In an era fixated on the undisputed crown, there are a host of fighters who have thrust themselves into the pound-for-pound conversation by getting their hands on all four titles in their respective weight divisions. Now, Teofimo Lopez has named the man whom he believes to be boxing’s current best.
Since the beginning of the four-belt era in the early 2000s, there have been 11 men to have become undisputed champions, with the feat being achieved by nine fighters since May 2021 and on four occasions in 2025 alone.
However, in recent years, it has been Terence Crawford, Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue who have separated themselves from the competition, having each become four-belt undisputed champions in multiple weight divisions.
Following the retirement of Crawford, many boxing fans are now split as to whether it is Usyk or Inoue who is deserving of recognition as boxing’s pound-for-pound king, though the likes of Shakur Stevenson and Davide Benavidez are certainly knocking on the door.
After witnessing Inoue trump Junto Nakatani in a seventh defence of his undisputed super-bantamweight crown last weekend, Teofimo Lopez told Inside the Ring that, in his opinion, the Japanese sensation merits top spot.
“They started very slow in the beginning, they were feeling each other out but overall, as the rounds kept going, I think that Inoue closed it out in the championship rounds, like a champ does.
“The amount of title defences that he has and the amount of everything that he has done, I think that he is number one pound-for-pound, in my opinion.”
Inoue could convince even more fight fans of his talent if he fights pound-for-pound rival Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, who debuts as a bantamweight next month.
Lopez, whose strong argument to be in the top 10 pound-for-pound list was perhaps weakened by a one-sided loss to Shakur Stevenson earlier this year, is expected to continue to make his case as one of the best with a move to the welterweight ranks. There, he will look to become a three-weight world champion.
