Why the heavier weight classes in boxing have pulled closer to the lighter ones in pound-for-pound discussions

The idea of pound-for-pound greatness in boxing has existed for roughly a decade as a tool to hypothesize how fighters in disparate weight classes would fare against one another if only skill, technique and intangible qualities were at play with no regard to weight. It was also a tool to provide fighters in lighter weight divisions shine they often didn’t get in eras dominated by the glamour of the heavyweight division.

An unusual thing is happening in modern boxing: pound-for-pound lists are featuring a more even split between heavier weight classes and the lighter ones.

Brian Campbell’s CBS Sports pound-for-pound top 10 features five fighters in boxing’s four heaviest weight classes (super middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight) and five from junior middleweight and below. Two of those fighters, No. 4 Artur Beterbiev and No. 5 Dmitry Bivol meet on Saturday to crown an undisputed light heavyweight champion. The winner could move even higher up the rankings.

Also at light heavyweight, No. 10 David Benavidez is set for a showdown with David Morrell, a fellow undefeated fighter, with the winner positioned to challenge the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol and continue the momentum of the 175-pound division.

The No. 1 spot is held by Oleksandr Usyk, a man who went undisputed at cruiserweight before running through the heavyweight division to go undisputed there as well. He will face former pound-for-pound mainstay Tyson Fury in a December rematch.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez had long sat atop the rankings and still remains No. 6 even as his well of available, intriguing opponents begins to run dry — as does, seemingly, his willingness to face men like Benavidez and Morrell, forcing them to move to light heavyweight to seek championship opportunities.

For comparison, when The Ring Magazine first started publishing pound-for-pound rankings in 1989, only two men above middleweight were ranked in the top 10 in their annual ratings. Heavyweight king Mike Tyson held the No. 1 spot while light heavyweight Virgil Hill sat at No. 9.

Even going back to five years ago, the sport was in a much different place in terms of the prominence of the higher weight classes as the most elite fighters in the sport. Our CBS Sports pound-for-pound rankings in October 2019 saw just two men over middleweight in the top 10: No. 6 Usyk and No. 9 Beterbiev.

So, how did we get here?

Recent years have seen an increase in big, highly-anticipated showdowns across boxing. It was a trend that began prior to the COVID-19 pandemic but was somewhat accelerated after the pandemic kicked off by the sport’s need to draw attention in unprecedented times.

A healthy heavyweight division saw big names and top-tier fights become a regularity unlike the preceding heavyweight eras, which were defined by dull personalities and a lack of competitive challengers. Fury and Deontay Wilder put on a trilogy of fights that elevated Fury while Anthony Joshua proved the correct opponent for Usyk, already considered an elite fighter with his dominant cruiserweight run, as he moved to heavyweight.

And a look at the heavyweight division shows depth, with enough compelling fighters that the division could continue to produce staples of pound-for-pound lists for years to come.

Beterbiev has been a dominant light heavyweight force, knocking out all 20 opponents he has faced in the ring. Bivol was viewed as tremendously skilled but he was given the opportunity to score a career-defining victory when Alvarez attempted to jump to the division and win light heavyweight gold for a second time. With the two raising their profiles, picking up meaningful wins and every belt in the division, they now are set for one of the most anticipated fights of the year.

Alvarez’s refusal to face Benavidez and Morrell may be somewhat damaging to his own legacy, but it resulted in both of his best potential opponents moving up to 175 where they now will meet in 2025 and the winner will not only be in the pound-for-pound top 10, but will also be perfectly positioned to face the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol in yet another massive fight for the sport.

Healthy divisions have elite fighters at the top and compelling challengers waiting, with those fighters willing and able to meet in the ring.

That has been the case in the higher weight classes more often lately than in the recent past. And the fighters who emerge at the top of those situations bolster their pound-for-pound cases. This is made even more true as fighters at higher weights become more skilled under modern training methods while being forced to rise to the challenge of their talented contemporaries.

It’s a sign of an increasingly healthy sport that men like Usyk, Beterbiev, Bivol, Benavidez and Alvarez can sit on these lists alongside the likes of Terence Crawford, Naoya Inoue, Gervonta Davis and others from the lower, historically more skilled, weight classes.