Above: The beating that Errol Spence endured at the hands of Terence Crawford was followed by fan outrage over him remaining on the pound-for-pound list. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Through fights of September 7, 2024

POUND-FOR-POUND: The clock finally struck midnight and Errol Spence Jr. (No. 10) was dropped from the list for having a year of inactivity and no upcoming engagements, thus ending what had become a controversial presence in the P4P ratings. But with the exit of one conundrum came the return of another …

Devin Haney had been removed from the list after losing a majority decision against Ryan Garcia on 4/20, but quickly thereafter the news broke that Garcia had tested positive for a PED called ostarine (aka enobosarm), which is apparently one of the more popular SARMs used by broscientists aged 18-27 to get an athletic edge. KingRy was fined, banned for a year, and the fight result was eventually changed to a “no contest.” So, with the loss essentially erased and a spot on the pound-for-pound list available, should Haney return?

NC or not, some members of the Ratings Panel couldn’t forget that Haney looked sub-par against Garcia and felt that other, more-deserving candidates had arisen in the meantime. Still, a statement had already been issued saying that if Ryan’s violation was made official, Haney would be reinstated – and to be fair, some on the panel still felt he was the best choice – so that’s what happened. As a compromise, he was given the empty spot at No. 10 rather than his old one at No. 7.

Devin Haney (on the canvas) returned to the pound-for-pound ratings after his loss to Ryan Garcia was nullified. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Cover-story subject Terence Crawford showcased his technical side in beating Israil Madrimov to become a four-division titleholder, but he went in favored to win, the decision could’ve gone either way, and the competition is so fierce among the top three pound-for-pounders (the other two being Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue) that Crawford needed something extraordinary to rise from his No. 3 position. It was very good but not great, so the status quo held.

Similarly, Inoue’s victory over TJ Doheny a month later had no effect on the mythical rankings.

HEAVYWEIGHT: Aging warhorse Derek Chisora (unrated) may have defibrillated his career one last time with an exciting unanimous decision win over Joe Joyce, but the result was also a commentary on how Joyce hasn’t become the heavyweight force that many predicted. Two stoppage losses to Zhilei Zhang and now this were enough to drop Joyce from his No. 8 position and add Martin Bakole at No. 10.

Bakole was then boosted to No. 7 after crushing the previous No. 7, Jared Anderson, in a five-round beatdown that was called an upset by some but didn’t surprise a lot of observers who considered Bakole a boss in the making, Anderson overrated, or both. The American dropped out and unbeaten (10-0) Australian Justis Huni entered at No. 10, though Bakhodir Jalolov was also proposed by the panel.

CRUISERWEIGHT: Former Ring champion and three-time titleholder Mairis Briedis announced his retirement and was thus removed from his position at No. 3. The Latvian warrior’s departure came on the heels of two losses to Jai Opetaia, but those were by no means easy nights for the Australian champ, who had to overcome a double-cracked jawbone during the first fight and a late-round surge that had him on wobbly legs in the rematch. Briedis was a nightmare for anyone, the only other blemish on his 28-3 (20 KOs) record coming via majority decision against Usyk in the semifinal of the World Boxing Super Series in 2018, one of the toughest challenges the current pound-for-pound king has faced so far. Briedis put his country on the map with a career that lasted 15 years.

Briedis’ crowning achievement was winning the Ring championship, IBF title and World Boxing Super Series on the same night by beating Yuniel Dorticos in 2020. (Photo courtesy of the World Boxing Super Series)

With Briedis gone, everyone moved up and England’s Jack Massey inherited the No. 10 slot. Massey was replaced the following week by Cheavon Clarke, who prevailed by majority decision in a 10-round tester against Efetobor Apochi.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT: David Morrell (formerly No. 2 at super middleweight) arrived at No. 10 after outpointing Radivoje Kalajdzic, which pushed Dan Azeez off the list.

Albert Ramirez remained undefeated with a seventh-round stoppage of Adam Deines and rose from No. 7 to No. 6.

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT: No. 1-rated David Benavidez confirmed that he’s done at 168, so he was removed and Bektemir Mulikuziev entered at No. 10.

Following Morrell’s move to 175, everyone from No. 3 downward got a promotion and 22-0 Cuban William Scull came in at No. 10.

JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT: Crawford’s first fight at 154 pounds was his victory over No. 3-rated Madrimov, so the now-four-division titleholder was immediately installed at No. 1. In recognition of Madrimov’s elite-level performance in a very close fight, the Uzbek was lifted to No. 2. These moves meant that Sebastian Fundora (previously No. 1) and Tim Tszyu (No. 2) were pushed down to Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, and Bakhram Murtazaliev (No. 10) was crowded off the list.

Fighter of the Month Vergil Ortiz then entered at No. 4 after his up-from-the-canvas-twice win over Serhii Bohachuk, a potential Fight of the Year. Bohachuk essentially held his position but was pushed down a notch to No. 6 by Ortiz’s arrival. There was some resistance on the panel to Ortiz supplanting Tszyu, given how the Australian gave Fundora such a tough fight even after a horrendous scalp gash left him looking like Carrie at the prom, but Vergil’s gutsy performance carried the day. 

