By Dan Ambrose: Undisputed 154-lb champion Jermell Charlo’s trainer Derrick James says Canelo Alvarez shouldn’t be on Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound list after his loss to WBA 175-lb champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7th.
What bothers Derrick is that Canelo has been given a #5 spot in Ring’s pound-for-pound top 10, whereas his fighter Jermell is rated below him at #9 on the list after capturing the undisputed championship at 154 against Brian Castano last May.
As far as James is concerned, Canelo’s loss to Bivol makes him “non-list worthy” because he found his ceiling as a fighter.
James says the ONLY reason Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KOs) is still undisputed champion at 168 is he didn’t put those belts on the line when he fought Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) last May.
Ring Magazine is likely keeping Canelo high on their list because of him recently becoming the undisputed champion at 168 last November.
However, many boxing fans don’t give Canelo credit for that accomplishment because the champions that he beat were a rag-tag bunch of paper champions and not quality guys.
The true killers at 168, David Benavidez and David Morrell Jr, Canelo chose not to fight. He went after these belts holders:
- Billy Joe Saunders – England
- Rocky Fielding – England
- Callum Smith – England
- Caleb Plant – Tennesse
That is a weak bunch of champions, this writer must confess. I don’t know how those flawed fighters ever captured world titles, but it shows you that it helps to have a good promoter pulling the strings.
“How can Canelo be on the pound-for-pound list and how can Lomachenko be on there with losses?” said Derrick James to Fighthype. “What is the basis for the pound-for-pound list?
Ring pound-for-pound list:
1. Naoya Inoue
2. Oleksandr Usyk
3. Terence Crawford
4. Errol Spence Jr
5. Canelo Alvarez
6. Vasiliy Lomachenko
7. Dmitry Bivol
8. Josh Taylor
9. Jermell Charlo
10. Artur Beterbiev
“What it is, it means these guys are so good that if they fought in any weight divisions, they would be champs. Canelo reached light heavyweight, so that means that was his limit, so he can’t be on the list because he lost [to Dmitry Bivo].
“Lomachenko lost three years ago, so how can he be on the list? He met his limit. His skill set is phenomenal, but if he gets up to whatever weight it was [135], he lost to a guy [Teofimo Lopez] in his weight division, and didn’t even try to move up. So he can’t be on the list. Those are two of Jermell Charlo’s spots.
“Jermell is undisputed. Canelo is undisputed because he didn’t put up the other belts [from 168 when he challenged WBA 175-lb champion Bivol]. Lomachenko is beltless.
“It’s not my opinion, it’s the truth. The pound-for-pound is a mythical ideal. If a fighter is so good, he fights at light heavyweight, cruiserweight, and heavyweight. He could be a champ. Well, Canelo met his match [against Bivol] at 175. He should not be on there [the pound-for-pound list] because he’s not list-worthy anymore,” said James.
