Boxing is today among the most popular sporting disciplines and produces great champions some of these champions are great in their specific weight categories while others are also exceptional across weight classes and these fighters are referred to as the boxing pound-for-pound kings.
The current boxing pound-for-pound ratings have changed for the better after the entry of top hard-hitters, including Terence Crawford, Naoya Inoue, and arguably today’s face of boxing, Canelo Alvarez.
This list now includes a selection of strong and tactically minded boxers, who are the future of this sport.
What is the Meaning of LB for LB in Boxing
LB for LB means pound-for-pound and pound for pound as a concept is used to rank fighters in combat sports such as boxing, wrestling, and mixed martial arts.
This ranking method tries to identify the better fighters and then compare them without the use of weight so there is a need to make some transformations to cater to weight categories.
In other words, it affords a way of rating and ranking fighters on an ability beyond the weight division.
Boxing Pound-for-Pound Rankings
Below are the rankings of the boxing pound-for-pound kings:
10. Tyson Fury
Country: UK
Division: Heavyweight
Boxing record: (34-1-1, 24 KOs)
Fury, who became the biggest name in British boxing in recent years, suffered his first professional loss to Usyk through a split decision on whether such content inversely attracts readers or not.
Fury began his career anew in the sport in 2018 at 36 after taking two years off due to mental health issues. Since then, he has established himself as one of the very best heavyweights of the current generation and reclaimed the WBC belt from Deontay Wilder in the rematch in 2020, after the fighters had agreed to a split decision draw in their first fight.
Fury then faced Wilder for the second time in more October 2021 then knocked him out again to retain the WBC belt. He did so again in April 2022 against Dillian Whyte knocking him and his jaw out, and did the same again against Derek Chisora late on in December as well. Fury is also known for invention, toughness, and courage in the boxing ring; the British also lost the WBA, WBO, and IBF belts.
The latest title fight to unify the secondary heavyweight titles and crown the first champion in 24 years looked like it might not happen when Fury was floored by Francis Ngannou in October.
Even though he only narrowly won the bout against the MMA fighter, the image of Fury on the canvas was likely to remain ingrained into the minds of his fans for a long time due to the effects it had on his ranking – he was demoted several levels as a result.
Desperate for a victory over Usyk to leave a lasting legacy of his career, Fury put on an excellent performance early on, also having moments of spectacular style display.
However, he was brought to his knees in the ninth round and there was simply not enough that he could have done to convince the judges and hence lost. Another fight is in the works for December and will allow him to regain his position on the throne of the division.
Shakur Stevenson
Country: USA
Division: Lightweight
Boxing record: (22-0, 10 KOs)
By the age of 24, the American had become a two-time world champion in two different weight classes. Now Stevenson is on a path to becoming an invincible champion of the lightweight category and continues the success being achieved at the level of featherweight where Stevenson got the WBO title or super-featherweight where Stevenson is the holder of the unified championship.
In his latest fight in November, Stevenson emerged victorious in what looked like an entertaining fight against Edwin De Los Santos, even though Stevenson didn’t have any problem defeating him the fight result made him an Interim WBC lightweight champion, and after Devin Haney relinquished all the WBC lightweight titles, Stevenson’s title was elevated to the full status to become an official WBC lightweight champion.
To be precise, Stevenson safeguarded the official belt in July with a comfortable points victory over Artem Harutyunyan. Promising future wars with Gervonta Davis (who Malko for some reason included only in the bonus section, but ‘’almost’’ made this list), Ryan Garcia, and Haney are nice bonuses. But, his immediate fight is an interesting bout against Joe Cordina.
Gervonte Davis
Country: USA
Division: Lightweight
Boxing record: (30-0-0, 28KOs)
Gervonta “Tank” Davis has probably earned his nickname of ‘Tank’ due to his ability to throw menacing shots. The American would only be 29 years old and although he may lack some of the experience of some of his counterparts in and around his division, he’s more than on par with fighters in that league.
That is why, for instance, Smith is preferred by many of us such as Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney. The shot landed which provided him one of his biggest wins in a match he had against Ryan Garcia in 2023 when Garcia was knocked out by a body shot.
While this is the most memorable win in Davis’s career, he has been able to create attention on his fight without always facing the big stars. Despite a few legal troubles outside the ring as the WBA lightweight champion, if Davis can stay on track, he could make good on that brash declaration that he is ‘the face of boxing’ but it does feel a tad too soon.