On the same card, Charles Conwell scored a second-round knockout of Khiary Gray with a murderous left hook to the body and was elevated one position, but because of the other changes taking place above him, Conwell remained at No. 9 while Brian Mendoza slipped from No. 8 to No. 10 and Michel Soro was pushed off the list.

WELTERWEIGHT: For the same reasons as with the pound-for-pound list, Spence (No. 2) exited the 147-pound ratings. Before even considering a replacement, the panelists had to stop and marvel at how far the mighty welterweight division has fallen. It “went from being the glamour division to one with the least amount of talent,” said one. Souleymane Cissokho, Paddy Donovan, Lewis Crocker and Blair Cobbs were all mentioned, but the No. 10 position eventually went to undefeated Mexican Raul Curiel.

Crawford’s move to 154 (and his subsequent vow to never visit 147 again) left the Ring championship vacant.

LIGHTWEIGHT: Andy Cruz, who writer Tom Gray predicted in our June 2024 issue will someday be among the sport’s top 10 pound-for-pounders, got his first division rating in just his fourth pro fight, a seventh-round knockout of Mexican veteran Antonio Moran. Cruz replaced Zaur Abdullaev at No. 10.

JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHT: No. 10-rated Otar Eranosyan was removed for inactivity. Suggested replacements included Albert Bell, Rocky Hernandez, Andres Cortez, Abraham Nova and Zelfa Barrett along with Eduardo Nunez, who ultimately got the nod.

Nunez then stepped up to No. 9 after knocking out former contender Miguel Marriaga in the sixth round.

FEATHERWEIGHT: A perfect counter left hook from Angelo Leo instantly made Luis Alberto Lopez the “former” IBF titleholder and staked a claim for Knockout of the Year in Leo’s hometown of Albuquerque. The one-hitter quitter lifted the winner from No. 10 to No. 2 and sent Lopez toppling from No. 1 to No. 5.

JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHT: On the surface it looked like a boy vs. a man, but 24-year-old Alan Picasso (No. 10 at the time) actually had more rounds under his belt going into his fight against 36-year-old contender Azat Hovhannisyan, and his maturity showed in the way he stood toe-to-toe with “Crazy A” and took the victory by unanimous decision. Picasso kept his unbeaten status intact and rose to No. 8.

Naoya Inoue, the division champion, notched a seventh-round stoppage when Irish challenger TJ Doheny was unable to continue after his sciatic nerve was apparently tweaked while absorbing a body shot. Doheny dropped from No. 8 to No. 7 as a result of the loss, which gave Picasso another lift.

Inoue’s countryman Andy Hiraoka extended his current KO streak to 10 with another impressive performance, this time a ninth-round stoppage of Venezuela’s Ismael Barroso, who destroyed Ohara Davies in the opening round of his previous fight. Heavy left hands were the key in staggering Barroso to set him up for a pair of knockdowns, after which his corner stopped the fight. Hiraoka entered the ratings at No. 9.

BANTAMWEIGHT: Living legend Nonito Donaire (No. 8) hasn’t fought since back-to-back losses against Naoya Inoue and Alexandro Santiago, the latter in July 2023, so he was removed for inactivity and Daigo Higa – who at the time was preparing to face Yoshiki Takei in early September – took the No. 10 slot.

JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHT: With five losses in 19 pro fights, Mexico’s Kenbun Torres was not expected to threaten KJ Cataraja’s perfect 17-0 record, but the upset happened indeed. Torres also took Cataraja’s spot at No. 10 as a result of the split decision win.

FLYWEIGHT: Angel Ayala won the vacant IBF title and rose from No. 4 to No. 2 with a sixth-round knockout of Dave Apolinario, which came at the end of a protracted body attack that saw the previously unbeaten Filipino unable to beat the count after a second knockdown.

STRAWWEIGHT: Pedro Taduran (No. 8 at the time) recaptured his IBF title with an upset victory over No. 1-rated Ginjiro Shigeoka, finishing off the teetering Japanese incumbent with a flurry of punches in the ninth round. Shigeoka took his first L and dropped to No. 6 while Taduran jumped up to No. 2.

Finally, the longest-running title reign in boxing resumed after a drawn-out hiatus. Thammanoon Niyomtrong (or Knockout CP Freshmart, if you’re partial to his convenience store moniker) protected his WBA title for the 12th time, extending a tenure that dates all the way back to June 2016 (it started out as the “regular” title before the sanctioning body inaugurated the “super” version) with a majority decision over Alex Winwood. The narrow scorecards were charitable to Winwood, who was fighting in his homeland of Australia, but he put forth a brave effort. Niyomtrong hadn’t been in the ring for over two years due to a series of fights that were called off and had slipped from the No. 1 position over time, but this bout reconfirmed his place among the 105-pound elite. He rose from No. 4 to No. 2 as a result.