Who is the world’s best fighter, regardless of weight class? Check out ESPN’s latest top 10.
Our ESPN panel of Dan Rafael, Andre Ward, Timothy Bradley Jr., Joe Tessitore, Teddy Atlas, Steve Kim, Bernardo Pilatti, Eric Raskin, Nick Parkinson, Nigel Collins, Charles Moynihan and Salvador Rodriguez share their lists.
Showtime boxing analyst Eric Raskin pulled Oleksandr Usyk out of the top 10 with a simple and valid explanation.
“It’s a matter of pound-for-pound philosophy,” Raskin said. “If Usyk is now a heavyweight, I believe he should be judged as such and not given extra credit for being smaller than other heavyweights. For example, in the early 2000s, nobody ranked Chris Byrd above Lennox Lewis pound-for-pound, even though Byrd was arguably better on a per-pound basis. We simply don’t know yet if Usyk is elite in this division. I don’t rank Wilder, Fury or Ruiz in my pound-for-pound top 10, so until I see some evidence to suggest Usyk will succeed against some of those top heavyweights, I feel it’s appropriate to remove him from my top 10 pound-for-pound.”
Don’t forget to also check out Dan Rafael’s divisional rankings, which are updated weekly.
For a list of the current champions in all weight classes, click here.
Note: Results are through Wednesday, Oct. 16.
1. VASILIY LOMACHENKO RECORD: 14-1, 10 KOs DIVISION: Lightweight (unified champion) LAST FIGHT: W (UD12) Luke Campbell, Aug. 31 NEXT FIGHT: TBA
2. TERENCE CRAWFORD RECORD: 35-0, 26 KOs DIVISION: Welterweight (titlist) LAST FIGHT: W (TKO6) Amir Khan, April 20 NEXT FIGHT: Dec. 14 vs. Egidijus Kavaliauskas
3. CANELO ALVAREZ RECORD: 52-1-2, 35 KOs DIVISION: Middleweight (champion) LAST FIGHT: W (UD12) Daniel Jacobs, May 4 NEXT FIGHT: Nov. 2 vs. Sergey Kovalev
4. NAOYA INOUE RECORD: 18-0, 16 KOs DIVISION: Bantamweight (titlist) LAST FIGHT: W (KO2) Emmanuel Rodriguez, May 18 NEXT FIGHT: Nov. 7 vs. Nonito Donaire
5. ERROL SPENCE JR. RECORD: 25-0, 21 KOs DIVISION: Welterweight (unified titlist) LAST FIGHT: W (SD12) Shawn Porter, Sept. 28 NEXT FIGHT: TBA
6. OLEKSANDR USYK RECORD: 16-0, 12 KOs DIVISION: Heavyweight LAST FIGHT: W (TKO7) Chazz Witherspoon, Oct. 12 NEXT FIGHT: TBA
7. GENNADIY GOLOVKIN RECORD: 39-1-1, 35 KOs DIVISION: Middleweight (titlist) LAST FIGHT: W (UD12) Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Oct. 5 NEXT FIGHT: TBA
8. JUAN FRANCISCO ESTRADA RECORD: 39-3, 26 KOs DIVISION: Junior bantamweight (champion) LAST FIGHT: W (TKO9) Dewayne Beamon, Aug. 24 NEXT FIGHT: TBA vs. Khalid Yafai
9. MANNY PACQUIAO RECORD: 62-7-2, 39 KOs DIVISION: Welterweight (titlist) LAST FIGHT: W (SD12) Keith Thurman, July 20 NEXT FIGHT: TBA
10. MIKEY GARCIA RECORD: 39-1, 30 KOs DIVISION: Welterweight LAST FIGHT: L (UD12) Errol Spence Jr., March 16 NEXT FIGHT: TBA
Others receiving votes: Deontay Wilder (15), Oscar Valdez (6), Regis Prograis (5), Leo Santa Cruz (3), Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (3), Shawn Porter (2), Miguel Berchelt (2), Kosei Tanaka (1), Oleksandr Gvozdyk (1).
The formula The rankings are based on a descending points system, with a first-place vote receiving 10 points, a second-place vote receiving nine points and so on. A tie goes to the fighter with the highest ranking, and then with the most votes at that ranking.
