Three of Uncrowned’s top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in men’s boxing competed in separate events over the weekend, providing a shakeup to our rankings of the best fighters on the planet.
On Friday, Teofimo Lopez beat the previously unbeaten Arnold Barboza Jr. to the punch, evaded much of his opponent’s shots, and looked levels above the Californian throughout the 12-round contest at the iconic Times Square in New York City.
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Lopez has had an up-and-down career — he scored an incredible win over Vasiliy Lomachenko while the Ukrainian was at — or near — the peak of his powers, but came unstuck against George Kambosos Jr. in his very next fight. Lopez even openly questioned his own skill set immediately after a split decision win over Sandor Martín. In the past couple years, though, Lopez has shown that he is the fighter many expected him to become, with big wins over Josh Taylor, Steve Claggett and now Barboza.
Lopez finds himself on Uncrowned’s list for the first time, alongside other fighters who competed over the weekend, including Saul “Canelo” Alvarez — who looked unspectacular against William Scull on Saturday in Riyadh — and Naoya Inoue, who climbed off the canvas to engage Ramon Cardenas in the kind of brawl he’s long proclaimed to revel in.
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Inoue forced a stoppage in the eighth round in his first fight in the United States in four years, and now returns to Japan for a September showdown with Murodjon Akhmadaliev, ahead of a potential champion vs. champion bout against fellow Japanese puncher and pound-for-pound great Junto Nakatani in 2026.
Uncrowned’s panel of experts — Kel Dansby, Alan Dawson, Darshan Desai, Jake Donovan, Lewis Watson and Elliot Worsell — have ranked the men’s and women’s pound-for-pound best, one through 10, using a weighted points system to determine the final rankings. (Being voted No. 1 equals 10 points, No. 2 equals nine points, down to No. 10 equaling one point.)
Check out Uncrowned’s updated pound-for-pound boxing rankings below.
The best in the world? You’re looking at him. (Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images)
(Andrew Matthews – PA Images via Getty Images)
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Oleksandr Usyk — Unified heavyweight champion (Prev: 1)
A road warrior, Oleksandr Usyk has boxed in title fights in seven different countries, mostly against fighters from those regions.
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He won the World Boxing Super Series at cruiserweight by clearing out the best fighters in that division, and rivals Evander Holyfield as the best 200-pound fighter the world has ever seen. He then moved up to heavyweight and wasted no time defeating Anthony Joshua (twice) and Tyson Fury (twice) despite surrendering a considerable size advantage to the modern day giants. In that sense, he epitomizes what the concept of pound-for-pound is all about.
He’s already beaten Daniel Dubois once, but considering the wins the Brit has picked up since — to Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Joshua — Dubois has put himself right back into undisputed championship contention.
2. Naoya Inoue — Undisputed super bantamweight champion (Prev: 3)
Naoya Inoue climbs a rung up our rankings ladder after exchanging knockdowns on Sunday with Ramon Cardenas before stopping the game Mexican in the eighth round of an instant classic at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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Inoue has held multiple world championships across four weight classes and is building a hulking résumé already, with signature wins over Nonito Donaire (twice), Stephen Fulton and Luis Nery.
Inoue is expected to fight Matchroom’s Akhmadaliev in September before an all-Japanese superfight with Nakatani next year.
3. Terence Crawford — WBA super welterweight champion (Prev: 2)
Crawford is your favorite fighter’s favorite fighter. Even Usyk recognizes Crawford as the pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter in the world, over himself.
“Bud” managed to clean out super lightweight without too much adversity then dove into 147 pounds as a feared fighter. When Crawford finally landed his long-awaited superfight with Errol Spence Jr., he showed exactly why he was avoided for so long. A fight initially thought to be a 50-50 match on paper became a total mismatch in reality, as Crawford pummeled Spence for a ninth-round TKO win. It was a brutally one-sided demolition job.
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More recently, the Omaha native edged Israil Madrimov to become a four-division champion. He now heads toward a legacy bout with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for the undisputed super middleweight world championship in September at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Terence Crawford (right) has his superfight with “Canelo” Alvarez officially set for September. (Mark Robinson/Getty Images).
(Mark Robinson via Getty Images)
4. Dmitry Bivol — Undisputed light heavyweight champion (Prev: 4)
Bivol held the WBA light heavyweight crown for seven years until falling short to Beterbiev in their undisputed title fight this past October. During his reign, Bivol made 12 successful defenses, which included an upset win over “Canelo” in 2022.
Bivol managed to avenge his defeat to Beterbiev this year and ascend as only the 11th man to become undisputed champion of the four-belt era. Bivol and Beterbiev are likely to run it back later in 2025.
