Pound for pound update January 2020: a new name at the top

1. Canelo Alvarez

Record: 53-1-2, 36 KOs

Previous Ranking: 3

After his 2019, which saw him defeat Daniel Jacobs and brutally knockout Sergey Kovalev, the choice was easy for the No. 1 spot. Over the past few years, no one’s resume comes close to Canelo’s, and that is why he is our No. 1 fighter, pound for pound.

Austin Trout, Erislandy Lara, Miguel Cotto, Gennadiy Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs and Sergey Kovalev — no one else in the sport can match that list of opponents in recent year.

In addition to fighting a who’s who of top level boxers, Canelo has worked with trainer Eddie Reynoso (who has become one of the best trainers in the sport) and developed his skills to an extremely high level. His counter punching is arguably the best in the sport, and his defense (mainly his head movement) has improved dramatically. He looks better every time he fights, and he is just entering his prime at 28 years old.

Now a four division champion, there seems to be no end in sight for Canelo being the face of the sport. He can fight anyone and it will do big business, but that is not his style. He likes to challenge himself.

Canelo recently vacated his light-heavyweight belt, so he will either fight at middleweight or super middleweight next, which is the best move for him. He was able to eventually knock out Kovalev, but was frankly losing most of the fight, despite being the aggressor. He looked to be a little too small for the light heavyweight division.

Canelo regularly fights the best, and that is why DAZN gave him a $365 million contract. Nobody would be favored to beat him from 160-168. We are in the Canelo era now, and it will last for the foreseeable future.

Honorable mentions:  Artur Beterbiev, Josh Taylor, Mikey Garcia, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai