Did David Benavidez do enough to climb the list?

David Benavidez proved in his one side Caleb . factory victory on Saturday that he’s the world’s best 168-pound athlete not named Canelo Alvarez.

But is that achievement enough to raise more than the honorable pound mentioned on the list?

Are not. Here’s why.

Plant, an excellent boxer, is arguably the toughest opponent of Benavidez’s career even though the Phoenix-born boxer is a two-time world champion. And while it took Benavidez time to close the gap with the opponent in his fleet, he did eventually take his opponent down.

That’s why Benavidez was named Boxing Junkie Fighter of the Month for March.

However, Benavidez (27-0.23 KOs) will probably have to knock out an opponent in the weight rankings or maybe someone on the top to climb into the Top 15.

Of course, he’ll get that chance eventually if he keeps winning. And based on what we saw this past weekend, there’s a good chance he will.

Next Weight Fight: Number 13 Shakur Stevenson is scheduled to meet Shuichiro Yoshino in a 135-pound bout on April 8 in Newark, New Jersey.

Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:

boxing addict
POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Terence Crawford – Was asked by the WBO to defend his 147-pound belt against Alexis Rocha but no deal was made.
2. Naoya Inoue – Planned to challenge 122-pound owner and Honoree Stephen Fulton Jr. on May 7 in Japan but the match was postponed after Inoue was injured during training. They are expected to meet in July.
3. Oleksandr Usyk – The talk with #6 Tyson Fury for a heavyweight unification match failed, leaving Usyk unopposed for the time being.
4. Errol Spence Jr. – The 147-pound unified title holder is supposed to face off against 154-pound Keith Thurman in April but no official announcement has been made.
5. Dmitri Bivol – Reportedly in talks to face No. 12 Artur Beterbiev in a 175-pound title unification match but no deal has been reached.
6. Tyson’s Rage – Negotiations with No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for a heavyweight unification match have failed, leaving Fury unopposed for the time being.
7. Juan Francisco Estrada – No scheduled wars.
8. Canelo Alvarez– Was scheduled to defend his undisputed 168-pound championship against John Ryder on May 6 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
9. Jermell Charlo – Was expected to defend his undisputed 154-pound weightlifting championship against top contender Tim Tszyu this summer but no deal has been struck.
10. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Ryan Garcia in a 136-pound bout on April 15 in Las Vegas.
11. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Scheduled to challenge undisputed 135-pound champion Devin Haney on May 20 in Las Vegas.
12. Artur Betterbiev – Reportedly in talks to face No. 5 Dmitry Bivol in a 175-pound title unification match early on but no deal has been reached.
13. Shakur Stevenson – Scheduled to face Shuichiro Yoshino in a 135-pound bout on April 8 in Newark, New Jersey.
14. Roman Gonzalez – There are no scheduled wars.
15. Devin Haney – Scheduled to defend his undisputed 135-pound championship against Vasiliy Lomachenko on May 20 in Las Vegas..

honorable mention (alphabetically): David Benavidez (no battle schedule); Jermall Charlo (no battle schedule); Stephen Fulton Jr. (His 122-pound belt defense against No. 2 Naoya Inoue on May 7 in Japan was pushed back to July); Kazuto Ioka (allegedly scheduled to challenge 115-pound owner Joshua Franco in June in Japan but no announcement has been made yet); Josh Taylor (supposedly to defend his 140-pound WBO title against Teofimo Lopez on June 10 in New York but no announcement has been made).