{"id":479185,"date":"2026-02-16T21:01:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T21:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/479185\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T21:01:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T21:01:08","slug":"shakur-stevenson-is-among-boxings-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/479185\/","title":{"rendered":"Shakur Stevenson Is Among Boxing\u2019s Best"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the aftermath of Terence Crawford\u2019s abrupt retirement<\/a>, the question emerged: Who is No. 1? Crawford\u2019s win over Canelo \u00c1lvarez<\/a> last September solidified him\u2014temporarily at least\u2014as the top fighter in boxing with his retirement sparking debate over whether Oleksandr Usyk or Naoya Inoue deserved the top spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More interesting: Who\u2019s No. 3? Usyk and Inoue (or Inoue and Usyk) are 1\u20132 in virtually every pound-for-pound ranking. After that, it\u2019s debatable. Dmitry Bivol is well credentialed after his win over Artur Beterbiev last year, while Jesse \u201cBam\u201d Rodriguez has been rising the rankings as he has risen in weight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, last month Shakur Stevenson formally entered the discussions, after Stevenson scored a lopsided decision win over Teofimo Lopez<\/a>. Stevenson is the best defensive fighter since Floyd Mayweather and one of the slickest since Pernell Whittaker, as Lopez learned in New York. And after earning a title in a fourth weight class\u2014by beating the top fighter in that weight class, no less\u2014he has earned an argument to be in that mix.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Where did Stevenson fall? Here are Sports Illustrated\u2019s pound-for-pound rankings for February.\u00a0<\/p>\n

1. Oleksandr Usyk<\/p>\n

Record: 24\u20130
Last Rankings: 2
Last Fight: KO win Daniel Dubois
Next fight: TBD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Usyk\u2019s heavyweight reign rolled along last August<\/a> with a decisive win over Dubois that (temporarily) reestablished Usyk as the undisputed heavyweight champion. Usyk\u2019s heavyweight r\u00e9sum\u00e9 is impressive: two wins over Anthony Joshua, two over Tyson Fury and two over Dubois. Usyk, 38, relinquished one of his titles last fall but says he plans to fight on in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2. Naoya Inoue<\/p>\n

Record: 32\u20130
Last Rankings: 3
Last Fight: UD win David Picasso
Next fight: TBD<\/p>\n

No fighter was more prolific in 2025 than Inoue, who completed a flawless 4\u20130 calendar year with a lopsided decision win over Picasso in December. Inoue, 32, isn\u2019t the wrecking ball that he used to be\u2014his last two wins have come by decisions, and he was knocked down in a win over Ramon Cardenas last May\u2014but he\u2019s still the best blend of power and skill in the lower weight classes. An anticipated domestic showdown with Junto Nakatani looms this spring, after which the top U.S. name, Jesse Rodriguez, could be waiting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

3. Shakur Stevenson<\/p>\n

Record: 25\u20130
Last Rankings: 6
Last Fight: UD win Teofimo Lopez
Next fight: TBD<\/p>\n

Last month\u2019s win over Lopez was a masterclass, with Stevenson, 28, sticking Lopez with a stiff jab, leaping out of range of his counters and outclassing the top fighter at 140-pounds. Stevenson\u2019s skills are sublime, a blend of accuracy and defense not seen since Floyd Mayweather. Stevenson has yet to decide what weight class he will campaign in\u2014he challenged Conor Benn, a welterweight contender, after the win over Lopez and has been linked to a fight with Ryan Garcia<\/a>\u2014but whatever it is, Stevenson will be tough to beat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

4. Jesse Rodriguez<\/p>\n

Record: 23\u20130
Last Rankings: 3
Last Fight: KO win Fernando Martinez
Next fight: TBD<\/p>\n

Rodriguez\u2019s meteoric rise continued in Riyadh last November, with \u201cBam\u201d stopping Martinez to claim a third version of the 115-pound title. It was Rodriguez\u2019s fourth consecutive knockout since returning to the super flyweight division. Rodriguez has eyes on undisputed but his trainer, Robert Garcia, said if it doesn\u2019t happen early this year, Rodriguez would move to 118-pounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

