B/R Boxing Pound-for-Pound Rankings for December 2023
It's the holiday season. But if you think that means folks won't be gloving up and punching one another for money, you couldn't be more incorrect.
December is shaping up to be a particularly busy month in the ring, with a high-profile fight card next weekend in San Francisco, a scheduled appearance by Jake Paul in the middle of the month and the next belt-copping quest of a 122-pound "Monster" set for the day after Christmas in his Tokyo stomping grounds.
Put it all together and it's high time for the B/R combat staff to get together to discuss the best of the best in the sport, which we've done by applying our own eye test and gauging the opinions of respected sources such as The Ring.
Click through to see who made our top 10 and let us know how you'd have done it with a line or two in the comments section.
10. Errol Spence Jr.
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Weight Class: 147 pounds
Major Titles Held: None
Most fighters would kill to have the career Errol Spence Jr. has had.
He's won all but one of 29 fights, scored 22 wins by KO, and held three world title belts in one of the sport's traditionally marquee divisions: welterweight.
But given the comprehensively one-sided nature of his loss to fellow 147-pound kingpin Terence Crawford on July 29, the 33-year-old's stock has dipped considerably.
It'll take a defeat of Crawford in their rematch, whenever it occurs, to get him back to where he was. And if that fight doesn't take place, he'll need another high-profile win to get any higher than the last spot on this list.
9. Shakur Stevenson
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Weight Class: 135 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBC
Shakur Stevenson is a world champion in his third weight class and still undefeated, but he looked so ordinary while winning the vacant WBC belt against Edwin De Los Santos that it's got people wondering if it was a one-off flop or a sign of rough times ahead.
That could be why Stevenson, 26, took a narrative-changing initiative Tuesday and suggested on X (formerly Twitter) he'd take a fight with Ryan Garcia, another high-profile talent who shared space at 135 before heading up to 140 pounds.
It's a fight that, with a win, would erase the De Los Santos stench.
"We could do a catch weight," Stevenson said, "or he can come to 35 if he want to finally become a world champion lol."
8. Tyson Fury
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Weight Class: Heavyweight
Major Titles Held: WBC
Speaking of fighters in need of a competitive deodorant, we give you Tyson Fury.
The brash WBC heavyweight king told anyone who'd listen that he'd squash former UFC menace Francis Ngannou in October, but it was the Englishman who had to climb off the floor to salvage what many suggested was a split decision he didn't deserve.
So Fury, 35, immediately got to business making the fight everyone wanted to see in the first place: a unification bout with IBF/WBA/WBO champ Oleksandr Usyk.
They'll meet in February in Saudi Arabia, where a win for Fury will make people forget the initial Ngannou embarrassment while potentially cueing up a lucrative rematch.
7. Gervonta Davis
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Weight Class: 135 pounds
Major Titles Held: None
Gervonta Davis may or may not be a world champion, but he's a legit talent.
The Baltimore native holds the WBA's second-tier title at lightweight and may move up to full-fledged status now that "super" champion Devin Haney has vacated his throne for a move up to 140 pounds.
And though Davis took to social media to suggest he'd not serve as champion even if the laurels were thrust upon him, it's pretty likely he'll be feasting at the high-profile table the next time he steps into a ring, whenever that is.
The 29-year-old is certainly a name in the mouths of would-be opponents big and small, including 140-pound champ Subriel Matias, who campaigned for a bout if and when Davis returns to a division where he held a secondary title two years ago.
Your move, Tank.
6. Devin Haney
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Weight Class: 140 pounds
Major Titles Held: None
Don't let the "none" fool you.
Devin Haney was one of the sport's few four-belt champions not that long ago at 135, but his ambition and his difficulty making weight prompted him to end the reigns voluntarily.
So, the 25-year-old Californian is chasing greatness in a new weight class at 140 pounds, where he'll challenge WBC champ Regis Prograis next weekend in San Francisco.
