B/R Boxing Pound-for-Pound Rankings: May 2024

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to boxing season.

Though it doesn’t run on a league-constructed calendar like its non-combat brethren, the sweet science most definitely has an uptick in activity around this time each year.

The upcoming Cinco de Mayo weekend will yield another almost annual appearance by super middleweight king and undisputed Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez, while Japanese-based “Monster” Naoya Inoue takes to the ring two days later, followed in two weeks by an eagerly anticipated unification of the heavyweight division.

And it comes on the heels of the pay-per-view shocker in which Ryan Garcia upset 140-pound champ Devin Haney but was subsequently popped with two failed drug tests.

It’s the sort of flurry that sends the B/R staff into a bobbing and weaving frenzy and we’ve taken advantage of the buzz to compile another in our series of monthly pound-for-pound rankings pieces. We’ve discussed the fighters among ourselves and also consulted respected sources like The Ring and others to come up with a definitive top-10 collection.

Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the comments.

Weight Class: 135 pounds

Major Titles Held: WBC

It’s official. The B/R staff’s on-again/off-again thing for Shakur Stevenson is, thanks to Devin Haney’s surprise loss to Ryan Garcia last month, back on again.

Stevenson is the WBC’s lightweight champ and hasn’t really come close to losing across 21 fights since turning pro in 2017 but the decidedly nonviolent nature of his fights don’t exactly leave the fans or list-compilers begging for more.

A would-be July date with sixth-ranked contender Artem Harutyunyan isn’t likely to change much, but a series of fights with other young stars from 135 to 147 could.

Until then, he’s on the fringes.

Weight Class: Heavyweight

Major Titles Held: WBC

If you’re Tyson Fury and you want to erase the ugly taste of a closer-than-it-should-have-been duel with ring newbie Francis Ngannou, what do you do?

Well, transforming his body on the way to the rescheduled date for a unification with heavyweight rival Oleksandr Usyk is the tack the British champ has taken and the video footage he’s released on social media seems to indicate he’s ready for battle.

Given his size and presumably strength advantages over the former 200-pound champ, it’ll be incumbent upon Fury to have the gas tank to press the action for as long as needed.

And if he wins big, he won’t stay at No. 9 for too long.

Weight Class: 140 pounds

Major Titles Held: WBO

Just when it seemed like Devin Haney was the fight for Teofimo Lopez to make at 140 pounds, Haney gets squashed and Ryan Garcia moves to center stage.

Of course, Garcia’s drug tests have brought a cloud to the proceedings but if the innocence he’s proclaiming turns out to be legit, a fight with Lopez makes a lot of sense.

They’re the two most recognizable and chattiest fighters at or near the weight class and they’ve each had the other’s name in his mouth, with Lopez issuing the most recent challenge to engage sometime before the end of 2024.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be in my weight class; it could be a catchweight,” Lopez told Punsh Drunk Boxing, “so we don’t have to have any problems moving forward.”

Weight Class: 135 pounds

Major Titles Held: WBA

Remember Gervonta Davis?

It’s been more than a year since the Baltimore-based “Tank” has been in the ring, but his pay-per-view thrashing of Ryan Garcia has aged well given “KingRy’s” demolition of Devin Haney.

Davis is set to return in mid-June against Frank Martin and it won’t be a soft touch, but a victory there will provide a career-enhancement opportunity in the form of a Garcia rematch presuming all fighters remain on the active list going forward.

Garcia has been quick to call for a re-do with Davis since whipping Haney.

“Everyone wanna talk about the little stupid Tank,” he said on X (formerly Twitter). “Let’s fight. (Enough) of that funny talk. Come see me at 144 and (let’s) stop the talk. If you beat Frank, let’s run it.”

Weight Class: 175 pounds

Major Titles Held: IBF, WBC, WBO

There are rivalries. There are callouts. And then there are fights.

Fortunately, Artur Beterbiev will get his chance in the latter in a few weeks.

The three-belt light heavyweight claimant will meet one-belt contemporary Dmitry Bivol on June 1 in Saudi Arabia in a duel that’ll mean a top-half pound-for-pound slot for the winner and a career rebuild for the loser.

