MY 2020 TOP 20 POUND FOR POUND BOXERS
I have been thinking of doing another one of these for a while and now there is no more appropriate time.
As per usual, many may disagree or have some reservations with my list or the order, but that’s the nature of the beast. I did toil long and hard about the order but I am happy with my final outcome. My decisions were based on boxing ability/skill, number of fights/wins, quality of the opponents and potential.
1.SAUL “Canelo” ALVAREZ – 53-1-2
You can hardly argue with Canelo being the universally recognised P4P no1. A four division weight champion with 53 wins in 56 fights at just 29 years of age. His record reads as a whose, who of top level boxers. With a solitary defeat against Floyd Mayweather in Sept 2013, which he has learnt from, especially in his defensive movement. However, I would argue that he should have a defeat and draw on his record against Golovkin, rather than a draw and a win, but that is debatable. His combination of strength, power, movement and superb boxing ability seem unmatched and with all that said, I still think for certain wins he didn’t get as much credit as he should have, due to the extremely high standards he has set for himself. If anyone was in any doubt of his greatness, in November 2019 he moved up to light heavyweight and stopped Kolovkin in the 11th round, making it an amazing 20 world champions he has defeated.
2.TYSON FURY – 31-0-0
I did hesitate about putting him so high, but you cannot deny his amazing comeback story. The current WBC and ring magazine heavyweight king seems to be a generational talent with his superb movement and agility for his considerable size, obvious punching power and boxing intelligence, which he rarely gets credit for. Although many questioned the skills of Wilder, the fact still remained that all 41 of Wilder’s opponents had felt the canvas, including Fury himself, however, in 19 rounds, barring the two he was knocked down in, after being robbed in their first fight, Fury dominated Wilder and destroyed him in their second fight, that is no mean feat against someone with such devastating punching power as Wilder. Add that to the fact that he dethroned Klitschko to end the Ukrainian’s 11 year heavyweight domination and you have an almost complete heavyweight champion.
3.TERRENCE “bud” CRAWFORD – 36-0-0
Crawford is a three weight world champion and is one of only seven boxers in history to hold all the belts in his weight class at the same time. This was in the light welterweight division, which he reigned over from 2014-2015. He has since moved up to welterweight and claimed the WBO title. Some may question the validity of his opponents, but when you look at Burns, Gamboa, Beltran, Postol, Indongo, Horn, Benavidez and Khan, they are still very decent names and all former world champions, who he dominated. There is factor that due to his exceptional performances, he has also been avoided, however, that is debatable. I like Crawford’s versatility and he seems to add extra strings to his bow in every fight. He can box or brawl, can sit back and be patient or can walk forward and destroy opponents with exceptional speed and punching power. He just needs that one mega-fight to really solidify his place and answer any questions.
4.EROLL SPENCE JR – 25-0-0
The unified IBF and WBC welterweight champion has long been touted as a world class boxer and has started to prove this. In his 26 wins from 26 fights, he has crammed in some exceptional performances, with some class boxing ability, impeccable timing and devastating body shots. This slick southpaw proved he could not only box but can dig deep and brawl with his fight of the year candidate win against Shawn Porter. Add this to a dominant points win, albeit over the moving up in weight Mikey Garcia and impressive stoppage victories over Lemont Peterson and Kel Brook in hostile territory in England. With Crawford moving up, it seems they are on a mouth watering collision course to see who the real welterweight king is, providing Spence Jr has fully recovered from his recent car crash.
5.VASYL “hi-tech” LOMACHENKO – 14-1-0
Many may raise their eyebrows or turn up their noses at him being fifth on the list. Some may argue that he should be first or second but for me, although I acknowledge his vast abilities and almost futuristic like talents, the fact still remains he has only had 15 pro fights and has lost one of those. However, some may argue that he went straight into tough competition in his pro career, with no warm up or filler fights, this is true but I would argue, that is because he had a very extensive amateur career, more extensive than most boxers. Loma is a two time Olympic gold medallist and a three weight world champion, also the current WBA, WBO, WBC and ring magazine lightweight champion. His almost matrix like hand speed and movement is mesmerising, as well as his vast range of shots and exhausting pace. These exceptional talents made four fighters in a row, Walters, Sosa, Marriaga & Rigondeaux retire on their stools after taking a considerable beating, causing Loma to label himself “no”machenko.
6.NAOYA INOUE – 19-0-0
This Japanese superstar is a three weight world champion and the current IBF, WBA and ring magazine bantamweight champion, he is also the world boxing super series winner. Inoue could possibly be pound for pound one of the hardest punchers in boxing. In his 19 fights, only one boxer has been the distance and that was Nonito Donaire in his last fight in the super series final in November 2019. He is another where many may question the validity of opponents, but he has beaten four previous world champions. His concussive power in both hands may distract you from his superb technical ability and lateral movement, which allows him to set up the knockout punch perfectly. However, he does need more top level opponents which I anticipate we will be seeing very soon.
