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UK Pound-For-Pound Rankings 2018
By: Ste Rowen
It’s been another great year for UK boxing following a successful 2017. From heavyweight, Anthony Joshua to flyweight, Charlie Edwards, the UK pound-for-pound lists are being collated.
From 10 to 1, here we see who – this writer at least – ranks as the best to ply their trade from Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 2018.
10…Kal Yafai 25-0 (15KOs)
It was a rough end to Yafai’s 2018. The WBA super-flyweight titlist fought and stopped David Carmona in Fresno in May and it all looked setup for the former Olympian to take on either future hall of famer, Roman Gonzalez or IBF champion, Jerwin Ancajas. Neither fight materialised. Instead Kal laboured through 12 rounds with Israel Gonzalez in a bout many observers felt he lost. The scorecards were nothing short of a disgrace, returning as 117-111 and 116-112 (x2). Yafai is going to need a massive 2019 to make up for that performance.
9…Charlie Edwards 14-1 (6KOs)
A new entrant from 2017’s list (https://bit.ly/2Ad2cgp), is newly crowned WBC flyweight champion, Charlie Edwards. 14-1 (6KOs), Edwards started his year with a stoppage victory over Ricky Little, then four months later he finished off Anthony Nelson within three. Just last week, the losing challenger to John Riel Casimero’s IBF title in 2016 scored a unanimous decision win over Cristofer Rosales to become the newest champion at 112lb.
8…George Groves 28-4 (20KOs)
Riding high after finally becoming a world champion in 2017, ‘Saint’ George Groves started the year as the WBA super-middleweight champion, and heading into an all British World Boxing Super Series semi-final with Chris Eubank Jr. It was a fight he was to dominate on the scorecards, and all though he had a few hairy moments late on due to a dislocated shoulder, Groves made it out with another defence under his belt and a place in the WBSS final to face Callum Smith.
It was to be where ‘The Saint’s’ winning run ended as, in the unusual surroundings of King Abdullah Sports City Saudi Arabia, the London-native was to fall to a 6th round body shot KO defeat to the unbeaten Liverpudlian. His impressive showing earlier in the year keeps George in the top 10 for now.
7…Ryan Burnett 19-1 (9KOs)
Ryan Burnett, of Belfast may now have to call himself a ‘former’ world champion, but it was all to do with injury than skill when he took on Nonito Donaire in the Bantamweight WBSS quarter finals. Burnett was the WBA champion as he entered the Super Series in November, having defended it once with a dominant decision victory of Yonfrez Parejo back in March.
It was competitive while it lasted in Ryan’s November bout in Glasgow but late in the 4th, Burnett threw a right hand that triggered the back injury. He recently assured fans that it’s not career-ending so here’s to a 2019 that sees Ryan take on the losers and eventual winner of the 118lb tournament.
6…Dillian Whyte 25-1 (18KOs)
The Body Snatcher’ did his best to maneuverer himself into a world title shot and despite failing on that count, Whyte has undoubtedly had a successful twelve months. In March, Dillian viciously knocked out a lethargic but unbeaten, Lucas Browne. Four months later he took a step up by stepping in with the recently dethroned, Joseph Parker. It was rough going and although Whyte dropped the New Zealander twice, the former WBO champion rallied late on to knock his British foe down and almost out in the final few seconds of the fight. Dillian survived the assault to earn a unanimous decision.
Then to see the year out, he put a sure conclusion to his ongoing domestic rivalry with Dereck Chisora thanks to an 11th round, left-hook knockout of ‘Del Boy’ in the rematch of their controversial 2016 bout. Whyte’s only defeat continues to be at the hands of heavyweight king, Anthony Joshua and a rematch of their 2015 fight is the front runner for AJ’s April Wembley Stadium date.
5…Josh Taylor 14-0 (12KOs)
Scottish southpaw Josh ‘Tartan Tornado’ Taylor is getting better with every performance. After a fantastic 2017, Taylor had his eyes firmly set on the big boys of the super-lightweight division. In March, after veteran, Humberto Soto dropped out late, Josh made easy work of replacement Winston Campos. Then came the big test three months later when he went up against former world champion, Viktor Postol; dropping the Ukrainian en route to a 12-round unanimous victory.
In November, Josh entered the World Boxing Super Series quarter finals where he looked levels above unbeaten American, Ryan Martin. Forcing ‘Blue Chip’ into a 7th round TKO loss. 14-0 (12KOs), it’s Josh’s performance as well as the opposition he’s facing that puts him up at five in this list.
The Scot’s next fight, though it still has no date, will be against Russian and IBF champion, Ivan Baranchyk. A place in the WBSS final awaits the winner, as well as the IBF strap.
