JOSH TAYLOR has become the first Scot to feature on Ring Magazine’s top ten pound-for-pound list.
But both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua were nowhere to be seen in the updated rankings.
Artur Beterbiev, who has not fought since unifying the light-heavyweight division in October 2019, has been KO’d off the pile by Taylor.
Vasiliy Lomachenko’s shock defeat to Teofimo Lopez shook up the mythical ratings, and allowed Canelo Alvarez more breathing space at the top.
Here is Ring Magazine’s updated list of their top ten boxers…
1. Canelo Alvarez – 53-1-2 (36 KO) middleweight & super-middleweight champion
Mexican superstar Canelo has quickly taken over as boxing’s biggest star since former foe Floyd Mayweather walked away from the sport.
With only a sole loss – to Mayweather in 2013 aged 23 – he has gone on to rule from super-welterweight all the way to heavyweight.
But a contentious draw and win against rival Gennady Golovkin had doubters questioning Canelo’s invincibility with a trilogy bout yet to take place.
Canelo would snub another GGG meeting to instead move up to 175lbs, where he a knocked out Sergey Kovalev to become a four-weight champion and P4P No1.
2. Naoya Inoue – 20-0 (17 KO) unified bantamweight champion
A monstrous puncher, Inoue is working his way up the divisions and remains the most powerful man in the ring.
Having begun his career at 108lbs the Japanese star went on to claim titles at super-flyweight, junior-bantamweight champion and bantamweight.
The heavy-handed 26-year-old became unified banatmweight king after a fight of the year contender with Nonito Donaire.
And he moved to 20-0 after knocking out Jason Moloney on his US debut at the end of October.
3. Terence Crawford – 36-0 (26 KO) – WBO welterweight champion
Possibly the best switch-hitter in the game right now, Crawford has the ability to overwhelm any man with his combination punching.
The American has won world titles at lightweight, super-lightweight and currently reigns as WBO welterweight king – having held undisputed gold at 140lbs.
Though unlike others on this list, Crawford is yet to beat a high-profile name – but that could change if he secures a welterweight unification bout.
After he beat little-known Egidijus Kavaliauskas last December, he is lined up to face Kell Brook in his next fight as the pair headline in New York this month.
4. Oleksandr Usyk – 18–0 (13 KO) – Ex-undisputed cruiserweight champion
Usyk reigned as undisputed cruiserweight king having won the WBSS, and has now stamped his authority at heavyweight following a high-profile win against Tony Bellew.
The Ukrainian maestro made a successful debut after making the step up when he stopped replacement opponent Chazz Witherspoon in seven rounds.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has already hinted he could be in line to challenge for the WBO heavyweight title after securing a No1 spot with the governing body.
He made good progress by beating veteran Dereck Chisora on points, and maintained his mandatory status for Joshua’s belt.
5. Errol Spence Jr – 26–0 (21 KO) – unified welterweight champion
Former sparring partner of Floyd Mayweather, Spence’s punch volume, body attacks and balance give him the tools to rule the welterweight division.
He has also been slated to move up the weights – having dwarfed many of his opponents at 147lbs – and even called out Canelo.
Spence added another belt in September 2019, after he out-battled Shawn Porter in a Fight of The Year contender to become the new WBC and unified champion.
He is set to face Danny Garcia next month, his first fight since a devastating car crash left the boxer lucky to be alive and miraculously without a single broken bone.
6. Teofimo Lopez – 16-0 (12 KO) – Undisputed lightweight champion
He is the current unified lightweight world champion after stunning Lomachenko over 12 rounds.
The scintillating second-round KO of Richard Commey that earned him his IBF crown was either a fluke or a warm-up, to the Loma toppling, and it proved to be the latter in spades.
A rematch looks unnecessary and the champ has discussed trying his luck up at super-lightweight.
With Top Rank stablemates Taylor and Jose Ramirez soon to clash for all four 10st belts, 23-year-old Lopez could reach immortality in record time.
7. Vasiliy Lomachenko – 14-2 (10 KO) – three-weight champion
Leaving the amateur game with a record of 396-1 – with the one loss to Albert Selimov later avenged – the simple question was could the boxing maestro transcend his skill-set to 12 rounds.
So his new 14-2 pro score makes it seem like he was a hype job in a vest, who couldn’t handle the leap up from the unpaid ranks.
But the 32-year-old genius lost a world title shot in just his second pro fight and then raced to become a three-weight champion inside 12 bouts and the world eating out of his small but rapid hands.
A drop in divisions will help Loma regain his rhythm and a fantasy fight with Top Rank promotional stablemate Inoue would rocket either minute master up higher.
8. Juan Francisco Estrada – 41–3 (28 KO) – unified super-flyweight champion
The Mexican rose to fame after avenging his defeat by Srisaket Sor Rungvisai – the man who dethroned super-flyweight king Roman Gonzalez.
It came after Estrada reigned as unified flyweight world champion having beaten Brian Viloria.
The 30-year-old moved to 41 wins in October after stopping Mexican Carlos Cuadras in a super-flyweight title defence.
View this post on Instagram¡Vamos con todo! #estradacuadras #estradacuadras2
9. Josh Taylor – 17-0 (13 KO) – unified lightweight champion
In just 16 fights, Taylor became the fighting pride of Scotland after becoming unified champion.
Last year’s 12-round thriller with Regis Prograis earned him the WBA and IBF belts.
Taylor’s form makes him the heavy favourite to beat WBC and WBO champ Jose Ramirez as soon as that undisputed decider can be made.
And then the British southpaw star looks more than capable of packing on some more muscle and attacking the welters above him.
10. Gennady Golovkin – 40–1–1 (35 KO) – IBF middleweight champion
Failing to get the decision against Canelo in 2017 and then 2018 has cost Golovkin both his belts and a spot in the second half of this list.
Despite his age, 38-year-old Golovkin became world champion again by winning Canelo’s vacated IBF belt against Sergiy Derevyanchenko last month.
Alvarez insists despite GGG winning back a world honour the trilogy does not interest him – unless the money is right.
But for Golovkin the road does not end with the Mexican, with a move up to super-middleweight to become a two-division champion also sure to enhance the Kazakh’s legacy.
