Canelo Alvarez Exits The Ring‘s Pound-for-Pound Top 10 as New Faces Emerge
A boxing era has come to a close as Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has been removed from The Ring’s pound-for-pound top 10 list, ending a decade-long run that began in May 2013 following his victory over Austin Trout. the shift marks a notable changing of the guard in the sport, coinciding with notable movement across three weight divisions.
Alvarez’s departure, briefly interrupted by a six-month suspension in 2018 after testing positive for Clenbuterol – attributed to contaminated meat and accepted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission – signifies a broader reshaping of the rankings. Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez has surged to No. 4, while Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev have dropped to No. 5 and No. 6 respectively. Devin Haney enters the list at No. 10.
Super Middleweight & Beyond
The latest divisional rankings reveal shifts in the 168-pound super middleweight class, with Christian Mbilli rising to No. 3 and Liam Smith falling to No. 8. At junior middleweight (154 lbs), Tim Tszyu remains at No. 1, while Israil Madrimov moves up to No. 2. In the heavyweight division,Joe Joyce has fallen out of the top 10,making way for Frank Sanchez at No. 9.
Current Pound-for-Pound Top 10:
- Terence Crawford (U.S.) 42-0-0 (31 KOs)
- Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine) 24-0-0 (15 KOs)
- Naoya Inoue (Japan) 31-0-0 (27 KOs)
- Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (U.S.) 23-0-0 (16 KOs)
- Dmitry Bivol (Russia) 24-1-0 (12 KOs)
- Artur Beterbiev (Russia) 21-1-0 (20 KOs)
- Junto Nakatani (Japan) 31-0-0 (24 KOs)
- Shakur Stevenson (U.S.) 24-0-0 (11 kos)
- David Benavidez (U.S.) 31-0-0 (25 KOs)
- Devin Haney (U.S.) 30-0-0 (15 KOs)
Panel Commentary
The Ring panel members weighed in on the changes. “I’m for taking ’Bam’ up two spots to No. 4. This kid is such a throwback and he ALWAYS delivers.Martinez had only been down once in his career and was an unbeaten world titleholder. Bam smoked him with a single counter punch. He’s amazing! I also like Devin to replace Canelo at No. 10,” said Tom Grey.
Daisuke Sugiura concurred, stating, “I think Bam should be ranked No.4 on the P4P list, and Haney at No. 10.”
Anson Wainwright added, “Jesse Rodriguez was really extraordinary against Fernando Martinez. I’d move him up one place… Similarly David Benavidez was too much for Anthony Yarde and I’d move up one place. I’d not be against Devin Haney re-entering the pound-for-pound picture coming in at No. 10.”
