For as long as fans have followed professional prizefighting, identifying boxing’s “best” fighter at any given time has been the source of spirited debate from watering holes and message boards from Australia to Zimbabwe.
So what if we can’t truly determine whether Oscar Collazo would take down Oleksandr Usyk if all things were equal? We can sure as hell argue about it.
And that, for better or worse, is the crux of the pound-for-pound list.
The exercise isn’t perfect or clean or even quite objective. The criteria is a bit ambiguous. Although more than just an eye test, vibes enter heavily into the equation. No wonder P4P has its share of haters.
But at BoxingScene, we’ve assembled our crack team of experienced fight journalists and experts to address the subject – not only to tap into their collective knowledge but also aggregate opinions to account for any personal preferences or tastes that may trickle into the process and otherwise tilt the results. Moving forward, we will update the BoxingScene P4P list on the last Sunday of every month and publish a piece detailing the latest changes and fighter updates.
10. Devin Haney, 27, welterweight
33-0 (15 KOs)
Most recently: Won UD12 over Brian Norman Jnr (November 22, 2025)
Haney’s excellent win over Norman – in which he knocked down and seemingly had Norman in danger of being stopped – put to rest any lingering concerns about PTSD following Haney’s three-knockdown loss to Ryan Garcia in April 2024 (since ruled a no-contest) and a lukewarm win over Jose Ramirez last May. Haney looked sharp and powerful against the previously unbeaten Norman, even if he may have eased off the accelerator a bit in the fight’s second half.
Next: TBD
9. Shakur Stevenson, 28, lightweight
24-0 (11 KOs)
Most recently: Won UD12 over William Zepeda (July 12, 2025)
Whether it has been injuries, unbecoming competition or a series of underwhelming performances, Stevenson has struggled to get over with a mainstream sports audience. He put it all together in a dominant win over the free-swinging Zepeda, and he has finally found a willing dance partner who is capable of validating his on-paper excellence: Next month Stevenson will attempt to become a four-division champion when he faces former unified lightweight titlist and current junior welterweight belt holder Teofimo Lopez Jnr.
Next: Teofimo Lopez Jnr (January 31, 2026)
8. David Benavidez, 28, light heavyweight
31-0 (25 KOs)
Most recently: Won TKO7 over Anthony Yarde (November 22, 2025)
If he isn’t boxing’s most avoided fighter, Benavidez has been notoriously avoided by some of the sport’s biggest names – including (but not limited to) Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Benavidez hung on at super middleweight for as long as he could, and when it became clear that the Canelo fight wouldn’t materialize, he moved up to light heavy and began knocking off highly credible opponents. The latest: a seven-round punishment of Anthony Yarde in Benavidez’s first defense of the full title. He has floated the idea of an eventual move to heavyweight, but Benavidez will first try to take over Canelo’s corner – Mexican Independence Day weekend – in a yet-to-be-solidified unification bout with Gilberto Ramirez.
Next: TBD
7. Junto Nakatani, 27, bantamweight
31-0 (24 KOs)
Most recently: Won TKO6 over Ryosuke Nishida (June 8, 2025)
If you don’t know Nakatani, do yourself a favor and spend 10 minutes checking out his highlights on YouTube. He continues to level up his resume, and Stephen “Breadman” Edwards recently called Nakatani one of the 10 best punchers in boxing. After unifying bantamweight titles last spring, Nakatani will leave behind his belts, travel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and move up to junior featherweight to fight on Naoya Inoue’s undercard – all with the intention of setting up a future blockbuster between the two Japanese stars.
Next: Sebastian Hernandez Reyes (December 27)
6. Artur Beterbiev, 40, light heavyweight
21-1 (20 KOs)
Most recently: Lost MD12 to Dmitry Bivol (February 22, 2025)
Did Beterbiev get old overnight or simply meet his perfect in-ring match in Dmitry Bivol? Our BoxingScene panel seems to lean believe Beterbiev has something left – and it’s not as if he fell apart in the February rematch of his October 2024 opener against Bivol, which Beterbiev won by majority decision. At age 40 and with injuries chipping away at his fitness, Beterbiev isn’t bound for this list for long. But as boxing’s resident boogeyman until very recently, he remains for now a threat to any fighter willing to cross his path.
