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Pound-for-pound: Action will pick up in a big way beginning on April 20

Michael Rosenthal
·2 min read
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That’s crickets you’re hearing when it comes to the pound-for-pound scene.

None of the 20 fighter’s on Boxing Junkie’s list — Nos. 1-15 and five Honorable Mentions — is scheduled to step into the ring until April 20, when No. 10 Devin Haney will defend his 140-pound title against Ryan Garcia in Las Vegas.

The action picks up in a big way at that point, however. Between April 20 and June 1 — a span of only five-plus weeks — seven pound-for-pounders are scheduled to fight.

They are No. 2 Naoya Inoue, No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk, No. 4 Dmitry Bivol, No. 9 Tyson Fury, Haney, No. 12 Artur Beterbiev and No. 14 Vasiliy Lomachenko (see below for details).

That number could grow. No. 6 Canelo Alvarez is expected to fight on May 4, although no opponent has been announced. And Honorable Mention David Benavidez is in talks to face 175-pounder Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June.

And who knows what other matchups involving the best of the best might emerge?

Yes, the lack of activity at the moment is disappointing. However, patience will pay dividends. The biggest stars in the sport are in the gym as you read this preparing to perform.

Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 10 Devin Haney is scheduled to defend his WBC 140-pound title against Ryan Garcia on April 20 on pay-per-view from Las Vegas.

Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.

  2. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to defend his undisputed 122-pound championship against Luis Nery on May 6 in Japan.

  3. Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to face No. 9 Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.

  4. Dmitry Bivol – Scheduled to face No. 12 Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed 175-pound championship on June 1 in Saudi Arabia.

  5. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.

  6. Canelo Alvarez – No fight scheduled.

  7. Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.

  8. Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.

  9. Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.

  10. Devin Haney– Scheduled to defend his WBC 140-pound title against Ryan Garcia on April 20 in Las Vegas.

  11. Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez – No fight scheduled.

  12. Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to face No. 4 Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed 175-pound championship on June 1 in Saudi Arabia.

  13. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.

  14. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Scheduled to face George Kambosos Jr. for the vacant IBF 135-pound title May 12 in Australia.

  15. Shakur Stevenson– No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (has agreed to fight 175-pounder Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June but no deal is in place); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (no fight scheduled); Teofimo Lopez (no fight scheduled).

Story originally appeared on Boxing Junkie