Tyson Fury looked impressive once again on Saturday, dominating Dillian Whyte in a sixth-round TKO victory in front of 94,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London.
Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) said after the fight that “I think this is it. This might be the final curtain for ‘The Gypsy King.’ And what a way to go out!” But this is boxing, an until he officially retires, he’s still eligible to be ranked and according to our panel, he’s now the highest-ranked heavyweight on the list, leapfrogging fellow champion Oleksandr Usyk to take the No. 5 spot.
ESPN boxing writer Mike Coppinger, who ranks Fury at No. 2 on his list, said Canelo Alvarez is undeniably deserving of the top ranking, but he believes the five spots behind him are truly interchangeable.
“Fury looks like the second-best fighter on the planet, a peerless heavyweight who can do it all,” Coppinger said. “He shouldn’t be penalized for being a big man. If Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. finally meet later this year, the winner should emerge as the No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer, but for now is Fury.”
And while his performance was flawless for some, others believe Whyte wasn’t a top level opponent, even as a WBC mandatory challenger, to warrant a higher spot for Fury on their lists.
“I understand the impulse to jump and move him up, and I’m sure many will. But while I also consider Fury’s performance, I also gauge it on the quality of the opponent, and Whyte was and gave as inept an effort as one could,” Hall of Fame trainer and boxing analyst Teddy Atlas said of his decision to keep him Fury at No. 7 on his list. “Fury is not a better pound-for-pound fighter than those I have ahead of him.”
Our panel of Coppinger, Andre Ward, Timothy Bradley Jr., Joe Tessitore, Michael Rothstein, Atlas, Nick Parkinson, Ben Baby, Eric Raskin, Eric Woodyard, Michelle Joy Phelps, Claudia Trejos, Kel Dansby, Bernardo Pilatti, Charles Moynihan and Salvador Rodriguez share their votes.
More rankings: Divisional rankings and ESPN’s women’s pound-for-pound rankings.
Note: Results are through April 27.
1. CANELO ALVAREZ 
Previous ranking: No. 1
RECORD: 57-1-2, 39 KOs
DIVISION: Super middleweight (undisputed champion)
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO11) Caleb Plant, Nov. 6
NEXT FIGHT: May 7 vs. Dmitry Bivol
2. TERENCE CRAWFORD Previous ranking: No. 2
RECORD: 38-0, 29 KOs
DIVISION: Welterweight (champion)
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO10) Shawn Porter, Nov. 20
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
3. NAOYA INOUE Previous ranking: No. 3
RECORD: 22-0, 19 KOs
DIVISION: Bantamweight (unified champion)
LAST FIGHT: W (KO8) Aran Dipaen, Dec. 14
NEXT FIGHT: June 7 vs. Nonito Donaire
4. ERROL SPENCE JR. Previous ranking: No. 4
RECORD: 28-0, 22 KOs
DIVISION: Welterweight (unified champion)
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO10) Yordenis Ugas, April 16
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
5. TYSON FURY 
Previous ranking: No. 6
RECORD: 32-0-1, 23 KOs
DIVISION: Heavyweight (champion)
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO6) Dillian Whyte, April 23
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
6. OLEKSANDR USYK 
Previous ranking: No. 5
RECORD: 19-0, 13 KOs
DIVISION: Heavyweight (unified champion)
LAST FIGHT: W (UD12) Anthony Joshua, Sept. 25
NEXT FIGHT: July 23 vs. Anthony Joshua
7. VASILIY LOMACHENKO Previous ranking: No. 7
RECORD: 16-2, 11 KOs
DIVISION: Lightweight
LAST FIGHT: W (UD12) Richard Commey, Dec. 11
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
8. JUAN FRANCISCO ESTRADA Previous ranking: No. 8
RECORD: 42-3, 28 KOs
DIVISION: Junior bantamweight (unified champion)
LAST FIGHT: W (SD12) Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, March 13, 2021
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
9. JOSH TAYLOR Previous ranking: No. 9
RECORD: 19-0, 13 KOs
DIVISION: Junior welterweight (undisputed champion)
LAST FIGHT: W (SD12) Jack Catterall, Feb. 26
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
10. GERVONTA DAVIS Previous ranking: 9
RECORD: 26-0, 24 KOs
DIVISION: Lightweight (titlist)
LAST FIGHT: W (UD12) Isaac Cruz, Dec. 5
NEXT FIGHT: May 28 vs. Rolando Romero
The formula
The rankings are based on a descending points system, with a first-place vote receiving 10 points, a second-place vote receiving nine points and so on. A tie goes to the fighter with the highest ranking and then the one with the most votes at that ranking.
