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1) Román González, flyweight
It feels as if Román “Chocolatito” González’s pound-for-pound reign has been a tease, as he hasn’t had a rematch with Juan Francisco Estrada or faced Naoya Inoue since he replaced Floyd Mayweather on the throne a year ago. He hasn’t faced another flyweight fighter with pound-for-pound status but at least he took on the next best thing by moving up to junior bantamweight and conquering hard-hitting Carlos Cuadras. He showed vulnerability at the new weight, albeit against a terrific opponent, but still triumphed.
2) Sergey Kovalev, light heavyweight
When we last saw Sergey Kovalev, he struggled against Isaac Chilemba. When we next see Kovalev, it might be to decide the pound-for-pound king. Later this month Kovalev will face Andre Ward, a man a couple spots lower on this list. Regardless of whether you think it might be “boring” because of Ward, it’s one of the best match-ups in the sport.
3) Terence Crawford, junior welterweight
Terence Crawford’s win over Viktor Postol in July gave him his best win yet, cementing the impression that this kid might one day take over boxing. He’s now a two-division lineal champion. His next fight is a step down, against John Molina Jr., but he’s still a perfectly acceptable opponent.
4) Andre Ward, light heavyweight
Ward is still coasting on work he did years ago, but he will really earn this spot if he beats Kovalev on 19 November. Ward beat Alexander Brand in August in a fashion that, for two consecutive fights, raises doubts about whether he’s a real light heavy, and whether he might be getting old.
5) Gennady Golovkin, middleweight
Welterweight Kell Brook gave Golovkin his toughest fight in years, as an over-eager Golovkin got caught plenty by the skilled and fast-handed Brit. Once he settled down, it was the usual demolition job for Golovkin. Too bad a comparable fight against someone his own weight – Daniel Jacobs – has been pushed to 2017.
6) Canelo Álvarez, middleweight
So the 155lb middleweight king fought someone closer to his desired weight, junior middleweight Liam Smith, and looked spectacular. The bad news is that he broke a thumb and is out of commission for a while, pushing the long-desired Golvokin showdown back even further.
7) Shinsuke Yamanaka, bantamweight
The first time Shinsuke Yamanaka faced Anselmo Moreno, he was lucky to get away with the win. The second time, in September, he finished him off via knockout. So now he’s back in this list, deservedly. It’s unclear what he’ll do next and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him take some time off.
8) Carl Frampton, featherweight
In one of the better fights of 2016, Carl Frampton came out on top of Léo Santa Cruz in July. It was just what Frampton needed to shake off a couple so-so performances since demonstrating his pound-for-pound potential. We’ll be treated to a rematch in January.
9) Timothy Bradley, welterweight
Timothy Bradley is talking about retiring sooner rather than later. There’s been a bit of footsie around the notion of facing Miguel Cotto, which is a nice match even at 154, because Cotto isn’t the world’s biggest junior middleweight. But Bradley’s spot on this list is vulnerable to keep dropping as he’s not doing anything but talking.
10) Vasyl Lomachenko, junior lightweight
Remember how we were screwed out of one of the best fights that could be made in boxing, Vasyl Lomachenko v Nicholas Walters? Well, that fight is going happen on 26 November. Lomachenko climbed up to tenth on this list after dominant wins against good fighters but on Thanksgiving weekend we’ll see what he looks like against someone closer to great.
11) Keith Thurman, welterweight
Keith Thurman got the best win of his career in June against Sean Porter. He no longer looks like the knockout artist he once was hailed as, but he has become a solid all-round fighter. That makes him a bit less fun – although the Porter fight was pretty good – and gives him a better chance against Danny García next year, in another stellar fight.
12) Juan Francisco Estrada, junior bantamweight
Juan Francisco Estrada is chasing González, still, which is why he moved up in weight. He would also be happy to fight Naoya Inoue. He needs to be in a good fight for the first time in forever.
13) Guillermo Rigondeaux, junior lightweight
Every now and then Guillermo Rigondeaux pops his head up to say he wants some fight or the other, or someone says something about wanting to fight him. Then he faces James ****ens.
14) Naoya Inoue, junior flyweight
We’ve reached the big zone of fighters who haven’t done much lately, but have good resumes overall. Inoue is also talking about facing Gonzalez, a welcome bout.
15) Adonis Stevenson, light heavyweight
Here’s another one. Thomas Williams, Jr. gave Stevenson a real scrap in July. He’s set to go against another top 10 light heavyweight, fellow Canadian Eleider Álvarez, next year – but his whole championship reign has been lacklustre.
16) Danny García, welterweight
And another one. But, at least, like some of the others in this netherzone, Danny García is finally about to face someone worthy (see Thurman, above). First up is Samuel Vargas later this month.
17) Nicholas Walters, junior lightweight
It’s annoying that he turned down big money to tackle Lomachenko, originally, but all – or at least most – is forgiven now that we’re finally getting that slobberknocker.
18) Kell Brook, welterweight
I opted not to dock Kell Brook for a competitive showing against that monster Golovkin at a weight where he clearly doesn’t belong. He just drops overall because others moved up.
19) Carlos Cuadras, junior bantamweight
When you give the pound-for-pound king the hardest fight of his life, you just might climb into the pound-for-pound ranks yourself. A hearty welcome, Carlos.
20) Wladimir Klitschko, heavyweight
It’s weird to see Wladimir Klitschko here instead of the man who beat him last, but Tyson Fury is functionally retired and we’re going to treat him that way. Plus, Klitschko has done plenty over the years to keep his spot.
