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Dmitry Bivol and Naoya Inoue gave dominating performances within a span of two days.
Bivol, the 175-pound titleholder, shut out Lyndon Arthur on the card featuring big-name heavyweights Saturday in Saudi Arabia. And Inoue stopped Marlon Tapales in 10 rounds to become only the second boxer to win all four major titles in a second division Tuesday in Tokyo.
Did they do enough to move up on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list? No.
No. 4-ranked Bivol didn’t face a serious threat in Arthur, who is no more than a solid contender. He could soon have a chance to climb, though. No. 3 Usyk presumably would drop if he loses to No. 9 Fury. And Bivol could be on a collision course with No. 14 Artur Beterbiev.
No. 2 Inoue overcame a more legitimate challenge against Tapales, a capable, rugged unified champion going into the fight. The Japanese star’s ability to deliver a knockout and make “undisputed” history were significant accomplishments.
However, it wasn’t enough to supplant No. 1 Terence Crawford, who was the first to become undisputed champion in two divisions when he knocked out Errol Spence Jr. in July.
Inoue’s best (only?) chance to reach No. 1 on the list is if Crawford falters, perhaps against No. 7 Jermell Charlo in a much-talked-about potential matchup.
Note: Honorable Mention Kazuto Ioka is scheduled to face Josber Perez on New Year’s Eve in Japan. Ioka is expected to defeat the obscure Venezuelan, which would leave Ioka in his current position here.
Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 14 Artur Beterbiev is scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith on Jan. 13 in Quebec City, Canada
Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:
BOXING JUNKIEPOUND-FOR-POUND
Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 9 Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
Dmitry Bivol– No fight scheduled.
Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
Canelo Alvarez– No fight scheduled.
Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face fellow titleholder and No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia.
Devin Haney– No fight scheduled.
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez – No fight scheduled.
Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
Vasiliy Lomachenko – No fight scheduled.
Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smith on Jan. 13 in Quebec City, Canada.
Shakur Stevenson– No fight scheduled.
Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (no fight scheduled); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to defend his 115-pound title against Josber Perez on New Year’s Eve in Japan); Teofimo Lopez (no fight scheduled).
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