4…Tyson Fury 27-0-1 (19KOs)
What more can be said about the return of Tyson Fury? After nearly three years out of the ring and his well-publicized mental health issues, Fury stepped back into the ring, twice against ‘walk-over’ opponents before going up against arguably the biggest puncher in boxing, WBC champion Deontay Wilder, at the start of December.
It was a bout that saw Fury dominate the American for almost every round, but the Brit touched the canvas firstly in round 9 and then was almost wiped out in the 12th where he inexplicably rose in a way that The Undertaker would be proud of.
Knockdowns or not, it was clear to anyone with eyes and a basic understanding of the rules that Tyson won that fight, and although officially he didn’t, his performance was fantastic and earns him a spot back in the top 10.
3…Josh Warrington 28-0 (6KOs)
What a year it’s been for IBF featherweight champion, Josh Warrington. In May, he headlined in his home city at Leeds’s Elland Road Stadium, and defeated long-time rival, Lee Selby to rip the belt from the Welshman. Josh then, in his first defence, was a clear victor over 12 rounds against two-weight champion, Carl Frampton. A fight that included a ‘Round of the Year’ contender from the first bell.
Warrington said recently he’s open to the idea of WBO champion, Oscar Valdez being his next fight. Considering the calibre of his opponents this year, it’s not difficult to believe the Leeds native when he speaks.
2…Callum Smith 25-0 (18KOs)
Entering the 168lb World Boxing Super Series has revitalised Smiths career that was crying out for a legacy fight and as a result, ends 2018 as the WBA and Ring Magazine super-middleweight world champion. ‘Mundo’s’ only fight of 2017 was his decision victory over Erik Skoglund in the WBSS quarter finals, then early this year he was set to face Juergen Braehmer until the German was forced to pull out due to illness. In came kickboxing world champion, Nieky Holzken and after an underwhelming 12 rounds in Germany, Smith dominated the Dutchman to a unanimous points win.
It turned out to just be a taster of what Callum could do. The unbeaten Liverpudlian entered the ring in Jeddah as the underdog but forced his fight onto Groves early, with his power clearly effecting his fellow Brit with every power shot. It all accumulated in a dominant 6th round for Smith where he let loose and fired off the killer body shot that ended the bout.
If not a unification bout next, a matchup with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez could be up for the champion but with a fairly inactive 2017, the 28-year-old will surely be looking for the biggest fights as soon as possible.
1…Anthony Joshua 22-0 (21KOs)
Tyson Fury may have taken some of the shine from Joshua’s 2018, but the WBA, IBF & WBO heavyweight champion – a non-mover from 2017’s list – still had a successful year with only the failure to make the Wilder fight, as the black mark on his last twelve months.
‘AJ’ firstly added the WBO strap to his collection of championship belts in April with a points win over Joseph Parker, and then took out a very game challenger in Alexander Povetkin three months ago with a six round stoppage victory.
The current #1 in the division, if he fails to make fights with Wilder or Fury next year, Anthony could soon be pipped for the top spot by the Brits behind him on this list.
Notable Omissions
James DeGale – The IBF super-middleweight champion fought twice in 2018 but can you name his second opponent? ‘Chunky’ regained his IBF belt in April with a decision victory in the rematch with Caleb Truax and then KO’d Colombian, Fidel Monterrosa Munoz inside three, five months later. He may be a world champion, but he has no place in this year’s list.
Amir Khan & Kell Brook – It seems only right to group these two together. Will they fight? Who knows? People seemingly do care though, but neither has fought anyone worthy of ascending into 2018’s top 10. Khan made lightwork of Phil Lo Greco & slightly harder work of Samuel Vargas. Brook called out Jarrett Hurd and the recently deposed, Jermell Charlo at the beginning of the year but ended up taking on and beating Sergey Rabchenko & Michael Zerafa.
Carl Frampton – ‘The Jackal’ decisioned future hall of famer, Nonito Donaire at the start of the year, stopped Luke Jackson in the middle, and was a competitive, but clear loser when he fought Josh Warrington to end 2018. The Belfast man’s future is still undecided but having already achieved world titles at super-bantam and featherweight the 31-year-old has very little left to prove if he were to retire.
Billy Joe Saunders – If it weren’t for his collapsed fight with Demetrius Andrade the now former WBO middleweight champion would’ve been in the top 10, but with the situation regarding his failed drug test still up in the air and his only fight of 2018 being a 4th round stoppage over 32-13, Charles Adamu (where he weighed in at 178.5lb), it’s hard to find a place for him in this year’s list.
