My Pound for Pound Rankings: June 2019

10. Callum Smith – Super Middleweight. Record: 26-0-0 (19 KO)

Callum Smith is arguably the most underrated boxer in the world right now. Last year he won the inaugural super-middleweight World Boxing Super Series, beating and essentially retiring George Groves in the final to win the WBA and Ring Magazine titles. Smith seems just as comfortable going on the attack as he is sitting back and looking for counter punches, and has a vicious left hook that downed Hassan N’Dam twice in his last fight on route to a 3rd round TKO finish. Standing at 6 foot 3, it’s a complete mystery how Smith is able to keep below the 168 pound limit for the super-middleweight division in each fight. Smith has previously fought at light-heavyweight in a number of fights, and if he can unify the 168 division, I see no reason why he can’t be just as successful moving up in weight. With Golovkin making his super-middleweight debut this month and Alvarez rumoured to make the step up this year, the division is set to become just as competitive as the Froch-Ward era. It’s fair to say that it’s unlikely that anyone would beat those two, but if anyone can, it’s probably Smith.

9. Mikey Garcia – Lightweight. Record: 39-1-0 (30 KO)

Recent years have mostly consisted of jumps between weight classes for Mikey Garcia. In 2013 he won the WBO featherweight title, before winning the WBO super-featherweight title later that year. Then in 2017 he won the WBC lightweight title, then the IBF super-lightweight title last year, before then winning the IBF and WBC lightweight titles against Robert Easter Jr. It seemed like Garcia was able to conquer any weight class he fought in until earlier this year, when he suffered his first loss at the hands of IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr., in what proved to be a jump too far for him. Garcia was completely wiped out on the scorecards, not winning a single round on any judges results. It has to be noted however, that this was Garcia’s first loss in 40 professional fights, and he didn’t really look like he was anywhere close to losing in his other 39, winning by either stoppage or unanimous decision. Garcia vacated his WBC lightweight belt earlier this year, and it was announced shortly after that he would be named the champion emeritus, meaning that if he was to return to lightweight, he would automatically be awarded with a title shot. He is set to move back up to super-lightweight this year, but his next opponent is unclear at this point.

8. Tyson Fury – Heavyweight. Record: 28-0-1 (20 KO)

Heavyweights very rarely make it into pound for pound top 10’s unless they’re the unified or undisputed champion. Since 1989, just 5 heavyweight have appeared on The Ring‘s pound for pound top 10’s, proving that generally the heavyweight boxers aren’t considered to be as skilled as their lighter counterparts. Tyson Fury isn’t your average heavyweight boxer though. He looks like a heavyweight, and obviously weighs as much, but he fights and moves like a middleweight. He is without a doubt the most technically skilled heavyweight on the planet today, and is about as quick as people 8 stone lighter than him. He doesn’t currently hold a belt from a sanctioning body, but he is the lineal champion, a title that he won from Wladimir Klitschko in 2015. If Fury goes on to become a unified or undisputed champion then for me he will undoubtedly be top five pound for pound in the world.

7. Errol Spence Jr. – Welterweight. Record: 25-0-0 (21 KO)

Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence became the IBF welterweight champion in 2017, knocking out Kell Brook in the 11th round in Brook’s hometown of Sheffield. Since then he’s made defences against Lamont Peterson, Carlos Ocampo and Mikey Garcia, an incredibly impressive stack of names it has to be said. Spence has an extremely powerful left hand, and has a knockout rate of 84%, including his first round knockout of Ocampo from a vicious body shot. He also has a tremendous work rate, fast hands and excellent footwork that creates openings for those big power shots. It also has to be noted that he completely shut out Mikey Garcia earlier this year, winning every round on every judges scorecards, which is a huge feat considering Garcia is a 4-weight world champion. Spence is reportedly aiming for a unification bout against WBC champion Shawn Porter later this year, before hopefully setting up the much anticipated bout against WBO champion, and fellow pound for pound great, Terence Crawford. Spence has previously fought at super-welterweight and middleweight as well, meaning there is a very real chance he will move back up in weight in the future.

