The results of boxing’s P4P rankings jury are in, and we have a THIRD new king in the space of the last month – astonishing times.
Going into May, it was welterweight superstar Terence Crawford (40-0) heading the rankings from the boxing bible that is Ring magazine.
DAZN: Sign up to watch Taylor vs Catterall 2 LIVE!
But then on May 6, the brilliant Japanese super-bantamweight star Naoya Inoue (27-0) claimed top spot by successfully defending his belts with a brilliant demolition job on Luis Nery in front of a soldout Tokyo Dome.
On Saturday night in Saudi we got the Trifecta as Oleksandr Usyk ascended the throne of P4P king after becoming the sport’s first undisputed world heavyweight champion in 25 years.
Usyk is boxing’s NEW P4P king
Usyk outpointed Tyson Fury in a thrilling encounter, turning round a fight he appeared to be losing conclusively seven rounds in. A big second half – including a crucial knockdown in Round 9 – saw him pull out a wafer-thin victory by split decision.
So not only does Usyk now hold the WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring, lineal and undisputed heavyweight titles, he now owns the title of P4P king. The former undisputed cruiserweight champion has ruled all in two divisions – quite incredible.
READ MORE: Fury vs Usyk punch stats reveal DECIDING factor in Riyadh thriller
With Usyk moving up from #3 in the latest Ring rankings, Inoue moves down to 2 with Crawford at 3. Then we have P4P cash cow ‘Canelo’ Alvarez at 4 with fearsome light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev at 5.
Beterbiev’s great rival at 175lbs – Dmitry Bivol – comes next 6 with former welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr at 7. Then it is big-hitting Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis at 8 with the list rounded out by U.S. prodigy Jesse Rodriguez and another Japanese star in Junto Nakatani.
P4P rankings May 2024
The latest Ring top 10 on May 20, 2024 looks like this:
- 1. Oleksandr Usyk (22-0)
- 2. Naoya Inoue (27-0)
- 3. Terence Crawford (40-0)
- 4. Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (61-2-2)
- 5. Artur Beterbiev (20-0)
- 6. Dmitry Bivol (22-0)
- 7. Errol Spence Jr (28-1)
- 8. Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (29-0)
- 9. Jesse Rodriguez (19-0)
- 10. Junto Nakatani (27-0)