The Pound-for-Pound rankings determine who is the best fighter regardless of weight class, although the term was born decades before the official rankings.
Terence Crawford could go top with a win over Canelo Alvarez, as he is in with a chance of cementing himself as the greatest boxer in the world today.
However, the term “Pound-for-Pound” goes back over a century, although it became popularized thanks to one of boxing’s all-time greats, who was too light to compete with the top Heavyweights.
Sugar Ray Robinson inspired the Pound-for-Pound rankings
While the term “Pound-for-Pound” goes back to 1906, it became popularized by journalists when describing the greatness of Sugar Ray Robinson.
It was originally used to describe Battling Nelson, but Robinson became the Pound-for-Pound king during his 91-fight winning streak at the peak of his career.
The former two-weight world champion was described as the “Pound-for-Pound best” by multiple outlets, claiming that weight was not an issue in boxing; he would be the best in the world.
Muhammad Ali thought so too, calling Robinson the greatest of all time, labelling him a “beautiful” fighter.
Ali said: “I would have to admit, I would have to say yes [Robinson is the greatest of all time]. I have his fight films, I watched them then, you have them.
“That man was beautiful. Timing, speed, reflexes, rhythm, his body. Everything was beautiful.
“And to me, still, I would say pound-for-pound. I would say I’m the greatest heavyweight of all time, but pound-for-pound I still say Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest of all time.”
Terence Crawford could leapfrog Oleksandr Usyk with a win over Canelo Alvarez
In the modern-day rankings for the top Pound-for-Pound title, Terence Crawford is close to being number one ahead of his clash with Canelo Alvarez.
The #3-ranked Crawford, who is a four-weight champion who went undisputed in two, will take on the #8-ranked Canelo as he makes the big step up to Super Middleweight.
| Rank | Fighter |
| 1 | Oleksandr Usyk |
| 2 | Naoye Inoue |
| 3 | Terence Crawford |
| 4 | Dmitry Bivol |
| 5 | Artur Beterbiev |
| 6 | Jesse Rodriguez |
| 7 | Junto Nakatani |
| 8 | Canelo Alvarez |
| 9 | Shakur Stevenson |
| 10 | David Benavidez |
A record-breaking third undisputed title win would make history and surely would be enough to launch him two places above Naoya Inoue and Oleksandr Usyk to be crowned the Pound-for-Pound boxing king.
However, Canelo’s past defeats have shown what it takes to beat him, and it is unknown if Crawford possesses those skills for this bout.