Bleacher Report Boxing's Updated Pound-for-Pound Rankings
Canelo Alvarez has appeared to be (to smart folks like me at least) one of the best fighters in the world over the past couple of years. His knockout win over Liam Smith on Saturday might have been expected, but he still did his duty for the night, notched the win and an alphabet belt at 154 to solidify his standing as one of the top boxing stars in the world today.
But did Alvarez, who also holds the lineal middleweight championship, according to the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, look good enough over the weekend to make our pound-for-pound rankings? Or are there 10 other fighters we ranked ahead of him?
TL;DR: First, be ashamed. This is a slideshow. It's not that long. Second, no. Alvarez came in No. 11 when the boxing writers at Bleacher Report—Lyle Fitzsimmons, Kevin McRae, Briggs Seekins, Jonathan Snowden and I—voted this week.
Now, click through to find out who we collectively ranked over him.
10. Carl Frampton (23-0, 14 KOs)
1 of 10
Why He's Here: Carl Frampton, a former junior featherweight titleholder from Northern Ireland, moved up to featherweight to slap Leo Santa Cruz with his first loss over the summer. Frampton boxed smartly, using carefully timed, but aggressive counterpunches as well as some good, old-fashioned power punching bolstered by willpower, to prove himself as an elite power in the lower weight classes.
Last Fight: 12-round majority decision over Santa Cruz
Who He Should Fight Next: Is it asking too much for someone—anyone—to put themselves to the test against lineal junior featherweight world champion Guillermo Rigondeaux? Frampton presents a conundrum the avoided defensive master might not be able to solve—a smart but hard-hitting boxer who knows when to throw punches and when to move out of range.
9. Juan Francisco Estrada (33-2, 24 KOs)
2 of 10
Why He's Here: Poor Estrada. Perhaps if Roman Gonzalez, who defeated Estrada back in 2012, was not fighting during the same era, it would be Estrada brining the joys of little fighters back to the masses. In any event, unified flyweight titleholder Estrada is a testament to the elite class of fighters in and around flyweight right now—the deepest group in a very long time. Estrada has won seven straight since losing to Gonzalez against top-notch fighters.
Last Fight: 10-round knockout over Hernan Marquez
Who He Should Fight Next: If light heavyweights Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward can agree to face each other right now, why can't we get Estrada back in the ring with Gonzalez soon, too?
8. Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs)
3 of 10
Why He's Here: Rigo is the lineal champ at 122, an undefeated master technician and all-around excellent boxer. He's practically a phenom, so he is correctly awarded a place among the elite on our list. But regardless of how hard it is to find opponents or television partners or whatever the latest excuse is right now, the fact remains that Rigondeaux is 35 years old and heading in the wrong direction as a boxing commodity—assuming the clever Cuban was ever considered one in the first place.
Last Fight: Round 2 knockout win over James Dickens.
Who He Should Fight Next: Rigo needs to fight anyone who will fight him anywhere and for any amount of money, and he needs to fight 10 of them next year. He's wasting his time as a fighter and is probably on his way toward retirement.
7. Manny Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38 KOs)
4 of 10
Why He's Here: Manny Pacquiao is set to return from his—um—retirement. Geez, Manny, it's been all of five months. Anyway, Pacquiao is older, slower and less powerful than he was in his prime, but he is still one of the very best fighters in boxing when he laces up the gloves. Need evidence? Review his cakewalk win over Timothy Bradley in April. Pacquiao is fierce.
Last Fight: 12-round unanimous decision over Bradley.
Who He Should Fight Next: Pacquiao is set to face Jessie Vargas in November for an alphabet belt at 147. It should be fun, but a blitz win for Pac-Man who is the better athlete, fighter and puncher.
6. Vasyl Lomachenko (6-1, 4 KOs)
5 of 10
Why He's Here: Vasyl Lomachenko is the fighter the talking heads over at HBO and boardroom folk behind the scenes would dream up to have lead their network roster if one could do such things. His style is to bring the pain, he's able to hit from either stance, he's technically sound and he has as good an amateur pedigree as anyone ever. He's already captured titles in two different weight classes and looks like one of boxing's big stars for years to come.
