B/R Pound-for-Pound Boxing Rankings for October

A good time to be a boxer is now.

A series of impressive outings by some of the sport's highest-profile practitioners have come about due to the reopening of the big-fight line.

The B/R combat sports team decided to put out a list of the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters after their re-emergence.

Past performances and recent fight results were included in the equation along with input from other respected P4P sources.

Drop a line in the comments to let us know what you think.

The weight class is 140 lbs.

There are titles held.

Even though he has a 19-0 record and 13 knockouts, 140-pound ace Josh Taylor is in the running for best nickname because of the "Tartan Tornado" nickname he has been given by his fans in Scotland.

The frenetic southpaw has been acquiring championship jewelry for the past three years, beginning with the IBF's junior welterweight belt in 2019, with a defeat of Ivan Baranchyk and becoming the undisputed man in the division.

He was cut, dropped and nearly beaten by an unheralded Englishman before earning a split decision eight months ago and has not fought since.

The weight class is 135 lbs.

There were no titles held.

He is one of the sport's grizzled vets.

The Ukrainian became a world title contender in his second fight after turning pro and went on to win three belts before retiring.

He lost his lightweight title belts in October of 2020 to Tefimo Lpez, but since then he has won two in a row and is in the running for a 135-pound title shot.

The weight class is 135 lbs.

There were no titles held.

Probably the best of the burgeoning crop of young fighters in the lighter weight classes, Shakur Stevenson has already won belts in two weight classes by his 25th birthday and has his sights set on entering the mix in the talent-sopped 135-pound ranks.

After winning all 19 fights as a pro, the 2016 Olympic medal winner moved up to 130 pounds and won the gold medal with an impressive knockout of Jamel Herring.

He unified the WBO andWBC belts with a wide decision over fellow champ scar Valdez in April, but he failed to make weight and was set to face once-beaten Robson Conceio in September, but he went ahead and won the fight.

His move to 135 pounds will lead to a number of intriguing bouts with the likes of Lpez, Haney, and Davis.

The weight class is 175 lbs.

There are titles held.

It is not known if the world's best fighter is introduced.

Dmitry Bivol has made a world title claim of one form or another for nearly five years, but he didn't approach mainstream status until coming in as a B-side of a fight with Saul lvarez.

lvarez was expected to add another title belt to his resume, but Bivol delivered a clinical schooling that yielded a narrow 7-5 margin on all three scorecards, but was generally viewed as less than 10-2 in reality.

Bivol will return to the ring in early November with a mandatory title defense against Gilberto Ramrez.

There is a weight class for it.

IBF, WBA, andWBC titles are held.

There is only one Errol Spence Jr.

It was almost done.

Since turning pro a decade ago, the Texan is 28-0 with 22KOs and has won seven straight title bouts with fourKOs.

He's unified three of the division's four major belts and defeated Shawn Porter for the WBC title in 2019.

A long-awaited bout with fellow champ Terence Crawford is once again on the forefront and has been most recently reported for mid-November, though nothing has been made official with a contract signing or a public announcement.

In 1981 and 2015, it would be this generation's entry into a long line of major events, including Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns.

The weight class is 168 lbs.

The titles held are IBF, WBA,WBC, and WBO.

This year has already been an interesting one for lvarez.

The Mexican began the year without a loss and had plans to finish a trilogy with Gennady Golovkin and return to the light-weight ranks.

He put the cart before the horse and lost a unanimous decision to Dmitry Bivol. lvarez put an end to the trilogy with a unanimous decision in Las Vegas last month.

He will be out of the ring for at least May 2023 and possibly longer because of an injury to his left hand, which will keep him out of the ring for at least one more year.

The weight class is heavy.

The titles held are IBF, WBA, and WBO.

There have been a lot of changes for Oleksandr Usyk.

As summer turned to fall in 2021, the Ukrainian was a big underdog as he prepared for a challenge of three-belt champ Anthony Joshua after having risen to the high-profiledivision after a prolific and undisputed run at cruiserweight.

Usyk pulled one of the upsets of the year with a one-sided decision over Joshua, then repeated the feat in a second fight in August that vaulted him to the forefront of the sport.

They talked about unifying their titles after the second Joshua fight. Usyk is on the mind of Deontay Wilder, who returned after a year off with a one-roundKO win on Saturday in Brooklyn.

If I get the choice, I will go with Usyk. I'll give Andy a title shot after I go with Usyk. It would work that way. Who wouldn't want to? We are in the business of obtaining greatness and collecting belts.

The weight class is heavy.

There are titles held.

The sport thrives when the giants are doing well.

The latter is definitely true thanks to the efforts of Tyson Fury.

He was an enigma with little more than a past title claim when he returned to full-time status, but he's spent the subsequent four years legitimizing his status as the best fighter in the high-profile weight class.

In the third fight of his comeback, he nearly got the belt back, but he was stopped in the seventh round by the American.

Another return bout in October of 2021, this time in 11 rounds, yielded anotherKO win, as well as a bizarre series of would-be retirements and plans to fight Francis Ngannou.

He's penciled in to meet Chisora in December with talk of a unification with Usyk in the future.

Stay on top of the situation.

The weight class is 118 lbs.

IBF, WBA, andWBC titles are held.

If Bivol is the best big fighter in the world, then Naoya Inoue is the best small fighter.

"The Monster" has dominated the lightest weight classes since his last days as a teenager, winning three world titles in the lightest weight classes.

He's done that with a wrecking-ball mentality that's yielded 20 pro wins and 16 title bouts, including June's second-round finish of future Hall of Fame Nonito Donaire.

Inoue holds three of the four major belts at 118 pounds and is expected to meet WBO champ Paul butler to unify the division in December, but he's hampered by the absence of a truly threatening and compelling foe in the weight class

He's already beaten the fighters occupying the next three spots beneath him in The Ring's rankings at bantamweight, and there's only a 5'5" frame and 67.5 inch reach to take him.

There is a weight class for it.

There are titles held.

He looks at all the boxes.

Over a long period of time, he's been amazing. He has beaten a lot of good opponents. He has climbed through many classes. He's still looking for something.

He is the best fighter in the world.

He was a belt-holder at 135 pounds after his 23rd pro fight and has won 15 more since while rack up title defenses and additional titles at 140 and 147 pounds.

Crawford became the first man to stop Shawn Porter in his most recent fight last November, and he's waiting for the chance to face the also-unbeaten Spence.

He shows no signs of slowing down or losing his hunger, even at age 35, because of his in-ring ferocity and ability to subtly switch from left to right-handed stances and back during a fight.

Crawford said on the Boxing Scene that he needs to prove that he's the best. It's not a big ego.

It's confidence. Everything that I have done so far shows that. It's stopping everyone in the division. There have never been a close fights. I have never been defeated by any opponent that I've faced. I think that shows that I'm the top dog.