Last week, the International Boxing Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2025. The headliner: Manny Pacquaio, an eight-division world champion, easily one of the best and most exciting fighters of this generation. Joining Pacquiao in the modern male category is Michael Nunn, a two-division world champion, and Vinny Pazienza, who held briefly held titles in two weight classes.
Nunn is a borderline choice. He won titles at 160 and 168 pounds, had a strong stretch between 1988 and 1991, where he periodically popped onto pound-for-pound lists. He had notable wins over Iran Barkley and Donald Curry. But his rise came just after the peak of the Four Kings era, costing him chances to fight the likes of Marvin Hagler or Thomas Hearns. In ’91 he lost his middleweight title to James Toney. He didn’t win another significant fight after that.
Pazienza’s inclusion, though, is far shakier. “Vinny Paz” spent nearly two decades in boxing, winning belts at 135 and 154 pounds. He was popular, particularly in the New England area, entertaining with a compelling story. A car accident in 1991 left Pazienza with a broken neck. He recovered and returned the ring, eventually challenging for a world title, an inspirational story that was the basis for the film Bleed for This.
But Pazienza’s world title reigns were short. He beat Greg Haugen to win a middleweight belt in 1987 only to lose it back to Haugen eight months later. He stopped Gilbert Delé to win a junior middleweight title in ’91 but never defended it. He was 2–6 in world title fights and, according to boxing writer Cliff Rold, 4–7 against widely recognized top-10 competition.
Pazienza’s inclusion is the result of the Hall’s bizarre election system. Each year voters, comprised of members of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and a panel of international historians, can select up to five candidates. The three leading vote getters, regardless of totals, get into the Hall. And because the Hall doesn’t publicly reveal the totals, we don’t know how many votes each fighter received.
Consider: As a BWAA member, I am a voter. I checked the box for Pacquiao. That was it.
Why does it matter? Because electing fighters without Hall of Fame résumés lowers the bar for entry. If Pazienza’s credentials are Hall worthy, who else gets in? How about Adrien Broner, a four-division champion? Danny Garcia recently retired with belts in two weight classes. Will he get the Hall call? The saturation of titles will stamp more fighters with resumes that, on paper, appear Hall worthy.
There’s a simple fix. The Hall can adopt baseball’s voting system. In baseball, candidates must receive votes on 75% of the ballots cast to get in. Some years the baseball Hall of Fame will induct three or four guys. Other years, none. The baseball Hall is willing to accept some lean years. The boxing Hall is not.
Hall of Fame weekend is important to the boxing Hall. It drives revenue. There is a parade, a banquet, autograph sessions and an induction ceremony. Canastota, a village in upstate New York, isn’t the easiest place to get to. Hall of Fame weekend gives people a reason to make the trip up there.
But that should not be a consideration. Hall officials have to make a decision. Is it the home for the best of boxing? Or just the best of boxing that year.
On to Sports Illustrated’s latest pound-for-pound list …
(Editor's Note: Due to a gap in fights, some of the rankings' descriptions may resemble past editions of SI's pound-for-pound rankings.)
1. Terence Crawford
Record: 41–0
Last Ranking: 1
Last Fight: UD win vs Israil Madrimov
Next Fight: TBD
Crawford continues to build on one of boxing’s most impressive résumé: Four division world champion, two-division undisputed champion and just weeks removed from his 37th birthday pound-for-pound No. 1. Israil Madrimov, a decorated amateur with a herky-jerky style, gave Crawford problems in August but Crawford’s patience helped him produce a narrow decision win. What’s next? Crawford has made it clear there is only one opponent that interests him: Canelo Álvarez, the unified super middleweight champion who still reigns as boxing’s biggest star.
2. Oleksandr Usyk
Record: 22–0
Last Rankings: 2
Last Fight: SD win Tyson Fury
Next Fight: Dec. 21 vs. Fury
Usyk is a generational great, an Olympic gold medalist, and undisputed in cruiserweight and heavyweight after last May’s win over Tyson Fury—the first to accomplish either in the four-belt era. Usyk dropped Fury in the ninth round of that fight, adding heavyweight power to some of boxing’s best technique. Usyk will face Fury in a rematch in December in Saudi Arabia with a chance to go 4–0 against the UK’s top heavyweights—Fury and Anthony Joshua—and earn a lot of money in the process.
