The Sportsman Boxing Power Rankings is a monthly series ranking boxers on a number of factors to determine the most pivotal names in the fight game. Rather than a pound-for-pound list, the Power Rankings will collate performance, reputation, influence and momentum. Here is our pick for the ten male boxers who sit atop the sport as of right now.
10. Dmitry Bivol
We open on a new entry, as Kyrgyzstan’s WBA light heavyweight champion crashes our rankings. The 19-0 is in the running for a fight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, as the Mexican looks to repeat his four-belt super middleweight conquest in the divisions above.
The flame-haired superstar will have his work cut out with Bivol, who saw off Britain’s Craig Richards and Russian Contender Umar Salamov last year. Bivol has racked up eight defences of his championship, and a ‘Canelo’ fight would launch him into the A-list of the sport.
9. George Kambosos Jr.
Kambosos is still without an opponent for the first defence of his unified lightweight championship. Devin Haney has reportedly baulked at the financial package on offer for an undisputed title showdown, while Vasiliy Lomachenko is still circling.
Kambosos Jr would do well to get a fight locked-in soon, as the constant flip-flopping on his next move risks losing the momentum he gained from a stunning upset win over Teofimo Lopez.
8. Mark Magsayo
A new entry, the unbeaten Filipino beat Gary Russell Jr to capture the WBC featherweight championship during the grading period. The result was considered an upset, but Magsayo has mixed in good company in amassing a 24-0 record. In his last fight, he’d knocked out former world super bantamweight titlist Julio Ceja. As a world champion, we can expect big things from the impressive ‘Magnifico’.
7. Artur Beterbiev
The light heavyweight monster is another fighter who could benefit from ‘Canelo’ stepping up into the division. That fight is unlikely to be next for the Canada-based Russian, as the 17-0 (with 17 knockouts) phenom has the power to end Alvarez’s undisputed light heavyweight title campaign before it's begun.
Instead, look for Beterbiev to take another fight in the interim, and serve as the “final boss” for the Mexican’s conquest of the 175 lb division.
6. Oleksandr Usyk
It’s been a frustrating few months for the brilliant Ukrainian. Rumours, conjecture and political dealings have surrounded a deal that would involve Usyk facing Tyson Fury in a title unification. But with the announcement of Fury’s WBC title defence against Dillian Whyte, Usyk finds himself back where he started.
That isn’t a bad place to be for the two-weight world champion. Usyk is staring down a rematch with Anthony Joshua, the man whose WBA, WBO and IBF titles he took last time out. If ‘The Cat’ can repeat the feat, a showdown with ‘The Gypsy King’ surely can’t be far away.
5. Josh Taylor
One of just two four-belt undisputed champions in men’s boxing today, ‘The Tartan Tornado’ will have made his first undisputed title defence by the time next month’s rankings arrive. His February bout with 26-0 Jack Catterall will be tricky, but Taylor is a deserving favourite.
The bout represents a homecoming for Taylor, as he returns to the Hydro in Glasgow for the fifth time. The mood is likely to be celebratory, as Scotland welcomes Josh back for the first time as an undisputed champion.
4. Naoya Inoue
After bulldozing Aran Dipaen, the world’s most entertaining fighter is lining up a rematch with the last man to take him the distance. Inoue is in talks to fight Nonito Donaire, in a sequel to their 2019 classic that saw the Japanese star add the WBA championship to his IBF and The Ring belts.
Donaire has two stoppage wins since that clash, and the ageless ‘Filipino Flash’ is the current WBC bantamweight champion. A three-belt unification and a rematch to one of 2019’s best fights could be one of the highlights of the year.
3. Terence Crawford
A man with a fair shout of being the planet’s best welterweight, Crawford is a fighter in demand. Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is the latest fighter to call the WBO welterweight champion’s name, and the fight would be an exciting one.
With the division’s other belt-holders, Yordenis Ugas and Errol Spence Jr, committed to fight each other, ‘Bud’ could do worse than an Ennis clash. The unbeaten 24-year-old looks to have sky-high potential, and the more experienced Crawford meeting him at this point would have Floyd Mayweather vs ‘Canelo’ vibes. Speaking of…
2. Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez
The pound-for-pound king is still weighing up his options, as he looks to follow up on a banner 2021. The talk of the Ilunga Makabu fight at cruiserweight has gone quiet, with the WBC cruiserweight boss under-performing at the weekend.
The light heavyweight division looks set to be Alvarez’s next home. Fights with Bivol and Smith Jr have been mooted, and are believed to be the first step to another four-belt divisional conquest.
1. Tyson Fury
The heavyweight champion of the world finally has a fight in the books. After the temporary distraction of a possible Usyk bout, ‘The Gypsy King’ is now focused on a spring bout with mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte.
The biggest event of the first quarter of 2022, all eyes will be on Fury as he fights for the first time since his classic trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder.
