How the Ring's P4P Ranking Has Strayed from the Norms of Nat and Nigel
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 13 Jun 2025
Inoue (L) faced the unheralded Cardenas (R) in his last fight.
Naoya Inoue has kept his #2 ranking in the latest Ring Magazine's pound for pound list over Terrence Crawford and is reportedly just a major win away from overtaking Oleksander Usyk on top of the totem pole.
According to the Ring account, Inoue managed to stave off Crawford by winning all his four fights since last year by knockout. On the other hand, Bud has just one fight since winning the undisputed world welterweight crown by stopping Errol Spence and did not impress in the win.
But looking back, who did Inoue beat as compared to Crawford?
First it was already once beaten Mexican ex-titlist Luis Nery who even knocked him down. Then an aging another ex-titlist TJ Doheny and early this year, a lowly ranked South Korean substitute Ye Yoon Kim. All these fights were held in Japan. This last May, Inoue fought again in the USA and beat a certain Ramon Cardenas but after exerting some effort to stop the Texan.
Inoue is set to battle yet another ex-titlist Morudjon Akhmadaliev back in his home turf this September.
In his last fight after beating Spence, Crawford moved up and wrested the WBA super welterweight crown from erstwhile undefeated champion Israil Madrimov by unanimous decision.
Crawford is set to move again two divisions up to battle Canelo Alvarez at super middleweight.
Now tell me objectively if Inoue deserves #2 over Crawford?
In the times of original Ring Magazine editor in chief Nat Fletcher who started the practice in the early days of pro boxing and immediate past Editor-in-Chief Nigel Collins who revived it in the 80s, this would not have happened.
This is because although fighters being compared were fighting in different divisions, the standard norm was if fighter A fight in the division of fighter B and vice versa, who was the better fighter?
So if Fletcher was still alive and Ring Magazine editor in chief, he would have asked the question: Had Inoue emerged as welterweight and Crawford as bantamweight given their talent and capabilities, who would have been the better fighter?
In the time of Collins, it was easier as usually the top pound for pound fighters of the era were the likes of Roy Jones, Jr., Mike Tyson and Evader Holyfield who without doubt would have dominated wherever divisions theoretically they would have emerged.
It was complicated though easier when Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao were rivals for the top pound for pound honors as there's not much need for the theoretical as both had proven themselves across various weight classes.
Floyd from junior lightweight through the junior middleweight beating such fellow hall of fame inductees as Chico Corrales, Luis Castillo, Arturo Gatti, Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya and Pacquiao himself.
Pacquiao from flyweight through the junior middleweight fighting and mostly beating the likes of Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez, Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley.
Inoue's very high ranking is not only the elephant in the room.
Just as eyebrow raising is the presence of two other Japanese fighters - Junto Nakatani and Kenshiro Teraji in the top ten pound for pound list as if there are no other worthy fighters. Like for example Gervonta Tank Davis, David Benavidez and Shakur Stevenson.
There was a time when three Filipinos were in the pound for pound list but not all at once as when Donnie Nietes was included and joined Nonito Donaire when Pacquiao got dropped. But there's no questioning Nietes and especially Donaire's credentials at that time. Donaire who never was into top three, won major titles from flyweight through featherweight, the last a division both Inoue and Nakatani haven't reached yet.
Of course the listing particularly lately has been largely subjective.
But it is frustrating to read of the fawning justification of the editors, columnists and writers of the so called bible of boxing now.
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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