7.OLEKSANDR USYK – 17-0-0
One of the seven boxers in history to simultaneously hold all the belts in his division. Usyk dominated at cruiserweight for five years with minimal fuss. He won the WBO title in only his 10th pro fight, then cleaned up the division while winning the super series in only his 15th fight. Some question the level of competition in the division but there is no questioning his ability and skill set. In truth, no cruiserweight has really got near him or matched his abilities. His swan song in the division was a devastating 8th knockout of Tony Bellew in Manchester, England. Knowing he is just too good for the division, he has since moved up to heavyweight where some very interesting fights await him.
8.GENNADY “triple g” GOLOVKIN – 40-1-1
You can make a case for him to be higher on the list, as stated previously, he was unlucky to come away with a draw and defeat against Canelo, when I thought it was a win and a draw for him. Nevertheless, the current IBF middleweight champion may have been a victim of his own devastating punching power and was avoided for much of his career. In recent times, his career reads not exactly convincing wins against Brook and then Jacobs, where I personally thought it could have gone either way, then the two Canelo fights with an easy stoppage sandwiched between. This was then followed by another easy stoppage before recently winning the IBF title in another not too convincing points victory against a very game Derevyanchanko. We all know how good triple G can be with his lateral movement and natural power, but the general consensus is he could be on the slide, however, one mega-fight victory can change all that.
9.MANNY PACQUIAO – 62-7-2
The hall of fame veteran just keeps on going. Although at 41 is naturally slowing down, his last two victories over Broner and impressively over Thurman, showed he is still the gatekeeper and not to be taken lightly. You cannot count out his vast achievements in the sport, An eight division world champion and the first boxer to win the lineal championship in five different weight classes, Pacquiao is boxing royalty. But it’s not only about the past, he is currently the WBA welterweight title holder and looks as though he still has something to offer boxing. His speed, movement and power, combined with his knowledge, experience and intelligence makes him still a big player in the sport.
10.ROMAN “chocolatito” GONZALEZ – 49-2-0
I might be slightly biased and some may raise a few eyebrows at this, but the former P4P no1 has made a recent renaissance. I have seen some place Estrada higher but for me Gonzalez deserves to be the highest ranked super flyweight. This is after travelling to England to dethrone the previously unbeaten Khalid Yafai in the 9th round with a tremendous performance, especially after previously being out with a serious knee injury. A slick, pressure fighter, Gonzalez is tough as nails and likes to walk forward. After his two defeats to Rungvisai where I thought he was unlucky to lose the first and just got caught in their second, he seems to have his groove back. However, with a previous victory over Estrada, he may want a third Rungvisai fight but defeat could be devastating. Nevertheless, with the WBA super flyweight title, there is yet more to come from the 32 year old.
11.MIKEY GARCIA – 40-1-0
Barring his ill-fated move to jump up two weight classes and challenge Errol Spence Jr for the IBF welterweight title, he has been exceptional. The former four weight world champion seems to have all the tools to be an all time great with great timing, power, boxing intelligence and vast array of weapons. However, his decisions could hinder him, not only moving up to welterweight, but he also missed two and half years of his career from 2014 to mid 2016, only time will tell how detrimental that will be. At his peak he destroyed fighters like Orlando Salido, Juan Manual Lopez, Roman Martinez and totally dominated Broner, winning every round. Lightweight seems a good fit for him, but somehow he seems to want to stay at welterweight, which for me is ill advised and another not so great decision, but what do I know?
12.LEO SANTA CRUZ – 37-1-1
Leo currently holds titles at featherweight and super featherweight and is a four weight world champions. He is the type of fighter that’s hard not to love. His all action, Mexican warrior fighting style is very pleasing on the eye, if not hard and nerve wracking to watch. He is a tough, walk forward pressure fighter that hardly takes a back step and seems to have cardio for days. With only one blip on his record, a points loss to Frampton which he avenged 6 months later. He has two wins over Abner Mares in two gruelling, barnstorming fights, although some may say he was fortunate to win the first one, there is no doubting his extensive talents, with some more potential mouth watering fights to come it bodes well for the fans.
13.ANTHONY JOSHUA – 23-1-0
The former Olympic gold medalist will always sway opinions, however, aside from that one disaster in New York, his career had been more or less flawless. Also, the names on his record holds up against most in boxing, let alone in his division. He avenged his one loss and regained his titles from Ruiz Jr by showing his boxing ability. Some are still not convinced but there are not many boxers today that’s had to fight with the amount of pressure and still managed to perform. Naturally a Fury, or maybe Wilder showdown is a must, sooner rather than later for heavyweight supremacy and boxing legacy.