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Who is the pound-for-pound ruler: April 2017 Edition
Who is the pound-for-pound ruler: April 2017 Edition
By: Kirk Jackson
Ever since September of 2015, there is a void in the landscape of boxing, as the reigning pay-per-view king and perennial pound-for-pound ruler Floyd Mayweather retired after defeating Andre Berto.
Forget numbers and pay-per-view buys, followers of boxing really want to know is who the best fighter ispound-for-pound?
Since Mayweather’s departure towards the end of 2015,Roman Gonzalez 46-1 (38 KO’s), who at the time was relatively unknown by many boxing observers, ascended towards the top of many pound-for-pound lists.
ESPN, Ring magazine and most notably, the HBO commentary teamjoyfully touted the exploits of the four division world champion from Nicaragua affectionately known as “Chocolatito.” And not without good reason.
Gonzalez is an impressive fighter, boasting extraordinary stamina and an offensive arsenal that would make even the high powered Golden State Warriors envious.
In spite of Gonzalez’s greatness and dominance of the lower weight divisions, his standing as pound-for-pound king was not on steady footing.
Other fighters could be argued as no.1 pound-for-pound.
Fighters such as Andre Ward, Gennady Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev, Terence Crawford, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Keith Thurman, along with a few others.
With Gonzalez recently tasting defeat in stunning and controversial fashion, the pound-for-pound ranking reflects the change and displays a new king on the mythical list.
Who steps up to fill the no.1 position?
First thing to establish is the criterion used to judge the qualities of a pound-for-pound fighter
If we are to abide by the “Bible of Boxing” fromRingmagazine,the metrics for analyzing the pound-for-pound list is as follows:
RATINGS POLICY
1. Results. This is the most objective criterion and takes precedence over all others.
2. Performance. How a fighter performs in a victory or defeat can be a factor to determine his place in the ratings.
3. Track record: A fighter’s accomplishments in the recent past can be a factor to determine his place in the ratings. That includes quality of opposition.
All bases are covered with this set of criteria. These are great bench marks to test the merit of fighters and to grade the selected few who make up the pound-for-pound list. The criteria can be subjective, just like with scoring a fight.
Scoring the fight ties in with performance. It is important to note the criterion for scoring a round, tallying up points round by round and ultimately scoring a fight.
Effective Aggression: Assuming the role of aggressor may leave an impression of dominance, but the aggressor must actually land punches and avoid counter-punches in return, in order to be effective.Chasing the opponent and throwing punches does not necessarily suggest fighter is effective with their aggression. Cutting off the ring is a sign of effective aggression.
Ring Generalship: The fighter who controls the pace of the fight; the fighter enforces his/her will and is the conductor of the action. Setting the range, establishing the distance in which the fight takes place, which can include clinching/in-fighting or lateral movement and cutting off the ring.
Defense: How well a boxer is blocking, parrying and slipping punches. Clinching/tying up the opponent, moving around the ring, moving from side to side, presenting different angles is considered defense.
It’s not running; there is nothing stated within the rules of boxing that suggests a boxer must only
step forward throwing punches. It’s important to keep in mind good defense is just as important as offense.
Clean/Effective Punches: To the untrained eye, it can appear as if a boxer is landing a lot of punches, when in fact, most are either blocked, not landing flush or grazing punches. A judge or observer needs to look for hard punches that land clean. Hard punches can definitely constitute as effective, but a boxer should not be penalized if he/she is not a powerful puncher.Again, it’s about clean, landed punches. Clean punches score points.
Now that we have a barometer on how to score rounds, fights, and a general consensus for how to analyze and format pound-for-pound lists, let us proceed with the pound-for-pound selection.
The pound-for-pound results post-Gonzalez loss:
My Rankings:
1: Andre Ward 31-0-0 (15 KO’s). Undisputed WBA, IBF and WBO light heavyweight champion.
2: Terence Crawford 30-0-0 (21 KO’s). WBC, WBO, The Ring and lineal junior welterweight champion.
3: Guillermo Rigondeaux 17–0 (11 KO’s). Super WBA and lineal super bantamweight champion.
4: Sergey Kovalev 30-1-1 (26 KO’s).
5: Manny Pacquiao 59-6-2 (38 KO’s).WBO and lineal welterweight champion.
6: Roman Gonzalez 46-1-0 (38 KO’s).
7: Keith Thurman 28–0–0–1 (22 KO’s). WBA and WBC unified welterweight champion.
8: Vasyl Lomachenko 7-1-0 (5 KO’s). WBO Super featherweight champion.
9: Mikey Garcia 36-0 (30 KO’s). WBC Lightweight champion.
