Here are the Top 20 pound-for-pound boxers in the world for April:
Due to the unfortunate COVID-19 pandemic, boxing (like most sports) has been “paused” for the immediate future. There has only been one significant fight since our last rankings (February) were released. Mikey Garcia defeated Jessie Vargas by unanimous decision on February 29th in a welterweight bout to become the WBC Diamond champ. With the victory, Garcia moves from #8 to #7 in our current rankings.
My list is based on a number of factors, ranked below by order of importance:
- 1: Resume – Has he dominated his division? How has he performed against top competition?
- 2: Ability – How special is he in the ring? Is he one-dimensional or well-rounded?
- 3: Weight – Has he moved up in weight with success? Slight bias towards the more competitive divisions.
- 4: Potential – Is the fighter on the decline, or can he get even better?
- 5: Activity – Fighter must have fought at least once within the past year.
* = Fighter has fought since last rankings.
1 ▬ Terence Crawford (USA) | 36-0-0
Notable Wins: Yuriorkis Gamboa, Viktor Postol, Jeff Horn, Amir Khan
2 ▬ Vasyl Lomachenko (UKR) | 13-1-0
Notable Wins: Gary Russell Jr., Nicholas Walters, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Jorge Linares
3 ▬ Saul Alvarez (MEX) | 53-1-2
Notable Wins: Erislandy Lara, Gennady Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs, Sergey Kovalev
4 ▬ Oleksandr Usyk (UKR) | 17-0-0
Notable Wins: Krzysztof Glowacki, Mairis Briedis, Murat Gassiev, Tony Bellew
5 ▬ Naoya Inoue (JPN) | 19-0-0
Notable Wins: Jamie McDonnell, Juan Carlos Payano, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Nonito Donaire
6 ▬ Errol Spence Jr. (USA) | 25-0-0
Notable Wins: Kell Brook, Lamont Peterson, Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter
7 ▲ Mikey Garcia* (USA) | 40-1-0
Notable Wins: Adrien Broner, Sergey Lipinets, Robert Easter Jr., Jessie Vargas
8 ▼ Gennady Golovkin (KAZ) | 40-1-1
Notable Wins: Martin Murray, David Lemieux, Daniel Jacobs, Sergiy Derevyanchenko
9 ▬ Tyson Fury (GBR) | 30-0-1
Notable Wins: Dereck Chisora (x2), Christian Hammer, Wladimir Klitschko, Deontay Wilder
10 ▬ Leo Santa Cruz (MEX) | 37-1-1
Notable Wins: Abner Mares (x2), Kiko Martinez, Carl Frampton
11 ▬ Juan Francisco Estrada (MEX) | 39-3-0
Notable Wins: Brian Viloria, Giovani Segura, Carlos Cuadras, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
12 ▬ Daniel Jacobs (USA) | 36-3-0
Notable Wins: Sergio Mora (x2), Peter Quillin, Maciej Sulecki, Sergiy Derevyanchenko
13 ▬ Callum Smith (GBR) | 25-0-0
Notable Wins: Erik Skoglund, Nieky Holzken, George Groves, John Ryder
14 ▬ Anthony Joshua (GBR) | 23-1-0
Notable Wins: Dillian Whyte, Wladimir Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin, Andy Ruiz Jr.
15 ▬ Manny Pacquiao (PHL) | 62-7-2
Notable Wins: Timothy Bradley (x2), Jessie Vargas, Adrien Broner, Keith Thurman
16 ▬ Josh Taylor (GBR) | 16-0-0
Notable Wins: Ohara Davies, Viktor Postol, Ivan Baranchyk, Regis Prograis
17 ▬ Shawn Porter (USA) | 30-3-1
Notable Wins: Adrien Broner, Andre Berto, Danny Garcia, Yordenis Ugas
18 ▬ Josh Warrington (GBR) | 29-0-0
Notable Wins: Kiko Martinez, Lee Selby, Carl Frampton, Kid Galahad
19 ▬ Gary Russell Jr. (USA) | 31-1-0
Notable Wins: Oscar Escandon, Joseph Diaz, Kiko Martinez, Tugstsogt Nyambayar
20 ▬ Gervonta Davis (USA) | 23-0-0
Notable Wins: Jose Pedraza, Jesus Cuellar, Francisco Fonseca, Yuriorkis Gamboa
Dropped from list: N/A
There are currently no major fights on the schedule for the next couple of weeks, though there are a few cards that may end up taking place on May 16th, including the WBSS Cruiserweight Final between Yuniel Dorticos and Mairis Briedis.
Comparing fighters across different weight classes is mostly subjective, and everybody has their own opinion. Comment below with who you think deserves to be on the list.