6. Gennady Golovkin – Super Middleweight. Record: 39-1-1 (35 KO)

GGG is arguably the toughest man in world boxing right now. Golovkin has never been knocked down. Not in his 350 amateur fights, not in sparring, and not once in his 41 professional fights. On top of that, he has a knockout rate of 85.4%, which easily make him one of the most feared middleweights/super-middleweights on the planet. GGG’s only loss and only draw so far both came against Alvarez, who is currently the unified middleweight champion. These bouts were highly controversial however, as many viewers believed that Golovkin did more than enough to win both fights. GGG made the step up to super-middleweight earlier this month, as he knocked out the previously unbeaten Steve Rolls in the 4th round, in his first professional fight outside of the middleweight division. There are rumours that a third and final fight between Golovkin and Alvarez could materialise by the end of the year, but at the moment, nothing is confirmed.

5. Naoya Inoue – Bantamweight. Record: 18-0-0 (16 KO)

I don’t there’s a more apt boxing alias than Inoue’s ‘The Monster’. On the surface Inoue doesn’t look like a monster but he is probably the pound for pound hardest puncher in the world. With a knockout rate of 88.9%, just one significant power shot of his can end a fight completely, and his bone shuddering body shots have probably ruined more livers than Jack Daniels over recent years. For a man who weighs 8 stone, his power is simply staggering. 81.3% of Inoue’s knockout victories have come inside the first half of the fight, and a fight of his hasn’t gone the distance in 3 years. Despite his power however, Inoue is often a very cautious and calculated fighter, and is only aggressive when he sees that the end is in sight for his opponent. Inoue’s victory over Emmanuel Rodriguez last month made him a 3-weight world champion, winning titles at light-flyweight, super-flyweight and bantamweight. His next fight is set to take place later this year against WBA champion Nonito Donaire in the final of the bantamweight World Boxing Super Series, and following that I wouldn’t be surprised to see him fighting at featherweight within a couple of years.

4. Oleksandr Usyk – Cruiserweight. Record: 16-0-0 (12 KO)

The undisputed cruiserweight world champion has had a rapid rise over the past few years. Usyk won the 2012 Olympic gold medal in the heavyweight division, before turning professional and becoming a world champion in just his 10th fight and unified the WBC and WBO titles in his 14th. He then won the cruiserweight World Boxing Super Series last year to become the undisputed champion, beating unbeaten Murat Gassiev by unanimous decision in the final. Usyk is a world class technical boxer, with an excellent ring IQ, fantastic footwork and an amazing sense of range. In Usyk’s last bout last year, Tony Bellew proved that it is possible to outbox the Ukrainian. He did this for the opening 5-6 rounds, but it was clear that outboxing Usyk is seriously physically draining. Bellew looked exhausted before Usyk eventually ended the fight in the 8th round. Usyk is set to step up to heavyweight later this year against Carlos Takam, and is most likely going to be the mandatory challenger of the winner of the rematch between Ruiz and Joshua. I think that Usyk is more than capable of becoming a heavyweight world champion, and I can see him beating both Ruiz and Joshua should that fight come about.

3. Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez – Middleweight. Record: 52-1-2 (35 KO)

I think it’s fair to say that Canelo has the best resume on this list. Alvarez has beaten Golovkin, Jacobs, Khan, Cotto, Lara and Mosley, and his only loss to date came against the all-time great Floyd Mayweather Jr. He is a 3-weight world champion, and currently holds the IBF, WBA, WBC, Ring Magazine and Lineal middleweight titles, just one title away from being undisputed. Alvarez also has an incredibly durable chin, and has not been knocked down once, in the amateurs or as a professional. Over the course of his two fights with Golovkin, one of the hardest punchers in the world, GGG landed 226 power punches, and not a single one sent Canelo down. Alvarez began his professional, career at the age of just 15, and at the age of 28, has competed in 55 professional fights, more than many manage in their whole careers. With him being just 28, you have to wonder if we’ve even seen Alvarez’s best years to date, and with him being rumoured to make the step up to super-middleweight soon, there’s the chance he’ll keep going for a long time, and may well become a 4-weight world champion.

