B/R Boxing Pound-for-Pound Rankings: November
Boxing, such as it's been, has made a lot of news lately.
Whether it was KSI and Tommy Fury/Logan Paul and Dillon Danis in England, or Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia, the squared circle has been active with noteworthy—if not exactly memorable—matches.
That's not all that's going on, though.
More than a half-dozen world-title bouts across several weight divisions are still on tap between now and the end of the calendar year, which has prompted the B/R combat team to reconvene for an update to its running top-10 list across all weights.
The go-to rubric, as always, includes recent results, past performances and input from other respected sources, including The Ring, Boxing Scene and others.
Scroll to see what we came up with and drop a line with your thoughts in the comments.
10. Errol Spence Jr.
1 of 10
Weight Class: 147 pounds
Major Titles Held: None
Consider it the last stand of the fighter known as "The Truth."
Reports abound that a rematch between Errol Spence Jr. and recent rival, and conqueror, Terence Crawford could be in the works for February at a weight to be determined.
Spence was brutally beaten across eight full rounds before losing via ninth-round stoppage when the two met in a welterweight unification fight on July 29 in Las Vegas.
Spence exercised his option to secure a second fight with Crawford, though the weight and date of the bout have yet to be determined.
Now 33, the talented Texan will need to reverse the result against Crawford or put up a respectable victory against another worthy foe to maintain his spot in the ratings penthouse.
9. Tyson Fury
2 of 10
Weight Class: Heavyweight
Major Titles Held: WBC
Even the biggest Tyson Fury haters couldn't have seen this coming.
The WBC heavyweight champ was expecting a big payday and little competition when it came to a 10-round event with former UFC kingpin Francis Ngannou last weekend.
And it seemed a slam dunk that the 6'9" Brit would have his expectations met after two rather uneventful rounds. But once the MMA star's left hook landed and sent Fury sprawling to the canvas in the third, the heavyweight division's paradigm was shifted officially.
Fury escaped Saudi Arabia with a narrow but fair split decision, but his reputation was at least temporarily damaged by having such a close call against a newbie opponent.
Short of bombing Ngannou out in a rematch or handling Oleksandr Usyk in a unification bout, the 35-year-old is on the periphery of the elite at best and on the outside looking in at worst.
8. Teofimo Lopez
3 of 10
Weight Class: 140 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBO
Now that Teofimo Lopez has set up shop as a champion in a second weight class—at 140 pounds—he's getting to the business of securing a high-profile fight.
The 26-year-old New Yorker became a two-time titleholder with the defeat of former undisputed king Josh Taylor at the Madison Square Garden on June 10 and has spent the back half of the year looking ahead to 2024 as another important 12 months.
He told Pro Box TV that he's got a three-man wish list for his next contest, including former multi-division champ Gervonta Davis, recently risen ex-lightweight contender Ryan Garcia and the man to whom he lost his belts at 135 pounds, George Kambosos Jr.
"I hear people say, 'Keep active, that's always going to keep you good,'" Lopez said. "I can always stay active in the gym as long as I'm sparring; that's all I need."
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7. Devin Haney
4 of 10
Weight Class: 135 pounds
Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBO
Devin Haney has had a lot of documented trouble making 135 pounds.
And in the aftermath of a controversial decision victory over ex-champ Vasily Lomachenko that prompted some to suggest the Ukrainian had been robbed, Haney decided it was time to at least test out what it'd be like to avoid sweating off those last five pounds.
He will challenge WBC 140-pound champ Regis Prograis on December 9 in San Francisco, marking his first career appearance in his hometown and fourth in California since turning pro at age 17 in 2015.
"I been eating a lot more," Haney said. "135 was hard for me to make, but 140 won't be easy either. I'm a big guy, I'm getting bigger, my body maturing, my muscles are filling out. Even though I'm moving up in weight, it still won't be easy for me making weight."
6. Gervonta Davis
5 of 10
Weight Class: 140 pounds
Major Titles Held: None
Gervonta Davis has fought for 10 years, earned titles of varying value at several weights and been a proven ticket-seller in Las Vegas, Brooklyn, Atlanta and other major cities.
Perhaps now, though, it's time to cross over to the mainstream.
The 28-year-old's name has recently been on the lips of another former multi-division champion, Manny Pacquiao.
The Filipino, 44, hasn't fought in more than two years and hasn't won in more than four, but he's begun suggesting interest in a catchweight bout with the former Floyd Mayweather Jr. client at 145 pounds.
It's a star-making proposition for Davis, who's 16 years younger.
"Gervonta Davis is a good fighter. If he wants and he comes up to 147, we can fight," Pacquiao told Fight Hub TV. "145, maybe. That's not a problem for me because I'm an experienced fighter."