Devin Haney
Country: USA
Division: Light welterweight.
Boxing record: (31-0-0, 15KOs, 1 no contest)
This 25-year-old American entered our list with two great wins over George Kambosos Jr last year, where he visited Australia twice and claimed the title of the undisputed champion of the weight category. In May 2023, he emerged with a split decision victory over the highly skilled but very conservative Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Following the loss of those belts, Haney stepped up in class and the WBC super-lightweight crown with a win over Regis Prograis, a win that saw him rise to the number five spot on our list of best super-lightweight boxers and set the stage for a possible rise to the number one spot in the future.
On the other hand, the fighter that was expected to deliver such kind of performances was Haney who was knocked down three times in a decision loss to Ryan Garcia in April.
Thankfully for Haney, under Garcia’s inability to make weight, he got to hang on to the WBC belt and it emerged later that Garcia had flunked two out of the pre-fight dope tests.
Artur Beterbiev
Country: Russia
Division: Light heavyweight
Boxing record: (20-0-0, 20KOs)
Currently a unified light-heavyweight champion, The Russian fighter resides in Canada and has been untouchable to date. Some thought that the Liverpudlian had a shot before the January match against Callum Smith but Beterbiev did a number on his opponent. Beterbiev did not look like a 38-year-old fighter; he knocked Smith down twice in the seventh round before the bout was stopped.
That victory meant that he would remain as WBC WBO, and IBF champion, and he boasted a perfect scorecard of 20-0 all of which were knockouts. Before the bout, Valentin Beterbiev gave an ‘abnormal’ reaction to a dope test but he was cleared to fight.
That win paved the way to the heavily-anticipated undisputed championship taught against the following fighter on this list, though the bout has yet to take place since Beterbiev got injured.
Dmitry Bivol
Country: Russia
Division: Light heavyweight
Boxing record: (23-0-0, 12KOs)
Bivol joined ours after he made a name for himself in May 2022 after outclassing Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. With that victory, the Russian stayed on and remained unvanquished as WBA light-heavyweight titlist, effectively outworking his foe, picking the spots on him, and throwing nearly double the number of punches.
Bivol, now 32, triumphed with two points on the end of the judges’ scorecards, though the victory should have been more decisive. Thanks to such a performance in a clinical victory, Bivol’s rating rose considerably higher and a confrontation with Canelo began to be discussed.
At the same time, Bivol met with the undefeated Gilberto Ramirez in 2022 and Lyndon Arthur in 2023 by points and demonstrated sharp and active fighting. He was initially due to fight for the unification title against his fellow Russian Artur Beterbiev but Beterbiev withdrew through injury and was replaced by Malik Ziad who Bivol knocked out for his first KO in six bouts.
Canelo Alvarez
Country: Mexico
Division: super middleweight
Boxing record: (62-2-2, 39KOs)
Since his defeat to Floyd Mayweather in 2013 Canelo Alvarez has emerged as the face of boxing, with recognized wins against Erislandy Lara, Miguel Cotto, Amir Khan, Gennadiy Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs, Billy Joe Saunders, Jermell Charlo, among others. Canelo the sensation is 34 years and he is rich in counter punches, amazing head movement, and extraordinary bodywork this is something that makes boxing fans glued while watching Canelo.
Skeptics can also refer to the issue with clenbuterol back in 2018 and, although all his victories are legitimate, some of them were counted by the judges. But his skeptics argue that he is inactive, and many of his wins are over questionable opponents.
He achieved the record of the first boxing undisputed super-middleweight title holder in 2021 he achieved three fantastic knocks out. A four-division champion, Canelo in an attempt to win the second light-heavyweight title in May 2022 faced a setback as the unbeaten Dmitry Bivol defeated him through the decision handing him his only second loss of his, lifetime and dropping him from the No. 1 of the rankings.
Canelo responded with a clear points rout over a faded Golovkin, but that outcome accomplished little at this juncture. He continued the title defense against John Ryder, Jermell Charlo Munguia, and Edgar Berlanga, and sent all to the canvas before winning by points.
Oleksandr Usyk
Country: Ukraine
Division: heavyweight
Boxing record: (22-0-0, 14KOs)
Usyk is an Olympic gold medalist who claimed all four versions of the cruiserweight championship before moving to heavyweight. In 2021, he proclaimed the WBA, WBO, IBF, and the IBO championship after Andrew Joshua’s twelve-round defeat in a fight many believed was a pedestrian bout.
