Boxing pound-for-pound rankings: Canelo Avalrez keeps winning and disappointing critics

At 34 years old, and despite having competed 66 times in a 19-year professional career, Canelo Alvarez proved he still has plenty of firepower in Saturday’s fight with undefeated Edgar Berlanga over Mexican Independence Day weekend.

Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) demonstrated many of the strengths of his pound-for-pound level by scoring an impressive unanimous decision win, knocking out Berlanga in Round 3. The Mexican icon not only took advantage of his vast advantage in experience, but also regularly pushed his opponent into the corner and beat him down in close quarters, despite not living up to his prediction of a stoppage.

But given Alvarez’s continued debate with critics and his adamant stance that he has accomplished so much in his career that there is no need to question his matchmaking choices, as well as him actively avoiding specific challengers for his unified super middleweight crown, it’s fair to question whether one’s P4P ranking should be negatively impacted by his decision-making.

Alvarez once had a sterling reputation as a fighter who would ignore his team’s advice to take on dangerous stylistic challenges (Floyd Mayweather, Austin Trout, Erislandy Lara) while in the junior middleweight division. His subsequent runs at 160 and above were just as notable for the quality of his opponent and his consistent performance, including adding a title in a fourth weight class at light heavyweight.

In fact, a 10-fight stretch that began with a 2017 decision win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. represents the pinnacle of his rise during a five-year period that saw him evolve from the sport’s biggest commercial star — and the face of the post-Mayweather-Pacquiao era — to becoming the best P4P player on the planet. Alvarez also went 9-0-1 in that span, sharing the ring with Gennady Golovkin (twice), Daniel Jacobs, Sergey Kovalev, Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant.

The turning point came in 2022 when Alvarez moved back down to 175 pounds and lost to Dmitry Bivol in his title fight. The score looked pretty close in the bout as Alvarez was physically controlled by a bigger and equally skilled boxer.

The result was that Alvarez, who had previously been in the running for the cruiserweight title, was no longer interested in challenging himself. Alvarez also began a string of decision wins away from acceptable but dangerous opponents that now stands at five with the win over Berlanga.

Alvarez either doesn’t want to fight the two names his fans want most – David Benavidez and Terence Crawford – or he doesn’t want to be told what to do and is stubbornly sticking to his guns. Either way, it’s a terrible look that makes him look scared, greedy or both. It’s also slowly starting to change the way people view his legacy.

Given that Alvarez is still interested in a rematch with Bivol if the Russian-born fighter becomes undisputed champion against Artur Beterbiev in October, it’s hard to imagine he’s actually afraid of anyone. But making the excuse that Beterbiev rehydrates too much when he’s already won the title at 175 pounds and recently fought an opponent in Berlanga who did the same is just a weak excuse.

Alvarez remains an incredibly active superstar who continues to draw huge crowds to any fight he fights. But from a critical standpoint his status among the best in the sport will only diminish if he continues to take the path of least resistance to defending his title and taking his next step.

Using criteria that takes into account everything from accomplishments to current form, let’s take a closer look at the top fighters inside the ring. Below is the latest update to the pound for pound rankings following Alvarez’s win in September.

Pound-for-pound rankings

1. Oleksandr Usyk

Undisputed heavyweight champion (22-0, 14 KOs) | Previous ranking: No. 1

Usyk’s professional journey has been as eventful as it has been. The former undisputed cruiserweight champion scored two impressive wins over Anthony Joshua to capture three heavyweight titles and finally set up his undisputed bout against WBC champion Tyson Fury in May. The thrilling, split decision win made Usyk the third male boxer to become undisputed champion in two divisions during the four-belt era. The rematch with Fury is scheduled for December.

