Pound-for-Pound Rankings: Canelo Álvarez Could Make Quick Return to Premier Boxing Champions

Álvarez, the No. 4 boxer in our rankings, just broke from the series last week.

Barring a surprising turnaround, Canelo Álvarez will face Jaime Munguía in his next fight.

On which network—and for which promoter—seems to be the question.

Last week Álvarez publicly split from Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), exiting a three-fight deal after one fight after Álvarez and Haymon were unable to agree on his next opponent. However since then Álvarez, led by manager/trainer Eddy Reynoso, has reengaged PBC, with talks focused on a clash with Munguía, sources familiar with the situation told SI.

Which brings us to the current potential conflict.

Álvarez could soon rejoin the PBC fold despite a public break last week :: Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports

On Saturday, in an interview with reporters, Eddie Hearn referred to Munguía as “a DAZN fighter,” a reference to the streaming service with which Hearn has an exclusive output deal (disclaimer: I am part of the DAZN broadcast team). Munguía, who is co-promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Zanfer Boxing, has fought 12 straight fights on DAZN dating back to 2019.

But is Munguía a DAZN-tied fighter? Golden Boy has aired its fights on DAZN since 2018 and there’s some uncertainty about how much contractual leverage they have with Munguía. DAZN has made it clear that it wants to be the lead broadcaster for a Canelo-Munguía fight which, while not as meaningful as Canelo-David Benavidez, is still a fan-friendly fight that industry experts believe would exceed 500,000 pay-per-view buys.

PBC, though, may have other plans. Álvarez wants sizable guarantees for his fights, usually in excess of $30 million. While PBC, which has an output deal with Amazon Prime but does not have the traditional promoter/provider partnership with Amazon, which operates more as a pay-per-view distributor than a licensor, if Amazon and its $1.85 trillion market cap decides they want a fight, they will get it.

In recent days, discussions with PBC have included reviving the three-fight deal by agreeing to a two-fight arrangement that would see Canelo face Munguía, followed by a September fight against Jermall Charlo, sources told SI. While a Munguía fight is marketable, a fight against Charlo, a middleweight champion who has fought once in nearly three years, is not, and PBC continues to show little interest in putting up the money required to make that fight.

With Álvarez’s preferred May 4 fight date inching closer, all sides will need to work fast to figure it out.

On to Sports Illustrated’s latest pound-for-pound rankings.

1. Terence Crawford

Record: 40–0
Last Month: 1
Last Fight: TKO win Errol Spence Jr.
Next Fight: TBD

Crawford’s anticipated showdown with Errol Spence Jr. last July proved anticlimactic, with the three-division champion battering Spence over eight-plus rounds, dropping the unified titleholder three times before the referee waved it off. Crawford has knocked out every opponent he has faced since moving up to 147 pounds—eight in total—and at 36 established himself as the unquestioned welterweight king. What’s next? 

In Puerto Rico last week, Crawford reiterated his desire to face Álvarez, which appears unlikely. He could also move up in weight to face Tim Tszyu, a 154-pound titleholder who will face Keith Thurman on March 30 in a non-title fight. Privately, Crawford has expressed interest in fighting in Saudi Arabia, which has put up big money to lure elite fighters to the Middle East.

2. Naoya Inoue

Record: 26–0
Last Month: 2
Last Fight: TKO win vs. Marlon Tapales
Next Fight: TBD

If there could be a pound-for-pound 1a and 1b, the latter would be Inoue, who for the second time in as many years can call himself an undisputed champion. A December win over Marlon Tapales completed a two-fight, four-belt blitzing of the 122-pound division that burnished Inoue’s Hall of Fame credentials. Inoue plans to defend his titles several times at 122 pounds—a matchup with mandatory challenger Luis Nery reportedly is next—before considering a move up to 126.

3. Oleksandr Usyk

Record: 21–0
Last Month: 3
Last Fight: TKO win vs. Daniel Dubois
Next Fight: 5/18 vs. Tyson Fury

Only Álvarez can claim a better résumé than Usyk, whose accomplishments includes wins over Marco Huck, Mairis Briedis and Tony Bellew at cruiserweight and a pair of wins over Anthony Joshua at heavyweight. Last August, Usyk, 37, stopped Daniel Dubois in the ninth round to retain his three versions of the heavyweight title. In February, Usyk will (hopefully) get the chance to add the final piece when he takes on Tyson Fury, the lineal heavyweight champion.

4. Saul “Canelo” Álvarez

Record: 60-2-2
Last Month: 4
Last Fight: UD win Jermell Charlo
Next Fight: TBD

Against Jermell Charlo, Álvarez silenced the skeptics who suggested the Mexican star has lost a step, dominating Charlo en route to a lopsided decision. Álvarez no longer overwhelms opponents with combination punching and his defense has evolved to be more about parrying than slipping shots, but he remains a force in the super middleweight division. Fellow Mexican Munguía is the frontrunner to face Álvarez in May.

Haney will be favored against Ryan Garcia in a scheduled April bout after beating Regis Prograis by unanimous decision in December :: Henrietta Wildsmith/USA TODAY Network

5. Devin Haney

Record: 31–0
Last Month: 5
Last Fight: UD win vs Regis Prograis
Next Fight: 4/20 vs. Ryan Garcia

Against Prograis, Haney flashed a little bit of everything. Skill (Haney landed 47% of his punches, per CompuBox), power (Haney dropped Prograis in the third round and connected on 46.5% of his power shots) and defense (Prograis’s 36 punches landed set a then-CompuBox record for fewest punches landed in a 12-round fight). In April, Haney will look to continue to burnish his résumé when he takes on Ryan Garcia, a longtime amateur rival and one of boxing’s biggest stars.

6. Dmitry Bivol

Record: 22–0
Last Month: 6
Last Fight: UD win Lyndon Arthur
Next Fight: TBD

Bivol, SI’s 2022 Fighter of the Year, ended a 13-month layoff with a lopsided decision win over Lyndon Arthur in Saudi Arabia in December. That, coupled with Artur Beterbiev’s win over Callum Smith, sets up the big one: Bivol-Beterbiev, a mouthwatering light heavyweight unification fight that is expected to take place in Saudi Arabia as early as June.

7. Shakur Stevenson

Record: 21–0
Last Month: 7
Last Fight: UD win vs. Edwin De Los Santos
Next Fight: TBD

Stevenson, 26, earned a third division title with a win over De Los Santos in November. The fight itself was a stinker—Stevenson reportedly entered the ring with a hand injury—but Stevenson’s elite defense carried him through. Stevenson wants unification fights and the winner of a planned showdown between Vasyl Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr.—a fight that will be for a vacant title—is a natural matchup. Before then, expect Stevenson to take a stay-busy fight in June.

8. Artur Beterbiev

Record: 20–0
Last month: NR
Last fight: TKO win vs. Callum Smith
Next fight: TBD

Fine wine and Beterbiev, two things that seem to get better with age. In January, just days before his 39th birthday, Beterbiev picked up one of the most impressive wins of his career, a crushing seventh-round knockout win over Smith. Beterbiev’s defense was sharp, his footwork excellent and a short right hand that dropped Smith in the seventh round. There’s only one challenge left for Beterbiev and Saudi Arabian officials plan to give it to him: a light heavyweight unification fight against longtime rival Dmitry Bivol.

9. Gervonta Davis

Record: 29–0
Last Month: 8
Last Fight: KO win vs. Ryan Garcia
Next Fight: TBD vs. Frank Martin

For years, Davis, 29, has been one of boxing’s biggest draws. A win over Garcia firmly established him as one of boxing’s top talents. Facing the heavy-handed Garcia, Davis was dominant. He dropped Garcia with a counter left in the second round and finished him with a body shot in the seventh. He showcased defense, skills and patience while reaffirming his status as one of the sport’s top finishers. Davis’s next fight will be against Martin, an Errol Spence-promoted lightweight contender.

10. Jesse Rodriguez

Record: 19–0
Last Month: NR
Last Fight: RTD vs. Sunny Edwards
Next Fight: TBD

Rodriguez, 24, added “unified champion” to his growing résumé in December with a knockout win over Edwards, an unbeaten 112-pound titleholder. Rodriguez is quickly becoming one of the biggest stars in the smaller weight classes, with an elite blend of skills and power. Edwards plans to move back up to 115 pounds for his next fight and is targeting the biggest name in the division: Juan Francisco Estrada. Hearn, Rodriguez’s promoter, says Rodriguez-Estrada is being penciled in for this summer.