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Boxing top 10 pound-for-pound list: Loma leads the way

By Matthew Saljanin

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 09: Vasiliy Lomachenko celebrates his Junior Lightweight bout victory over Guillermo Rigondeaux at Madison Square Garden on December 9, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 09: Vasiliy Lomachenko celebrates his Junior Lightweight bout victory over Guillermo Rigondeaux at Madison Square Garden on December 9, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) /
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Anthony Joshua after victory over Joseph Parker in their WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO Heavyweight Championship contest at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff. (Photo by Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)
Anthony Joshua after victory over Joseph Parker in their WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO Heavyweight Championship contest at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff. (Photo by Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images) /

It’s close at the top, but Vasyl Lomachenko is the best boxer in the world right now.

Before we begin, I would like to cover what exactly went into these rankings. Some rankings are based off of strictly a fighter’s resume, while others opt more for the “eye test,” which is how good a fighter looks.

Some lists even rank based off of who would beat who, if weight was not a factor.

This list will be based off of a mix between resume and eye test, with more of an emphasis on the resumes.

With the surplus of talent in boxing, it is frankly difficult to narrow a list down to just 10 fighters. With that being said, there will always be some fighters who are deserving of a top-10 spot, but just missed the cut.

Here are my list of honorable mentions, who could have easily made the list, in no particular order:

Anthony Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs), Jarrett Hurd (22-0, 15 KOs), and Juan Francisco Estrada (36-3, 25 KOs)

So, without further ado, the top 10 fighters in the world, pound-for-pound:

NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 25: Vyacheslav Shabranskyyis knocked down by Sergey Kovalev during their Light Heavyweight at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 25: Vyacheslav Shabranskyyis knocked down by Sergey Kovalev during their Light Heavyweight at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

10. Sergey Kovalev

Record: 32-2-1, 28 KOs

Despite two defeats to Andre Ward, Kovalev is still the king of the 175-pound division, due to the fact that Ward unexpectedly retired following the second fight with Kovalev. Two losses to a future Hall of Famer in Ward is nothing to be ashamed of, especially when you were very competitive in both, and many felt you actually won the first fight.

Before the Ward fights, Kovalev appeared to be a boogie man. He earned very good wins over the likes of Nathan Cleverly, Bernard Hopkins, Jean Pascal, and managed to capture three of the four major light heavyweight belts belts in the process.

Kovalev has devastating power and can end a fight at any moment, highlighted by the fact that only four of his victories have gone the distance. He also posses an excellent jab which helps set up his power shots.

Following the KO loss to Ward, Kovalev appears to be the monster he once was. While he has not gone up against great opposition, he won both fights in dominating fashion and appeared to be back in form. ‘The Krusher’ was even able to reclaim the WBO belt he had before the Ward fight.

Kovalev was viewed as a top-10 fighter in the world before the Ward fights, and nothing he showed would warrant dropping him from the list. Not many people were able to be competitive with Ward, let alone drop him, and even beat him in the eyes of some fans.

It will be very interesting to see how Kovalev fares against the new faces in a deep 175-pound. division.

Next fight: Kovalev will finally return to fighting tough opponents, when he faces the undefeated Eleider Alvarez on Aug. 4.

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