Boxing's mythical ‘pound-for-pound’ list has been and always will be a subjective minefield, as fighters in different weight classes often do not compete directly against each other - which makes ratings difficult to compile.
The ‘P4P’ criteria - while not an exact science - is assembled upon fair analysis of fight records, boxers’ skills, strengths and weaknesses and recent title achievements.
Thanks to the efforts of Turki Alalshikh and that huge Saudi investment in the sport, it looks like we are getting ‘Canelo’ Alvarez against Terence Crawford in September.
The Mexican reckons this will be “one of the biggest fights in the history of boxing” and it is certainly one of the best fights that can be made in the sport right now. With that fight seemingly a done deal, the sport is also keen to see what heavyweight boss Oleksandr Usyk does next.
Here is the Furyjoshua.com take on the current top 10 best fighters in boxing:
P4P Rankings: Current top 10
1 Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine)
- Record: 23-0 (14)
- Titles: WBC, WBA and WBO world heavyweight champion
- Next Fight: TBC
If you are selecting the world's leading fighter merely on the aesthetics of their CV, then it's hard to look beyond the brilliant Oleksandr Usyk. In his last five fights he has beaten Tyson Fury twice, Anthony Joshua twice and the dynamite-fisted Daniel Dubois to become the current king of boxing’s heavyweight division. Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis back in 1999 when he beat ‘The Gypsy King’ in May 2024, and his unanimous decision win in their December rematch proved he is the best heavyweight on the planet. Before that, he reigned as undisputed cruiserweight champion. The mercurial southpaw insists he has a maximum of two fights left, so it will be interesting to see who he targets next in 2025.
2 Naoya Inoue (Japan)
- Record: 29-0 (26)
- Titles: WBC, IBF, WBA and WBO world super-bantamweight champion
- Next Fight: vs Ramon Cardenas (May 4)
In December 2023 Inoue defeated Marlon Tapales to unify the super-bantamweight division. That KO victory meant the Japanese megastar became a four-weight world champion and also saw him reign as undisputed king at a second weight class. Nobody has managed to beat ‘The Monster’ in over a dozen years of professional action. Unbeaten in 29 fights (26 early), he is an incredible puncher who has kept his power while moving up through the weights.
3 Terence Crawford (USA)
- Record: 41-0 (31)
- Titles: WBA world light-middleweight champion *WBC welterweight champion in recess
- Next Fight: TBC
The Nebraskan is the first male boxer in history to become a two-weight undisputed champion in the ‘four-belt era’. Bud won his fourth world title at different weights by beating Israil Madrimov to claim the WBA light-middleweight crown in Los Angeles last year, but surely secured his own future Hall of Fame spot on July 29, 2023, when he blitzed Errol Spence to become the undisputed welterweight champion. His career has been one of swaggering dominance so far, and fight fans are salivating at the prospect of him boxing ‘Canelo’ later this year.
4 Dmitry Bivol (Russia)
- Record: 24-1 (12)
- Titles: WBC, IBF, WBO and WBA world light-heavyweight champion
- Next Fight: TBC
Bivol avenged his only career loss by defeating Artur Beterbiev in their February 22 rematch, becoming the new undisputed light-heavyweight champion in the process. A genius in the ring, Dmitry has also beaten ‘Canelo’ Alvarez but seems to be taking his time over announcing his next assignment. The trilogy fight against Beterbiev looks a natural pick, but there is a real chance he will lose his WBC belt - and his undisputed status - if he doesn’t agree to fight unbeaten Mex-American David Benavidez next.
5 Artur Beterbiev (Russia)
- Record: 21-1 (20)
- Titles: -
- Next Fight: TBC
The Montreal-based Beterbiev lost for the first time as a pro against Bivol in February, having beaten him in 2024. The second encounter between the pound-for-pound stars was just as good, if not better than their first showdown, and in truth both fights could have gone either way. While some like Bivol’s smooth boxing skills, others prefer Beterbiev’s heavy-handed aggression and educated pressure. At the age of 40 Artur may be in the winter of his career, but he remains one of the best boxers on the planet.
6 Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (Mexico)
- Record: 62-2-2 (39)
- Titles: WBC, WBA and WBO world super-middleweight champion
- Next Fight: vs William Scull (May 3)
The Mexican is a lock for the Hall of Fame once he hangs them up, having won Ring magazine titles at 154, 160 and 168lbs. Indeed, he has held multiple world championships in four weight classes, from light-middleweight to light-heavyweight, and remains boxing’s biggest cash cow. Alvarez will next fight William Scull on May 3 in Riyadh - during the Cinco de Mayo weekend - and should he come through that then a superfight with Crawford looks like being his next assignment in September.
7 Gervonta Davis (USA)
- Record: 30-0-1 (28)
- Titles: WBA world lightweight champion
- Next Fight: TBC
‘Tank’ was pretty high on most P4P lists until that controversial draw with Lamont Roach in March 2025. The Baltimore banger was a prohibitive favourite with the bookies going in, but in truth was lucky to escape with his ‘0’ intact after he took a knee in the ninth round (that was bizarrely not called a knockdown) and then called his own timeout. However, as the Bard once mused ‘one swallow does not a summer make’ and Gervonta remains a phenomenal, generational talent. Wins over Ryan Garcia, Isaac Cruz, Mario Barrios and Leo Santa Cruz mean we are happy to keep the faith with him for now on our P4P list.
8 Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (USA)
- Record: 21-0 (14)
- Titles: WBC world super-flyweight champion
- Next Fight: TBC
This young wizard from San Antonio, Texas looks like he has it all. A perfect fighting machine who combines brilliant defence with relentless offense. He was way too good for the overmatched Pedro Guevara in November, and it would be good to see him in with WBA super-flyweight boss Fernando Martinez or WBO ruler Phumelele Cafu next.
9 Shakur Stevenson (USA)
- Record: 23-0 (11)
- Titles: WBC world lightweight champion
- Next Fight: TBC
Stevenson is a gifted and creative southpaw who has not put a foot wrong so far as a professional and is widely regarded as one of the best defensive fighters in the sport. At the age of 27 though he badly needs a real test of his credentials, as a recent ring resume of Josh Padley (TKO 9), Artem Harutyunyan (UD) and Edwin De Los Santos (UD) has left fans feeling slightly underwhelmed. It’s not as if the lightweight division is not stacked with talent either with Keyshawn Davis (WBO), Vasiliy Lomachenko (IBF) and Davis (WBA) all fellow champions at 135lbs.
10 David Benavidez (USA)
- Record: 30-0 (24)
- Titles: WBC interim world light-heavyweight champion
- Next Fight: TBC
A rugged box-puncher, Benavidez’s most recent victory came against David Morrell on February 1, outpointing the unbeaten WBA ‘regular’ light-heavyweight champion over 12 hugely competitive and enjoyable rounds to extend his unbeaten record to 30-0 and retain his WBC ‘Interim’ title. ‘The Mexican Monster’ has been banging the drum for a fight with Canelo Alvarez for a few years now but looks instead to be turning his attention to Bivol and the light-heavyweight belts.
Pushing for inclusion
Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, the IBF welterweight champion, is knocking on the door as a pound-for-pound contender and has been pretty vocal about his desire to fight Terence Crawford.
The 33-0 (29) Philadelphia slickster stopped previously unbeaten Eimantas Stanionis on April 12 and the stance-shifting, power-punching American could well be on the P4P list sooner rather than later.
Another fighter with legit pound-for-pound claims is WBC bantamweight boss Junto Nakatani, a three-division world champion and has streaked to 30-0 (23) since turning pro in 2017. He looked red-hot in disposing of the useful David Cuellar Contreras last time out and will no doubt be hoping to unify the 118lbs division this year.
