The concept of pound-for-pound greatness in boxing has existed for nearly a decade as a tool to predict how fighters of unequal weight classes would fare against each other if only skill, technique and intangible qualities were played without regard to weight. It was a tool to give fighters in the lightweight division the shine they often lacked in an era dominated by the glamor of the heavyweight division.
An unusual thing is happening in modern boxing: the pound-for-pound lists feature a further division between heavyweight and lightweight.
By Brian Campbell CBS Sports Pound-for-Pound Top 10 Boxing consists of five fighters in four heavyweight classes (super middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight) and five fighters in junior middleweight and below. Two of those fighters, No. 4 Artur Beterbiev and No. 5 Dmitry Bival, will meet Saturday to crown an undisputed light heavyweight champion. The winner can move up in the rankings.
Also at light heavyweight, No. 10 David Benavidez is set for a showdown with David Morrell, a fellow undefeated fighter, to challenge the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol and continue the momentum in the 175-pound division.
The No. 1 spot is held by Oleksandr Usyk, a man who went undisputed at cruiserweight before running through the heavyweight division. He will face former pound-for-pound mainstay Tyson Fury in a December rematch.
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez sat atop the rankings for a long time and is still ranked No. 6 even as his available, intriguing opponents began to dry up — as, apparently, did his willingness to face men like Benavidez and Morel, forcing them to move to light heavyweight in search of championship opportunities. .
By comparison, when The Ring magazine first began publishing pound-for-pound rankings in 1989, only two men above middleweight ranked in the top 10 in their annual ratings. Heavyweight king Mike Tyson held the No. 1 spot and light heavyweight Virgil Hill sat at No. 9.
Even going back five years ago, the sport was in a much different place in terms of the dominance of the upper weight classes as the sport’s most elite fighters. Our CBS Sports pound-for-pound rankings in October 2019 featured only two men in the top 10 above middleweight: No. 6 Usyk and No. 9 Beterbiev.
So, how did we get here?
Big, highly-anticipated showdowns have proliferated across boxing in recent years. It’s a trend that began before the COVID-19 pandemic but accelerated somewhat after the pandemic began to garner attention to sports at an unprecedented time.
A healthy heavyweight division has seen big names and top-tier fights become a regularity unlike previous heavyweight eras, which were defined by lackluster personalities and a lack of competitive challengers. Fury and Deontay Wilder produced a trilogy of fights that elevated Fury while Anthony proved the right opponent for Joshua Usyk, already considered an elite fighter with his dominant cruiserweight run, since he moved up to heavyweight.
And a look at the heavyweight division shows depth, with enough compelling fighters to make the division a staple of pound-for-pound lists for years to come.
Beterbiev has been a dominant light heavyweight force, knocking out all 20 opponents he has faced in the ring. Bivol was seen as too skilled but was given a chance to score a career-defining win while Alvarez jumped up the division to try to win light heavyweight gold for the second time. With the two raising their profiles, picking up meaningful wins and belts in each division, they are now set for the most anticipated fight of the year.
Alvarez’s refusal to face Benavidez and Morel may be somewhat damaging to his own legacy, but it also moves both of his best potential opponents to 175 where they will now meet in 2025 and the winner won’t just pound for pound. Pound is top 10, but will be perfectly positioned to face the winner of Beterbiev vs Bivol in another huge fight to play for.
Healthy divisions have elite fighters at the top and compelling challengers waiting, those fighters willing and able to meet in the ring.
This has been the case in higher weight classes lately than in the recent past. And the fighters who come out on top in these situations strengthen their pound-for-pound case. This became even more true as fighters at higher weights became more efficient under modern training methods while being forced to face the challenges of their talented contemporaries.
It’s a sign of an increasingly healthy sport that men like Usyk, Beterbiev, Bivol, Benavidez and Alvarez can sit on this list alongside the likes of Terence Crawford, Naoya Inoue, Gervonta Davis and others from lower, historically more accomplished, weight classes.
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