Boxing usually has a fairly clear pound-for-pound ruler, but Naoya Inoue and Terence “Bud” Crawford have been in a battle for a good while now for that recognition. And now we have a third man who has unquestionably entered the conversation.
With his win over Tyson Fury this past Saturday, Oleksandr Usyk became undisputed heavyweight champion, sealing without any question whatsoever his Hall of Fame-bound legacy in boxing, and making for a three-way dance in the P4P chatter.
Pound-for-pound, of course, is mostly a marketing tool and always has been, and other than that it is most notable as a source of conversation for pundits and fans. Heavyweights rarely get sincere consideration for the top spot, but Usyk is a rare case, a natural cruiserweight who has done something exceptionally rare.
So who deserves to be called No. 1? We’ll have our staff update and vote at the top of June, and last time out, Inoue still held the top spot, receiving four of five first-place votes. One suspects at least a vote or two there might change. Crawford had the remaining top vote, finishing second, and Usyk came in third, taking the No. 3 spot on all five ballots.