Along with regaining the unified heavyweight championship with a unanimous decision win over Tyson Fury on Saturday, Oleksandr Usyk also confirmed his status as the best fighter in the world, pound for pound.
Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) won his rematch against Fury at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, establishing himself as the greatest heavyweight of this generation.
The Ukrainian technician has now scored two wins over Fury, two wins over Anthony Joshua, and a TKO triumph over reigning IBF champ Daniel Dubois.
The run of fistic miracles that Usyk has achieved since September 2021 when he wrenched the unified crown from Joshua is the epitome of pound-for-pound greatness.
The former cruiserweight champ has had to overcome enormous physical advantages and box brilliantly to reign supreme in the sport's glamour division
And it's going to be very difficult for anyone to knock Usyk off his perch.
MORE: Usyk vs. Fury 2 full report and in-depth analysis
The No. 2 rated Naoya Inoue would likely have to blast out Junto Nakatani or become undisputed in a third weight class to regain pole position.
As for Terence Crawford, only a win over the man he's been chasing, super middleweight king Canelo Alvarez, could see the American return to the top of the tree.
The Sporting News takes a look at the top 12 pound-for-pound fighters in the world today:
Pound-for-pound rankings: The Sporting News' top 12
| Rank | Fighter | Record | Movement (Dec. 23, 2024) |
| 1 | Oleksandr Usyk | 23-0 (14 KOs) | - |
| 2 | Naoya Inoue | 28-0 (25 KOs) | - |
| 3 | Terence Crawford | 41-0 (31 KOs) | - |
| 4 | Canelo Alvarez | 62-2-2 (39 KOs) | - |
| 5 | Artur Beterbiev | 21-0 (20 KOs) | - |
| 6 | Dmitry Bivol | 23-1 (12 KOs) | - |
| 7 | Jesse Rodriguez | 20-0 (13 KOs) | - |
| 8 | Teofimo Lopez | 21-1 (13 KOs) | - |
| 9 | Gervonta Davis | 30-0 (28 KOs) | - |
| 10 | Errol Spence Jr. | 28-1 (22 KOs) | - |
| 11 | Shakur Stevenson | 22-0 (10 KOs) | - |
| 12 | Junto Nakatani | 29-0 (22 KOs) | - |
The best in the world pound-for-pound: Oleksandr Usyk
In effect, Usyk has completed boxing.
An Olympic champion at London 2012, this quick and cerebral lefty has been no less successful as a professional, and he's the very definition of what a pound-for-pound superstar should be.
At 37 years old, Usyk became the first undisputed cruiserweight champion to achieve the distinction at heavyweight since Evander Holyfield more than 30 years ago.
Despite giving away huge amounts of height and reach to today's behemoths, Usyk has proved himself the one true king of the glamour division.
Signature wins for the Ukrainian warrior include Mairis Briedis, Murat Gassiev, Anthony Joshua , Daniel Dubois and Tyson Fury.
The Sporting News' Boxing Ratings
Men's P4P | Women's P4P | Men's Heavyweight | Men's YouTube P4P | Women's YouTube P4P
