B/R Boxing Pound-for-Pound Rankings: January 2025

Welcome to another year in boxing. Though the final month of 2024 wasn't exactly a busy one in the ring, the decisive result of its most significant fight had an impact on rankings in that it solidified what we'd already known–or at least what we suspected we'd known–about its winner going in. So, to welcome the arrival of 2025, the B/R combat team gathered one last time before leaving its holiday hideaway and compiled the initial pound-for-pound rankings of the New Year, consulting other respected sources along the way as well.

Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments. Weight Class: 118 pounds Major Titles Held: WBC You may or may not know who Junto Nakatani is as 2025 begins. There's a far better chance you will by the time the year ends.



The 27-year-old Japanese star has worn belts in the 112-, 115- and 118-pound weight classes since late 2020 and he's got his eye on a match with countryman Naoya Inoue that would elevate its winner to instant legend status in their Asian island nation. Weight Class: 135 pounds Major Titles Held: WBC The second straight WBC champion at the tail end of the list, American lightweight Shakur Stevenson is undeniably skilled but finds himself in need of a career-defining fight. He's won belts at 126, 130 and 135 pounds since late 2019 and finds himself on most respected pound-for-pound lists but hasn't made a big move toward the top while beating the recent likes Shuichiro Yoshino, Edwin De Los Santos and Artem Harutyunyan.

Unbeaten 22-year-old Floyd Schofield gets the next shot next month in a fight that'll likely boost Stevenson to 23-0 but won't move the needle much. Weight Class: 115 pounds Major Titles Held: WBC Like Stevenson, Jesse Rodriguez is an unbeaten American with a WBC title belt. Unlike Stevenson, his stay on the bottom pound-for-pound rungs seems temporary.

Two weeks shy of his 25th birthday, the Texan known as "Bam" had a transcendent 2024 with KOs of two-division champ Juan Francisco Estrada and ex-108-pound claimant Pedro Guevara that lasted 10 rounds between them. He's 7-0 with four KOs in title bouts since the beginning of 2022, has beaten five reigning or former champions in that stretch, and, like Nakatani, might ultimately find Japanese star Inoue at the end of his competitive rainbow. Weight Class: 135 pounds Major Titles Held: WBA Another unbeaten American who reigns at 135 pounds, Gervonta Davis has been a champion at one weight or another since 2017 and had a KO of the Year contender in his lone 2024 appearance, an eighth-round finish of Frank Martin.

What his next move will turn out to be, though, is anyone's guess. A title defense against Lamont Roach has already been rescheduled and might be scrubbed entirely. He's been chatting up a run-back of a 2023 KO win over Ryan Garcia.

And he's the latest in a long line of combat sports athletes who've had Jake Paul's name in their mouths. Stay tuned. Weight Class: 168 pounds Major Titles Held: WBA, WBC, WBO Wanna feel old as a boxing fan? Take a look at Canelo Alvarez's resume.

The arrival of 2025 sets up the 20th anniversary of the cinnamon-haired Mexican's pro debut as a 15-year-old. He won his first championship 14 years ago this March. And his bank-busting pay-per-view duel with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

was in 2013. And here he is at age 34, still going strong. His 2024 wasn't exactly earth-shattering with wins over Jaime Munguía and Edgar Berlanga but he's kept himself in the running for a star vs.

star match with Terence Crawford, another try for belted status at 175 pounds, or a lucrative bluff call of chatty nemesis Jake Paul. Weight Class: 175 pounds Major Titles Held: None You could make the argument–and trust us, we'd listen–that Dmitry Bivol deserves to be ranked higher on this list than light heavyweight counterpart Artur Beterbiev. The two men fought in October, and, though Bivol landed more punches and connected on a higher rate of his attempts across 12 rounds, he wound up on the losing end of a majority decision that the B/R P4P card did not agree with.

But he'll get another bite at the competitive apple come February and another chance to take charge of a weight class that includes rising super middleweights David Benavidez and David Morrell and the ever-present specter of Canelo Alvarez. Come springtime, it's our guess he'll be calling the shots at 175. Weight Class: 175 pounds Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO To the victor go the spoils.

And, in this case, the No. 4 slot on our list. Beterbiev, a 39-year-old Russian-born slugger, went the distance for the first time in an 11-year pro career when he bested Bivol in Saudi Arabia, losing the novelty of a 100-percent KO rate but winning undisputed status for the first time since he grabbed his first belt in 2017.

He'll arrive to the return bout with Bivol as the heavier puncher and he was indeed more effective down the stretch in their first fight, landing more shots in the critical 10th, 11th and 12 rounds after winning that stat just three times in the first nine rounds. Another win definitively opens the door to the light heavyweight opportunities we mentioned with Bivol, including Benavidez, Morrell, Alvarez or perhaps a jump to cruiser or heavyweight. Weight Class: 154 pounds Major Titles Held: WBA We can all agree on one thing on Terence Crawford.

He's an all-time great. A Hall of Famer when eligible. But he's fought just once a year for the last five years and needs a needle-mover if he's ever to regain top pound-for-pound billing.

Simply staying at 154 pounds to beat the likes of Sebastian Fundora in a WBA/WBO unification won't mean as much as a duel with the guy who took over his welterweight laurels, Jaron Ennis, or, as he's mentioned intermittently for a while, a chase of Canelo at 168. At 37 years old, there's not a lot of time left to shape the legacy so count us in among those who'd love to see greatness chased on the highest level. Weight Class: 122 pounds Major Titles Held: IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO Speaking of legacy definitions, Naoya Inoue is at a crossroads himself.

The 31-year-old Japanese superstar has won titles at four weights, undisputed status at two weights, and could have a fifth division in his sights presuming he gets past a rescheduled challenge from top IBF/WBO contender Sam Goodman later this month. Top Rank promotional teammate Rafael Espinoza has the WBO belt at 126 pounds and could be a next-stage target, or Inoue could make himself available for other aspiring fighters mentioned earlier on this list like Junto Nakatani and/or Jesse Rodriguez. It's good to be the "Monster.

" Weight Class: Heavyweight Major Titles Held: WBA, WBC, WBO If you didn't know about Oleksandr Usyk, now you know. The sublimely skilled Ukrainian cemented his status as the top man in the big-boy division with a second defeat of Tyson Fury last month in Saudi Arabia, and, though the silliness of the IBF has kept him from remaining an "undisputed" champ, trust us..

.he's the guy. Two defeats of Fury.

Two defeats of Anthony Joshua. A ninth-round KO of the New Jersey organization's dubious replacement, Daniel Dubois. Put them all together and it means Usyk can do whatever he wants at this point, whether it's a second pasting of Dubois, a return to cruiserweight to face towering Aussie southpaw Jai Opetaia, or staying in place to provide a chance for precocious British slugger Moses Itauma to become the youngest champ ever.

No matter his choice, Usyk has earned a place among the best heavies of the last 25 years..