2. Terence Crawford – Welterweight. Record: 35-0-0 (26 KO)

I think it’s conceivable to say that Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford may never lose a fight in his career. In his 35 fight professional career, Crawford has barely looked like he’s broken a sweat, and has barely looked like he could possibly lose. Despite the controversy surrounding his last victory against Amir Khan, it’s still clear that Bud was completely in control throughout the contest. And despite the low blows landed by Crawford, it’s still incredibly likely that he would’ve gone on to a unanimous decision victory is Khan was able to continue. Crawford won his first world title in 2014, beating Ricky Burns to win his WBO lightweight title. He became the WBO super-lightweight champion in 2015, and added the WBC title in 2016, before beating Julius Indongo to become the undisputed champion in 2017. He then made his welterweight debut last year, as he stopped Jeff Horn in the 9th round to become the WBO champion. Like most fans I’m hoping to see Crawford face off against the other champions in there division, and in particular I’d love to see a matchup between him and IBF champion Errol Spence Jr. Throughout his career Crawford has not been the type of boxer to shy away from the big fights so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him unify the division within the next year.

1. Vasyl Lomachenko – Lightweight. Record: 13-1-0 (10 KO)

Lomachenko is essentially the perfect fighter. He is immensely well rounded, with outstanding athleticism and an unmatched ring IQ. His only loss as a professional came in his second fight, against Orlando Salido in a split decision for the WBO featherweight title. That’s right, in his second fight he was already fighting for a world title. Lomachenko would then win that title in his very next fight, beating Gary Russell Jr. by majority decision. He won two Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012, one at featherweight and one at lightweight, as well as winning the amateur world championships twice, and also the European championships. Reportedly, Lomachenko had an amateur record of 396-1, and managed to avenge the only loss of his amateur career in the first round of the 2008 Olympics. That means that overall, Lomachenko has had 411 fights, and lost only two. That gives him a staggering win rate of 99.5%. When it comes to his professional career, he is currently a three-weight world champion, and has currently unified the WBA and WBO lightweight titles, and looks set to fight for the WBC title later this year against Luke Campbell. Earlier this year he knocked out Anthony Crolla in devastating fashion to defend his titles, and in the not to distant future, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him step up as far as welterweight. Since turning professional, 92.9% of his fights have been for a world title, meaning that the only time he hasn’t fought for a world title as a professional was his pro debut. Honestly, Vasyl Lomachenko is simply outstanding, and every time I discover something new about the Ukrainian I am blown away even more.

My Heavyweight Rankings: June 2019

10. Adam Kownacki – Record: 19-0-0 (15 KO)

Kownacki is the only boxer on this list to currently have a 100% win record, proving his current label as an up and coming prospect in the division. In his last 4 fights, Kownacki has fought two former world title challengers in Gerald Washington and Artur Szpilka, and former IBF world champion Charles Martin. Stylistically he is very aggressive, and generally lands a decent percentage of his power shots. However, his aggressiveness does often tend to leave him with significant bleeding from his nose and above his eye, which could prove to be a weakness against top opposition. Kownacki’s next fight will be against former title challenger Chris Arreola in August, but will ideally need a top 10 matchup in his next fight to properly move up through the rankings.