5. Dmitry Bivol<\/p>\n

Record: 24\u20131
Last Rankings: 5
Last Fight: UD win Artur Beterbiev
Next fight: TBD<\/p>\n

Last February<\/a>, Bivol evened the score with Beterbiev, outpointing him in a rematch of boxing\u2019s top-two light heavyweights. Back surgery kept Bivol on the shelf the rest of the year and there are plans in place for him to defend his titles against mandatory challenger Michael Eifert this spring. There are big fights waiting after: Beterbiev is clamoring for a trilogy while David Benavidez has absorbed one of the belts that Bivol vacated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

6. Junto Nakatani\u00a0<\/p>\n

Record: 32\u20130
Last Rankings: 7
Last Fight: UD win Sebastian Hernandez
Next fight: TBD<\/p>\n

Nakatani made a successful debut at 122-pound last month, outpointing Hernandez to win a surprisingly competitive decision. The win ended Nakatani\u2019s five-fight knockout streak but it did preserve an anticipated showdown with Naoya Inoue in what would be the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history<\/p>\n

7. Devin Haney<\/p>\n

Record: 33\u20130
Last Rankings: 10
Last Fight: UD win Brian Norman Jr.
Next fight: TBD<\/p>\n

Last November, Haney, 27, rebounded from a lackluster win over Jose Ramirez in May to score a wide decision win over Norman Jr. The win established Haney as a three-division world champion and burnished his credentials as one of the 10 best fighters in the world. Haney continues to chase big fights with unified 154-pound champion Xander Zayas and former 135-pound titleholder Keyshawn Davis in his sights. The biggest fight though could be a rematch with Ryan Garcia<\/a>, who will get another crack at a welterweight title this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

8. Artur Beterbiev<\/p>\n

Record: 21\u20131
Last Rankings: 8
Last Fight: UD loss Dmitry Bivol
Next fight: TBD<\/p>\n

Bivol, 41, has been sidelined since last February<\/a>, when he dropped a rematch to Bivol. Beterbiev had hoped for an immediate rubber match but Bivol\u2019s back surgery sidelined him for the rest of the year. Beterbiev isn\u2019t as destructive as he was early in his career but he remains a relentless pressure fighter with knockout power in both hands. A trilogy fight with Bivol remains his top option for 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

9. David Benavidez\u00a0<\/p>\n

Record: 31\u20130
Last Rankings: 9
Last Fight: KO win Anthony Yarde
Next fight: TBD<\/p>\n

Benavidez, 29, continued to roll along last November, mowing down Anthony Yarde in a 175-pound title defense. Against Yarde, questions about Benavidez\u2019s power at light heavyweight were answered, with Benavidez picking up his first knockout in the weight class. His power will be tested again in his next fight, with Benavidez penciled in for a cruiserweight showdown with unified champion Gilberto Ramirez.\u00a0<\/p>\n

10. Canelo \u00c1lvarez<\/p>\n

Record: 63-3-2
Last Rankings: Not Ranked
Last Fight: UD loss Terence Crawford
Next fight: TBD<\/p>\n

Ironically, Crawford\u2019s retirement opened the door for \u00c1lvarez<\/a> to re-enter the rankings. \u00c1lvarez, 35, isn\u2019t as slick defensively as he was in the late 2010\u2019s and in recent wins he has been more content to cruise to decisions than go for stoppages. Still, \u00c1lvarez cleaned out the 168-pound division the last few years and was competitive with Crawford until Crawford stepped on the gas in the final rounds of the fight. His days of contending for the top spot are over but he\u2019s still good enough to be considered top 10.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

More Boxing on Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the aftermath of Terence Crawford\u2019s abrupt retirement, the question emerged: Who is No. 1? Crawford\u2019s win over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":479186,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,82],"class_list":["post-479185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}