Pound for Pound Rankings – Who Makes the Top 5?
2017 was a great year for boxing, we were treated to some excellent match ups between some of the games best fighters including Andre Ward v Sergey Kovalev and Saul Alvarez v Gennady Golovkin. Heavyweight boxing was thrust back into the limelight when Anthony Joshua defeated Wladmir Klitschko, boxing is always in good shape if the heavyweight division is making some noise and 2018 promises to be just as good as 2017 but who were the fighters who impressed the most and remain firmly atop the boxing tree? In this article I will countdown who makes the cut in my list of pound for pound fighters of 2017.
Before I begin though, I will list the fighters who made last years list of the top 5 pound for pound fighters of 2016. Andre Ward, Manny Pacquiao, Gennady Golovkin, Saul Alvarez and Roman Gonzalez(for what it’s worth I had Lomachenko and Rigondeaux at numbers 6 and 7). Let’s see how many of those remain in the top five this year. Ward of course has retired, else there is no question he was the worlds number one fighter, the undefeated fighter had moved up a weight and for the second time conquered the light heavyweights division most feared fighter.
5. Mikey Garcia
When you look at Garcia, nothing about him particularly stands out. He’s not very quick, either with his hand speed or foot speed. He does have good power but again nothing that would make his opponent stay up at night worried about ending up lights out, he is not very intimidating either and doesn’t really engage in thrash talk but by the same token, there is nothing below average about him, Garcia does everything well and has no weaknesses, he is fundamentally sound and has no holes in his game. When you fight Garcia you know you will have to be at your best not just physically but mentally too. Add this to the fact that not only did Garcia go up and claim the WBC Lightweight title when he provided the fans with arguably the knock out of the year against previously undefeated champion Dejan Zlaticanin, he then went up further in weight and challenged Adrien Broner at Light Welterweight, a weight which suited Broner far more than Garcia and convincingly beat the four weight world champion. My guess is that if Garcia continues the way he is performing, he will crack the top 2 or 3 by the end of 2018.
4. Saul Alvarez
Alvarez is a beast, that’s the first word which comes to mind when I see him fight. But despite his brutish demeanor inside the ring, Canelo possesses sublime boxing skills, his combination punching is arguably the best in the game as he uses a wide variety of shots to either break his opponent down or just clean knock them out. 2017 saw the much anticipated move up in weight to take on the Middleweight King Gennady Golovkin which controversially ended in a draw but however you saw the fight, Alvarez displayed he can hang with the best and has every skill a boxer could dream of. Canelo has already faced a host of big names and the scary thought is that he is still only 27 and will only get better.
3. Vasyl Lomachenko
What more can one say about Lomachenko? Sure he has his detractors who aren’t as impressed as most over his victories in 2017. Sosa has since lost his next fight to Gamboa, Marriaga was coming off a loss and coming up a weight, Rigondeaux jumped up two divisions but regardless of this, what you have to be impressed with is how Lomachenko won those fights, he systematically broke down his opponent mentally in each fight and forced them to quit. Quitting is actually rare in boxing, it is seen as something taboo, something a fighter cannot do, it goes against the very meaning of the word fighter. The fact Loma has done this to all three of his opponents this year confirms his status as one of boxings greatest talents, some of his skills such as his footwork have already put him amongst the best ever in that department. Loma wont lose to anyone inside the ring on a skill level, the only way he will lose is he eventually meets his match going up in weight and fighting through the divisions against bigger men in an attempt to write his legacy.
2. Gennady Golovkin
Golovkin fought just twice in 2017 but he stepped into the ring only to fight the best. Triple G first took the WBA title off Daniel Jacobs, a man who was undefeated for almost 7yrs and seen as his biggest threat in the division before battling Saul Alvarez in the most anticipated fight of the year. For the first time Golovkins arm was not raised in victory at the end of the fight as it ended in a controversial draw, a fight which many fight fans seemed to side with Golovkin but despite fears of slowing down due to age Golovkin demonstrated he could still handle the best thrown at him including the movement of Jacobs and the all around skills of Canelo and continues to be the number one man in his division. Until someone can knock him off the throne, Golovkins long standing reign and domination deserves for him to be ranked as one of the top two fighters in the sport.
1. Terence Crawford
In August of this year, Crawford became the first undisputed Light Welterweight champion since Kostya Tszyu in 2004 when he dismantled the previously unbeaten Julius Indongo in three rounds, in what was arguably the finest performance of the year. The decision to have Crawford at the top of the rankings many surprise some, but Crawford has displayed an astute ring IQ coupled with terrific boxing skills, he is not just fast with his hands he is fast with his mind and that makes for a very dangerous fighter, one that will trouble anyone. Crawford is also able to fight as effectively in both orthodox and southpaw stances, further throwing confusion to his opponent. He has his fair share of fans too, both Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Vasyl Lomachenko have gone on record this year as stating Crawford is the best boxer in the world. With the move up to 147lbs coming up you get the feeling the rest of the world will soon see the best of Crawford as he looks set to become a household name.
Check out Fayz’s available books for download on Amazon. He also runs his own Personal Training site and blog over at Fayz Fitness.
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