Fights Seen to Affect Pound for Pound Ratings
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 01 Nov 2019
It may not be immediately apparent but the results of two bouts happening this November may have the effects of drastically altering the current pound for pound rankings.
For a long time now, Vasyli Lomachenko and Terrence Crawford are one and two in the pound for pound totem pole of most, if not all media rating outfits.
But they are not fighting this month, at least, with Crawford scheduled to clash against Lithuanian top challenger Egidijus Kavilauskas in December in yet another defense of his WBO welterweight trinket. Lomachenko on the other hand is set to fight perhaps early next year against the winner of the Richard Commey-Teofimo Lopez IBF lightweight championship bout also set this November.
Seeing action this month are Mexican Saul Canelo Alvarez and Japan's Naoya Inoue who are rated just behind Lomachenko and Crawford.
Alvarez, already a titleholder in the middleweight and super middleweight is gunning for his fourth world title in as many weight classes this November 2 Saturday (Sunday in the Philippines) against WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile on November 7, Thursday in Saitama, Japan, Inoue also known as The Monster is set to clash with Nonito Donaire in the World Boxing Super Series bantamweight finals where the WBA, IBF and the Ring Magazine world titles as well as the prestigious Muhammad Ali trophy are at stake.
Inoue and Donaire battles on Nov. 7 in Japan.
Heading towards his fight versus Kovalev, Alvarez, who won his first world boxing title at super welterweight early this decade about to end, has issued a statement claiming he has done more to be pound for pound number one than either Lomachenko or Crawford.
He may have a point as he has faced and mostly defeated more opponents who have or had been rated in the pound for pound list in the past few years including Gennady Golovkin against whom he has had a draw and a decision win, Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto. The only mark in his record is a decision loss to then pound for pound topnotcher Floyd Mayweather, Jr. way back in 2013.
Experts and observers said a convincing Canelo victory over Kovalev who was also for a time a fixture in the pound for pound ratings until his back to back losses to Andre Ward, will put him in a very strong position for the top post. He may be very hard to deny, as one observed.
Incidentally, Canelo has been installed as the odds on favorite to win his scheduled clash with Kovalev even with all but a handful of fight experts polled by the Ring Magazine seeing him the winner, some by the short route.
On the other hand, in the most recent pound for pound evaluation of the Ring which involved scribes also affiliated with the ESPN and the Boxing Writers Association of America or BWAA, Inoue has continued to get better shares of the votes for the top pound for pound post. A few has even contended that based on his sensational performance since last year, which featured knockout victories over McDonnell, Payano and Rodriguez, he deserved to be the pound for pound champion.
Many are now saying that if Inoue impressively disposes of Donaire who a few years back was a top five pound for pounder and now on another current resurgence at bantamweight, the Japanese might end up the year at number two at the very least.
But that's just one version of the story.
What if Kovalev and/or Donaire pull off upset/s?
Both are former inside the elite list who are now relegated to the position of outsiders looking in. They could very well join the club again ?s Manny Pacquiao already has this year.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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