B/R Pound-for-Pound Boxing Rankings for April 2025

This just in: It's not a lifetime appointment.

The fighters in B/R's pound-for-pound rankings, particularly on the top end, are typically pretty static from month to month. But the comprehensive egg that Gervonta Davis laid against Lamont Roach in March warrants some adjustment.

A holder of the WBA's share of the lightweight title, Davis fought to a dubious draw with his challenger on March 1 in Brooklyn and trended so badly in public opinion afterward that he fell off his No. 8 perch in favor of Japanese bantamweight Junto Nakatani, the WBC's champion.

The B/R combat team took a look at the Davis-Roach fight and other recent action and compiled an updated set of pound-for-pound rankings while consulting other respected sources along the way as well.

Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments.

Weight Class: 135 pounds

Major Titles Held: WBC

The 27-year-old from New Jersey is an undefeated lightweight champion with 11 KOs and several wide decisions in 23 career victories.

But he's begging for a true nemesis.

Maybe it'll be William Zepeda, an equally unbeaten slugger with 27 KOs in 33 wins, who defeated Tevin Farmer by majority decision to retain his interim strap over the weekend in Mexico.

At least one person, ex-154-pound champ and current analyst Sergio Mora, thinks it could be a worthwhile challenge for Stevenson.

"(Stevenson) has that Olympic pedigree, he's a two-division champion. He has everything you don't want to face in a fighter," Mora said. "It could be a headache, but Zepeda wants that smoke."

Weight Class: 175 pounds

Major Titles Held: None

You know you've made it when Canelo Alvarez starts shading you.

The Mexican superstar took aim at Benavidez recently when asked yet again why he chose to fight the likes of William Scull rather than risk his 168-pound preeminence against the former two-time champion.

“The way he talks, he thinks he’s Superman,” Alvarez said. “He’s very disrespect[ful]. Not just with me, with everybody. He’s accomplished nothing. He’s not even a champion. He’s not even in my weight class. There’s a lot of things that doesn’t make sense.”

Benavidez, in fact, was in the same weight class until climbing to 175 in part because Alvarez wouldn't fight him. He's now the second-tier champion of both the WBA and WBC and hopes to secure a full-fledged title shot if Dmitry Bivol veers away from an Artur Beterbiev trilogy.

Weight Class: 122 pounds

Major Titles Held: WBC

There's no date, venue or actual contract in place, but the big-fight needle certainly moved when Nakatani and Naoya Inoue came to a handshake agreement at a Japanese awards ceremony to fight in 2026.

"If we can come through this year strongly," Inoue said, "I believe it will be the most exciting bout between Japanese in the country's boxing history."

Nakatani responded with, "Sure, let's do it," and it'd be a natural progression given that he's already won 30 straight fights with 23 KOs and picked up titles at 112, 115 and 118 pounds.

He's won four straight by KO since heading to bantamweight, including a third-round stop of David Contreras in Tokyo on Feb. 24.

Weight Class: 115 pounds

Major Titles Held: WBC

We've said it before. We'll say it again.

With no offense intended to the aforementioned Mr. Nakatani, the fight that we at B/R headquarters are most looking forward to is not an intra-nation bout between two Japanese icons.

We want the "Monster" against "Bam."

Rodriguez has done nearly everything there is to do to generate a buzz for the fight, winning titles at 112 and 115 pounds while running up a 7-0 record in championship bouts with four KOs, and earning plaudits from the likes of Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn.

"He's at a slight disadvantage because he's in a lower weight class," he said. "But he has the ability to go up to bantamweight, super bantamweight. He's already a two-division champion. I think he'll be at least a four-division champion. Yeah. So, I think he'll be a generational great."

We agree.

Weight Class: 168 pounds

Major Titles Held: WBA, WBC, WBO

He's got Benavidez's name in his mouth. He's got a perfunctory title match scheduled in May to regain a belt that had been stripped from him.

But the anticipation surrounding Alvarez these days has less to do with those things and more to do with Terence Crawford, with whom he's penciled in for a generational star vs. generational star bout in September.

The biggest question about the Crawford fight may be exactly when it'll happen.

