If we're going by boxing's true definition of pound-for-pound, David Benavidez is No. 1
If pound-for-pound is about who does the most across weight, risk and opposition — not just who looks the most flawless — then boxing has a new in-ring king.
For years, the conversation surrounding the world’s best fighter in boxing focused only on a handful of the same names — Naoya Inoue , Oleksandr Usyk, Terence Crawford and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. The only argument was in which order one ranked them. But boxing, like life and the world, has moved on.
Crawford has retired. “Canelo” was missing this month from his annual Cinco de Mayo date. Even Usyk has only a few fights left, and is using one of those to take part in a novelty match against the kickboxing maestro, Rico Verhoeven.
Inoue remains, of course, largely because he’s doing what fighters in his position revel in — taking on the biggest names he can, in whatever weight class, and winning. In style. He just did so against Junto Nakatani.
He’ll likely do so again, possibly against Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, a pound-for-pound rival. Yet the surge in Americans at the top of the sport is a recent narrative, and David Benavidez is one of those leading the charge, presenting his case not just as a face for North American boxing, but, arguably, the finest fighter in the entire sport. The number one.
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