Two-time welterweight champion Shawn Porter has weighed in with his picks for the very best fighters on the planet.
Porter won fans worldwide for his aggressive fighting style, favouring pressure and a high work-rate to overwhelm opponents. He hung up the gloves with 31 wins, four losses and one draw.
With stellar match-ups throughout the weight classes, 2023 has caused many an opinion to shift on the best boxers in the sport. Despite saying he ‘hates the pound-for-pound rankings’, Porter revealed his list to be the following:
- Terence Crawford
- Naoya Inoue
- Oleksandr Usyk
- Gervonta Davis
- Dmitry Bivol
Crawford – a former opponent of Porter’s – at number one comes as no surprise.
His one-sided win over Errol Spence Jr in what was billed as a pick ’em fight not only gave him the undisputed welterweight title, but the fame and respect many felt he deserved before the fight in a career that has seen him champion at lightweight and undisputed at super-lightweight.
Inoue, or ‘The Monster’, is also a regular feature on these lists, and world titles in four divisions alongside an incredible knockout ratio for a smaller man explains why. He’s expected to go for undisputed at super-bantamweight next.
Usyk vacated his four belts at cruiserweight to have a crack in the sport’s top division, and won the unified titles from Anthony Joshua in just his third fight. The elite Ukrainian has retained them in a rematch and defended them against Daniel Dubois since as he searches for an elusive undisputed bout with Tyson Fury.
‘Tank’ Davis kicked the year off with a career-best win over Ryan Garcia, although his momentum was halted by a prison stint a month later. He’ll likely look to pick up a lightweight world title in 2024.
And finally Bivol – who had the strongest case for Fighter of the Year in 2022 following wins over Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez and Gilberto Ramirez – hasn’t been out in 2023 at all. The WBC Light-Heavyweight champion is expected to defend his title soon, potentially against Lyndon Arthur.