B/R Pound-For-Pound Boxing Rankings: November 2024
Boxing is a sport of many fiefdoms.
Multiple sanctioning bodies crown a handful of champions in each of a seemingly endless list of weight classes, and rival promoters prefer to organize fights between their own in-house superstars before crossing allegiance boundary lines, unless circumstances (read: enlarged purses) call for it.
It's typically no different when it comes to rankings.
Every fight-watcher with a keyboard and a WiFi hot-spot has a pound-for-pound list of his or her own, and even the most respected sources of knowledge usually vary significantly at many points between Nos. 10 and 1.
These days, at least when it comes to the rankings part of it all, consensus is king.
The top spot on nearly every list worth looking at is occupied by the same person, spots two and three are almost always taken by the same two guys (in one order or the other), and the same holds true these days for spots four and five, not to mention Nos. 6, 7 and 8.
The order changes but the names remain the same.
In fact, only in the bottom two spots do more than the same fighters get mentioned when it comes to high-end rankings purveyors like The Ring, KevinIole.com (owned by the former longtime boxing writer at Yahoo Sports) and others, and the B/R combat team threw its opinionated hat into the mix again with a November list that's hot off the digital presses.
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the comments.
10. Shakur Stevenson
Weight Class: 135 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBC
The unbeaten king of the lightweights (at least according to the World Boxing Council) was set to defend his title in October against former 130-pound claimant Joe Cordina but had the date scuttled by a right hand injury that required surgery. He'll be back in the early portion of 2025, according to his promotional company, Matchroom Boxing.
9. Junto Nakatani
Weight Class: 118 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBC
A second straight WBC champ at the tail end of our list, Nakatani is a fighter the hardcore set appreciates but the casual fan may be oblivious to. The 26-year-old Japanese southpaw became a three-division champ when he snatched the green belt from Alexandro Santiago, who was coming off a win over future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire, in February.
8. Gervonta Davis
Weight Class: 135 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBA
The second lightweight champ in three spots, Davis has held one claim or another in multiple weight classes over the years and is often rumored to be pursuing fights against myriad foes at a variety of weights. He's on the books for a WBA defense against Lamont Roach in Houston, but the date hasn't been made official yet for either December or January.
7. Jesse Rodriguez
Weight Class: 115 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBC
We've been unapologetic riders on the "Bam" train for a while now, and it shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The Texas-born lefty is 20-0 with 13 KOs and titles in two weight classes at the precocious age of 24. He handled future Hall of Famer Juan Francisco Estrada in his most recent fight in June and is back at it on November 9 in Philadelphia.
6. Canelo Alvarez
Weight Class: 168 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBA, WBC, WBO
All of a sudden, the cinnamon-haired Mexican star is 34 years old and has been a pro for 19 years. Alvarez made his annual September ring appearance a successful one with a one-sided, 12-round decision over Edgar Berlanga at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and he'll be able to call his own shot when it comes to the foe and the weight class for the next one.
5. Artur Beterbiev
Weight Class: 175 pounds
Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO
The 100-percent knockout rate is no more after Beterbiev was forced to go the distance with Dmitry Bivol in their light heavyweight showdown last month in Saudi Arabia, but the Canada-based Russian is holding all the hardware these days by virtue of his majority decision win. Maybe a rematch comes next, or maybe Beterbiev cashes out with Canelo. Stay tuned.
4. Dmitry Bivol
Weight Class: 175 pounds
Major Titles Held: None
Call us opinionated. Call us principled. Call us stubborn. But because the B/R combat team looked at the Beterbiev-Bivol fight and saw the latter as a clear (if not dominant) winner, we're claiming the moral high ground and keeping Bivol ahead on our list. It'd be a shame if he doesn't get another quick crack at undisputed status, because he deserves it.
3. Terence Crawford
Weight Class: 154 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBA
A funny thing happened on the way to "Bud's" would-be showdown with fellow junior middleweight/super welterweight title holder Tim Tszyu. Namely, Bakhram Murtazaliev. The California-based Russian bounced Tszyu off the canvas four times in three rounds and entered the mix for a unification date with Crawford, who won his belt in August.
2. Naoya Inoue
Weight Class: 122 pounds
Major Titles Held: IBF. WBA, WBC, WBO
Inoue is the first undisputed champ on our list and, no, he doesn't actually fight every month. It only seems that way. The Japanese "Monster" was in action again in September and held on to his preeminent status with a seventh-round KO of TJ Doheny. He's set to reappear as a -2000 favorite in December against IBF/WBO top contender Sam Goodman.
1. Oleksandr Usyk
Weight Class: Heavyweight
Major Titles Held: WBA, WBC, WBO
He's not been in the ring since beating Tyson Fury in May and won't appear again until he takes on the big Brit in their December 21 rematch, but somehow Usyk's claim as the top man at heavyweight grew stronger when Daniel Dubois splattered Anthony Joshua. Usyk, for those who've forgotten, beat Dubois into a ninth-round surrender in August 2023.