Via Craig Daly: Ring Magazine has IBF, WBA & WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk as #1 pound-for-pound in their updated rankings.
Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) earned his place as the No. 1 boxer in the sport with a back-to-back win over Anthony Joshua, a guy many boxing fans feel is a heavy contender. top signing in the league before being dethroned by Oleksandr.
With Usyk being ranked #1 pound-for-pound by Ring Magazine, he’s now the first major contender in 30 years to be the highest-rated for this prestigious organization since Mike Tyson made it. during the peak of his career.
“It’s great. I feel really happy,” Oleksandr Usyk told Social boxing about his feelings about his win over Anthony Joshua last Saturday night.
“I think I won,” Usyk said when asked what went through his head when he heard a referee gave Joshua a 115-113 victory.
“No,” Usyk said when asked if he thought the referees would award Joshua the win.
“This time, he takes more low shots than he did the first time around.” Usyk talks about what’s different for Joshua in this fight compared to the first one in September 2021.
Usyk is currently looking to cement his status as the #1 guy in boxing by beating undefeated WBC champion Tyson Fury to become the undisputed champion. However, Fury’s insistence on getting the highest pay for the fight with Usyk could reduce the likelihood of the fight going on.
At this point in Fury’s career, he’s shown he’s too focused on money and has a sense of greed on his part. He’s a good boxer, but his claim to win millions of dollars for a fight with Usyk can make the fight difficult.
Ring .’s pound-for-pound list
1. Oleksandr Usyk
2. Naoya Inoue
3. Terence Crawford
4. Errol Spence
5. Canelo
6. Vasyl Lomachenko
7. Dmitry Bivol
8. Josh Taylor
9. Jermell Charlo
10. Artur Betterbiev
Looking at that list, you could argue that Terence Crawford shouldn’t be ranked above Errol Spence Jr or Vasyl Lomachenko, Dmitry Bivol, Jermell Charlo and Artur Beterbiev.
Crawford is certainly a good fighter, but the weight classes he’s beaten since moving up to 147-lb in 2018 leave much to be desired.
When you beat the likes of Jeff Horn, Jose Benavidez Jr, Kell Brook and Amir Khan, that’s not good enough to be ranked #3 on the pound-for-pound list.
