Teofimo Lopez Jr.’s spectacular victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko earned him his first journey into ESPN’s pound-for-pound prime 10.
“The Takeover” won a unanimous decision over Lomachenko to remain unbeaten. With the victory, Lopez unified the IBF, WBO and WBA world titles and the WBC “franchise” belt.
The win places Lopez, 23, in good firm, as he turns into the second-youngest boxer in historical past to win a 3rd divisional belt (Mike Tyson holds the document, at 21 years, 37 days outdated in August 1987).
ESPN boxing commentator Joe Tessitore has Lopez at No. 2 in his checklist and famous that it is time to reward fighters for taking — and successful — the hardest fights.
“I very a lot knew this might get folks’s consideration and hassle folks, by me placing Lopez at No. 2,” Tessitore stated. “I imagine boxing wants an enormous paradigm shift, and Teofimo Lopez simply delivered a sledgehammer blow to begin creating that shift. We should reward ends in boxing, not simply standing. One of the best fighters combating the most effective fighters on the proper time must be rewarded tremendously. Teofimo Lopez has essentially the most important present win within the sport — that is plain.
“Pound-for-pound is a nebulous, unusual combine of varied subjective measurements, however I imagine, at the moment on today, that if all people was on the similar weight, and I thought-about talent, outcomes, physique of labor, I would have extra cause to justify Crawford, Lopez, Inoue as the highest three, though others past Lopez could be extra established and have an extended résumé.
“I clearly perceive that my vote is an outlier, however we have now to begin rewarding and valuing massive wins at massive instances, not simply sustaining promotional or fan’s perceived standing.”
Former two-division champion and ESPN boxing analyst Timothy Bradley Jr., who voted Lopez at No. 3, believes Lopez earned the suitable to be as excessive on his checklist.
“It was a historic occasion for each males Saturday night time, and the one which persevered was a younger 23-year-old with simply 16 skilled fights,” Bradley stated. “In having restricted massive battle expertise in addition to making his first title protection towards arguably the most effective pound-for-pound boxer on the planet, Lopez confirmed the world that he’s past his years in talent, psychological toughness and supreme confidence. Subsequently, the brand new multi-belt holder deserves to be at No. 3, in my view.”
ESPN author Cameron Wolfe’s clarification for voting Lopez at No. 5 may be very clear: Lopez’s win over Lomachenko might be the most effective victory that anybody on this pound-for-pound checklist has had lately.
“His win over Lomachenko, coupled together with his early KO of Richard Commey again in December, earns Lopez a top-five spot in my pound-for-pound checklist,” Wolfe stated. “His résumé is not as deep as others on this checklist but, which is why he is not increased, however extra wins whereas taking these type of challenges may assist Lopez problem Crawford for the highest spot inside a 12 months or two.
“Lopez’s time is now, and his subsequent milestone might be changing into pound-for-pound finest. He is far more than only a energy puncher. Lopez is exhibiting a willingness to take extraordinarily dangerous fights early in his profession and never fear about defending his document, which is one thing boxing has been severely missing in.”
Showtime boxing analysts Eric Raskin was tempted to place Lopez increased than his remaining No. 4 spot however defined why he determined to carry that thought — for now.
“We now have a little bit of a conundrum atop the pound-for-pound checklist proper now, with no one forcefully staking a declare to No. 1,” Raskin stated. “Crawford hasn’t been combating elite opposition the previous couple of years, Canelo is solely inactive proper now, and Inoue most just lately struggled greater than anticipated in his win over Nonito Donaire. Nonetheless, I am unable to fairly place Lopez forward of any of them, as his monitor document is extraordinarily restricted.
“You can make a case for putting Spence above Lopez, however I lean towards Lopez, given the distinctive potential of the fighter he simply defeated (cleanly, in my opinion, eight rounds to 4). In pound-for-pound rankings, beating ‘the person’ would not routinely make you ‘the person.’ It isn’t a lineal title. It is based mostly on a mix of accomplishment and perceived potential, with an emphasis on latest performances, and for me, that each one provides as much as No. 4 — for now — for Lopez.”
