Top 12 best pound-for-pound fighters in boxing: Mythical rankings starring Canelo, Usyk, Crawford, Inoue | Sporting News

While Canelo Alvarez is no longer the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, he’s still more than capable of producing his own blend of fistic magic as he proved Saturday, Sept. 14, during his one-sided 12-round unanimous decision win over Edgar Berlanga.

MORE: Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga full card results

While Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) couldn’t secure the stoppage, the unified super middleweight champ did everything else in what was an impressive display. Berlanga was floored by a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it left hook in round three and pulverised around the body throughout the fight.

“My experience, my talent, my hard work,” replied Canelo when asked why he won so decisively. “If you don’t have discipline and talent, you have nothing. You have to combine both.”

What’s next for the Mexican hero? That remains unclear, though the likes of Diego Pacheco, Christian Mbilli and Osleys Iglesias are all in hot pursuit of glory at 168 pounds. There has also been talk of a light heavyweight rematch with Dmitry Bivol, who outpointed Canelo in 2022, but that’s dependent on the Russian star defeating countryman Artur Beterbiev in an undisputed title fight on October 12.

Canelo, 34, retains his No. 4 spot on the mythical pound-for-pound list and is still trailing the big three.

The Sporting News takes a look at the top 12 pound-for-pound fighters in the world today:

Pound-for-pound rankings: The Sporting News’ top 12 

The best in the world pound-for-pound: Oleksandr Usyk

In effect, Usyk has completed boxing. An Olympic champion at London 2012, this quick and cerebral lefty has been no less successful as a professional, and he’s the very definition of what a pound-for-pound superstar should be.

At 37 years old, Usyk has become the first undisputed cruiserweight champion to achieve the distinction at heavyweight since Evander Holyfield more than 30 years ago. Despite giving away huge amounts of height and reach to today’s behemoths, Usyk has proved himself the one true king of the glamour division.

Signature wins for the Ukrainian warrior include Mairis Briedis, Murat Gassiev, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.

The Sporting News’ Boxing Ratings

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