Has Naoya Inoue done enough to overthrow Terence Crawford?

Who really is the best boxer in the world? Depends on who you talk to.

Terence Crawford, No. 1 on Boxing Junkie’s list, and No. 2 Inoue are both undefeated, near-perfect all-round fighters who have dominated almost everyone they’ve faced for some time. long.

Inoue (27-0, 24 KO) was in top form early Monday morning (US time) in Japan.

Luis Nery shocked everyone watching by knocking out Inoue in the opening round but that only made Inoue more determined. The 122-pound champion responded by destroying a good opponent, putting him on the canvas three times and brutally stopping him in Round 6.

Inoue is nothing short of outstanding. It’s becoming increasingly clear that he’s one of the best to ever do it.

And don’t count on taking him out when evaluating his credentials. Almost all the big ones have gone down. What matters is that they stand up and prove who is better, as Inoue did spectacularly on Monday.

The question is whether he has done enough — or good enough — to replace Crawford at No. 1. That answer is no, at least for now.

Crawford’s (40-0, 31 KOs) resume is close to Inoue’s. Both men face a long list of top contenders but relatively few close opponents, although Crawford is coming close to knocking out Errol Spence Jr. in the ninth round last July.

And Crawford was just as dominant as Inoue, unleashing an overwhelming combination of skill, speed and power on one opponent after another.

The knockout of Spence, a boxer, was as spectacular as Inoue’s destruction of Nery at the Tokyo Dome even though Crawford did not need to prove that he could overcome adversity.

Crawford has been nothing short of amazing his entire career, which is why he’s been Boxing Junkie’s top boxer since the feature started in 2019 and hasn’t changed. change.

How can we justify demoting him under those circumstances? We can not.

Inoue may peak at some point partly because of their respective ages: He’s 31, Crawford is 36. That time is simply not now.

Another contender fought on May 4, No. 6 Canelo Alvarez, who defeated Jaime Munguia by a one-sided decision in Las Vegas.

The superstar looked sharp but he never had a chance to make the list because Munguia was unranked. However, sitting right above Alvarez in fifth place is fellow Mexican Juan Francisco Estrada.

Has Alvarez done enough to trade places with his compatriot? That’s a matter of interpretation. We decided to leave Alvarez in good position as Estrada is scheduled to face rising star and No. 10 “Bam” Rodriguez on June 29. Estrada’s fate is in his hands.

Next promotion fight: No. 13 Vasiliy Lomachenko is expected to face George Kambosos Jr. to compete for the vacant IBF 135-pound title on May 12 in Australia..

Here is the current list:

ATTRACTIVE AUTHORITY PEOPLE
POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Terence Crawford – Expected to challenge the defending 154-pound champion

   Israil Madrimov on August 3 in Los Angeles.

2. Naoya Inoue – There is no match schedule.
3. Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to face No. 9 Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.
4. Dmitry Bivol – His bout with No. 12 Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed 175-pound championship, originally scheduled for June 1, was postponed after Beterbiev injured his knee.
5. Juan Francisco Estrada – Expected to defend his 115-pound title against No. 11 Jesse Rodriguez on June 29 in Phoenix.
6. Canelo Alvarez – There is no match schedule.
7. Jermell Charlo – There is no match schedule.
8. Gervonta Davis – Expected to defend his 135-pound title against Frank Martin on June 15 in Las Vegas.
9. Tyson was angry – Scheduled to face No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.
10. Jesse “Bam” Rodríguez – Scheduled to face No. 5 Juan Francisco Estrada for Estrada’s 115-pound title on June 29 in Phoenix.
11. Artur Beterbiev – His bout with No. 4 Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed 175-pound championship, originally scheduled for June 1, was postponed after Beterbiev injured his knee.
12. Errol Spence Jr. – There is no match schedule.
13. Vasily Lomachenko – Scheduled to face George Kambosos Jr. to compete for the vacant IBF 135-pound title on May 12 in Australia.
14. Shakur Stevenson – There is no match schedule.
15. David Benavidez – Scheduled to fight 175-pounder Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15 in Las Vegas.

honorable mention (alphabetically): Jermall Charlo (no match schedule); Roman Gonzalez (no match schedule); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to face Fernando Martinez for the 115-pound championship on July 7 in Tokyo); Teofimo López (reportedly close to reaching an agreement to defend his 140-pound title against Steve Claggett on June 29 in Miami); Junto Nakatani (no match schedule).