Two-time Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year James Toney made a unique mark on the sport of boxing.

An elite counterpuncher, ‘Lights Out’ Toney would invite his opponents to come forward as he got his back to the ropes, rolling and slipping shots to land his own. In a 92-fight career he lost just 10 times and was never stopped inside the distance.

The three-weight world champion was recently asked to rank the top fighters of today’s era, pound-for-pound style, and presented an alternative list to the widely accepted top three of Terence Crawford, Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue – the only men to be two-time undisputed in the four-belt era.

Speaking to Title Sports Network, Toney did reserve the top spot for Crawford, but put two-time super-middleweight champion David Benavidez in at number two followed by knockout artist superstar Gervonta Davis at three.

Both men are undefeated, with Benavidez possessing a thrilling all-action style that sees his opponents fall before the final bell due to sheer volume and tenacity. He has recently stopped a longterm chase for a fight against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez to move up to light-heavyweight and become mandatory challenger for the undisputed contest between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

‘Tank’ Davis doesn’t require volume to get stoppages – in fact, he could be the hardest puncher relative to weight class in the sport. The Baltimore native has been taken the distance just twice in a 30-fight campaign and currently holds the WBA Lightweight World Title.

Fans may question the dismissal of Inoue – a four-weight world champion like Crawford and an exceptionally hard hitter in his own right, especially given the lower weight classes in which he competes – and Usyk.

The Ukrainian is only the second man to be undisputed at both cruiserweight and heavyweight, defying the odds against bigger men like Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury to capture all four belts in the top division. Usyk will rematch Fury later this year to keep hold of his undefeated record.