Boxers Most Likely to Crack Pound-for-Pound Top 10 Lists in 2016
With less days left in 2015 than has already passed, it’s time to start predicting which fighters will universally crack pound-for-pound top-10 lists next year. Boxing is a fickle sport. One minute a fighter is on top of the world. The next, he’s slumped down to the canvas, a human heap of yesterday’s news.
The fight game is a young man’s sport. While over-30 stars like Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Gennady Golovkin will likely stay perched atop the boxing world as long as they so wish it, the majority of fighters who will make a big splash in 2016 are notably younger than those men and have a longer road still ahead of them.
Bleacher Report presents the boxers who will break into pound-for-pound rankings next year, men who will rank among the 10 best fighters in the sport.
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs)
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Who: Alvarez is a 25-year-old junior middleweight from Mexico. He’s won world titles at 154 pounds and already has wins over credible opponents such as Austin Trout, Erislandy Lara and James Kirkland. Alvarez has also already participated in a superfight. In 2013, he lost by majority decision to Floyd Mayweather for the lineal junior middleweight championship.
When: Projecting Alvarez as a top-10 fighter next year also means projecting him to defeat Miguel Cotto for the lineal middleweight title later this year. The bout is long rumored and likely to happen, per ESPN.com's Dan Rafael, on November 21 in Las Vegas. A win there may warrant his inclusion before 2016, but in order to be universally praised as a top-10 fighter, Alvarez will probably have to win impressively again in 2016. Look for Alvarez to make his mark on top-10 lists before next summer.
Why: Alvarez is already borderline elite, and he’s still improving as a fighter. In fact, it seems he gets better in every fight. He’s a good boxer but does his best work when he’s fighting in close and throwing vicious and inventive combinations. Alvarez is already one of boxing’s biggest stars. He’ll be even more of one next year and beyond.
Kell Brook (35-0, 24 KOs)
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Who: Brook is a 29-year-old from the United Kingdom. He is the IBF welterweight champion, and he just might be the best welterweight in the world not named Floyd Mayweather. Brook was stabbed in the leg last year while vacationing but has recovered to full fighting form.
When: There are plenty of solid fights for Brook at welterweight, and his status as a titleholder should only help him get the opportunities he needs. Brook is probably the most logical choice for Mayweather, but fight fans know Mayweather doesn’t necessarily operate using logic and reason. Even more logical for Brook would be a UK showdown with Amir Khan, but that fight hasn’t yet materialized either. Still, with the likes of Mayweather, Khan, Tim Bradley and Manny Pacquiao all fighting at 147, along with a slew of notables like Marcos Maidana, Brandon Rios and Sadam Ali, Brook will likely get the fights he needs to make his mark by the end of 2016.
Why: Brook has fast hands and long arms. He’s adept at keeping opponents at the end of his punches and has good power in both hands. Brook has a long, successful career ahead of him as one of the best fighters in the sport.
Terence Crawford (26-0, 18 KOs)
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Who: Crawford is a 27-year-old from Omaha. No, elite fighters don’t usually come from Nebraska, but Crawford is as elite as they come. Crawford has already been a titlist and lineal champion at lightweight. He is currently the WBO junior welterweight champion and will likely be a full-fledged welterweight by the end of next year.
When: Crawford should crack the top 10 rather early in 2016. Yes, he’s already ranked No. 8 pound-for-pound by Ring Magazine. But Crawford is by-and-large not yet universally considered one of the 10 best fighters in the game. That should come by March or April of next year.
Why: If there’s one fighter under 30 right now who seems to have everything a fighter needs to become one of the all-time greats, it’s Crawford. That’s high praise, but Crawford is the total package. He’s an athletically gifted sharpshooter who can fight well from both the orthodox and southpaw stances. Moreover, Crawford just seems serious about his craft. If you’re looking for TMZ-style antics from this fighter, you won’t get it.
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Vasyl Lomachenko (4-1, 2 KOs)
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Who: Lomachenko is a 27-year-old featherweight from Ukraine. He’s the current WBO champion at 126 pounds, a title he won just eight months after his professional debut. Lomachenko was a stalwart amateur, a winner of two Olympic gold medals and two more at the World Amateur Championships.
When: Look for Lomachenko to break into pound-for-pound lists by the end of 2016. While he’s clearly one of the most skilled fighters in the game, he’s yet to face the high level of opposition that’s required of elite fighters. A showdown with lineal 122-pound champion Guillermo Rigondeaux would suffice, as would a more likely contest against former WBA featherweight titlist Nicholas Walters, an undefeated power puncher who lost his claim to the title to the scale in his last bout.
Why: Lomachenko has the talent, skill and ability to become one of the best fighters in the sport. Moreover, his aggressive style and power in both hands will make him popular enough to be given ample TV time over the next couple of years. Lomachenko is promoted by Top Rank, and there is no better promoter at guiding fighters along the path to superstardom than them.
Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KOs)
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Who: The old man on the list, Ward is the 31-year-old lineal super middleweight champion who was perennially near the top of pound-for-pound lists pre-2013 before being inactive for more than a full year. Ward, from San Francisco, is back in the ring now. He defeated Paul Smith in June and looked, albeit against fairly soft opposition, as good as ever. Ward will need to face top opposition to universally reclaim his place among the sport’s elite.
When: Ward can’t face the Paul Smiths of the world to hop back into the limelight. But with Carl Froch recently retiring, the cupboard at 168 pounds seems pretty bare these days. A showdown with Arthur Abraham or James DeGale may be due. Whoever he faces, Ward will probably have another bout at super middleweight before considering a move up to light heavyweight. There are numerous bouts at 175 to move him back up the pound-for-pound mountain, most notably unified light heavyweight titlist Sergey Kovalev.
Why: No one in boxing doubts Ward’s ability. He’s a versatile, strong boxer who is equally adept at his craft from all fighting distances. Ward is a very accurate puncher with impeccable timing. His reflexes are sharp, and he’s a very good athlete. At his best, Ward is one of the top two or three fighters in the world. He just needs to prove it again after being out of the ring so very long.
Just Missed the Cut
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There are a slew of good, young fighters in boxing today. Welterweight Keith Thurman would probably have the most legitimate beef for not being included on the list. But Thurman's affiliation with Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions series left me wondering whether he'd get the types of fights he needs to be rated pound-for-pound elite next year. I want to think he will, but PBC hasn't yet shown me they will make the best fights possible. Thurman doesn't need bouts against also-ran welterweights. He needs fights against stars.
The trendy pick for future superstar these days appears to be 25-year-old welterweight Errol Spence. Spence, a southpaw, looks phenomenal. But there are no names yet on his pristine record to suggest Spence will be universally praised as one of the 10 best fighters in the sport next year.
Hosts of HBO Boxing telecasts Jim Lampley and Max Kellerman gushed enough over featherweight Nicholas Walters to perhaps give some the impression Walters is on his way to stardom. I don't see it. Sure, Walters has heavy hands and a big frame, but Walters' best win is over a faded Nonito Donaire, a fighter he's also just a lot bigger than. Let's see him fight the likes of Lomachenko before anointing him elite.
Naoya Inoue, a 22-year-old junior bantamweight from Japan, should probably already be on all the top-10 lists. He's won titles at junior flyweight and super bantamweight, and his fighting career is just over two years old. But Inoue has two things going against him. He's small, and he fights on the other side of the world. Neither should really matter, but they often do.
Finally, I think junior middleweight Erislandy Lara is one of the best fighters in the sport of boxing. But after narrowly losing a controversial decision to Canelo Alvarez last year, I don't see good enough bouts on the horizon to garner him the credit he's probably already due.
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