Following the best light heavyweight title fight in recent memory, Artur Beterbiev emerged as the undisputed champion following a hard-fought 12-round majority decision triumph over Dmitry Bivol on Saturday.
MORE: Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol fight updates
While the event was somewhat marred by a ludicrous 116-112 card in favor of Beterbiev, there was plenty to celebrate in this 175-pound classic.
Both men turned in brilliant performances, displaying their formidable talents in a fight that exceeded all expectations.
On the pound-for-pound front, Beterbiev moves up two spots to No. 5 while Bivol maintains his No. 6 position following a terrific effort in defeat. This forces WBC and Ring Magazine super flyweight champion Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez down two spots to No. 7.
On Monday, in Japan, WBC bantamweight champ Junto Nakatani blasted his way through challenger Petch Sor Chitpattana in six rounds. The unbeaten three-weight world titleholder retains his No. 12 position on the list.
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 (Oct. 14, 2024) |
| 1 | Oleksandr Usyk | 22-0 (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) | +2 |
| 6 | Dmitry Bivol | 23-1 (12 KOs) | - |
| 7 | Jesse Rodriguez | 20-0 (13 KOs) | -2 |
| 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 has become 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 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
