Boxing’s Best Fighters Ranked From ‘Pound-For-Pound King’ To ‘Not A Boxer’

Boxing's elite have been ranked with Canelo Alvarez crowned pound-for-pound No 1, Tyson Fury labelled 'World Class' while Anthony Joshua sits three tiers below his heavyweight rival.

SPORTbible have taken the World Boxing News pound-for-pound top 40 and put each fighter into their TierMaker category.

Mexican superstar Canelo is clearly the king of the sport. The 30-year-old takes on - and beats - the best, continually improves and boasts success across multiple weight classes.

Fury is joined in 'World Class' by slick, unbeaten welterweight duo Terence Crawford and Errol Spence, Canelo's rival Gennady Golovkin and a spectacular KO puncher: Japan's bantamweight Naoya 'The Monster' Inoue.

'Rising Stars' highlights boxers who are on their way to 'World Class' status. Namely Britain's unbeaten light-welterweight Josh Taylor, another fearsome puncher in Gervonta 'Tank' Davis and America's Charlo twins.

But 'Overrated' contains fighters who are fortunate to even be on any pound-for-pound list. Mikey Garcia and Keith Thurman, who drift in and out of boxing, plus Andy Ruiz Jr who looked less 'pound-for-pound; and more 'pounds-to-spare' in his 2019 rematch with Joshua.

Conversely, 'Underrated' includes silky super-flyweight Juan Francisco Estrada and bearded 175lb banger Artur Beterbiev: undoubtedly among the world's best but boxers who arguably don't get the credit they deserve.

'Good' might sound damning - but competition is fierce and the likes of Joshua (rebuilding with two dominant wins after that Ruiz loss) and Leo Santa Cruz are joined by Manny Pacquiao.

Specifically, we mean the 42-year-old version of Pacquaio of course, as the peak Pac Man is already proven an all-time great.

Damningly, we had to label Deontay Wilder 'Not A Boxer'. Firstly because - while one of the world's greatest punchers - he is simply a rank average boxer who's been out-boxed not only by Tyson Fury but by plenty of other opponents (until he landed his nuclear right hand).

Also, his bizarre post-Fury excuses have left many questioning if Wilder is actually mentally fit to box right now or whether he needs a lengthier timeout from the sport.

Below is the WBN pound-for-pound top 40 in their TierMaker category.

Pound-For-Pound King: Canelo Alvarez

World Class: Tyson Fury, Terence Crawford, Teofimo Lopez, Naoya Inoue, Roman Gonzalez, Errol Spence, Vasyl Lomachenko, Gennady Golovkin, Oleksandr Usyk

Rising Star: Gervonta Davis, Josh Taylor, Jermall Charlo, Jermell Charlo, Emanuel Navarrete

Underrated: Artur Beterbiev, Juan Francisco Estrada, Kazuto Ioka, Gary Russell Jr, Regis Prograis, Miguel Berchelt, Luis Nery

Good: Anthony Joshua, Jose Ramirez, Shawn Porter, Leo Santa Cruz, Kosei Tanaka, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Nonito Donaire, Manny Pacquiao, Moruti Mthalane

Overrated: Mikey Garcia, Daniel Jacobs, Andy Ruiz Jr, Keith Thurman, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Wanheng Menayothin, Dmitry Bivol, Mairis Briedis

Not A Boxer: Deontay Wilder

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

All imagery: PA Images/TierMaker

Topics: Gervonta Davis, Tyson Fury, Boxing News, Boxing, Fight News, Anthony Josuha, Canelo Alvarez

Alex Reid

Alex Reid is a writer at SPORTbible who’s previously strung words together for FourFourTwo, Boxing News, The Guardian and, yes, Cruise International (it’s about big ships, not Tom). Interests range from football and boxing to real sports like WWE and darts. He is not a cage fighter.

@otheralexreid