Dmitry Bivol and Naoya Inoue dominated in two days.
Bivol, the 175-pound champion, shut out Lyndon Arthur on the undercard featuring big-name heavyweights Saturday in Saudi Arabia. And Inoue stopped Marlon Tapales in 10 rounds to become just the second boxer to win all four major titles in a second division on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Did they do enough to move up Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list? No.
No. 4-ranked Bivol faced no serious threat in Arthur, who is nothing more than a solid contender. However, he might soon have the opportunity to climb. No. 3 Usyk would presumably fall if he loses to No. 9 Fury. And Bivol could be on a collision course with No. 14 Artur Beterbiev.
No. 2 Inoue overcame a more legitimate challenge against Tapales, a capable and resilient unified champion taking the fight. The Japanese star’s ability to deliver a knockout and make “indisputable” history were significant achievements.
However, it was not enough to supplant No. 1 Terence Crawford, who was the first to become undisputed champion in two divisions when he knocked out Errol Spence Jr. in July.
Inoue’s best (only?) chance to reach No. 1 on the list is if Crawford falters, perhaps against No. 7 Jermell Charlo in a much-talked-about potential matchup.
Note: Honorable Mention Kazuto Ioka is scheduled to face Josber Perez on New Year’s Eve in Japan. Ioka is expected to defeat the obscure Venezuelan, which would leave Ioka in his current position here.
Up next pound for pound: No. 14 Artur Beterbiev is scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith on January 13 in Quebec City, Canada.
This is what the list looks like right now:
Pound for pound boxing addict
Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled. Naoya Inoue – There is no scheduled fight. Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to face fellow champion and No. 9 Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship on February 17 in Saudi Arabia. Dmitry Bivol – There is no scheduled fight. Juan Francisco Estrada – There is no fight scheduled. Canelo Álvarez – There is no scheduled fight. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled. Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face fellow champion and No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on February 17 in Saudi Arabia. Devin Haney – There is no fight scheduled. Jesse “Bam” Rodríguez – No fight scheduled. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled. Vasiliy Lomachenko – No fight scheduled. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith on January 13 in Quebec City, Canada. Shakur Stevenson – There is no fight scheduled.
Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (no fight scheduled); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Román González (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to defend his 115-pound title against Josber Perez on New Year’s Eve in Japan); Teófimo López (no fight scheduled).
