Regardless of what route he takes, all eyes will be on Canelo, as they always are. A rematch with Bivol at 168-pounds seems to be inevitable, which will allow Canelo to potentially avenge his only loss besides his blemish to Floyd Mayweather Jr. Now as the calendar turns to 2023, it remains to be seen what comes next for the fighter who has left seemingly no stone unturned in his career. After falling to Dmitry Bivol, Canelo bounced back in dominant fashion with a clear and decisive win over his chief rival Gennady Golovkin, closing the door on the trilogy with two wins and a draw. But when it comes to the biggest star in boxing, he still remains in the conversation of one of the absolute best fighters in the world. When you’re as dominant as Canelo has been for his career, anything besides the top spot could come as a surprise. Titles: WBC super middleweight, WBO super middleweight, WBA super world super middleweight, IBF super middleweight Charlo’s next bout is against the superstar of this generation–Canelo Alvarez–and if he manages to get the win, there is no telling how high Charlo will move up these rankings next time they are updated. He avenged his loss against Harrison in 2019 to regain his WBC title, before knocking off Jeison Rosario and most recently Brian Castaño to become sole owner of all of the belts in the division. After a 2018 loss to Tony Harrison where he lost his WBC light middleweight title, Charlo has been locked in on his way to becoming the undisputed light middleweight champion of the world. It’s been a long time coming for a spot in the top 10 for Jermell Charlo, who has long been recognized as one of the more talented fighters in the sport, but hadn’t quite put it all together yet to make his way into the conversations regarding the best of the best. Titles: WBA (Super) light middleweight, WBO light-middleweight, IBF light-middleweight, WBC light-middleweight On the cusp (in no particular order): Shakur Stevenson, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, Artur Beterbiev, Juan Francisco Estrada While it’s ridiculous to those putting themselves at risk that anyone could definitively rank boxing’s best across its different weight classes, Complex Sports can’t help weighing in. Meanwhile, Vasiliy Lomachenko, a living legend in the sport, told us he would never say he’s the best “because I’m too shy to say.” Golovkin, on the other hand, doesn’t know how you can reasonably compare a lightweight with a light heavyweight or a welterweight with a heavyweight, a fair criticism of the pound-for-pound rankings. A notable exception is Crawford, who will readily tell you he’s the pound-for-pound best. Just don’t get the boxers themselves involved. “Anything that gets people talking about the sport is good for the sport.” “It’s good for the media, social media, it keeps people talking. Have you racked up titles? Are you chasing them? Are you a one-trick pony? Do you fight more than once a year? Others might value whether you can put an opponent down and how fast. To some, a fighter’s resume matters most-who have you fought, who have you beat, and who have your opponent’s beat? Others base their rankings on the eye test-when they see greatness, they know it. “In a way that ya’ll justify it, ya’ll don’t look into everything that surrounds a fighter being pound-for-pound,” Terence Crawford, who can make a legitimate case to be No. Anyone looking to weigh in on the pound-for-pound debate-or create their own list-could easily value one characteristic more heavily than another boxing aficionado. Trying to determine the 10 best boxers in the world, regardless of weight class, isn’t an easy task considering how wildly bodies, styles, and skillsets (like power and defense) vary as you scan the spectrum of today’s best boxers. What are the criteria? That is a question that’s never really been answered.” “You don’t get championship with opinions. “Pound-for-pound rankings is by opinions only,” says trainer Johnathon Banks who has worked with future Hall of Famer Gennadiy Golovkin. And they don’t (at least tangibly) make boxers more money. They have absolutely no bearing whatsoever in how matchups are made, or champions are determined. Pound-for-pound rankings are an arbitrary and subjective creation with no set criteria. Ask any boxer or trainer about the mythical pound-for-pound rankings and you’ll usually get one of two responses: a smirk or a massive eye-roll.īecause nothing elicits more laughs or scorn from those actively participating in the sport than talk about a worthless list.
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