Our ESPN panel members — Bradley, Tessitore, Wolfe, Raskin, Andre Ward, Teddy Atlas, Steve Kim, Nick Parkinson, Ben Child, Bernardo Pilatti, Charles Moynihan and Salvador Rodriguez — share their lists.
Do not forget to take a look at our divisional rankings, that are up to date weekly, and ESPN’s women’s pound-for-pound rankings.
For a listing of the present champions in all weight lessons, click here.
Observe: Outcomes are by means of Thursday, Oct. 20.
1. TERENCE CRAWFORD 
Earlier rating: No. 2
RECORD: 36-0, 27 KOs
DIVISION: Welterweight (titlist)
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO9) Egidijus Kavaliauskas, Dec. 14
NEXT FIGHT: Nov. 14 vs. Kell Brook
2. CANELO ALVAREZ Earlier rating: No. 3
RECORD: 53-1-2, 36 KOs
DIVISION: Middleweight (champion), tremendous middleweight (“common” titlist)
LAST FIGHT: W (KO11) Sergey Kovalev, Nov. 2
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
3. NAOYA INOUE Earlier rating: No. 4
RECORD: 19-0, 16 KOs
DIVISION: Bantamweight (unified titlist)
LAST FIGHT: W (UD12) Nonito Donaire, Nov. 7
NEXT FIGHT: Oct. 31 vs. Jason Moloney
4. ERROL SPENCE JR. Earlier rating: No. 5
RECORD: 26-0, 21 KOs
DIVISION: Welterweight (unified titlist)
LAST FIGHT: W (SD12) Shawn Porter, Sept. 28
NEXT FIGHT: Dec. 5 vs. Danny Garcia
5. TEOFIMO LOPEZ JR. Earlier rating: NOT RANKED
RECORD: 16-0, 12 KOs
DIVISION: Light-weight (unified champion)
LAST FIGHT: W (UD12) Vasiliy Lomachenko, Oct. 17
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
6. VASILIY LOMACHENKO 
Earlier rating: No. 1
RECORD: 14-2, 10 KOs
DIVISION: Light-weight
LAST FIGHT: L (UD12) Teofimo Lopez Jr., Oct. 17
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
7. OLEKSANDR USYK Earlier rating: No. 6
RECORD: 17-0, 13 KOs
DIVISION: Heavyweight
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO7) Chazz Witherspoon, Oct. 12
NEXT FIGHT: Oct. 31 vs. Dereck Chisora
8. TYSON FURY Earlier rating: No. 7
RECORD: 30-0-1, 21 KOs
DIVISION: Heavyweight (champion)
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO7) Deontay Wilder, Feb. 22
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
9. JUAN FRANCISCO ESTRADA Earlier rating: No. 8
RECORD: 40-3, 27 KOs
DIVISION: Junior bantamweight (champion)
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO9) Dewayne Beamon, Aug. 24
NEXT FIGHT: Oct. 23 vs. Carlos Cuadras
10. GENNADIY GOLOVKIN Earlier rating: No. 9
RECORD: 40-1-1, 35 KOs
DIVISION: Middleweight (titlist)
LAST FIGHT: W (UD12) Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Oct. 5, 2019
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
The components
The rankings are based mostly on a descending factors system, with a first-place vote receiving 10 factors, a second-place vote receiving 9 factors and so forth. A tie goes to the fighter with the best rating after which the one with essentially the most votes at that rating.