Haney is already a fixture on the back half of most respected pound-for-pound lists thanks to a resume that boasts 30 straight wins and 15 KOs. But adding a belt in a second weight class could earn him entry into the uppermost echelons.
5. Dmitry Bivol
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Weight Class: 175 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBA
If Haney is indeed on the rise, it may be at Dmitry Bivol's expense.
The 32-year-old earned entry to the pound-for-pound club with a surprise defeat of Canelo Alvarez in May 2022 in Las Vegas, and though he's still unbeaten and still holds the WBA belt at 175 pounds, the fact that he's fought just once since hasn't helped.
No agreement was reached on a talked-about Alvarez rematch, which left Bivol to defeat another former 168-pounder, Gilberto Ramirez, in November 2022.
The Russian is scheduled to defend against the lesser-regarded Lyndon Arthur on December 23, but it's not the kind of fight that guarantees a permanent top-five placement.
If he doesn't land Alvarez, David Benavidez or fellow light heavyweight claimant Artur Beterbiev sooner than later, Bivol's days in the top half might be numbered.
4. Canelo Alvarez
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Weight Class: 168 pounds
Major Titles Held: IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO
Unlike Bivol, whose rocket ship has stalled since his win over Alvarez, the beaten man has gotten back to the business of winning fights.
The 33-year-old ended a trilogy with longtime rival Gennadiy Golovkin four months after the Bivol loss, then beat both John Ryder and Jermell Charlo by wide decisions in 2023 to reassert himself among the sport's elite fighters.
The aforementioned Benavidez, who's an unbeaten former two-time champ at 168, has loudly called Alvarez's name in the days since a thrashing of Demetrius Andrade, and that's a fight that has high-end pound-for-pound placement written all over its winner.
If the Mexican needs another career-defining challenge, he's got it.
3. Oleksandr Usyk
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Weight Class: Heavyweight
Major Titles Held: IBF/WBA/WBO
Like fellow heavyweight champ Fury before him, Oleksandr Usyk will head toward the big-boy unification fight in need of a palette cleanser.
The Ukrainian, 36, eventually thrashed overmatched challenger Daniel Dubois when they met in Poland in August, but the sight of him crashing to the canvas from a body shot that was dubiously ruled a low blow by referee Luis Pabon was the prevailing takeaway.
Fury will be a gigantic challenge both literally and figuratively, but it'll be a far more substantial fight for Usyk, an unbeaten two-division champion, and an upset victory could give him a spike beyond No. 3 on nearly every reputable list.
2. Naoya Inoue
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Weight Class: 122 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBC/WBO
For a few days last summer, Naoya Inoue was the consensus No. 1.
The 30-year-old had climbed to 122 pounds and dismantled a respected unbeaten champion in Stephen Fulton to earn belts in his fourth weight class. But just 96 hours later, Terence Crawford did a competitive number on Errol Spence Jr. that demanded he be elevated.
Neither Inoue nor Crawford have fought since, which means Monster's impending showdown with fellow 122-pound claimant Marlon Tapales gives him a real chance to lay down an impressive performance worthy of P4P promotion.
DraftKings has the Japanese fighter as a -2500 favorite to win, so if he gets a result worthy of such a one-sided line, it's an excellent bet that he'll be No. 1 next time around.
1. Terence Crawford
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Weight Class: 147 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBA/WBC/WBO
It took the sport's typical sanctioning body nonsense to do what no fighter has: Take a title belt from Terence Crawford.
The IBF recently stripped Crawford and named Jaron Ennis as its champion, ending the 36-year-old's four-belt reign at welterweight but doing nothing to diminish the prowess he's shown while winning 40 fights, stopping 30 foes and claiming championship jewelry in three weight classes.
The defeat of Spence was stunning in its one-sidedness, and unless the Nebraskan climbs to 154 pounds to engage Jermell Charlo or beyond to actually pursue a chatted-about bout with Canelo Alvarez, it's unlikely he'll be anything less than a prohibitive favorite anytime soon.
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