Boxing Pound for Pound Rankings: Canelo Alvarez, Errol Spence Jr. make debuts
Plus, Terence Crawford continues to ascend as one of the best in the world
From the moment Errol Spence Jr. made his in-ring debut on premium cable, the unbeaten welterweight has been tabbed by experts and fans alike as a potential heir to the pound-for-pound throne.
In the biggest test of his young career on Saturday, Spence (22-0, 19 KOs) traveled to England to capture Kell Brook's welterweight title in a career-making performance. Spence stood strong under fire and made key adjustments along the way before stopping Brook, thanks to a badly swollen left eye, in Round 11.
The victory helped Spence, 27, make a spectacular debut on the P4P landscape. With a want to test himself against the very best welterweights in the world, including fellow P4P top 10 fighters Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman, Spence should provide himself a chance to climb even higher on the list in the coming years.
| Boxer | Record | Division | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Andre Ward | 31-0, 15 KOs | Light heavyweight champion | -- |
| As contested as it was, Ward's slim victory over Sergey Kovalev proved just how tough and adaptable he can be. He'll have a chance to leave no doubt in their June 17 rematch. | |||
| 2. Vasyl Lomachenko | 8-1, 6 KOs | Junior lightweight champion | -- |
| The two-time Olympic gold medalist is simply operating on higher level than his competitors. His brilliant artistry has become a joy to behold. A rematch of his only loss against Orlando Salido would be a welcome fight. | |||
| 3. Gennady Golovkin | 37-0, 33 KOs | Middleweight champion | -- |
| The unified champion looked human for the first time in barely outpointing Daniel Jacobs in March. But it's possible the result helped him land the most important bout of his career in September against Canelo Alvarez. | |||
| 4. Terence Crawford | 31-0, 22 KOs | Junior welterweight champion | |
| Crawford can simply do it all and appears ready to chase the big dollars at welterweight. He will need a big-name dance partner to help him become a star. It's time for Top Rank to offer Manny Pacquiao the kind of money he can't refuse. | |||
| 5. Sergey Kovalev | 30-1-1, 26 KOs | Light heavyweight | |
| "The Krusher" still remains the most dangerous puncher in the sport. But he'll need to enter his rematch against Ward with a Plan B, C and D in order to win without controversy. | |||
| 6. Errol Spence Jr. | 22-0, 19 KOs | Welterweight champion | |
| Let the Spence era begin. He's long, tough and intelligent. Even more, he can punch. Spence appears to have a long run ahead of him high up this list. | |||
| 7. Roman Gonzalez | 46-1, 38 KOs | Junior bantamweight | |
It might be difficult to justify seeing "Chocolatito" go from P4P king to sliding down this list after one contested defeat. One thing the fight did, however, is expose the fact that Gonzalez's days of outright dominance are likely over the higher he moves up in weight. | |||
| 8. Manny Pacquiao | 59-6-2, 38 KOs | Welterweight champion | |
| At 38, Pacquiao has remarkably retained his speed and boxing ability. But his matchmaking is starting to become soft. A July bout against unknown Jeff Horn offers him nothing to gain in terms of his P4P ranking. | |||
| 9. Keith Thurman | 28-0, 22 KOs | Welterweight champion | |
| "One Time" will miss six months with an elbow injury fresh off his title unification victory over Danny Garcia. Spence continues to call out his name with hopes on finding out who the best welterweight is in the world. | |||
| 10. Canelo Alvarez | 49-1-1, 34 KOs | Middleweight champion | |
| Finally a full-fledged middleweight, Alvarez showcased just how much he has grown as a boxer/puncher in a shutout victory over a lifeless Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in May. Now comes the real test in September against Triple G in boxing's most important fight of 2017. | |||
Missed the cut: Mikey Garcia, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Naoya Inoue, James DeGale, Leo Santa Cruz
Dropped out: Guillermo Rigondeaux, Mikey Garcia
