The UFC staked its claim to Mexican Independence Day weekend by announcing recently that it'll hold a show that Saturday in Guadalajara. Alvarez has fought in Las Vegas that weekend in two of the last three years, stepping aside until Sept. 30 in 2023, when the UFC held a show at T-Mobile Arena on Sept. 16.

Weight Class: 175 pounds

Major Titles Held: None

The second title-less fighter on our list, Beterbiev was finally knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten when he dropped a decision to Bivol in their second light heavyweight unification bout in February.

The Canada-based Russian had won 20 straight by KO before going the distance to beat Bivol in their first match last October. It was his 10th straight title fight win since first grabbing the IBF belt in 2017.

Now, the question is whether he'll get a third date with Bivol or have to sit and wait if Saudi money man Turki Alalshikh opts to put on a show topped by Bivol and Benavidez.

"Turki Alalshikh had given four fights to Dmitry Bivol," Hearn said. "Turki gave him, most importantly, the fight against Beterbiev for undisputed. After that, which we consider a bad decision, he gave Bivol the rematch four months later. So, we are doing what His Excellency tells us for the next fight."

Weight Class: 175 pounds

Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO

After years of being overlooked, underappreciated or both, it's suddenly good to be Dmitry Bivol.

The Russian stylist had been a champion in one form or another for several years before losing to Beterbiev last fall, but regained his status to an undisputed degree when he beat his rival in February.

These days, as mentioned earlier, it appears he'll get to choose–with the help of some Saudi influence–between Beterbiev and Benavidez, which is a significant leap from the Gilberto Ramirez/Lyndon Arthur/Malik Zinad side of the street he'd worked before the first Beterbiev fight.

"If you want to be the best, you should think about being better than everyone else," he said. "If you shoot for the stars, maybe you can reach them. Maybe you won’t. Who knows?”

Weight Class: 154 pounds

Major Titles Held: WBA

He doesn't fight often, but at least he makes it memorable.

Crawford, a four-division champ from 135 pounds to 154, included twice undisputed, has fought just once per year since the start of 2020, gradually upping his record to its current 41-0 with 31 KOs.

He's the just-as-accomplished B-side of a proposed fight with Alvarez, a matchup whose main conversation focuses on whether or not people believe Crawford has a chance. And if you don't, Jim Lampley told Bleacher Report, it's just as good for "Bud."

"One of his biggest assets is maniacal competitiveness," Lampley said. "If we tell him he can't do something it triples his desire to do it."

Weight Class: 122 pounds

Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO

Is it just us, or does it really feel like Inoue fights every two months?

He doesn't, of course, but the undisputed champ at 122 pounds is penciled in for a May date with Ramon Cardenas, the WBA's No. 2 contender for Inoue's belt.

ll be his first spotlight appearance at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

It'll also be his second fight of 2025 after a four-round blitz of Ye Joon Kim in January and the folks at DraftKings expect it to be a similar walk in the park, as evidenced by the champ being installed as a -5000 (1-to-50) favorite a month beforehand.

"Naoya Inoue is among the most powerful and well-rounded fighters I've had the privilege of promoting, a singular boxing talent," said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. "After many years selling out arenas and stadiums in his native Japan, 'The Monster' is ready to take over Las Vegas on Cinco de Mayo weekend."

Weight Class: Heavyweight

Major Titles Held: WBA, WBC, WBO

If you've got nothing else going on, drop in a Jake Paul reference.

That's how Usyk broke up the news cycle last week, taking to social media to tease a matchup with the "Problem Child" that'd apparently happen in a cage, not a ring.

Usyk was last active in December when he outpointed Tyson Fury for the second time to retain status as the world's best heavyweight even after he was ridiculously stripped of the IBF belt that was later won by past victim Daniel Dubois.

Dubois entered the ring after the Fury fight to challenge Usyk to a return, but Dubois pulled out of a subsequent defense against Joseph Parker, leaving some to suggest Usyk skip the line and fight Parker, who held the WBO title from 2016 to 2018.

A scrap with Paul, though, would surely move the needle a lot further.