Next: TBD
5. Dmitry Bivol, 34, light heavyweight
24-1 (12 KOs)
Most recently: Won MD12 over Artur Beterviev (February 22, 2025)
It wasn’t long ago that Bivol was regarded as little more than a curiosity, a technical wiz feasting on his division’s gatekeepers and has-beens. But over the past three-plus years, he has handed Gilberto Ramirez his first loss, humbled Canelo Alvarez and then avenged his first pro defeat by outclassing Beterbiev in their rematch. Bivol hasn’t seemed all that eager to make his next move – whether that be a trilogy fight with Beterbiev, a blockbuster matchup against Benavidez or much lower-hanging fruit.
Next: TBD
4. Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, 25, junior bantamweight
23-0 (16 KOs)
Most recently: Won KO10 over Fernando Martinez
The youngest fighter on this list, Rodriguez is already a two-time junior bantamweight titlist and a two-division champ. He’s also something of a boxing unicorn – a small southpaw with brilliant technique who also happens to hit like a bullet train. He has already beaten distinguished former titleholders in Juan Francisco Estrada, Carlos Cuadras and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, and taken apart undefeated contenders in Sunny Edwards and, most recently, Martinez. The unhinged fantasy matchmakers among boxing fans are calling for Rodriguez to move up two more divisions to test himself against Inoue. Crazier still, Rodriguez is willing to do it – in Inoue’s native Tokyo, no less. Put nothing past him.
Next: TBD
3. Naoya Inoue, 32, junior featherweight
31-0 (27 KOs)
Most recently: Won UD12 over Murodjon Akhmadaliev (September 14, 2025)
Inoue has battled stigmas against fighters in lower weight classes and fighters from abroad, even as he has taken on – and beaten – all comers as consistently as anyone in the sport. Since lifting a junior flyweight belt off Adrian Hernandez in 2014, Inoue has defended or fought for a world title in 24 of 26 starts, dispatching lesser-known threats and brand-name stars alike. He should be appreciated for the swashbuckling talent that he is while still at his peak, because Inoue’s style doesn’t figure to age gracefully in the divisions near the bottom of the scale.
Next: David Picasso (December 27, 2025)
2. Oleksandr Usyk, 38, heavyweight
24-0 (15 KOs)
Most recently: Won KO5 over Daniel Dubois (July 19, 2025)
The notion that a heavyweight doesn’t belong in the P4P conversation is a little silly within the context of a theoretical list whose very existence certain boxing fans already rage against. But the idea that Usyk – a former undisputed cruiserweight champ and the current undisputed heavyweight kingpin – hasn’t earned a spot near the top of such a list is clown-car stuff. Usyk, who has been outdueling much larger men since he stepped up to heavy in 2019, continues to embody the spirit of the pound-for-pound concept every time he steps into the ring. Ironically, after clearing out boxing’s glamor division, he is supposedly contemplating a return to cruiser.
Next: TBD
1. Terence Crawford, 38, super middleweight
42-0 (31 KOs)
Most recently: Won UD12 over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez
For years, Crawford’s critics considered him a paper tiger – a fighter whose IQ, athleticism and ambidextrous ability dazzled against lesser competition but had never been tested against boxing’s elite. Then, over the course of his past three fights, he spanned three weight classes, knocked off one of boxing’s trickiest titleholders (Israil Madrimov) and destroyed a pair of former P4Pers in Errol Spence Jnr and Canelo Alvarez. Already regarded by most as a top-five pound-for-pound fighter before those feats, Crawford has since stamped the label as certified by climbing the ladder to take on titleholders and top names – and winning with panache.
Next: TBD
Jason Langendorf is the former Boxing Editor of ESPN.com, was a contributor to Ringside Seat and the Queensberry Rules, and has written about boxing for Vice, The Guardian, Chicago Sun-Times and other publications. A member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, he can be found at LinkedIn and followed on X and Bluesky.
