The Ring has put in Terence Crawford within the #1 spot of their pound-for-pound scores, pushing him above the earlier #1, undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. Crawford’s 12-round unanimous choice over Canelo Alvarez final Saturday night time, on September 13, earned him the #1 ranking with The Ring’s panel of voters.
The New Pound-for-Pound King
It’s a questionable transfer by The Ring, as Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) simply arrived at 168 after combating as soon as at 154, and never wanting good in his final struggle. He hasn’t been at tremendous middleweight lengthy sufficient to show that he deserves the #1 pound-for-pound rating.
Crawford’s victory over a fading undisputed 168-lb champion Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) wasn’t important sufficient within the minds of followers as a result of Mexican star’s cautious match-making that he’s had within the final three years.
The Ring’s Up to date Pound-for-Pound Rankings
Terence Crawford
Oleksandr Usyk
Naoya Inoue
Dmitry Bivol
Artur Beterbiev
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez
Canelo Alvarez
Junto Nakatani
Shakur Stevenson
David Benavidez
Is Crawford the Greatest?
Crawford’s 12-round unanimous choice win over Canelo wasn’t the type of dominating efficiency that indicated that he must be bumped as much as #1 in The Ring’s pound-for-pound rankings. He moved across the ring all night time, throwing occasional pictures after which taking off once more to eat up the clock. It appeared like an old style sport of keep-away kind of struggle, and it made Crawford look each timid and outdated.
Some folks consider that the one motive Alvarez has held onto his world titles is that he has been maneuvered round these fighters since 2022: David Benavidez, David Morrell, Christian Mbilli, Lester Martinez, Osleys Iglesias, and Diego Pacheco.
Usyk has performed extra within the final 4 years than Crawford has since 2021, beating Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, and Daniel Dubois twice a chunk. The large weight that Usyk has given up in these fights makes his victories much more spectacular.
“Staying at 168 is a mistake—Bud’s not constructed for this weight long-term. He received on talent and coronary heart, however you noticed the pictures he ate; in opposition to recent 168 guys, that chin cracks. Age and dimension will catch up quick,” mentioned analyst Teddy Atlas to ESPN, reacting to Crawford’s win over Canelo final Saturday.
