Top Ten Pound-For-Pound

Here's my pound-for-pound list. I take into account ability and accomplishment. The previous list was posted on September 18.

1. Vasyl Lomachenko (10-1, 9 KOs) [9]
2. Terence Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs) [2]
3. Gennady Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) [3]
4. Saul Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) [4]
5. Sergey Kovalev (30-2-1, 26 KOs) [6]
6. Erislandy Lara (25-2-2, 14 KOs) [10]
7. Adonis Stevenson (29-1, 24 KOs) [7]
8. Keith Thurman (28-0, 22 KOs) [8]
9. Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-1, 11 KOs) [6]
10. Leo Santa Cruz (34-1-1, 19 KOs( [Not ranked]

Exiting the list:
Andre Ward (32-0, 16 KOs) [1]

Ward exits the list on top after retiring.

Lomachenko's win over Rigondeaux convinced me that he's the best in the world. I value a fighter's resume, and Lomachenko's was not as good as the men above him. But after dominating a pound-for-pound top 5 fighter, the double Olympic gold medalist deserves to vault into the number one spot. In addition to Rigondeaux, Lomachenko badly beat fringe pound-for-pound contender Nicholas Walters and controlled the fight against the supremely talented Gary Russell.

Terence Crawford has a combination of boxing acumen and punching power that makes him one of the best fighters in the world. Better as a lefty, he has the ability to switch stances. But Crawford's resume is lacking compared to Lomachenko now. Crawford's best win was against the formidable Viktor Postol for the true junior welterweight championship. Otherwise, he's destroyed a lot of good opponents including Olympic gold medalists Yuriorkis Gamboa and Feliz Diaz, but doesn't have much experience on the next level

Gennady Golovkin's star has fallen somewhat after a tough win over Danny Jacobs and a draw with Canelo. But Jacobs is a top 3 middleweight and Canelo is a pound-for-pound top 5 boxer. GGG deserved a close win over Canelo in my mind. Besides Jacobs and Alvarez, Golovkin has knocked out a lot of decent opponents with his varied attack and heavy hands. His defense isn't as good as the two men above him.

Canelo Alvarez might have faced the most star opponents of anyone on this list. He's developed into a smart boxer who isn't afraid to mix it up. He's the only man to face both Floyd Mayweather and Golovkin. Officially he registered a split draw and a majority decision loss, but in reality, he lost both clearly. Wins over Miguel Cotto, Erislandy Lara, and Austin Trout were impressive, but the Lara and Trout decisions were controversial. Nevertheless, the other pound-for-pound contenders haven't faced as many top level fighters as Alvarez.

Sergey Kovalev was #2 until he lost twice to Andre Ward. The first decision loss was disputed; the second loss was a stoppage. Otherwise, it doesn't appear there's a boxer close to his weight division who can beat him. He's stopped Jean Pascal twice, Nathan Cleverly, and beat Bernard Hopkins.

Erislandy Lara's record is messy. I believe both of his losses were unjustified. I think he beat both Paul Williams and Canelo Alvarez. His draw against Carlos Molina should've been a loss. He's not the most exciting fighter, but he's one of the most skilled. A great defensive specialist and counter puncher, particularly with the overhand left.

Adonis Stevenson is the legitimate light heavyweight champion. His wins over Chad Dawson (especially) and Tavoris Cloud were big wins, but they were in 2013. Since then, he's fought some good guys, but no one great. He'll need to beat one of the many bona fide light heavyweight contenders to stay on this list. He has enough power in the left hand to do it.

Keith Thurman has impressive wins over Shawn Porter and pound-for-pound top ten contender Danny Garcia, but both were close decisions. Thurman has only beaten faded veterans and mediocre foreigners with padded records otherwise.

Guillermo Rigondeaux has supreme skills. His loss to Lomachenko shouldn't knock him out of the top 10. He beat top ten pound-for-pound boxer Nonito Donaire in 2013 and some other average guys around that win. Like his countrymen Lara, he is a southpaw defense specialist who counters well.

Leo Santa Cruz also has beaten some good guys. His split in two fights with Carl Frampton and win over Abner Mares place him over some other contenders who might be more skilled, but don't have the same resume. A pressure fighter, Santa Cruz is usually in high volume fights.

Honorable Mentions:

Errol Spence's best win was over Kell Brook. He's beaten average guys more impressively than other top fighters. Hopefully, he continues to fight top guys and vault onto the list.

Mikey Garcia has beaten a lot of quality guys, but no great ones. His best win was over Adrien Broner. No one in the top ten has such an unimpressive top victory. But Garcia is talented enough to make the list after acquiring a signature win.

Naoya Inoue's balance when throwing monster shots will see him make the list when he fights someone of note.

Oleksander Usdyk has some good wins. Krzysztof Glowacki was his best, which isn't too shabby. He's building a resume to make the top ten soon.

Srisaket Sor Rungvisai has two wins over former pound-for-pound contender Roman Gonzalez. The first fight was disputed, but the second one proved it was no fluke. While beating a great fighter twice rockets someone into the pound-for-pound conversation, SSR hardly has any other good wins. He has feasted on journeymen.

Anthony Joshua's epic win over Wladimir Klitschko puts him in contention. But Klitschko was 41, knocked Joshua down, and AJ doesn't have another win nearly as valuable. If he can beat both Joseph Parker and Deontay Wilder, he should be taken more seriously.