Beterbiev & Bivol Surpass Canelo In Ring Magazine Pound-For-Pound Top 10 List

Newly crowned undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and defeated foe Dmitry Bivol have overtaken Canelo Alvarez in Ring Magazine’s updated pound-for-pound top 10 list.

Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs), who defeated former WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) by a 12-round majority decision last Saturday night to become the undisputed four-belt champion at 175, was bumped up to #4 on Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound list.

Interestingly, the defeated Bivol ahead of unified three-belt super middleweight champion Canelo was also moved into the #4 spot. Canelo is currently at #5 and may not stay there long unless he starts taking some risky fights against high level opposition.

The perception is Canelo was on a retirement tour since his loss to Dmitry Bivol in May 2022. Canelo’s last five opponents since that loss: Edgar Berlanga, Jaime Munguia, Jermell Charlo, John Ryder and Gennadiy Golovkin. All are considered soft gimmes.

Ring Magazine’s Pound-for-Pound List

1. Oleksandr Usyk: The King.
2. Naoya Inoue: He has never faced tough competition, and many believe he is hiding at Super Bantamweight because it is a weak division. Given his lackluster resume, Inoue should be near the bottom of the pound-for-pound list.
3. Terence Crawford: The Nebraska native should be ranked #9 due to his inactivity, poor showing in his last fight against Israil Madrimov, and his reluctance to fight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis or move up to 168 and rig run by fighting David. Benavidez, David Morrell and Osleys Iglesias to earn the Canelo golden parachute retirement cash.
4. Artur Beterbiev: This perfect ranking.
5. Dmitry Bivol: It is questionable to have Bivol on the roster as he lost his fight and showed no heart the entire 12 round contest. Bivol ran the entire fight with Beterbiev and did nothing in the twelfth round. Bivol’s lack of courage makes him unworthy of being on Ring Magazine’s list.
6. Canelo Alvarez: Given Canelo’s retirement tour-level opposition, he should be completely off the pound-for-pound list. Retired fighters should not be on prestigious P4P lists.
7. Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez: This talent should be in the #3 spot.
8. Gervonta Davis: Should be at #2 pound-for-pound.
9. Junto Nakatani: This fighter has yet to beat anyone to be on the pound-for-pound list.
10. Devin Haney: No words.