Pound-for-pound lists in the sport of boxing rank the best fighters regardless of weight class, and present a never-ending debate as to who should be included and on what merit.
Worldwide record keeper of boxing, BoxRec, is a respected platform used by fans of the sport on a daily basis to keep track of fighters and their records.
A key feature on the site is their independent, non-biased rankings that are collated with an algorithm to calculate each division’s top fighters, as well as an overall pound-for-pound list.
Those rankings have been updated, and contain just one Brit – and it’s not the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world, Tyson Fury.
Following Leigh Wood’s vacation of the WBA Featherweight Title, Great Britain boasts just four male world champions and Fury’s inactivity over the last eighteen months, where he has fought only Derek Chisora, seems to have cost him his place in these pound-for-pound rankings.
IBF Flyweight title-holder Sunny Edwards’ much-craved fight with Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez does not take place until December, and a win will likely see ‘Showtime’ skyrocket up the rankings.
The United Kingdom crowned two new world champions in 2023, as Joe Cordina won back his IBF Super-Featherweight Title in April, defeating Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov by split-decision, after being stripped of the belt towards the end of 2022.
Meanwhile, Chris Billam-Smith had a fairytale win in his hometown of Bournemouth, upsetting the odds to defeat former sparring partner, Lawrence Okolie.
However, none of those four men are deemed worthy by the algorithm to make BoxRec’s pound-for-pound top ten. Instead, it favours Chris Eubank Jr, who is ranked at #9 after he knocked out Liam Smith in their rematch back in September, avenging the first stoppage loss of his career.
Eubank is yet to win a recognised major world title, but he may get a second shot at it next year, almost six years on from his unsuccessful challenge against George Groves.
First he’s rumoured to face Conor Benn in December, before he can contemplate taking on Zhanibek Alimkhanuly, who is flirting with the idea of fighting the Brit.