Oleksandr Usyk secured his position as the No. 1 fighter in ESPN's pound-for-pound men's boxing rankings with a unanimous decision victory over Tyson Fury on December 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This was a rematch of their May bout, where Usyk had claimed a split decision win. This time, all three judges were in agreement, scoring the fight 116-112 in Usyk's favor.
Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) rose to the top spot after his initial victory over Fury, becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt era. With this rematch win, he further cemented his status as the best heavyweight of his era. Over his last five fights, Usyk has achieved two wins each against Fury and Anthony Joshua, along with a victory over Daniel Dubois.
Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) still has plenty left to offer in a competitive heavyweight division and remains a formidable opponent for most fighters. However, he currently sits outside the top 10 in the pound-for-pound rankings.
Following the fight, the 36-year-old Fury expressed confidence in his performance, stating he believed he had won. Nonetheless, the judges awarded Usyk six of the final seven rounds.
"I thought I won that fight again... I feel I’ve won both fights," Fury said during the post-fight press conference. "But now I’ve got two losses on my record, and there’s not much I can do about it.
"It is what it is. I’m not going to cry over spilled milk. It’s happened now. I know boxing, I’ve been around it all my life. You can’t overturn decisions, but I’ll always feel hard done by. Not just a little bit—actually, a lot."
At 37 years old, Usyk has several options to solidify his No. 1 ranking. He could pursue a rematch with Dubois, who currently holds the IBF belt that Usyk vacated before the Fury fight, to regain his undisputed champion status. Alternatively, he might face Fury in a trilogy bout. Usyk has also suggested the possibility of returning to cruiserweight, where he was the undisputed champion in 2018.
Meanwhile, No. 2-ranked Terence Crawford has yet to schedule his next fight but aims to face Canelo Alvarez in 2025. No. 3-ranked Naoya Inoue is set to return to the ring on January 24 against Sam Goodman. Both Crawford and Inoue have opportunities to claim the top spot, but they’ll need dominant performances against elite opponents.
Here’s how the rest of the top 10 ranks, along with the votes from our panel, including Mike Coppinger, Timothy Bradley, Joe Tessitore, Teddy Atlas, Nick Parkinson, Eric Raskin, Michelle Joy Phelps, Claudia Trejos, Bernardo Osuna, Crystina Poncher, Eric Woodyard, Bernardo Pilatti, Charles Moynihan, Salvador Rodriguez, Jim Zirolli, Michael Mascaro, Aladdin Freeman, Victor Lopez, and Damian Delgado Averhoff.