B/R Pound-for-Pound Boxing Rankings: September 2023
September 1, 2023B/R Pound-for-Pound Boxing Rankings: September 2023
The good news for boxing fans? It's already been quite a year.
The better news? There's still one-third of the 2023 calendar remaining.
As the year turns into its ninth month and with a handful of significant ring events on the imminent horizon—including fights involving high-profile champions Canelo Alvarez and Tyson Fury—it seems a good time for the B/R combat team to reconvene and discuss which fighters were the best of the best across all weight classes through the close of August.
The go-to rubric, as always, includes recent results, past performances and input from other respected sources, including The Ring and Boxing Scene. Scroll through to see what we came up with, and drop a line with your own thoughts in the comments.
10. Tyson Fury
Weight Class: Heavyweight
Major Titles Held: WBC
Tyson Fury is many things to many people.
Some look at the 6'9", 270-pounder and see a mix of sublime skill and gargantuan size that's unprecedented in heavyweight boxing.
Others see a guy with a maddening inability (or unwillingness) to get big fights made with relevant foes like Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua, but instead one who made a quick reach for cash against ex-UFC menace Francis Ngannou, a ring novice.
But if you think the latter bothers him, think again.
"Don't hate the player, hate the game," Fury said on Instagram. "I don't have a mandatory, when I do have a mandatory it will be dealt with just like every other mandatory I've ever had.
"Until then, keep on hating motherf--kers! And enjoy little, little, little tiny bit of money you guys are making."
9. Teofimo Lopez
Weight Class: 140 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBO
No matter how much you might want Teofimo Lopez to go away, he refuses.
The brash New Yorker dubbed himself "The Takeover" and staked out a place on the world stage with a 2020 defeat of Vasyl Lomachenko that netted him undisputed status at lightweight. But just as he settled in for a long reign at 135, he was upset in his first defense by George Kambosos Jr. and spent the better part of a year rationalizing away the loss.
So when he climbed to 140 pounds to take on unbeaten and highly regarded champion Josh Taylor, it was difficult to find too many folks who believed Lopez would rise once again.
Until he did.
The Scotsman lost seven rounds on two scorecards and nine on another as Lopez earned high-end status in a second weight class and reinserted himself into discussions with would-be foes from 135 to 147 pounds.
"We're looking to make him a really big fight," promoter Bob Arum told Steve Kim (via Boxing Scene), "either later this year, or maybe in conjunction with the Super Bowl, next year."
8. Gervonta Davis
Weight Class: 135 pounds
Major Titles Held: None
Gervonta Davis was on the winning side of the year's first big fight when he dispatched previously unbeaten rival Ryan Garcia in seven rounds in late April.
He's not fought since, having served 44 days in a detention center following a crash that injured four people, and a house-arrest violation.
His name has returned to headlines in the days following a UFC transition that saw Sean O'Malley become that promotion's 135-pound champ with a one-punch stoppage of Aljamain Sterling.
The quick win prompted what's become a routine refrain in the aftermath of such results, with various parties commenting on what would happen if the boxer climbed into a cage or an MMA fighter stepped outside the fence and into the ring.
O'Malley, given that he's a similar weight, has Davis on his mind.
"That fight's gonna happen someday, I swear to f--king God, dude," O'Malley said on his TimboSugarShow podcast (via bjpenn.com). "When I have these feelings, like these true deep feelings, like I'm gonna be world champ, I would tell anybody, look them in the eyes and tell them that 'cause I knew it was gonna happen.
"I have that same feeling about fighting Gervonta. Like, it's gonna f--king happen."
7. Jermell Charlo
Weight Class: 154 pounds
Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO
There are gifts from brothers. And then there are gifts from brothers.
Jermell Charlo was already a highly regarded and undisputed champion at 154 pounds midway through the year, but he took a giant step toward possible superstardom thanks to a decision made by twin brother Jermall, who's a champion at 160 pounds.
Jermall decided he wasn't ready for a would-be showdown with super middleweight kingpin and pay-per-view stalwart Canelo Alvarez in September, but the chance at the big prize remained in the family when the other Charlo, who's 35-1-1 as a pro since 2007, stepped in.
So Jermell gets the gigantic B-side opportunity when he meets Alvarez in a scheduled 12-round for all the 168-pound marbles in Las Vegas on September 30.
He's a +300 underdog according to the guys at DraftKings but you wouldn't be able to tell based on his confidence level.
"They obviously see a different animal in me," Charlo told the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast. "That's why they're putting me in there. I'm going to stand on my tip toes when I get in there on the 30th. I'm coming to go to war and be smart. I'm down for whatever."
6. Devin Haney
Weight Class: 135 pounds
Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBC (in recess), WBO
Devin Haney may be the least respected undisputed champ in the sport.
The California-born 24-year-old ascended to four-belt status at lightweight with consecutive defeats of Teofimo Lopez conqueror George Kambosos Jr., but the official result of his subsequent fight—a narrow unanimous decision over Vasyl Lomachenko—was debated so hotly that it actually took some of the bloom off the unbeaten champ's rose.
The response Haney has chosen in the aftermath may go a ways toward restoring his reputation, though. Provided it actually occurs.
Promoter Eddie Hearn is working out the final details for a would-be match between Haney and the WBC's champion at 140 pounds, Regis Prograis.
The WBC has changed Haney's official status to "Champion in Recess" to allow for his move to 140, and Hearn said November is "more likely" now than the initial plan for late October.
"Regis has signed," Hearn said via Instagram. "Devin hasn't yet but is ready to sign. We just need to make sure everyone's happy with the date and venue and I think we'll have a megafight."
5. Canelo Alvarez
Weight Class: 168 pounds
Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO
Being Canelo Alvarez means never having to say you're sorry.