10: Gennady Golovkin 36-0-0 (33 KO’s). Super WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight champion.
ESPN Rankings:
Note: Results are through March 23
1. GENNADY GOLOVKIN
RECORD: 37-0, 33 KOs
DIVISION: Middleweight (unified champion)
LAST FIGHT: W (UD12) Daniel Jacobs, March 18
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
2. ANDRE WARD
RECORD: 31-0, 15 KOs
DIVISION: Light heavyweight (unified titleholder)
LAST FIGHT: W (UD12) Sergey Kovalev, Nov. 19, 2016
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
3. VASYL LOMACHENKO
RECORD: 7-1, 5 KOs
DIVISION: Junior lightweight (titlist)
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO7) Nicholas Walters, Nov. 26, 2016
NEXT FIGHT: Jason Sosa, April 8
4. SERGEY KOVALEV
RECORD: 30-1-1, 26 KOs
DIVISION: Light heavyweight
LAST FIGHT: L (UD12) Andre Ward, Nov. 19, 2016
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
5. ROMAN GONZALEZ
RECORD: 46-1, 38 KOs
DIVISION: Junior bantamweight
LAST FIGHT: L (MD12) SrisaketSorRungvisai, March 18
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
6. TERENCE CRAWFORD
RECORD: 29-0, 20 KOs
DIVISION: Junior welterweight (unified champion)
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO8) John Molina Jr., Dec. 10, 2016
NEXT FIGHT: Felix Diaz, May 20
7. CANELO ALVAREZ
RECORD: 48-1-1, 34 KOs
DIVISION: Junior middleweight (titlist)
LAST FIGHT: W (KO9) Liam Smith, Sept. 17, 2016
NEXT FIGHT: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., May 6
8. MANNY PACQUIAO
RECORD: 59-6-2, 38 KOs
DIVISION: Welterweight (titlist)
LAST FIGHT: W (UD12) Jessie Vargas, Nov. 5, 2016
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
9. KEITH THURMAN
RECORD: 28-0, 22 KOs
DIVISION: Welterweight (unified titlist)
LAST FIGHT: W (SD12) Danny Garcia, March 4
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
10. GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX
RECORD: 17-0, 11 KOs
DIVISION: Junior featherweight (titlist)
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO2) James Dickens, July 16, 2016
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
Ring Magazine Rankings:
Rank Fighter Record Weight Class Title(s)
1 United States:
Andre Ward 31–0 (15 KO) Light heavyweight Undisputed WBA, IBF and WBO light heavyweight champion
2 Russia:
Sergey Kovalev 30–1–1 (26 KO) Light heavyweight WBC Diamond Champion, WBO Super Champion
3 Kazakhstan:
Gennady Golovkin 37–0 (33 KO) Middleweight Super WBA, WBC, IBF and IBO middleweight champion
4 Nicaragua:
Román González 46–1 (38 KO) Super Flyweight N/A
5 United States:
Terence Crawford 30–0 (21 KO) Junior welterweight WBC, WBO, The Ring and lineal junior welterweight champion
6 Ukraine:
Vasyl Lomachenko 7–1 (5 KO) Super featherweight WBO Super featherweight champion
7 Cuba:
Guillermo Rigondeaux 17–0 (11 KO) Junior featherweight Super WBA and lineal super bantamweight champion
8 Mexico:
SaúlÁlvarez 48–1–1 (34 KO) Junior middleweight The Ring/Lineal middleweight champion, WBO junior middleweight champion
9 Shinsuke Yamanaka 27-0-2 (19 KO) Bantamweight WBC and The Ring bantamweight champion
10 Naoya Inoue 12-0 (10 KO) Super flyweight WBO super flyweight champion
Transnational Board Rankings:
Rank Name Nationality Record Division
1 Andre Ward USA 31-0-0 (15) Light Heavyweight
2 Sergey Kovalev RUS 30-1-1 (26) Light Heavyweight
3 Roman Gonzalez NIC 46-1-0 (38) Jr. Bantamweight
4 Manny Pacquiao PHI 59-6-2 (38) Welterweight
5 Terence Crawford * USA 30-0-0 (21) Jr. Welterweight
6 Gennady Golovkin KAZ 36-0-0 (33) Middleweight
7 Vasyl Lomachenko UKR 7-1-0 (5) Jr. Lightweight
8 Naoya Inoue JPN 12-0-0 (10) Jr. Bantamweight
9 Leo Santa Cruz USA 33-1-1- (18) Featherweight
10 Shinsuke Yamanaka JPN 27-0-2 (19) Bantamweight
ElieSeckbach Rankings:
