Predicting the Top 10 Pound-for-Pound Boxers at the End of 2016
There has been significant movement in the mythical pound-for-pound boxing rankings during 2016. Featherweight champion Carl Frampton fought his way into consideration.
Rising stars like Vasyl Lomachenko and Terence Crawford consolidated their status.
Between now and the end of this year, little is likely to change. But the biggest fight of the year is still waiting to take place, when Sergey Kovalev faces Andre Ward in November.
That will be a showdown of two top-five, pound-for-pound stars. In my book, the winner deserves to slide into the sport's top spot.
So ultimately, predicting the top pound-for-pound fighter at the end of 2016 comes down to predicting who will win that superfight.
10. Carl Frampton
1 of 10
In 2016, Carl Frampton has battled his way into the pound-for-pound top 10 in most credible rankings. The Ring and Bleacher Report both have him at No. 10, and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board places him at No. 7.
Frampton gained this status by winning two major world-title fights. Last February, he unified the IBF and WBA super bantamweight belts by decisioning Scott Quigg. He jumped immediately to featherweight, where he took the WBA featherweight strap from Leo Santa Cruz at the end of July.
If the year ended today, Frampton would be the obvious choice for Fighter of the Year. Quigg and Santa Cruz were both world champions, with a combined record of 63-0-3. Santa Cruz himself was on the verge of top- 10, pound-for-pound status.
There is still time for Frampton to make another fight that could alter his ranking. But more than likely, he will remain firm at No. 10 heading into 2017.
9. Saul Alvarez
2 of 10
I would have to rate 2016 as the most uninspired year of Saul Alvarez's career. He went 2-0 with two knockouts, but his choice of opponents was embarrassing for a star of his stature.
In May, he knocked out Amir Khan, a welterweight contender who had previously been stopped at both lightweight and super lightweight. In September, Canelo knocked out Liam Smith—a completely un-tested paper champion.
Alvarez did not even crack Bleacher Report's pound-for-pound top 10, although I personally voted for him. The Ring and the Transnational Rankings both still have him at No. 8.
I have been very disappointed in Canelo this year, but I still cannot justify dropping him from the pound-for-pound top 10. He remains the lineal middleweight champion and the top super welterweight in the world. His wins over top contenders Erislandy Lara and Austin Trout, along with faded legends Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley, gives him one of the sport's better resumes.
Alvarez injured his thumb against Smith and will not fight again in 2016.
8. Guillermo Rigondeaux
3 of 10
Guillermo Rigondeaux is unqestionably among the most skilled boxers on the planet. But his inability to land a fight against another top contender at super bantamweight is making it increasingly difficult to justify his place in the top 10.
Rigo nosed his way into the pound-for-pound rankings when he completely undressed Nonito Donaire in April 2013. At the time, Donaire was a consensus, pound-for-pound, top-five star.
But since then, fighters like super flyweights Naoya Inoue and Juan Francisco Estrada have had very impressive wins, while Rigondeaux has stayed active against complete non-entities such as James Dickens and Drian Francisco.
Rigondeaux is among the sport's most avoided fighters. He is nearly impossible to beat, yet he does not draw major crowds.
He might be able to land a big fight is if he moved to featherweight and spotted an opponent a size advantage, but even there, the young stars would probably be more likely to face each other.
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7. Vasyl Lomachenko
4 of 10
Vasyl Lomachenko has fought just seven times as a professional, but he is already a two-division champion. After losing to rough veteran Orlando Salido in just his second bout, he has looked phenomenal. In June he battered veteran champion Roman Martinez and captured the WBO super featherweight belt.
The Transnational Rankings still does not have Lomachenko in their pound-for-pound Top 10, but Bleacher Report has him No. 6., and The Ring has him at No. 7.
Lomachenko has a big fight scheduled for November against Nicholas Walters. Walters should be an opponent he can look very good against, but beating him will merely cement his status, rather than building it up higher.
6. Manny Pacquiao
5 of 10
Manny Pacquiao is currently unranked by both The Ring and the Transnational Rankings, as they both dropped him from consideration when he announced his retirement following his victory over Timothy Bradley last April.
But Pacquiao's retirement was brief even by boxing standards. He will be back in action in November against Jessie Vargas. And by the end of 2016, he will deserve to be ranked in the pound-for-pound top 10.
Pac-Man might be a faded version of himself at this point, but he is still one of the better fighters on the planet. He easily won against Bradley and should do the same against Vargas.
Both Bradley and Vargas are legitimate top-10 fighters at welterweight. Bradley is still arguably a top-five fighter.
5. Terence Crawford
6 of 10
Over the past few years, Terence Crawford has developed into one of the sport's true rising stars. And 2016 has been the year he solidified his standing as a top pound-for-pound star.
In July, Crawford unified the WBO and WBC belts when he handled previousy undefeated Viktor Postol by unanimous decision. It was exactly the kind of fight boxing fans hunger for—two undefeated champions coming together to establish which man is the true king.
The Ring and Bleacher Report both have Crawford at No. 5, while the Transnational Rankings place him all the way up at No. 3. It is not impossible that Crawford could emerge as the true, pound-for-pound king sometime during the next five years.
But even if he fights again in 2016, which is likely, I do not see him rising any higher by year's end.
4. Gennady Golovkin
7 of 10
So far in 2016, Gennady Golovkin has knocked out Dominic Wade and welterweight champion Kell Brook. It's a resume as lackluster as Saul Alvarez has put up for the year.
There have been talks that Golovkin could face Daniel Jacobs—his WBA mandatory in December. However, on October 7, ESPN's Dan Rafael reported the talks for that fight were not progressing well.
A win over Jacobs would be the best one on Golovkin's resume. It is no sure thing he would beat the Brooklyn native.
However, it is not a win that would improve his pound-for-pound standing very much. To do that, he is going to need to move up in weight and show similar dominance to what he has demonstrated at middleweight.
3. Sergey Kovalev
8 of 10
Right now Bleacher Report, the Transnational Boxing Rankings and The Ring rank Sergey Koavlev as the world's No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter. It is a fair assessment as of right now.
By predicting he will end the year at No. 3, I am tipping my hand on predicting the year's biggest fight—Kovalev's November showdown with Andre Ward. I expect Ward to win.
However, that is not a prediction I am extremely confident about. Kovalev is a great technical boxer with stunning power. He has a very good chance to defeat Ward.
If he does, he will deserve to reign as the world's top pound-for-pound fighter. Regardless, I expect him to perform well enough to still deserve a spot at No. 3.
2. Roman Gonzalez
9 of 10
Following Floyd Mayweather's retirement, Roman Gonzalez emerged as the top pound-for-pound star in the world. The undefeated knockout machine moved up to super flyweight in September and became a four-division world champion when he survived previously unbeaten Carlos Cuadras.
Gonzalez struggled in that fight, especially in the late rounds. But that is not why I am predicting he will end the year at No. 2. Cuadras is a great fighter and frankly deserves a rematch with Gonzalez down the road.
But I expect Andre Ward to defeat Sergey Kovalev in November, and when placed next to Ward's body of work at super middleweight, I feel it will justify making him No. 1 in the world. I am sure Gonzalez will continue to appear in the top spot in many rankings, though.
1. Andre Ward
10 of 10
In September 2012, Andre Ward brutalized reigning light heavyweight Chad Dawson, stopping him in Round 10. This followed his dominant march through the Showtime Super Six tournament, in which he easily defeated future Hall of Famers Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch.
But following that win over Dawson, Ward fought just once over the next three years. For far too long, one of the sport's greatest talents was on the shelf.
Since returning in June 2015 against Paul Smith, Ward has remained undefeated while staying on course for a clash with light heavyweight monster Sergey Kovalev. Kovalev represents by far the biggest challenge of Ward's career.
But I expect Ward to win. By doing so he will at last earn the status that has long seemed his destiny—the sport's pound-for-pound king.
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