Crawford Refutes #3 P4P Ranking; WBA Doesn't Forget Nonito Donaire
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 17 Jun 2025
Days after the Ring Magazine came out with its latest pound for pound ranking, Terrence Crawford personally issued disagreement at being rated #3 behind Oleksander Usyk and Naoya Inoue.
In an interview with a boxing website publication, Crawford specifically questioned his being ranked below Inoue. Conceding that Usyk is the top pound for pound fighter, Crawford questioned his ranking at #3 behind Inoue. "Usyk is definitely number one but I should be second and Inoue third. Who made that ranking? I will talk to them," Bud said.
Crawford has a point. He is set to move again two divisions up to battle undisputed super middleweight king Canelo Alvarez this September. Bud won a major title at super welterweight against then undefeated Uzbek champion Israil Madrimov after unifying all titles at welterweight via TKO over Errol Spence.
On the other hand, Inoue will be defending his undisputed world super bantamweight crown against an already once beaten Morudjon Akhmadaliev in Japan.
Recently Roy Jones Jr. tried to justify Inoue's lofty ranking by saying that the Japanese just doesn't have the competition at his current level to attest to how great a fighter he is. But Jones Jr. himself found the way to silence his doubters and critics in his prime best by going out of his comfort zone at super middleweight and light heavyweight and moving up and winning a world title at heavyweight.
The answer is easy-Inoue has to challenge himself by moving up to the next level-the featherweights. But Inoue is adamant that he will only move up when he-and his body-is ready.
Contrast that to when Bob Arum told Manny Pacquiao to jump up. Manny never tarried and in fact of a sort, answered, "how high?" Fact was, Manny moved up from super bantamweight to the super welterweight in less than six years time. And yet Arum continues lying through his teeth that Inoue is better than Manny!
It therefore serves justice that Crawford-and even Usyk- questioned Inoue"s #2 pound for pound ranking.
*****
Donaire connects with a left at Campos.
In his prime best, Nonito Donaire did not have much chance to fight for a WBA world title.
Nonito first became world champion at IBF by defeating Vic Darchinyan by knockout.
Next, he became world titlist at bantamweight with the WBC and at super bantamweight with the WBO, IBF and the WBC.
The first time Nonito became WBA world champion was at featherweight when he beat South African Simphiwe Vetyeka. He didn't last long as he lost the same to Nicholas Walters.
Donaire also lost to Carl Frampton in a WBC featherweight title bid.
The Filipino moved back down to super bantamweight and won a vacant world title with the IBF again but lost the same to Diego Margarito on points.
From there, Nonito Jr.'s boxing career went into limbo until he decided to move back down to bantamweight.
And guess who gave him his biggest break? None other than the WBA which pitted him against its super champion Ryan Burnett in the World Boxing Super Series at bantamweight.
Donaire stopped Burnett to become the WBA bantamweight super champion, defending the same for the first time by knocking out out his American mandatory challenger.
In the Super Series Finals, Donaire faced Inoue, the then WBO and IBF unified champion and ceded the WBA crown in a magnificent battle, coming close to stopping Naoya only to lose steam and losing by decision.
Nonito would come back and win the WBC crown by knocking out French defending champion Nordine Oubaali.
Donaire would again relinquish his crown to Inoue in their rematch unification, losing by early round knockout.
Again, Donaire would have a chance to become world titlist at bantamweight when Inoue vacated his titles when he moved up to super bantamweight but he was outpointed by Mexican Alexandro Santiago Barrios for the vacant WBC crown.
Nonito himself went into limbo afterwards, inactive but not retired.
Then came the WBA again casting him to fight for its vacant interim world bantamweight belt versus Chilean Andres Campos last June 14, 2025 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
At the age of 40, Nonito Donaire Jr. for the nth time becomes bantamweight champion-though interim in nature-via 8th round technical decision victory over the game but outgunned Campos.
I don't know if Donaire's reputation precedes him or the latest break was due to the kindness of the hearts of those running the WBA. Or because of the need for a prominent name as dance partner for the lowly ranked Campos to make the title fight credible.
The important thing is Donaire is world champion again.
And Kenneth Llover has somebody joining him in the Japanese-stacked bantamweight division, a weight class we used to dominate outside of Inoue just few years ago.
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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