9. Kubrat Pulev – Record: 27-1-0 (14 KO)

Bulgarian heavyweight Pulev was a huge rising star in the division a few years ago, and was one of the highest ranked heavyweights before the only loss of his professional career at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko. He has more or less remained in most top 10 rankings since then but has not had any big fights since, with his biggest coming against Hughie Fury and Dereck Chisora. He was initially meant to challenge Anthony Joshua for his IBF & WBA belts in 2017, but had to pull out of the fight due to an injury. His last win came against Bogdan Dinu earlier this year, and he is rumoured to be a potential opponent for Tyson Fury later this year.

8. Alexander Povetkin – Record: 34-2-0 (24 KO)

After winning gold at the 2004 summer olympics, Alexander Povetkin went 26 fights and 8 years unbeaten, before, just like Pulev, losing his unbeaten record to Wladimir Klitschko. Povetkin is a very fast and tricky fighter for a lot of taller boxers to deal with. Standing at 6 feet 2 inches tall, he generally has a disadvantage in reach, so he is very clever in his methods of getting inside his opponents jab. He showed that ability against Joshua in his last fight, meaning that AJ seriously struggled to deal with him in the opening rounds. However, Povetkin turns 40 in September, which begs the question, how long has he got left?

7. Joseph Parker – Record: 25-2-0 (19 KO)

Joseph Parker became the first heavyweight world champion from New Zealand in 2016, and was unbeaten until a disappointing couple of losses in 2018. Parker lost his WBO title to Joshua in Cardiff in March, before losing a second unanimous decision in a row to Dillian Whyte in London in July. Parker made a decent account of himself in both fights, especially the latter, but ultimately he wasn’t confident enough, and at times seemed reluctant to throw significant punches. He is still a very skilful boxer however, and can happily say that he is to this day the only man to beat Andy Ruiz Jr., the unified heavyweight champion, as a professional. Many people believed that Ruiz deserved the win in that fight, but I personally scored it 115-113 in favour of Parker.

6. Luis Ortiz – Record: 31-1-0 (26 KO) (2 NC)

For a while, Cuban southpaw Luis Ortiz was considered the bogeyman of the division. As an extremely powerful southpaw, he seemed to many to be an incredibly difficult opponent. Ortiz eventually got his big break in March last year, as he challenged Deontay Wilder for his WBC title. He certainly grabbed the opportunity with both hands, and almost knocked Wilder out in the 7th round before ultimately being stopped in the 10th. Since then Ortiz has kept active, having three fights, the most recent being a unanimous decision victory over Christian Hammer. Wilder has stated that a rematch between the two has been scheduled between the two later this year, but I don’t honestly see Ortiz overturning the only loss of his professional career to date.

5. Dillian Whyte – Record: 25-1-0 (18 KO)

2018 was an incredible year for Dillian ‘The Body Snatcher’ Whyte. In March he knocked 0ut Lucas Browne, in July he beat former WBO world champion Joseph Parker by unanimous decision and then in December, he knocked out long time rival Dereck Chisora in a rematch of their thriller from 2016. It’s been an incredible run for Whyte since his loss to Joshua in 2015, winning 9 in a row, and becoming the WBC’s number 1 ranked challenger, although the governing body decided to make Dominic Breazeale their last mandatory despite Whyte being ranked higher. He’s a boxer who has massively changed his style since his only professional loss as well. He was previously a very aggressive fighter, but has adapted to being more of a calm and sound technical boxer. Even between the Parker and Chisora fights, we saw that he was more reserved and kept a lot of his energy back for those later rounds, which is ultimately what won him the fight. Whyte faces Colombian prospect Oscar Rivas next month, before hopefully setting him up with a huge top 10 fight towards the end of the year.