The sport's signature pay-per-view performer for the last decade has held recognized shares of the 168-pound championship pie for several years, finally consolidating them in 2021 with an 11th-round stoppage of previously unbeaten Caleb Plant.
He's fought three times since gaining undisputed status, losing in a challenge of light heavyweight champ Dmitry Bivol, defending against two-time middleweight foe Gennadiy Golovkin and handling five-loss foe John Ryder in a return from post-Golovkin hand surgery.
And now, he'll defend his stature against a reigning champion from two weight classes and 14 pounds down the ladder, four-belt super welterweight/junior middleweight king Jermell Charlo, who jumped in when his middleweight brother Jermall turned down the fight.
It's a springboard to other things, Alvarez insists, with a fight against unbeaten contender David Benavidez reigning as the one most called for by fans. And maybe down the line, a showdown with undisputed champ Terence Crawford, who now fights at 147.
"You never know in boxing," he told Boxing Scene's Manouk Akopyan. "I will go up and down and fight everybody out there. So, it's possible. Why not? It's possible. If it makes sense, I am down to do it. I don't care who is there. I am always able to fight everybody."
4. Dmitry Bivol
Weight Class: 175 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBA
Canelo Alvarez is never lacking an option.
But the same cannot be said of the last man to beat him.
Dmitry Bivol rose to prominence with an upset decision over Alvarez when the Mexican challenged for the WBA light heavyweight title in May 2022, but outside of a defense against Gilberto Ramirez a few months later it's been a whole lot of wheel-spinning for the Russian.
Now 32 years old, Bivol is 21-0 with 11 KOs in a career stretching back to 2014, but he's not been able to lock down a rematch with Alvarez or unification with three-belt champ Artur Beterbiev, which leaves him pining for a possibility to chase Canelo's would-be conqueror.
Indeed, if Jermell Charlo pulls off the upset later this month, Bivol is on record saying he'd boil off the seven pounds to get to 168 and vie for super middleweight jewelry.
"If Charlo wins, I would like to fight him," Bivol told FightHub.
"It's not like, 'Oh, I want to fight against someone at 168.' No, I prefer to fight in my weight class. But if someone wants and we have a good offer to move down for the belt, I will do it, but I prefer to fight in my weight class."
3. Oleksandr Usyk
Weight Class: Heavyweight
Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBO
When you win nearly every moment of a title defense against a comprehensively overmatched and borderline undeserving opponent, people have to talk about something.
So in this case, in the aftermath of Oleksandr Usyk's ninth-round stoppage of challenger Daniel Dubois, it's the low blow that was. Or to some, the one that wasn't.
Usyk was well ahead as he and Dubois arrived to the fifth round and the British contender landed a hard right hand that connected to the champion's belt line and was immediately ruled a low blow by referee Luis Pabon. Usyk took several moments to regain his composure and soon retook control of the fight, ultimately finishing Dubois in Round 9.
Some have suggested the borderline nature of the shot should have resulted in a knockdown and, by extrapolation, a Dubois victory. Meanwhile, Usyk insisted he'd have risen immediately if the referee had begun to count and dismissed the idea Dubois was wronged.
"For me, 100 percent, if the referee started to count, I would definitely jump up," he told Boxing King Media. "I would be on my feet. It would be hard for me to recuperate and come back to my normal state, but there is no doubt that I would be up."
2. Naoya Inoue
Weight Class: 122 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBC, WBO
It's been 38 days. But it's no less impressive.
Naoya Inoue's first title fight at 122 pounds was so dominant and so impressive that it'd be absolutely no crime if he was listed atop anyone's pound-for-pound rankings.
He's been that good. He remains that good.
And perhaps the best thing about him, he's still chasing greatness.
The Japanese "Monster" is already making inroads toward securing undisputed four-belt status in the weight class, and his team told Boxing Scene that progress is being made on a fight that'd match him and IBF/WBA champ Marlon Tapales in December.
He's held belts at 108 and 115 pounds and was a four-belt champ at 118, too.
"I'm fully satisfied with the situation around me," he said, "as I hear the negotiation of the unification bout with WBA/IBF counterpart Marlon Tapales—with all the four belts on the line—is coming to an end soon."
1. Terence Crawford
Weight Class: 147 pounds
Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA WBC, WBO
Speaking of impressive, no fighter can claim the title more than Terence Crawford.
Already a longtime pound-for-pound fixture, Crawford elevated to almost undisputed No. 1 status with a thorough beating of fellow champion Errol Spence Jr. in their long-awaited—and ultimately one-sided—unification bout in late July in Las Vegas.
Such a victory not only transforms perception of the 35-year-old, it also simultaneously lifts the Nebraskan into discussion for any number of big fights in the coming months and years.
A rematch with Spence could come if and when the beaten fighter gives the green light to a contracted rematch clause. A rise to 154 for a grudge match with Jermell Charlo could come if and when the Texan returns to the weight class after a late September showdown with Canelo Alvarez.
And a fight with Alvarez himself could ultimately work its way to reality if both men remain successfully entrenched at or near the top of pound-for-pound lists.
It seems crazy with Crawford at 147 and Alvarez at 168, but "Bud" relishes the challenge and no less an authority than Oscar De La Hoya, Alvarez's former promoter and subsequent nemesis, believes he's got the stuff to pull it off.
"If that fight ever takes place, I have Crawford 1000 percent," De La Hoya told FightHype. "Crawford also is a big guy who can handle a Canelo because they're at the same size. Crawford is a guy who punches hard but he doesn't rely on his power.
"He relies on his footwork, he relies on his speed, changeups, he relies on his combinations, he relies on his mind. And I believe that Crawford is a way better boxer than Canelo."