14.ARTUR BETERBIEV – 15-0-0
With a limited amount of fights on his record and operating in a not too deep division, you could say I am being slightly generous to him. However, a fighter has to be something to make his way onto this list and thus far, Beterviev has shown he certainly is something. The IBF, WBC and lineal light heavyweight title holder has stopped all 15 of his opponents and only three of these fighters have gotten into the second half of the fight with him. His last fight was a 10th round stoppage in a unification bout with Gvozdyk, who was the conquerer of Adonis Stevenson. Although he may suffer in a limited division, he does have potential unification fights with Bivol and Pascal to chase an undisputed crown.
15.GERVONTA “tank” DAVIS – 22-0-0
Tank, being the young prodigy of Floyd Mayweather naturally fights every fight with immense pressure, that alone is something to be acknowledged, not many could deal with that kind of pressure day in and day out and still perform. He is a two weight champion and the current WBA lightweight title holder. Power and speed in both hands, he is a slick and devastating finisher, stopping all 22 of his opponents. Extremely confident, he is one of the very few to be calling out Lomachenko on a regular basis. Providing he keeps his head on his shoulders and is not distracted by outside issues, which he has shown is a huge risk, some interesting fights await which would give us a better idea of his talents.
16.JUAN FRANCISCO ESTRADA – 40-3-0
Another who I toiled long and hard about where to put on the list. Some may argue he should be higher, but I am not convinced. I am not doubting his obvious abilities and skillset. He is a two weight world champion, the current WBC, ring and lineal super flyweight champion. However, he has a defeat to Ramon Gonzalez at light flyweight and Rungvisai where he lost his titles, although he did avenge that defeat and won his titles back in April 2019. A tough, Mexican brawler, who likes to stand his ground Mano a Mano, and more often than not he prevails. Although he has notched 40 wins, he has suffered from the calibre of opponents and needs another big unification bout win to really confirm his superiority in the division.
17.BILLY JOE SAUNDERS – 29-0-0
I really debated about this, on current form, many would not see him in the top 20, however, there is no denying his vast abilities. With that said, he has not had an impressive performance since Lemieux in 2017, which was his toughest opponent and best ever performance, Sadly, none of his last three opponents were of any calibre to test his qualities further, and he did struggle, albeit winning them all. He would argue that he has been chasing mega-fights for sometime. A two weight world champion, he currently still holds the WBO super middleweight title, he has deceiving power and excellent movement who can mix it up when tested, but with his destructive nature, he really needs a super fight as soon as possible, for us to finally see how good he really is or can be.
18.DEONTAY WILDER – 41-1-1
You may all raise your eyebrows at this after he was dominated by Fury in seven round, which has really hurt him. After that defeat, everyone seemed to come out the woodwork with the old “I told you so” in regards to Wilder not being a good boxer. However, the fact still remains every opponent he has faced, he has put on the canvas, it’s just Tyson Fury who has gotten back up. Now I am not saying he will prevail in a third fight, but he does have the possibility of a third fight and he is still one of the most feared punchers ever to lace up gloves. Now if by chance he was to pull off a miraculous win in the third fight, the general consensus will be much different again.
19. JOSE RAMIREZ – 25-0-0
This one was even a surprise to me. I was really half and half with him, although he is unbeaten and had some decent performances, it was nothing to really wow me. Nevertheless, he was doing his job and reeling off the wins. However, his unification win against Maurice Hooker, stopping Hooker in the 6th round made everyone sit up and take notice, as he claimed the WBO title to add to his own WBC light welterweight title. It was a career defining victory and one I didn’t think he had in him. Ramirez is a very technical, astute boxer, with superb cardio and defence, but also showed he had power and can perform on the very biggest stage. Now even bigger fights await him and there has been talk of another unification bout with Josh Taylor with would be great.
20.KEITH “one-time” THURMAN – 29-1-0
Another who some may have reservations about being up here. I must admit I did have to think long and hard about it but the fact still remains he was unbeaten until his last fight when Pacquiao defeated him and took his title. Previous to that, he reeled off wins against Leonard Bundu, Robert Guerrero, Luis Collazo, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia and Josesito Lopez. Thurman was once considered one of the hardest punchers in boxing, however his last knockout was in 2014 and his last four fights went the distance. Injuries has been a real hinderance for him, but there is no doubting his talents and resume. Now with no title and him not getting any younger, this could force him to rush back into some very tough fights in order to earn another title and maintain his position in the rankings which would be high risk for him but great for the fans.