Others receiving votes: Manny Pacquiao (12), Artur Beterbiev (6), Josh Taylor (3), Jermall Charlo (3), Mikey Garcia (2), Miguel Berchelt (1)
How our writers voted
Atlas: 1. Crawford, 2. Alvarez, 3. Inoue, 4. Lomachenko, 5. Spence, 6. Usyk, 7. Pacquiao, 8. Lopez, 9. Beterbiev, 10. Fury
Bradley: 1. Crawford, 2. Alvarez, 3. Lopez, 4. Inoue, 5. Fury, 6. Spence, 7. Usyk, 8. Lomachenko, 9. Pacquiao, 10. Beterbiev
Ward: 1. Crawford, 2. Alvarez, 3. Fury, 4. Usyk, 5. Inoue, 6. Spence, 7. Lopez, 8. Lomachenko, 9. Estrada, 10. Beterbiev
Tessitore: 1. Crawford, 2. Lopez, 3. Inoue, 4. Lomachenko, 5. Alvarez, 6. Spence, 7. Usyk, 8. Charlo, 9. Fury, 10. Berchelt
Kim: 1. Inoue, 2. Crawford, 3. Alvarez, 4. Usyk, 5. Lopez, 6. Lomachenko, 7. Estrada, 8. Spence, 9. Golovkin, 10. Fury
Parkinson: 1. Alvarez, 2. Crawford, 3. Inoue, 4. Fury, 5. Lopez, 6. Usyk, 7. Lomachenko, 8. Spence, 9. Golovkin, 10. Taylor
Child: 1. Alvarez, 2. Crawford, 3. Spence, 4. Inoue, 5. Fury, 6. Usyk, 7. Lopez, 8. Lomachenko, 9. Beterbiev, 10. Golovkin
Wolfe: 1. Crawford, 2. Alvarez, 3. Spence, 4. Inoue, 5. Lopez, 6. Fury, 7. Usyk, 8. Lomachenko, 9. Golovkin, 10. Pacquiao
Raskin: 1. Crawford, 2. Alvarez, 3. Inoue, 4. Lopez, 5. Lomachenko, 6. Spence, 7. Estrada, 8. Fury, 9. Taylor, 10. Pacquiao
Moynihan: 1. Crawford, 2. Spence, 3. Alvarez, 4. Inoue, 5. Usyk, 6. Golovkin, 7. Lopez, 8. Lomachenko, 9. Garcia, 10. Fury
Pilatti: 1. Inoue, 2. Lomachenko, 3. Spence, 4. Crawford, 5. Lopez, 6. Alvarez, 7. Golovkin, 8. Estrada, 9. Pacquiao, 10. Fury
Rodriguez: 1. Canelo, 2. Crawford, 3. Inoue, 4. Usyk, 5. Spence, 6. Fury, 7. Lopez, 8. Estrada, 9. Lomachenko, 10. Pacquiao
ESPN specialists’ ballot
First place: Crawford (7), Alvarez (3), Inoue (2)
Second place: Alvarez (5), Crawford (4), Spence (1), Lopez (1), Lomachenko (1)
Third place: Inoue (5), Spence (3), Alvarez (2), Lopez (1), Fury (1)
Fourth place: Inoue (4), Usyk (3), Lomachenko (2), Crawford (1), Lopez (1), Fury (1)
Fifth place: Lopez (4), Spence (2), Fury (2), Alvarez (1), Inoue (1), Lomachenko (1), Usyk (1)
Sixth place: Spence (4), Usyk (3), Fury (2), Alvarez (1), Lomachenko (1), Golovkin (1)
Seventh place: Lopez (4), Usyk (3), Estrada (2), Lomachenko (1), Golovkin (1), Pacquiao (1)
Eighth place: Lomachenko (5), Spence (2), Estrada (2), Lopez (1), Fury (1), Charlo (1)
Ninth place: Pacquiao (3), Golovkin (2), Beterbiev (2), Lomachenko (1), Fury (1), Estrada (1), Taylor (1), Garcia (1)
tenth place: Fury (4), Golovkin (2), Pacquiao (2), Beterbiev (2), Taylor (1), Berchelt (1)