Last Fight: Round 5 knockout of Roman Martinez
Who He Should Fight Next: Lomachenko's promoter, Top Rank, probably regrets putting him in the ring with rude and crafty veteran Orlando Salido in just his second professional bout, but the loss makes a rematch super intriguing.
5. Terence Crawford (29-0, 20 KOs)
6 of 10
Why He's Here: Terence Crawford is the real deal at junior welterweight. At 29, he's won two lineal championships, lightweight and junior welterweight, and seems close to taking over as the next great American fighter. Crawford is one of the best fighters in boxing—maybe ever—at changing stances during bouts, has power in both hands, is fast, skilled and here's the best part: He's just plain mean when the bell rings.
Last Fight: 12-round unanimous-decision win over Viktor Postol
Who He Should Fight Next: Crawford likely wants a crack at Manny Pacquiao before the superstar retires again, but in the meantime, someone please feed Adrien Broner to this guy. Both have talent, skill and ability. Crawford has all the other stuff one needs to be a success in the sport.
4. Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs)
7 of 10
Why He's Here: Unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is the belle of boxing's ball right now. Everybody loves him—except maybe all the people who get their heads bashed in when they face him. He takes punches to the face a little too much for the purists out there, but if he can take it and still dish out the thunder like he has been, we should probably just enjoy it.
Last Fight: Round 5 knockout win over welterweight Kell Brook
Who He Should Fight Next: The Brook bout was a dangerous and borderline-atrocious money grab by the fight promoters and network that aired it on HBO. Let's see the middleweight monster Golovkin against guys who are the same size or bigger. Otherwise, no thank you. There are plenty of good bouts at 160, with the best options being Billy Joe Saunders, the WBO titleholder, or lineal champ Canelo Alvarez, who is really a junior middleweight. Saunders next would be the right move.
3. Andre Ward (30-0, 15 KOs)
8 of 10
Why He's Here: A few years ago, Ward looked like the heir apparent to Floyd Mayweather as boxing's next all-time great American fighter. He was the lineal champion at 168, had faced and defeated a murderers' row to attain that status and took out light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson with ferocious precision. But Ward didn't fight enough after that run, something he's doing now and looking great again while doing, too. His upcoming bout against light heavyweight Sergey Kovalev is the biggest fight in boxing.
Last Fight: 12-round unanimous-decision win over Alexander Brand
Who He Should Fight Next: After a couple of gimme wins over nondescript opponents—something frankly boxing could give us a whole lot less of—Ward is set to face Kovalev in November in a fight that will help determine the sport's future. Has America lost its grip on the top of the boxing-superstar pyramid for good now?
2. Sergey Kovalev (30-0-1)
9 of 10
Why He's Here: Kovalev is probably less popular than Golovkin. He might not even look as smooth as a fighter. But Kovalev has beaten better fighters than GGG, has demolished them just as ferociously and looks to be the better boxer from a distance, too. Kovalev is set to take on the toughest test of his career against Ward, but the way he beat up Bernard Hopkins last year might be a prelude to what he has planned for the smaller super middleweight: controlled aggression backed by legit light heavyweight power.
Last Fight: 12-round unanimous decision over Isaac Chilemba
Who He Should Fight Next: Boxing hasn't been anything special this year, but Kovalev-Ward makes most of it forgivable. Kudos to the fighters and fight-makers.
1. Roman Gonzalez (46-0, 38 KOs)
10 of 10
Why He's Here: He's been the man in boxing for a while now. A pressure fighter with sharp, powerful punches—one skilled at hitting and moving forward while avoiding the obvious counters—is a rarity in boxing, especially one so excellent as Roman Gonzalez. He's the lineal flyweight champion and is maybe on his way to becoming one of the best little fighters in modern history.
Last Fight: 12-round unanimous-decision win over Carlos Cuadras
Who He Should Fight Next: Since HBO seems intent on making Gonzalez a star (as it should), let's see him in against Estrada again and/or Naoya Inoue, the Japanese sensation nicknamed the "Little Monster." Gonzalez looks great, but flyweight is crazy deep right now. Great fights make boxing better.
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