Boxing

Canelo Alvarez Plummets Down Pound-For-Pound Rankings After Terence Crawford Loss

Canelo Alvarez's recent loss to Terence Crawford has greatly impacted his pound-for-pound ranking.
Grant Young|
IMAGO / Hoganphotos

Canelo Alvarez received a lot of criticism for his fight against William Scull back in May of this year.

While Canelo cruised to an easy unanimous decision victory that earned him the IBF super middleweight belt and made him the unified champion in the weight class, the Mexican legend was called out for putting on a boring fight.

Scull also received a good deal of criticism because he stayed on his bike and was very hesitant to engage with Canelo. And since Canelo wasn't going to go out of his way to put himself in danger for the sake of entertainment, this bout ended up with both guys staring at each other and moving in a circle for most of the 12 rounds.

This mediocre showing was one reason why fans were worried about Canelo's fight against Terence Crawford, which was finalized in the wake of that Scull win. Crawford was sure to put on a better performance than Scull, and fans were unsure how Canelo would be able to respond.

Of course, these concerns were warranted, because the boxing world saw Crawford dominate Canelo over 12 rounds on September 13.

Canelo Alvarez (black/gold trunks) and Terence Crawford (black/red trunks) box on September 13, 2025
Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

These last two performances Canelo has produced (three, if you include the lackluster win against Edgar Berlanga in September 2024) have made it clear that he's no longer the pound-for-pound great fighter that he once was. And this has been reflected in Ring Magazine's recent pound-for-pound rankings.

Canelo Alvarez Drops Several Spots in New Ring Pound-for-Pound Rankings

Ring Magazine is seen as the best ranking platform because they aren't beholden to a specific sanctioning organization such as the WBO, WBC, WBA, and IBF. Therefore, they can produce unbiased rankings that include every fighter in an available weight class, as well as a pound-for-pound ranking.

Ring released their new pound-for-pound rankings a few days after Canelo vs. Crawford, and Canelo dropped two spots, from No. 8 to No. 10. Therefore, he's almost off the pound-for-pound rankings altogether.

MORE: Terence Crawford Welcomed Back To The Super Welterweight Division By 154 Pound Champion

While dropping two spots might not sound like a plummet, Canelo's ranking has been in freefall for over a year, as he was No. 4 on the rankings last July.

Canelo has been a mainstay in Ring's top-10 pound-for-pound ranking since May 2013, and held the No. 1 spot from November 2019 to May 2022. However, it seems likely that Canelo might be removed from the rankings entirely over the next couple of months if this continue to go as they have.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.