4. Anthony Joshua – Record: 22-1-0 (21 KO)

AJ is a very talented all round boxer, with good hand speed, excellent power, and decent conditioning. However, earlier this month he was exposed as a boxer with some very serious flaws. Against Povetkin he struggled to keep the shorter fighter outside with his jab, meaning that the Russian caused him a lot of problems, which is something that Ruiz took advantage of. He had mostly been able to get away with little head movement previously as well, simply blocking incoming punches, but Ruiz was able to pick him apart with ease. He also has a tendency to get hurt when he’s being more aggressive and looking for the finish, as shown against Whyte, Klitschko and Ruiz. Joshua has probably the most impressive record on the list however, with almost nothing but top heavyweight opponents in the last few years. His knockout percentage of 91.3 is incredibly impressive as well, and he’s proved time and time again that he’s one of the best finishers in the business. Joshua doesn’t strike me as the kind of boxer that is going to go out in the next fight with the same game plan, and I think we’ll see a different AJ next time out. It seems like his next fight will be a rematch against Ruiz towards the end of the year to try and reclaim his titles.

3. Andy Ruiz Jr. – Record: 33-1-0 (22 KO)

Almost nobody gave Ruiz a chance against Anthony Joshua, but he shocked the world by stopping the undefeated, unified heavyweight champion in the 7th round. Ruiz is an immensely talented boxer with outstanding hand speed and surprisingly good conditioning for a man of his body type. He also has the heart of a champion, which he proved after getting off the canvas in the third round of his last fight. Ruiz had over 100 amateur fights, losing just 5, meaning that the experience he has is matched by very few in the division today. Ruiz’s only loss as a professional so far came in a WBO title fight against Joseph Parker, losing by majority decision in a fight that many viewers believed that Ruiz deserved to win. Ruiz took over a year out following that loss, and had just three fights between the Parker fight and the Joshua fight. As a replacement for Jarrell Miller, Ruiz was an 11 to 1 underdog going into the biggest fight of his career, and proved in just seven rounds that he is a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division.

2. Deontay Wilder – Record: 41-0-1 (40 KO)

Deontay Wilder is without a doubt the most powerful puncher in the heavyweight division. With a knockout rate of 95.2%, he has proved time and time again that he can end a fight with one punch. Wilder’s first 39 professional fights were against comparatively weaker opposition however, and since last year his opponents have been considerably tougher. In 2018 Wilder fought Luis Ortiz and Tyson Fury, winning the first fight in the 10th round, and managing to score a controversial draw against Fury. He then made a huge statement earlier this year by knocking mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale out in the first round. He may not be a particularly technical boxer, but Wilder’s athleticism and heart really set him apart from the vast majority of the competition. His conditioning is excellent and he proved against Fury that he can carry his power right into the final round of the fight. He proved against Ortiz as well that he can come back from the brink of defeat to win in emphatic style, demonstrating a huge amount of heart and determination. Wilder has now made 9 defences of his WBC heavyweight title, and is set to defend it again in a rematch against Ortiz later this year.

1. Tyson Fury – Record: 28-0-1 (20 KO)

I’ve been saying this for a while now: Tyson Fury is the best heavyweight in the world. Fury combines outstanding ring IQ with blistering head movement and hand speed, and as he showed against Schwarz, the power to stop a fight in the second round. Fury’s speed is a complete mystery as well. He stands at 6 foot 9 inches and in his last fight he weighed 263.5 pounds (18.8 stone), yet at times he looked like a prime Muhammad Ali. He should not be as quick as he is, it simply defies logic. In 2015, Fury became the unified heavyweight champion, after beating the long reigning Wladimir Klitschko in Germany. Fury went off the rails shortly after, having to retire from boxing after ballooning up to 28 stone. Fury fought back from this and his chronic mental health issues however, and in just his third fight back he challenged Deontay Wilder for his WBC title. Quite frankly, Fury was robbed, in the biggest robbery of a Brit in America since Lennox Lewis vs Evander Holyfield in 1999. Fury outboxed Wilder for 10 out of the 12 rounds, and got up from 2 knockdowns to get a draw. The lineal champion stays as driven as ever though, and following his demolition job of Tom Schwarz, looks set to return to the ring either in September or October, most likely against a top ten opponent. Simply put, I think Fury can, and probably will, beat anyone that he comes up against in the not too distant future.