1 Oleksandr Usyk
Dominant as a cruiserweight, Usyk has since moved to heavyweight and continued his good form, beating Anthony Joshua not once but twice. Currently 20-0, he separates himself from the rest by virtue of his willingness to enter an opponent’s backyard and come away with the win.
2 Dmitry Bivol
A belt-holder at light-heavyweight since 2017, Bivol went up a level last year when scoring back-to-back wins against Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez. Technically excellent, Bivol does everything well in the ring.
3 Terence Crawford
Another fine technician, welterweight belt-holder Crawford is unbeaten at 39-0 and has reigned as welterweight champion since 2018, having earlier won belts at super-lightweight. Last time out, in December 2022, he stopped David Avanesyan in six rounds.
4 Naoya Inoue
A vicious puncher with a big following in Japan, Inoue has won titles at light-flyweight, super-flyweight, and bantamweight. Now 21, he moves up to super-bantamweight in July when he meets Stephen Fulton in his homeland.
5 Tyson Fury
Some will argue Fury is the best heavyweight in the world and, having won 33 of 34 pro fights, it would be hard to argue. His only blip to date was a draw against Deontay Wilder in 2018, which he cleared up in 2020, when stopping Wilder in seven rounds, and again in 2021, when stopping Wilder in 11.
6 Gervonta Davis
Having won the battle of unbeatens against Ryan Garcia, Davis is now 29-0 as a pro, with 27 of those wins coming inside schedule. A champion in three weight classes, Davis looks to next become a bona fide star in the sport.
7 Artur Beterbiev
Hard-hitting Beterbiev has won all 19 fights as a pro, ending each of them inside the scheduled distance. In his last fight, earlier this year, the light-heavyweight belt-holder broke down Britain’s Anthony Yarde in eight rounds, displaying once again his eerie ability to ruin the dreams of an opponent in the blink of an eye.
8 Errol Spence
Unbeaten at 28-0, Spence needs Terence Crawford, his great welterweight rival, as much as Crawford needs him. Until then, Spence’s record consists of wins against Yordenis Ugas, Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, and Mikey Garcia; good wins, sure, but a Hall-of-Famer they do not make.
9 Shakur Stevenson
Undefeated in 20 fights, Stevenson has been almost faultless since turning pro in 2017. A belt-holder at both featherweight and super-featherweight, he has excelled in recent wins against Jamel Herring, Oscar Valdez, Robson Conceição and Shuichiro Yoshino.
10 Devin Haney
Haney, the champion at lightweight, has made it to 29-0 and looked very good in the process. He has yet to be challenged by an elite opponent, but two wins last year against George Kambosos in Australia, Kambosos’ home country, offered an insight into his mental strength.