5. Dmitry Bivol
6 of 10
Weight Class: 175 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBA
If it feels like a while since you've seen Dmitry Bivol's unique brand of light heavyweight brilliance in the ring, you're not wrong.
The 32-year-old has not been active since handling Gilberto Ramirez across 12 one-sided rounds last November, six months after topping Canelo Alvarez.
However, if a recent face-to-face meeting with fellow 175-pound kingpin Artur Beterbiev is any indication, something may be brewing soon on the big-fight front.
Both Bivol and Beterbiev were in Saudi Arabia for the Fury-Ngannou fight and came together at a ceremonial dinner, and Bivol again banged the drum for a unification bout after the gathering of champions ended.
"I hope we will make this fight, maybe here," Bivol told DAZN. "I know people want this fight."
4. Canelo Alvarez
7 of 10
Weight Class: 168 pounds
Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO
It's good to be Canelo Alvarez. Again.
The Mexican superstar had been stuck in neutral since the start of 2022, losing a decision to Dmitry Bivol at 175 pounds that May before returning to 168 for intermittently impressive defeats of Gennadiy Golovkin in September.
Alvarez returned from surgery for a desultory defeat of super middleweight gatekeeper John Ryder and appeared (perhaps) to be on the decline.
Enter the Charlo brothers.
Alvarez seemed ready to defend his slew of belts against middleweight titleholder Jermall Charlo before he pulled out and left the opportunity to his twin brother, Jermell, who just happened to be an undisputed champ a few pounds down at 154.
More than a few respected voices suggested the athletic and hungry Charlo would give Alvarez a push and maybe upset him, but the 33-year-old Mexican turned in one of his best performances in years when he pitched a near shutout in a unanimous-decision win.
And suddenly, he's back in the big-fight business.
"Nobody can beat this Canelo," he said after the win. "I'm a strong fighter all the time. I'm a strong man."
3. Oleksandr Usyk
8 of 10
Weight Class: Heavyweight
Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBO
What the heavyweight division needs is a heavyweight title fight.
And it seems we're as close to one as we have been in a while.
Three-belt champion Oleksandr Usyk was in Saudi Arabia to watch Tyson Fury's engagement with Francis Ngannou, and he emerged breathlessly when the unbeaten Brit retained his status with a close decision and pressed play on the unification cycle.
The two men went face-to-face in the ring after the decision was announced, and sources told Mike Coppinger of ESPN that the initially planned December 23 date had been pushed back to February thanks to the rigor of Saturday's bout and a cut Fury suffered above his left eye.
Fury threw the first verbal grenade, suggesting Ngannou was a tougher test.
"He's a smaller man than Francis," he said after the fight. "I always said Francis was a much more dangerous fight than Oleksandr."
2. Naoya Inoue
9 of 10
Weight Class: 122 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBC, WBO
Naoya Inoue is pretty good at upping the ante.
The Japanese "Monster" had won titles at 108, 115 and 118 pounds before climbing to 122 in July and instantly jumping on the biggest dog in the yard, WBC/WBO champ Stephen Fulton.
The 30-year-old dispatched Fulton in less than seven-and-a-half rounds and instantly began scanning the horizon for the next challenge, this time seeking out the other unified champion in the division, Marlon Tapales.
The Filipino, 31, claimed his throne with a split decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev in April and he's set to make his fifth career business trip to Japan for a December 26 date in Tokyo, when he'll try to keep Inoue from undisputed status in a second straight weight class.
"The sensational Naoya Inoue astounds with every performance," said promoter Bob Arum, whose company, Top Rank, works with Inoue. "We are witnessing an all-time great fighter in the prime of his career. ... I am confident the Monster will pass this test with flying colors."
1. Terence Crawford
10 of 10
Weight Class: 147 pounds
Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO
Terence Crawford will fight again. And it will be big.
Until then, though, we play the waiting game.
The sublimely talented Nebraskan confirmed his status as the sport's top fighter in late July when he battered Errol Spence Jr. into a ninth-round submission to seize undisputed control of the welterweight division after he'd already done so at 140 pounds.
The 36-year-old is rumored to be near a contractually enabled rematch with Spence. He could climb one rung up the ladder to engage the likes of Jermell Charlo and/or Tim Tszyu. Or he could scale it all the way to 168 to create a star-vs.-star matchup with Canelo Alvarez.
Having preeminent status allows a guy to pick and choose his fights.
And it's noticeable to other great fighters as well.
"Crawford is amazing," Dmitry Bivol told Matchroom Boxing (h/t Hans Themistode of Boxing Scene). "Not just good, he's amazing. I think he should be in the book for how to learn boxing. He's a very good fighter."
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