On Saturday, October 12th, Artur Beterbiev and Dmitrii Bivol squared off against each other to determine the undisputed champion at 175 pounds. It was a close and highly contested bout that saw Beterbiev’s hand raised in victory.

I personally scored it 115-113 for Bivol but the official judges did not see it that way. Beterbiev won by majority decision as one judge scored it a draw at 114-114. The other two judges scored the fight for Beterbiev, 115-113, and 116-112.

How did this close result impact the pound for pound rankings?

1. Naoya Inoue

Naoya Inoue is 28-0 with 25 wins by way of knockout. He is currently the unified champion in the Super Bantamweight division. Inoue has separated himself from the rest of the boxing world with his spectacular performances against champions in several weight classes.

Inoue has great wins are over Nonito Donaire, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Paul Butler, Stephon Fulton, and Luis Nery, among others. The ambition and performances against the best of the best in the bantamweight and super bantamweight divisions has landed him in the top spot.

2. Oleksandr Usyk

Oleksandr Usyk is the now the unified champion of the heavyweight division after his win over Tyson Fury, earlier this year. Usyk is now 22-0 with 14 wins by way of knockout.

He has taken on every challenge put in his path. Usyk dominated and unified the cruiserweight divison with wins over Krzysztof Glowacki, Mairis Briedis, and Murat Gassiev among others. After that he went up to heavyweight and defeated then unified champion Anthony Joshua, twice. Then followed it up with wins over Daniel Dubois and Tyson Fury.

Usyk is set to face Fury in a rematch on December 21, 2024.

3. Terence Crawford

Terence Crawford is the current WBO Interim Super Welterweight champion of the world after his tough win over Israil Madrimov. This was Crawford’s first bout at 154 pounds after becoming undisputed champion at 140 and 147.

Crawford’s blend of slick boxing and killer instinct lead him to victories over Julius Indongo, Viktor Postol, Jeff Horn, Amir Khan, Shawn Porter, and Errol Spence, among others on his way to being 41-0 with 31 knockouts. Crawford has goals of fighting against Canelo Alvarez at 168 pounds. That may not happen but hopefully we see him against another one of the best 154 pound fighters sometime early next year.

4. Artur Beterbiev

Artur Beterbiev is now 21-0 with 20 knockouts after getting his first win by decision of his professional boxing career over Dmitrii Bivol. Beterbiev has been the king of the light heavyweight division for a long time now.

He has been able to run through some of the best competition in boxing. Beterbiev has knockout wins over Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Marcus Browne, Joe Smith Jr. , Anthony Yarde, and Callum Smith, among others.

Hopefully, we get a rematch of Beterbiev vs Bivol, early next year.

5. Dmitrii Bivol

Dmitrii Bivol suffered the first loss of his professional career on Saturday against Beterbiev. It was a very close fight and that’s why he is still top five in my pound for pound rankings.

Prior to this most recent loss, Bivol was undefeated. He has wins over Canelo Alvarez, Joe Smith Jr, Jean Pascal, and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, among others.

6. Canelo Alvarez

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez currently has the most impressive resume in boxing. He is 62-2-2 with 39 wins by way of knockout. The current WBC and WBO Super Middleweight champion has been a champion in four different weight classes.

Canelo’s spot being outside of the top five isn’t due to a lack of skill or greatness. It’s a lack of ambition, as of late. Alvarez lost to Dmitrii Bivol in May of 2022 and since then has taken the safe route with his opponent selection.

The Mexican superstar’s last five opponents were a 40-year old Gennadiy Golovkin. This was Golovkin’s last fight. John Ryder, who came into the bout with five losses on his record. Jermell Charlo, who moved up two weight classes to fight Canelo. Jaime Munguia, who was undefeated but not the choice that boxing fans were looking for. Then lastly Edgar Berlanga, an undefeated boxer with lots of holes in his game and no notable wins to speak of.

He has stayed away from challengers like David Benavidez and David Morrell. They are set to face other on January 25th at 175 pounds.

Canelo won’t be in my personal top five until his ambition matches his status.

7. Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez is one of the young rising stars of boxing. At 24 years old, he is 20-0 with 13 knockouts. He has wins over Carlos Cuadras, Wisaksil Wangek, Cristian Gonzalez Hernandez, Sunny Edwards, and Juan Francisco Estrada.

Bam is quickly building a hall of fame resume. He will be fighting against Pedro Guevara on November 9th. Guevara is 42-4 with wins in 12 of his last 13 fights.

If you are not familiar with Bam Rodriquez, you should get familiar with him soon as he may be number one on this list in a few years.

8. Teofimo Lopez

Teofimo Lopez is the current WBO Super Lightweight champion and the former Undisputed Lightweight champion of the world. The man who calls himself, “The Takeover” has only taken one loss during his career.

He has a record of 21-1 with 13 wins by way of knockout. Lopez has wins over Masayoshi Nakatani, Richard Commey, Vasyl Lomachenko, and Josh Taylor, among others.

Hopefully, we can get Lopez vs Devin Haney or another champion at 140 pounds, sooner rather than later.

9. Gervonta Davis

Gervonta “Tank” Davis is the biggest American born star in boxing. He lives up to his nickname through his military grade like power. Tank is 30-0 with 28 wins by way of knockout.

Number nine on this list may seem low for such a popular boxer with an undefeated record and a 93% knockout rate.

The lack of ambition to take on the greats of the sport is why Davis is not higher on this list.

Davis is a generational talent with high boxing knowledge and uncanny power. He has all the tools of a legend without the resume. He has some good wins, don’t get me wrong. Davis has defeated Jose Pedraza, Luis Santa Cruz, Mario Barrios, Hector Luis Garcia, and Ryan Garcia.

It’s the opponents who he hasn’t fought yet, that make his resume seem shallow. For Davis to be solidified as an all-time great, he needs to fight the likes of Devin Haney, Vasyl Lomachenko, Teofimo Lopez, William Zepeda, and Shakur Stevenson.

Tank’s next bout is on December 14th against Lamont Roach. Roach is a good boxer who holds a belt in the weight class below where Davis is now.

Roach is not the type of fighter that fans are waiting to see Davis go against.

When will we get the legacy defining bouts from Tank?

10. Shakur Stevenson

Shakur Stevenson is another young star in boxing. At 27 years old, he is already a 3-division world champion. He has held world titles and 126, 130, and now 135 pounds.

The Newark, New Jersey native is 22-0 with 10 wins by way of knockout. He has wins over Joet Gonzalez, Jamel Herring, Oscar Valdez, and Edwin De Los Santos.

Stevenson has been criticized for his bouts not being entertaining enough. He is a conservative fighter who prioritizes defense first. This makes him incredibly hard to hit and that’s the most impressive thing about him. He is a generational defensive talent, who also has sniper like accuracy with his punches.

Stevenson also has the potential to be number one on this list, down the line.

Do you agree the order of my list? Are there boxers missing? Please leave a comment and let me know.