3. Naoya Inoue
Record: 28–0
Last Ranking: 3
Last Fight: TKO win vs. TJ Doheny
Next Fight: Dec. 24 vs. Sam Goodman
It feels disrespectful to place an undefeated, two division undisputed champion third but such is the state of the top of the sport. In September, Inoue battered ex-titleholder TJ Doheny, earning a ninth straight knockout. Inoue will return December against mandatory challenger Sam Goodman, with ex-unified champion MJ Akhmadaliev waiting for his mandatory shot next year. There’s also Junto Nakatani, the heavy-handed 118-pound champion who could move up to 122-pounds in 2025. Inoue-Nakatani is a huge event in Japan.
4. Artur Beterbiev
Record: 21–0
Last Ranking: 4
Last fight: MD vs. Dmitry Bivol
Next fight: Feb. 22 vs. Dmitry Bivol
At 39, when most fighters are long since retired, Beterbiev, who handed Dmitry Bivol his first loss in a title unification fight in October, remains at the top of his game. He’ll get a chance to hand his rival a second defeat in February, when the two will rematch for all the light heavyweight belts in Riyadh. Another win over Bivol, still No. 2 at 175, would burnish Beterbiev’s case for being called the best light heavyweight of this generation.
5. Jesse Rodriguez
Record: 21–0
Last Ranking: 5
Last Fight: KO win vs. Pedro Guevara
Next Fight: TBD.
The rise of Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez, 24, continued in November with a third-round knockout over Pedro Guevara, the mandatory challenger for Bam’s world title. Rodriguez continues to blend elite skills with burgeoning power. Last June, he stopped Juan Francisco Estrada with a body shot. Against Guevara, it was a rear uppercut. Rodriguez wants unifications but a showdown with Román González, who has been calling for a fight with Bam, could be too lucrative to turn down.
6. Saul “Canelo” Álvarez
Record: 62-2-2
Last Ranking: 6
Last Fight: UD win Edgar Berlanga
Next Fight: TBD
In dispatching Edgar Berlanga in September, Álvarez reaffirmed that he is the top fighter at 168 pounds … and that, at 34, he’s not the destroyer he used to be. Despite dropping Berlanga in the third round, Alvarez was unable to finish him, instead cruising to a wide decision win. The buzz is growing for a showdown with Crawford and Álvarez continues to leave the door open for a matchup with Jake Paul.
7. Dmitry Bivol
Record: 23–1
Last Ranking: 7
Last Fight: MD loss to Artur Beterbiev
Next Fight: Feb. 22 vs. Artur Beterbiev
The competitiveness of Bivol’s loss to Beterbiev keeps Bivol inside the top 10 and he will get a chance to avenge that defeat—and reclaim a spot in the top five—in February. That looms as a must win for Bivol, who without a title will have a hard time attracting top opponents.
8. Shakur Stevenson
Record: 21–0
Last Ranking: 8
Last Fight: UD win vs. Artem Harutyunyan
Next Fight: Feb. 22 vs. Floyd Schofield
Stevenson, 27, successfully defended his 135-pound title in a one-sided decision against Artem Harutyunyan in July, flashing the skills and defensive prowess that have made him a three-division world champion. Hand injuries shelved Stevenson for the rest of ’24 but he will return in February to defend his title against Schofield, a rising star in the lightweight division.
9. Gervonta Davis
Record: 29–0
Last Ranking: 9
Last Fight: KO win vs. Frank Martin
Next Fight: March 1 vs. Lamont Roach Jr.
No lead is safe against Davis, who last June made Frank Martin his latest knockout victim. Davis is a predator in the ring, willing to give up a few rounds on the scorecards while he is closing distance and finishing as well as any fighter in the smaller weight classes. Still, calls are intensifying for Davis, 30, to face a top-level opponent. That won’t happen in February, when Davis is slated to face Roach, a 130-pound titleholder who will move up for a shot at Davis.
10. Devin Haney
Record: 31–0
Last Ranking: 10
Last Fight: NC vs. Ryan Garcia
Next Fight: TBD
Haney is polarizing, but with his loss to Garcia officially ruled a no-contest, Haney deserves to remain in the pound-for-pound rankings. His résumé is still impressive: Wins over Jorge Linares, George Kambosos Jr. and Vasyl Lomachenko at 135 pounds, a lopsided decision victory over Regis Prograis in his first fight at 140 pounds. Haney absorbed a beating against Garcia but the combination of Garcia blowing weight and testing positive for a banned substance mitigates it. Haney will sit out the rest of 2024 before likely pursuing a rematch with Garcia in ’25.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Beterbiev, Bivol in Top 10 of Pound-for-Pound Boxing Rankings Ahead of Rematch.
