Two New Arrivals: BoxingScene Pound-for-Pound Update
By Cliff Rold
With the retirement of Manny Pacquiao and several notable results since, the pound-for-pound list gets some new arrivals as the new faces of boxing take shape.
Both new arrivals have traveled similar paths. Without twenty fights between them combined, a pair of audacious two-division titlists are inserted for the first time. Both Vasyl Lomachenko and Naoya Inoue have gone to scratch in the last couple months.
Neither is 30 yet; Inoue won’t get there for years. The upside to fighters of notable early accomplishment is tantalizing.
In their last affairs, Lomachenko left the bigger impression this time around. Matched with a Roman Martinez who had been stopped only once before, Lomachenko did him in with a knockout of the year candidate after a complete undressing of the three-time 130 lb. titlist. Inoue got a mandatory out of the way and continues to look like a complete package of technical acumen and athleticism. The exits of others make room for him as an overall look more than what happened in the Carmona fight.
Lomachenko appears to have the table set for him to run through 130 lbs. Inoue may have a showdown within the next year against Roman Gonzalez and, recently, has said he feels ready for it for the first time.
Exiting after a brief flirtation in the tenth spot is James DeGale. DeGale may yet prove to be one of the world’s best but a debatable nod against Rogelio Medina opened some questions. A possible unification bout with Badou Jack later this year could force some new consideration.
Last Pound-for-Pound Update: April 11, 2016
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
