Boxing pound-for-pound rankings: Beterbiev moves up and another champ enters the top 10

Artur Beterbiev made history as the first undisputed light heavyweight champion in the four-belt era with a majority decision victory over Dmitry Bivol on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The judges scored the bout 114-114, 115-113, and 116-112, allowing Beterbiev to unify the WBA title with his existing WBC, WBO, and IBF belts.

Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs), known for holding the sport's only perfect knockout record, had to fight all 12 rounds for the first time in his career to overcome Bivol. Notably, Beterbiev’s previous longest fight was a 12th-round knockout of Enrico Koelling in 2017, with just 27 seconds left on the clock.

While Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) landed more total punches and jabs and showed a notable edge in power punching accuracy—50% to Beterbiev's 29%—he accepted the judges' decision with grace.

"I don't know, I just did my job," Bivol said post-fight. "I felt I could have done better. I always believe I can improve. This is the judges' call. Congratulations to Artur. He won, and I respect that."

Despite his victory, Beterbiev was critical of his own performance and expressed willingness for a rematch.

"I wasn’t at my best tonight," Beterbiev admitted. "I wanted to box with more precision. I don’t know why, but I wasn’t satisfied with this fight. I’ll come back stronger. If [Saudi Entertainment Authority Chairman Turki Alalshikh] wants a rematch, we can make it happen."

The fight left experts divided. While some panelists moved Beterbiev up in their rankings, others kept Bivol near the top.

"I scored it for Bivol," ESPN analyst Mike Coppinger said. "But the fight was close enough to respect the result and move Beterbiev up. Bivol’s dominant win over Canelo Alvarez in 2022 and his razor-thin loss here justify keeping him high on the list."

ESPN writer Nick Parkinson noted the technical excellence of both boxers and opted to rank Bivol higher despite the outcome.

"Honestly, I expected Bivol’s hand to be raised," Parkinson said. "His skill and quality showed against Beterbiev, and his victory over Canelo gives him the edge. If Beterbiev had maintained his perfect KO record, it might be different, but Bivol has now excelled twice on the biggest stage."

When the rankings were finalized, Beterbiev climbed to No. 4, while Bivol dropped two spots to No. 6. Some panelists even placed Beterbiev above Naoya Inoue, breaking the tie at No. 2 between Inoue and Terence Crawford.

Elsewhere, in Tokyo on Monday, Junto Nakatani successfully defended his WBC bantamweight title with a sixth-round TKO of Petch Sor Chitpattana. Nakatani (29-0, 22 KOs), who has been just outside the rankings for months, finally secured the No. 10 spot after winning world titles in three weight classes.

The voting panel included 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.

CompuBox Punch Stats show the breakdown of punches between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. Bivol landed a total of 142 punches out of 423 thrown, achieving an accuracy rate of 34%. In comparison, Beterbiev landed 137 punches out of 682 thrown, with an accuracy of 20%.

For jabs, Bivol connected on 58 out of 255 attempts, giving him 23% accuracy, while Beterbiev landed 47 jabs from 376 thrown, with a lower accuracy of 13%.

Regarding power punches, Beterbiev landed 90 out of 306 thrown, resulting in 29% accuracy. Meanwhile, Bivol landed 84 power punches from 168 attempts, achieving a significantly higher accuracy of 50%.

These statistics highlight Bivol's superior efficiency, particularly in power punching, despite Beterbiev's higher overall volume of punches thrown.

1. Oleksandr Usyk

Previous Ranking: No. 1
Record: 22-0, 14 KOs
Division: Heavyweight (Unified Champion)
Last Fight: Win (SD12) vs. Tyson Fury, May 18
Next Fight: December 21 vs. Tyson Fury

2. Terence Crawford

Previous Ranking: No. 2
Record: 40-0, 31 KOs
Division: Junior Middleweight (Champion)
Last Fight: Win (UD12) vs. Israil Madrimov, August 3
Next Fight: To Be Announced

3. Naoya Inoue

Previous Ranking: Tied for No. 2
Record: 28-0, 25 KOs
Division: Junior Featherweight (Undisputed Champion)
Last Fight: Win (TKO7) vs. Luis TJ Doheny, September 3
Next Fight: January 24 vs. Sam Goodman

4. Artur Beterbiev

Previous Ranking: No. 6
Record: 21-0, 20 KOs
Division: Light Heavyweight (Undisputed Champion)
Last Fight: Win (MD12) vs. Dmitry Bivol, October 12
Next Fight: February 22 vs. Dmitry Bivol

5. Canelo Alvarez

Previous Ranking: No. 5
Record: 62-2-2, 39 KOs
Division: Super Middleweight (Unified Champion)
Last Fight: Win (UD12) vs. Edgar Berlanga, September 14
Next Fight: To Be Announced

6. Dmitry Bivol

Previous Ranking: No. 4
Record: 23-1, 12 KOs
Division: Light Heavyweight
Last Fight: Loss (MD12) vs. Artur Beterbiev, October 12
Next Fight: February 22 vs. Artur Beterbiev

7. Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez

Previous Ranking: No. 7
Record: 21-0, 14 KOs
Division: Junior Bantamweight (Champion)
Last Fight: Win (TKO3) vs. Pedro Guevara, November 9
Next Fight: To Be Announced

8. Gervonta Davis

Previous Ranking: No. 8
Record: 30-0, 28 KOs
Division: Lightweight (Champion)
Last Fight: Win (KO8) vs. Frank Martin, June 15
Next Fight: March 1 vs. Lamont Roach

9. Shakur Stevenson

Previous Ranking: No. 9
Record: 22-0, 10 KOs
Division: Lightweight (Champion)
Last Fight: Win (UD12) vs. Artem Harutyunyan, July 6
Next Fight: February 22 vs. Floyd Schofield

10. Junto Nakatani

Previous Ranking: Not Ranked
Record: 29-0, 22 KOs
Division: Bantamweight (Champion)
Last Fight: Win (TKO6) vs. Tasana Salapat, October 14
Next Fight: To Be Announced

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Ranking Methodology

The rankings are determined using a descending points system:

• A first-place vote earns 10 points, a second-place vote earns 9 points, and so forth.
• In the event of a tie, preference is given to the fighter with the higher individual ranking, followed by the one receiving the most votes at that position.