Beterbiev arrives as the puncher thanks to a perfect KO rate in his 20 wins, including nine straight title fights covering 67 rounds (7.44 rounds apiece).

“I see another belt. I’m collecting belts and I need one more,” he said at a recent press conference. “I’m not thinking (about Bivol), I will prepare for this fight and try to be ready 100%.”

Weight Class: 175 pounds

Major Titles Held: WBA

And here’s the other side of the light heavyweight coin.

Dmitry Bivol isn’t the fearsome puncher that Artur Beterbiev is, but his skill set has been just as competitively successful while yielding 22 straight victories, nearly all but wide margins.

His clinical defeat of Canelo Alvarez is the highest-profile achievement either man has secured, though unifying the division and perhaps setting up an Alvarez rematch would be quite a feather in the cap as well.

“(Beterbiev) is powerful and it makes me more excited to fight this guy because I love challenges. I love to be tested and this fight is a huge test for me,” Bivol said at a recent press conference. “I have good skills, I just believe in my skills.”

Weight Class: 168 pounds

Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO

The six degrees of Canelo Alvarez leads to, well…Canelo Alvarez.

The cinnamon-haired superstar returns to the ring on Saturday in Las Vegas and he’s piqued interest not only in the fight against Jaime Munguia, but also with a verbal barrage against former promoter and mentor Oscar De La Hoya.

De La Hoya was Alvarez’s lead hype man for years and now works with Munguia, who’s a former champ at 154 and unbeaten in 43 fights with 34 KOs.

Alvarez and De La Hoya had to be separated during a recent press conference in which the fighter claimed the promoter is stealing money from clients.

“Whoever is with him, please get your lawyers involved because he is surely stealing from you,” Alvarez said. “That is the only thing he comes to do. He is only here to steal Jaime Munguia’s attention; he doesn’t come to promote him.”

Weight Class: 147 pounds

Major Titles Held: WBA, WBC, WBO

Terence Crawford has never lost in a ring while ranking up titles in three (so far) weight classes and stopping 31 of 40 opponents.

His stock has slipped since last July’s thrashing of Errol Spence Jr., though, not because of declining skills but simply because he’s not been active enough. That could change quickly come early August when Crawford is set to vie for his fourth divisional title against WBA 154-pound claimant Israil Madrimov at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

Madrimov has fought just 11 times as a pro and is a prohibitive underdog against Crawford, who has been installed as a -600 pick by DraftKings. Presuming the fight goes according to chalk, “Bud” will have legitimate reason to believe regaining the top spot is warranted.

Weight Class: Heavyweight

Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBO

Of course, if Crawford is expecting a quick return to the top of the charts, Oleksandr Usyk may have a thing or two to say about it.

The unbeaten Ukrainian is just more than two weeks away from his Saudi Arabian date with Tyson Fury to unify the heavyweight division for the first time since Lennox Lewis.

And though Usyk is shorter and will likely be far lighter than Fury on fight night, he’s still essentially a pick’em proposition according to DraftKings, where it’ll take a $110 wager on him to return a $100 profit.

That’s quite the endorsement for the 37-year-old, who’s 21-0 overall and 5-0 with two KOs (including 3-0 in title fights) since a full-time move from cruiserweight in 2019.

Weight Class: 122 pounds

Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO

We’ve saved the best for last. Because in terms of active, successful and ambitious fighters, no one these days compares to Naoya Inoue.

It’s hard to believe the lighter-weight “Monster” is just 31 given all that he’s accomplished, including titles in four weight classes and undisputed in two of them. All while winning 26 straight fights and allowing only three foes to hear a final bell.

His next turn in the spotlight comes early next week when he faces hard-hitting former champ Luis Nery in a first defense of his four belts at 122 pounds.

Inoue acquired the belts across two fights in 2023, splattering Stephen Fulton Jr. in eight rounds and finishing Marlon Tapales in 10. Only two fighters have lasted the 12-round distance with him, and the most recent one, Nonito Donaire, was squashed in two in a rematch.

As long as he keeps winning at such a high level, it’s his No. 1 position to lose.