How our writers voted Atlas: 1. Lomachenko, 2. Crawford, 3. Spence, 4. Inoue, 5. Canelo, 6. Usyk, 7. Pacquiao, 8. Garcia, 9. Santa Cruz, 10. Gvozdyk
Rafael: 1. Lomachenko, 2. Crawford, 3. Canelo, 4. Usyk, 5. Spence, 6. Inoue, 7. Pacquiao, 8. Golovkin, 9. Estrada, 10. Garcia
Bradley: 1. Lomachenko, 2. Crawford, 3. Canelo, 4. Inoue, 5. Usyk, 6. Prograis, 7. Spence, 8. Pacquiao, 9. Estrada, 10. Golovkin
Ward: 1. Crawford, 2. Lomachenko, 3. Canelo, 4. Usyk, 5. Inoue, 6. Wilder, 7. Spence, 8. Pacquiao, 9. Estrada, 10. Garcia
Tessitore: 1. Crawford, 2. Lomachenko, 3. Inoue, 4. Usyk, 5. Canelo, 6. Spence, 7. Golovkin, 8. Estrada, 9. Garcia, 10. Berchelt
Collins 1. Crawford, 2. Lomachenko, 3. Canelo, 4. Inoue, 5. Usyk, 6. Golovkin, 7. Estrada, 8. Spence, 9. Pacquiao, 10. Berchelt
Kim 1. Inoue, 2. Lomachenko, 3. Crawford, 4. Usyk, 5. Canelo, 6. Estrada, 7. Spence, 8. Golovkin, 9. Garcia, 10. Tanaka
Parkinson: 1. Lomachenko, 2. Crawford, 3. Canelo, 4. Inoue, 5. Usyk, 6. Spence, 7. Golovkin, 8. Garcia, 9. Estrada, 10. Santa Cruz
Raskin 1. Lomachenko, 2. Crawford, 3. Canelo, 4. Inoue, 5. Spence, 6. Estrada, 7. Pacquiao, 8. Sor Rungvisai, 9. Porter, 10. Garcia
Moynihan: 1. Lomachenko, 2. Spence, 3. Crawford, 4. Canelo, 5. Inoue, 6. Wilder, 7. Usyk, 8. Golovkin, 9. Valdez, 10. Garcia
Pilatti: 1. Lomachenko, 2. Spence, 3. Crawford, 4. Inoue, 5. Canelo, 6. Golovkin, 7. Valdez, 8. Wilder, 9. Estrada, 10. Pacquiao
Trejos: 1. Lomachenko, 2. Crawford, 3. Canelo, 4. Spence, 5. Pacquiao, 6. Usyk, 7. Garcia, 8. Golovkin, 9. Estrada, 10. Inoue
Rodriguez: 1. Lomachenko, 2. Crawford, 3. Canelo, 4. Usyk, 5. Inoue, 6. Spence, 7. Golovkin, 8. Estrada, 9. Wilder, 10. Garcia
ESPN experts’ poll 1st place: Lomachenko (9), Crawford (3), Inoue (1)
2nd place: Crawford (7), Lomachenko (4), Spence (2)
3rd place: Canelo (8), Crawford (3), Spence (1), Inoue (1)
4th place: Inoue (6), Usyk (5), Spence (1), Canelo (1)
5th place: Canelo (4), Inoue (3), Usyk (3), Spence (2), Pacquiao (1)
6th place: Spence (3), Golovkin (2), Estrada (2), Usyk (2), Inoue (1), Prograis (1)
7th place: Spence (3), Golovkin (3), Pacquiao (3), Usyk (1), Estrada (1), Garcia (1), Valdez (1)
8th place: Golovkin (4), Estrada (2), Pacquiao (2), Garcia (2), Spence (1), Sor Rungvisai (1)
9th place: Estrada (6), Garcia (2), Pacquiao (1), Porter (1), Valdez (1), Berchelt (1), Leo Santa Cruz (1)
10th place: Garcia (5), Berchelt (2), Inoue (1), Golovkin (1), Pacquiao (1), Gvozdyk (1), Tanaka (1)