Honorable mentions: Floyd Mayweather; Manny Pacquiao; Bernard Hopkins; Juan Manuel Marquez; Tyson Fury; Miguel Cotto; Erislandy Lara; Leo Santa Cruz
1) Román González, flyweight
It feels as if Román “Chocolatito” González’s pound-for-pound reign has been a tease, as he hasn’t had a rematch with Juan Francisco Estrada or faced Naoya Inoue since he replaced Floyd Mayweather on the throne a year ago. He hasn’t faced another flyweight fighter with pound-for-pound status but at least he took on the next best thing by moving up to junior bantamweight and conquering hard-hitting Carlos Cuadras. He showed vulnerability at the new weight, albeit against a terrific opponent, but still triumphed.
2) Sergey Kovalev, light heavyweight
When we last saw Sergey Kovalev, he struggled against Isaac Chilemba. When we next see Kovalev, it might be to decide the pound-for-pound king. Later this month Kovalev will face Andre Ward, a man a couple spots lower on this list. Regardless of whether you think it might be “boring” because of Ward, it’s one of the best match-ups in the sport.
3) Terence Crawford, junior welterweight
Terence Crawford’s win over Viktor Postol in July gave him his best win yet, cementing the impression that this kid might one day take over boxing. He’s now a two-division lineal champion. His next fight is a step down, against John Molina Jr., but he’s still a perfectly acceptable opponent.
4) Andre Ward, light heavyweight
Ward is still coasting on work he did years ago, but he will really earn this spot if he beats Kovalev on 19 November. Ward beat Alexander Brand in August in a fashion that, for two consecutive fights, raises doubts about whether he’s a real light heavy, and whether he might be getting old.
5) Gennady Golovkin, middleweight
Welterweight Kell Brook gave Golovkin his toughest fight in years, as an over-eager Golovkin got caught plenty by the skilled and fast-handed Brit. Once he settled down, it was the usual demolition job for Golovkin. Too bad a comparable fight against someone his own weight – Daniel Jacobs – has been pushed to 2017.
6) Canelo Álvarez, middleweight
So the 155lb middleweight king fought someone closer to his desired weight, junior middleweight Liam Smith, and looked spectacular. The bad news is that he broke a thumb and is out of commission for a while, pushing the long-desired Golvokin showdown back even further.
7) Shinsuke Yamanaka, bantamweight
The first time Shinsuke Yamanaka faced Anselmo Moreno, he was lucky to get away with the win. The second time, in September, he finished him off via knockout. So now he’s back in this list, deservedly. It’s unclear what he’ll do next and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him take some time off.
8) Carl Frampton, featherweight
In one of the better fights of 2016, Carl Frampton came out on top of Léo Santa Cruz in July. It was just what Frampton needed to shake off a couple so-so performances since demonstrating his pound-for-pound potential. We’ll be treated to a rematch in January.
9) Timothy Bradley, welterweight
Timothy Bradley is talking about retiring sooner rather than later. There’s been a bit of footsie around the notion of facing Miguel Cotto, which is a nice match even at 154, because Cotto isn’t the world’s biggest junior middleweight. But Bradley’s spot on this list is vulnerable to keep dropping as he’s not doing anything but talking.
10) Vasyl Lomachenko, junior lightweight
Remember how we were screwed out of one of the best fights that could be made in boxing, Vasyl Lomachenko v Nicholas Walters? Well, that fight is going happen on 26 November. Lomachenko climbed up to tenth on this list after dominant wins against good fighters but on Thanksgiving weekend we’ll see what he looks like against someone closer to great.
11) Keith Thurman, welterweight
Keith Thurman got the best win of his career in June against Sean Porter. He no longer looks like the knockout artist he once was hailed as, but he has become a solid all-round fighter. That makes him a bit less fun – although the Porter fight was pretty good – and gives him a better chance against Danny García next year, in another stellar fight.
12) Juan Francisco Estrada, junior bantamweight
Juan Francisco Estrada is chasing González, still, which is why he moved up in weight. He would also be happy to fight Naoya Inoue. He needs to be in a good fight for the first time in forever.
13) Guillermo Rigondeaux, junior lightweight
Every now and then Guillermo Rigondeaux pops his head up to say he wants some fight or the other, or someone says something about wanting to fight him. Then he faces James ****ens.
14) Naoya Inoue, junior flyweight
We’ve reached the big zone of fighters who haven’t done much lately, but have good resumes overall. Inoue is also talking about facing Gonzalez, a welcome bout.
15) Adonis Stevenson, light heavyweight
Here’s another one. Thomas Williams, Jr. gave Stevenson a real scrap in July. He’s set to go against another top 10 light heavyweight, fellow Canadian Eleider Álvarez, next year – but his whole championship reign has been lacklustre.
16) Danny García, welterweight
And another one. But, at least, like some of the others in this netherzone, Danny García is finally about to face someone worthy (see Thurman, above). First up is Samuel Vargas later this month.
17) Nicholas Walters, junior lightweight
It’s annoying that he turned down big money to tackle Lomachenko, originally, but all – or at least most – is forgiven now that we’re finally getting that slobberknocker.
18) Kell Brook, welterweight
I opted not to dock Kell Brook for a competitive showing against that monster Golovkin at a weight where he clearly doesn’t belong. He just drops overall because others moved up.
19) Carlos Cuadras, junior bantamweight
When you give the pound-for-pound king the hardest fight of his life, you just might climb into the pound-for-pound ranks yourself. A hearty welcome, Carlos.
20) Wladimir Klitschko, heavyweight
It’s weird to see Wladimir Klitschko here instead of the man who beat him last, but Tyson Fury is functionally retired and we’re going to treat him that way. Plus, Klitschko has done plenty over the years to keep his spot.
Honorable mentions: Floyd Mayweather; Manny Pacquiao; Bernard Hopkins; Juan Manuel Marquez; Tyson Fury; Miguel Cotto; Erislandy Lara; Leo Santa Cruz
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