Sure, a case could be argued for putting Bivol at the top of the pile, yet what about Terence Crawford? Errol Spence? Naoya Inoue? Oleksandr Usyk?
Dan Rafael was asked by IFL TV right after the Bivol win over Canelo who should now be ranked as the pound-for-pound best, and Rafael pretty much nailed it when he said the title should perhaps be declared vacant. Rafael said he cannot rank Crawford at No1 because he doesn’t feel “Bud” has the resume required for the honour. Rafael also mentioned Spence as a possibility. It is, as Rafael said, “a tough question.”
For the first time is quite a long time, it’s incredibly hard to say with any certainty who the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet is. Canelo had ruled for so long, but who is his P-4-P successor?
Here’s a new pound-for-pound list you may or may not agree with (most probably the latter!):
1: Oleksandr Usyk
2: Terence Crawford
3: Errol Spence
4: Dmitry Bivol
5: Canelo Alvarez
6: Naoya Inoue
7: Kazuto Ioka
8: Vasiliy Lomachenko
9: Juan Francisco Estrada
10: Shakur Stevenson
Agree or disagree?
And can Canelo regain his lofty position at the top of the mountain? That return fight with Bivol will be tough for the Mexican star, that’s for sure. Canelo’s career defining fight may even be upon us soon. One thing is clear – Bivol’s win on Saturday night sure shook up the boxing world. How great can Bivol go on to become?
