B/R Boxing Pound-for-Pound Rankings for July 2026
There's nothing like a big fight card to get pound-for-pound juices flowing.
A packed house at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on Saturday saw a commanding performance from Jaron Ennis alongside breakouts by Ben Whittaker and Emiliano Vargas that ended the first half of 2026 and provided a canvas on which to re-rank the sport's best.
The B/R boxing team considered significant results from the last several months alongside input from respected sources to compile a list of the 10 fighters who deserve highest-profile placement.
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments.
10. Junto Nakatani
1 of 10
Weight Class: 122 pounds
Major Titles Held: None
Not all losses are created equal.
Nakatani had won 32 in a row before engaging with Naoya Inoue in Tokyo, where he was beaten on the scorecards in a bout the Associated Press labeled "the biggest-ever occasion for Japanese boxing."
The fractured left orbital bone he sustained will likely keep him on the shelf until later this year or early 2027.
9. Canelo Alvarez
2 of 10
Weight Class: 168 pounds
Major Titles Held: None
The pay-per-view stalwart suffered just the third loss of a long career last September when he dropped his super middleweight belts to Terence Crawford.
He's not fought since but is scheduled to meet subsequent champion Christian Mbilli for the WBC title this fall and is widely favored to beat the 31-year-old, who's had just one scheduled 12-rounder to Alvarez's 44.
"If I'm 50 years old," Alvarez told Mbilli at the kickoff press conference, "you can't beat me."
8. Jaron Ennis
3 of 10
Weight Class: 154 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBA, WBO
It's "Welcome to the Party" time for the uber-talented Ennis, who punched a long-term ticket with a seventh-round stop of Xander Zayas that yielded two belts.
Ennis had been a champion at 147 but failed to secure a bout with Terence Crawford before "Bud" vacated, leaving "Boots" to climb to beat Zayas and chase other significant belts now held by Josh Kelly (IBF) and Sebastian Fundora (WBC).
"Has all the tools," SiriusXM host Randy Gordon told Bleacher Report. "Is blazing fast, both on his feet and with his hands. Can punch with power and can take a punch. So far, has shown few weaknesses. His title win against Xander Zayas was a phenomenal performance."
7. Dmitry Bivol
4 of 10
Weight Class: 175 pounds
Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBO
It's good to have options.
The sublimely talented Bivol scaled the 175-pound mountain when he beat Artur Beterbiev last year and the win left him able to choose a high-profile path.
Promoter Eddie Hearn said choices include unification with WBC champ David Benavidez, a trilogy fight with Beterbiev, or a mandatory defense against top WBO contender Callum Smith, a former champion at 168.
6. Devin Haney
5 of 10
Weight Class: 147 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBO
No fighter had a bigger 2025 than Haney, who rebounded from a loss to Ryan Garcia at 140 pounds to whip unbeaten welterweight Brian Norman Jr. and claim his WBO belt last November.
There's been no follow-up yet in 2026 but Haney is perpetually linked to a fight with 140-pound champ Shakur Stevenson and the WBO has declared he must face its top contender, Keyshawn Davis, by August.
"We already sat down like businessmen," Haney's father, Bill, said of the Stevenson fight. "We're ready to make it happen, like businessmen."
5. Oleksandr Usyk
6 of 10Weight Class: Heavyweight
Major Titles Held: None
It's "Last Dance" time for the best heavyweight of a generation.
Usyk took to social media last week to announce he'd surrendered his three remaining title belts but would climb into the ring one more time before retiring.
The 39-year-old was pushed surprisingly hard in his May bout with veteran kickboxer Rico Verhoeven, making a rematch one possibility, but recent chatter has focused more on a potential showdown with former WBC champion Deontay Wilder.
4. David Benavidez
7 of 10
Weight Class: 175 pounds, 200 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBC (175), WBA/WBO (200)
Want an old-school throwback? We offer the "Mexican Monster."
Already a former two-time champ at 168 pounds, Benavidez snagged a belt at 175 with a KO of Anthony Yarde in late 2025, then climbed to 200 for a blowout of Zurdo Ramirez on Cinco de Mayo weekend in Las Vegas.
From here? He's a long-shot pick to be Usyk's final foe at heavyweight, may drop down to 175 for a date with Bivol, or could wait at 200 to see what develops there.
3. Jesse Rodriguez
8 of 10
Weight Class: 118 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBA
The fastest-rising fighter in boxing is officially among the elite.
"Bam" Rodriguez was a champion in one weight class at 22 years old, added a second weight title at 23, and has graduated to a top-tier pound-for-pound slot as a 26-year-old with a belt in a third weight class and a chance at a superfight.
His sixth-round KO of Antonio Vargas made him the WBA's champion at bantamweight and increased chatter for a fight—with 122-pound king Naoya Inoue—that we've been calling for in this space for ages.
2. Shakur Stevenson
9 of 10
Weight Class: 140 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBO
Speaking of graduations, Stevenson, a former three-division champ, grabbed his high-end pound-for-pound diploma in January with a definitive scorecard defeat of Teofimo Lopez that made him the WBO's top man at 140.
He'd been linked to a fight with Lopez for years and now finds himself verbally tied to the likes of Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney, each of whom holds a belt at 147.
"I told you all I'm the best fighter on the planet," Stevenson said after beating Lopez, "and I stand by that."
1. Naoya Inoue
10 of 10
Weight Class: 122 pounds
Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO
Attrition has made it clear: Inoue is the world's best fighter.
The Japanese "Monster" has been a champion since his sixth pro fight and has amassed titles in four weight classes, and the retirements (official and imminent) of recent No. 1's Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk cleared the path to the top.
He handled Junto Nakatani in an all-Japan showdown at 122 pounds in the spring and could consider a move to featherweight to chase a fifth set of titles or another significant bout at 122 with rising pound-for-pounder Jesse Rodriguez.
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