Boxing
Men’s Boxing Pound-For-Pound Rankings
For such a pure sport, boxing is far from straightforward when it comes to ranking and grading the best athletes in the world.
Not helped by the flippant nature of belt-giving by its major governing bodies, how does one then compare a 6’9’’ goliath in the heavyweight ranks to a 122lbs knockout artist at super bantamweight?
Boxing Pound-For-Pound World Rankings
- Naoya Inoue (Super Bantamweight)
- Terence Crawford (Super Welterweight)
- Oleksandr Usyk (Heavyweight)
- Artur Beterbiev (Light Heavyweight)
- Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez (Super Middleweight)
That’s where the ever-debated boxing pound-for-pound rankings offer a fun exercise for fans and pundits. Here, at the time of writing, these are the top five men’s P4P boxers in the world.
Naoya Inoue
For years, ‘The Monster’ has been up there in the conversation for the top five and even the top three male pound-for-pound boxers in the world. Now, there’s little doubt that he tops the rankings.
Naoya Inoue continues to rampage up the boxing weight divisions, taking on the most talented opponents and title holders alike to build an imperious record of 28-0 with 25 knockouts and clearly stand as one of the most exciting boxers on the planet.
Importantly, he’s remained active while also keeping world-class boxing in his home country. Many get drawn to the ever-waning, but big money, arenas of the US as they hit prominence, but Inoue battles his foes in Japan.
Throughout his career, Inoue has produced highlight-reel finishes. The sheer ferocity of his punches, particularly when twisting a hook into the body, invariably leaves his opponents crumpled up on the mat.
Yet, he’s much more than just a power puncher. Inoue’s prowling footwork keeps the pressure on, while slick head movement allows him to mix timely evasions into his heavy hits to make them all the more devastating.
Over his last four fights, spanning July 2023 to September 2024, Inoue has ousted the incredibly highly-rated Stephen Fulton, Marlon Tapales, the tricky Luis Nery, and TJ Doheny to affirm his place in and atop the division.
Next up for the four-weight world champion and reigning super bantamweight undisputed champion will be what many are billing as ‘The Nightmare Before Xmas’ for the 19-0 Aussie Sam Goodman on Boxing Day 2024.
Inoue will enter as the heavy boxing betting favourite despite the well-matched bout on paper, looking for his tenth knockout on the bounce.
Terence Crawford
Now 37-years-old, Terence Crawford managed to conquer the welterweight division and has since stepped up to super welterweight, winning a world title strap in his first fight.
In one of the most highly-anticipated fights of the last ten years, ‘Bud’ knocked out Errol Spence Jr to cement his place among boxing’s elite in 2023. In 2024, he won by unanimous decision when stepping up in weight against a spirited Israil Madrimov.
Throughout his career, Crawford has showcased that movement, evasion tactics, and pin-point counterpunching is the way to impress judges and boxing fans, with the fluidity of his work rightly earning him a 41-0 record.
Now the WBA World super welterweight king, Crawford’s looking to unify some belts, but will do so at his own pace. A one-fight-per-year boxer since 2020 to keep sharp and healthy, the four-division champ looks primed to battle Sebastian Fundora next.
Currently the WBO and WBC World champion, Fundora and Crawford couldn’t come to terms earlier in the year, but that was likely down to Bud’s camp not wanting a bout in 2024, while Fundora wanted to rumble in December.
Oleksandr Usyk
Conquering the cruiserweight division via the much-loved but short-lived World Boxing Super Series in 2018, beating Murat Gassiev to the crown by unanimous decision, Oleksandr Usyk then took his talents up to heavyweight.
Usyk fought Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora while adjusting to the new weight, getting fighting fit, and finding his feet among the big lads, showcasing his superb pendulum-style footwork and counterpunching in both.
Then, in a sudden leap up, he took on Anthony Joshua for three of the four world titles, beating him by unanimous decision and then, with AJ coming back with a much-improved effort, by split decision.
After brushing aside Daniel Dubois in 2023, it was then on to the other belt holder, Tyson Fury. In May 2024, Usyk outclassed the brash Brit for much of the fight and even threatened a knockout – Fury’s slick, instinctual rope work saved the big man.
A split decision victory made Usyk the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in the four-belt era and the first since Lennox Lewis in 2000. Now, he seeks to defend just the unified title – because boxing – in the rematch.
To help see out 2024 with some incredible boxing matches, Usyk vs Fury II will take place on 21 December in Riyadh, again, with Usyk the betting favourite to retain the IBO, WBC, and WBO World heavyweight straps.
Artur Beterbiev
Born in Russia, nationalised as a Canadian to enable him to continue boxing without stigma, Artur Beterbiev has long been one of the most feared boxers of the professional scene.
Now 21-0 with 20 knockouts, he’s made his way past a whole host of top-class boxers in his relatively short pro career, including Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Marcus Browne, Joe Smith Jr, Anthony Yarde, and Callum Smith – all by KO.
In October, he rumbled with compatriot Dmitry Bivol – who outclassed Saul Álvarez in 2022 before adding another three wins to his 23-0 record – in one of the biggest fights of the year.
In the battle between two of the most technically gifted boxers around, coming in with distinctly different fighting styles, it was the onslaught of pressure and power punches from Beterbiev that won the day.
Now the undisputed world light heavyweight champion, he’s given the nod for Bivol to have another go with a rematch pencilled in for 22 February 2025 in Saudi Arabia.
Unless Bivol finds a solution to Beterbiev’s ability to keep moving forward, throw accurate power punch after power punch, and back him into the corners, the man fighting from Canada will retain his belts and perhaps eye up the cruiserweight division.
Saúl Álvarez
More or less inheriting the golden boy spot in the US from Floyd Mayweather Jr, Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez has certainly made the most of his time as the biggest star in boxing.
Utilising a tactic often deployed by Mayweather, which is to pick opponents as late as possible, he boasts an almighty 62-2-2 record, only losing in a big step up to Bivol in 2022 and to Mayweather Jr in 2013.
Yet, in his recent outings, Álvarez has seemingly been on a mission to further prove that he’s one of the most talented boxers in the world by taking on his division’s top competitors.
Since May 2023, the Mexican has fought four times, taking on three fighters who’re well in the conversation for a more extended pound-for-pound men’s boxing list. In this spell, Álvarez can boast that he’s defeated the best going.
After retaining his super middleweight titles against John Ryder, he outclassed Jermell Charlo, Jaime Munguia, and Edgar Berlanga to set in one of the most impressive runs of his career. In each, he won by UD and clocked a knockdown.
Possibly done with floating between divisions for now, the 34-year-old looks set to go for the IBF belt that was stripped from him in 2024 or maybe give 28-0 rising star Christian Mbilli a shot at the unified title.
Then again, he might succumb to the draw of boxing’s dancing monkey sideshow, YouTube creator Jake Paul.
