Oleksandr Usyk #1 pound-for-pound in Ring Magazine’s ratings

By Boxing News - 08/25/2022 - Comments

By Craig Daly: Ring Magazine has IBF, WBA & WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk as their #1 pound-for-pound in their updated ratings.

Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) has earned his position as the #1 fighter in the sport with his back-to-back victories over Anthony Joshua, a guy that many boxing fans felt was the top heavyweight in the division before being dethroned by Oleksandr.

With Usyk being installed as #1 pound-for-pound by Ring Magazine, he’s now the first heavyweight in 30 years to be rated at the top for this prestigious organization since Mike Tyson did it during the zenith of his career.

“It’s so cool. I feel really happy,” said Oleksandr Usyk to Boxing Social about his feelings about his victory over Anthony Joshua last Saturday night.

“I thought I had won,” said Usyk when asked about what was going through his mind when he heard that one judge had given Joshua the victory by a 115-113 score.

“No,” Usyk said when asked if he thought the judges would give the victory to Joshua.

This time, he made more low blows than in the first one,” Usyk said about what was different with Joshua in this fight compared to the first one in September 2021.

Usyk is currently looking to further 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 being paid top dollar for the Usyk fight could sink the chances of the match happening.

At this point in Fury’s career, he comes across as too money-focused, and there’s a sense of greed on his part. He’s a good fighter, but his demands to be made mega-millions for the Usyk fight could make it difficult to put together the match.

Ring Magazine’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 Beterbiev

In looking at that list, you can 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 welterweights that he’s beaten since moving up in weight to the 147-lb division in 2018 leave much to be desired.

When you’re beating the likes of Jeff Horn, Jose Benavidez Jr, Kell Brook, and Amir Khan, that’s not good enough to be rated #3 in the pound-for-pound list.

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