2. Naoya Inoue

Undisputed junior featherweight champion (25-0, 23 KOs) | Previous ranking: No. 2

The four-division champion, who has reached undisputed status in two different weight classes, continued his impressive grip on the sport when he defeated Luis Nery in their title bout at the Tokyo Dome in May. While he played differently and put on a great performance in September, “The Monster” looked very defensive. Stopped former champion TJ DohenyA return to Japan is expected in December before a major event in Las Vegas hosted by co-promoter Bob Arum in 2025.

3. Terence Crawford

WBA Junior Middleweight Champion (40-0, 29 KOs) | Previous ranking: No. 3

In a long-awaited comeback after defeating Errol Spence Jr. last summer, Crawford moved up to 154 pounds and defeated WBA champion Israel Madrimov by a slim margin. Despite being one of the toughest fights of Crawford’s career, “Bud” is adamant that there is only one fight left that interests him and that is a bout with super middleweight king Canelo Alvarez.

4. Arthur Beterbiev

Unified Light Heavyweight Champion (20-0, 20 KOs) | Previous ranking: 4

Beterbiev quelled rumors that he was getting old by defeating former 168-pound champion Callum Smith in January. After being relieved of his mandatory duties, an undisputed bout against WBA champion Dmitry Bivol was set for June 1. But the 39-year-old Beterbiev withdrew in May due to a torn meniscus, pushing the bout to October.

5. Dmitry Bivol

WBA light heavyweight champion (23-0, 12 KOs) | Previous ranking: No. 5

After a stellar 2022 that included a win over Canelo Alvarez and near-universal praise as the best fighter of the year, Bivol sat out most of 2023 in hopes of facing unified champion Artur Beterbiev. Their undisputed title fight was scheduled for June 1, but Beterbiev suffered a serious injury, leaving Bivol to face replacement Malik Zinaid. The new date for Beterbiev will be October 12.

6. Canelo Alvarez

Unified Super Middleweight Champion (62-2-2, 38 KOs) | Previous Ranking: No. 6

The former P4P King is still the unified champion at 168 pounds and he proved it by beating his compatriot Jaime Munguia in style in May. But despite constant pressure from fans and media to fight the former David Benavidez or Terence Crawford, the much-vaunted Alvarez bounced back to dominate undefeated Edgar Berlanga in Las Vegas in September.

7. Gervonta Davis

WBA Lightweight Champion (30-0, 28 KOs) | Last Ranking: 7

Davis scored a body-shot knockout of Ryan Garcia in a superfight last April, which now looks even better as “King Ryan” became the first boxer to defeat former undisputed lightweight king Devin Haney. After a 2023 prison sentence, “Tank” returned in June and defeated undefeated Frank Martin. Davis said he wants to be champion from here on out and hopes to return on PPV in November or December.

8. Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez

Flyweight, junior bantamweight titleholder (20-0, 13 KOs) | Previous ranking: 8

The 24-year-old veteran from San Antonio used just under 50% of his power shots to beat 115-pound titleholder Juan Francisco Estrada in July. Rodriguez will return to defend his junior bantamweight title against Pedro Guevara in November in Philadelphia.

9. Shakur Stevenson

WBC lightweight champion (22-0, 10 KOs) | Previous ranking: No. 9

Even though he was outclassed in his hometown when defending his title against Artem Harutyunyan in July, Stevenson limited his opponent to just 17% of his total punches and scored single points in all but one round. The three-division champion entered free agency and signed a multi-fight deal with Matchroom Sport. His debut scheduled for October was postponed due to hand surgery.

10. David Benavidez

Interim light heavyweight titleholder (29-0, 24 KOs) | Previous ranking: No. 10

Frustrated with waiting for his fight with undisputed 168-pound king Canelo Alvarez, “El Monstro” moved up in weight to beat former champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June. Benavidez, who later spoke of injuries to both hands during training camp (which prevented him from scoring a stoppage), said he would focus on light heavyweight going forward and wants the winner of Beterbiev-Bivol in October.

dropped out: nobody
honorable mention: Teofimo Lopez Jr., Vasily Lomachenko, Tyson Fury, Devin Haney, Junto Nakatani