Boxing Rankings: Naoya Inoue Beats Terence Crawford for No. 1 Spot on Ring Magazine Pound-for-Pound List

If there was a surefire way to establish dominance over others, it would undeniably be securing a spot in the esteemed top five pound-for-pound list! Something both Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue have done through their performances. However, the Japanese ‘Monster’ seems to have won the race to secure the top spot once more. 

Following an exciting fight against Luis Nery at the Tokyo Dome on Sunday, the undefeated Japanese boxer left ‘Bud’ Crawford in the dust to secure the No. 1 spot in Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound rankings. While both fighters defeated their pound-for-pound neighbors in their respective weight classes, Inoue’s performance seems to have convinced the judges that he deserves the No. 1.

What does the new top ten pound-for-pound list look like?

It wasn’t just Inoue in action this month, even Canelo Alvarez, who is a long-time resident of the list, defeated Jaime Munguia to solidify his spot. After checking out the rankings on Ring’s website, things looked as follows. Naoya Inoue, Terence Crawford, Oleksandr Usyk, Canelo Alvarez, Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol, Errol Spence Jr., Gervonta Davis, Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez and Junto Nakatani. 

You know what’s interesting? ‘Bud’ Crawford’s got a big match on the horizon! He’s stepping into the ring against Uzbekistan’s Israil Madrimov, who’s sitting at No. 3 in Ring Magazine’s super welterweight top 5. And get this, if Crawford’s performance this time around is anything like his last fight, he could very well snag that title in a fourth weight class. But here’s the kicker: how did Ring Magazine decide to bump Inoue up to the top spot? That’s the million-dollar question right there.

Terence Crawford vs. Naoya Inoue: A heated battle among the panel members!

Panel member and boxing writer for Ring Magazine, Anson Wainwright, said, “Inoue gave his countrymen a scare in the first round but then went on to take Nery apart. To me it’s Crawford 1a and Inoue 1b [in the pound for pound rankings].” But hold on, there’s a twist! Tom Gray from the panel had some different thoughts about Inoue’s recent performance, especially after covering quite a few others in the past. Seems like there might be some interesting debates brewing!

He said, “I’m voting for Inoue as No. 1 P4P. Bud and [No. 3-rated Oleksandr] Usyk are [each] 4-0 this decade… I also thought the Nery win was one of his top-3 best performances. To get up and make immediate adjustments the way he did was insane.” Gray’s expert opinion seems to have had a lasting impact on other panel members, who quickly started tipping in Inoue’s favor, including Michael Montero. 

Montero said, “Originally, I was for keeping Bud at No. 1 and Monster at No. 2. However, just looking at activity, Crawford has fought 4X in four years and Inoue has fought EIGHT times in that span. He also went undisputed twice in one year.”

So, while Naoya Inoue is currently sitting pretty at the top of Ring Magazine’s rankings, it seems like his reign might be on shaky ground. But let’s not forget the incredible performance by the Japanese ‘Monster’ against Nery that initially earned him that coveted spot. It’s a tough call, though. Do you reckon Inoue deserves to be there? Or do you think Terence Crawford got the short end of the stick?