The 37-year-old Ukrainian then went on to knock Joshua out again for the second time and retained his titles and also remains intact. In August, Usyk survived a questionable low blow and then took out Daniel Dubois, again proving to be both technical and stiff in the heavyweight division.
Points-victory over Tyson Fury and after long anticipation, it was seen whether Usyk’s power had translated fully to heavyweight or not, especially in the ninth round. Thus, he consecrated his position in the mythical top of the pound-for-pound.
And, as mentioned before, even Terence Crawford has stated that Usyk is already worthy of being in consideration for the upper line of pound-for-pound ratings. Hearn joins Crawford and the other boxer among three men who are on a record list of the fighters who became the unified champions in two weight divisions during the four-belt period.
The fight with Fury was signed for Usyk and the second fight is expected to happen in December barring any hitches. As a word of caution, one must notice that there is very little point difference between Usyk and the other two fighters on this list.
Naoya Inuoe
Country: Japan
Division: Super bantamweight
Boxing record: (28-0, 25 KOs)
One of the best fighters in the world, although not very well known by casual fans this Japanese fighter is not short on talent despite that fact. Inoue’s stoppage percentage of 84.62% puts him at the second highest of any fighter on our list and that’s why he is as described as an exciting athlete—which he showcased through his fluent mobility, strong body shots, and high work rate.
Inoue at 31 years dropped Paul Butler in December of 2022 to be recognized as the bantamweight unified champion; he is the first Asian boxer to achieve four light titles in a division. He had said the previous week that he had knocked off titles in light flyweight and super flyweight divisions.
However, he relinquished his bantamweight titles in January of 2023 to challenge Stephen Fulton who he faced.
Terence Crawford
Country: USA
Division: welterweight
Boxing record: (41-0-0 31KOs)
He has an outstanding record of four-division champion, and his statistics have continued improving. Five opponents who fought within the last year the American encountered were also undefeated several of the last twelve fighters Crawford knocked out 11 of them.
Further, his recent triumphs over other big names including Kell Brook earlier in the year 2020 and Shawn Porter in 2021 including Porter’s stoppage did help him gain vast popularity. Crawford’s next fight was in December 2022 saw him knockout David Avanesyan.
In July 2023, Crawford put up an impressive display against Errol Spence Jr. a fight considered the biggest of the decade. He opened the distance much further than anyone had anticipated and dropped Spence three instances before ending the bout in the ninth.
By which Crawford took all three of Spence’s belts and became the new welterweight world champion. This victory also made “Bud” the first ever boxer to be an undisputed champion in two divisions, after he had claimed the undisputed super-lightweight title in 2017.
Crawford has since then shifted to super-welterweight, a division which he has successfully defended by outpointing Israil Madrimov in August.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Manny Pacquiao fought whom four times?
Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Padioquio fought for the fourth time on December 8, 2012. Against the backdrop of the previous three fights, which saw the Filipino winning two fights and a draw, there was every indication that fans of pro boxing were set to be in for another great fight. This important fourth fight was located in MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas in the State of Nevada.
How Many years did Ali start boxing?
Muhammad Ali born Cassius Marcellus Clay in Louisville, Kentucky has been boxing right from the age of twelve years as an amateur before joining Columbia University. He scored a world milestone at the age of 18 when at the Birmingham Olympics maintained his focus and clinched the gold in the light heavyweight category. After this victory, Ali turned professional that very same year which saw him start his professional journey in boxing.
How was Mohammed Ali so Fast?
Much to everyone’s surprise, Ali preferred doing calisthenic exercises to lifting weights. Perhaps the most crucial part of his exercises was jumping with the rope which usually took between 10- 20 minutes. Often credited as one of the finest jump rope practitioners in boxing, Ali’s penchant for the drill was thought to help him move and punch faster in the squared circle.
Conclusion
The pound-for-pound ranking for boxing Maintains a gripping story of power, endurance, and the narrative of legacy. Legends who have written their own stories in football history to talents who are waiting to make their mark have been included in the list.
Every fighter involved in boxing, and with the merits and demerits, memorable fight histories, and milestones achieved equally shapes boxing history. While following the changes in rankings we have an opportunity to see that the fights are a reflection of the strong will of people who come to the ring regardless of the weight categories and leave a great impression on the world of sweet science.