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Outside of that, there are numerous other significant fights available for Bivol, including David Benavidez, a rematch with Alvarez, or the consensus No. 1 cruiserweight Jai Opetaia.
Regardless, out of every fighter on this list, it is Bivol who has two of the most significant and meaningful wins, considering his victories over both “Canelo” and Beterbiev. His ticket to the Hall of Fame in Canastota has already been punched.
5. Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez — WBC flyweight champion (Prev: 6)
Rodriguez stepped in to face Carlos Cuadras on five days’ notice for his first world title in 2022. It was a two-division jump for “Bam,” but his trainer Robert Garcia had no doubt he was up to the test.
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Rodriguez impressed to capture the WBC super flyweight crown and has never looked back. The 24-year-old has taken out three of the four kings at super flyweight and now chases undisputed status at 115 pounds.
“Bam” is targeting a unification fight with WBA titleholder Fernando “Puma” Martinez, however he must first dispatch Phumelela Cafu, whom he fights July 19 inside The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
6. Artur Beterbiev — Former undisputed light heavyweight champion (Prev: 5)
After edging a controversial decision over Bivol in October to become the undisputed light heavyweight champion, Beterbiev fell short in the rematch earlier in the year. Now the pair look headed toward a trilogy — arguably the most significant three-fight series since Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury.
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Beterbiev, 40, picked up boxing’s 175-pound titles one by one prior to his first career loss and could move up to cruiserweight to become a two-division champion after the Bivol trilogy.
A fight between Beterbiev and Opetaia would be a sensational matchup sometime in the next 12 months, and there’s a chance that by the time it happens, it could be for all four cruiserweight belts — meaning a win would see Beterbiev join the top three names in this list as two-division undisputed champions.
7. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez — Undisputed super middleweight champion (Prev: 7)
Alvarez has been the sport’s biggest commercial star for almost a decade. The Mexican champion faced the best opponents boxing had to offer across many divisions until his May 2022 defeat to Bivol. But since then, Alvarez has seemingly become more reluctant to take on some of the bigger challenges available to him, and is arguably showing his age by throwing fewer punches.
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On Sunday in Saudi Arabia, “Canelo” made his Riyadh Season debut against William Scull but looked listless throughout the show, yet still secured a decision win. He has not knocked anybody out since 2021, and will now put his undisputed status at 168 pounds on the line against Crawford this September in Las Vegas at the home of the NFL’s Raiders.
Had that fight taken place last year, few would have picked against “Canelo.” But questions are now being asked about whether Alvarez is finally showing his age in boxing years. It may well become a more competitive fight than what it once was.
Is Saul “Canelo” Alvarez finally starting to slow down? (FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)
(FAYEZ NURELDINE via Getty Images)
8. Junto Nakatani — WBC bantamweight champion (Prev: 8)
Nakatani is perhaps in the position Inoue was among the wider boxing community before Inoue’s win over Fulton. As an undefeated three-division champion, but one based in the lower weights and away from the Western community, Nakatani is still building a fan base in the U.S.
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Nakatani knocked out David Cuellar in Tokyo on Feb. 24 to make the third defense of his WBC bantamweight title. He now targets a unification fight with IBF champion Ryosuke Nishida in the summer.
Speaking to Uncrowned and other reporters in May, Naoya Inoue talked-up the chances of a champion vs. champion contest against Nakatani next summer. It has all the makings to be the Japanese equivalent of Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns.
9. David Benavidez — WBA light heavyweight champion (Prev: Unranked)
A two-weight world champion, David Benavidez is proving to be a BMF for boxing as he seeks out the toughest fights and over-delivers with a relentless and grueling fighting style.
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With wins over Caleb Plant, Demetrius Andrade, Oleksandr Gvozdyk and David Morrell, Benavidez has continually delivered in elite fights. After failing to lure “Canelo” into the ring, he’s likely turning his attention next to the winner of the Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev trilogy bout.
10T. Shakur Stevenson — WBC lightweight champion (Prev: 10)
A three-division world champion, Stevenson, 27, is crying out for the big fights at 135 pounds. He joined Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing in 2024 to further that cause and made a successful debut for the promotional company, stopping late-replacement Josh Padley in nine rounds, earlier this year.
Stevenson and Hearn immediately called for a fight with “Tank” Davis after Stevenson’s win. Stevenson also said he’d be open to a unification fight with newly crowned WBO champion Keyshawn Davis — a fight many assumed wasn’t in play due to the pair’s close…