Others receiving votes: George Kambosos Jr. (14), Artur Beterbiev (9), Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (7), Gennadiy Golovkin (5), Jermell Charlo (2), Stephen Fulton (2), Teofimo Lopez (1), Shakur Stevenson (1).
How our writers voted
Atlas: 1. Crawford, 2. Alvarez, 3. Inoue, 4. Usyk, 5. Spence, 6. Lomachenko, 7. Fury, 8. Davis, 9. Estrada, 10. Beterbiev
Bradley: 1. Crawford, 2. Alvarez, 3. Spence, 4. Usyk, 5. Inoue, 6. Fury, 7. Lomachenko, 8. Kambosos, 9. Davis, 10. Taylor
Ward: 1. Crawford, 2. Alvarez, 3. Fury, 4. Spence, 5. Usyk, 6. Inoue, 7. Lomachenko, 8. Estrada, 9. Taylor, 10. Davis
Coppinger: 1. Alvarez, 2. Fury, 3. Crawford, 4. Spence, 5. Inoue, 6. Usyk, 7. Lomachenko, 8. Gonzalez, 9. Estrada, 10. Beterbiev
Tessitore: 1. Crawford, 2. Alvarez, 3. Inoue, 4. Usyk, 5. Lomachenko, 6. Spence, 7. Fury, 8. Estrada, 9. Taylor, 10. Stevenson
Parkinson: 1. Alvarez, 2. Crawford, 3. Inoue, 4. Fury, 5. Spence, 6. Usyk, 7. Kambosos, 8. Lomachenko, 9. Estrada, 10. Gonzalez
Baby: 1. Alvarez, 2. Crawford, 3. Usyk, 4. Inoue, 5. Spence, 6. Fury, 7. Estrada, 8. Lomachenko, 9. Fulton, 10. Davis
Rothstein: 1. Alvarez, 2. Crawford, 3. Inoue, 4. Fury, 5. Spence, 6. Usyk, 7. Lomachenko, 8. Davis, 9. Estrada, 10. Kambosos
Woodyard: 1. Alvarez, 2. Crawford, 3. Fury, 4. Spence, 5. Inoue, 6. Usyk, 7. Lomachenko, 8. Taylor, 9. Davis, 10. Kambosos
Phelps: 1. Alvarez, 2. Spence, 3. Crawford, 4. Inoue, 5. Usyk, 6. Taylor, 7. Fury, 8. Kambosos, 9. Charlo, 10. Lopez
Dansby: 1. Alvarez, 2. Usyk, 3. Crawford, 4. Spence, 5. Fury, 6. Inoue, 7. Lomachenko, 8. Davis, 9. Beterbiev, 10. Kambosos
Moynihan: 1. Alvarez, 2. Spence, 3. Crawford, 4. Inoue, 5. Fury, 6. Usyk, 7. Lomachenko, 8. Golovkin, 9. Estrada, 10. Kambosos
Pilatti: 1. Crawford, 2. Spence, 3. Inoue, 4. Alvarez, 5. Fury, 6. Lomachenko, 7. Estrada, 8. Usyk, 9. Davis, 10. Taylor
Rodriguez: 1. Alvarez, 2. Fury, 3. Crawford, 4. Inoue, 5. Spence, 6. Usyk, 7. Lomachenko, 8. Taylor, 9. Golovkin, 10. Estrada
ESPN experts’ poll
First place: Alvarez (11), Crawford (5)
Second place: Crawford (5), Alvarez (4), Spence (3), Fury (2), Usyk (2)
Third place: Inoue (6), Crawford (5), Fury (3), Spence (1), Usyk (1)
Fourth place: Spence (5), Inoue (4), Usyk (3), Fury (2), Alvarez (1), Crawford (1)
Fifth place: Spence (5), Inoue (4), Fury (4), Usyk (2), Lomachenko (1)
Sixth place: Usyk (7), Inoue (2), Fury (2), Lomachenko (2), Taylor (2), Spence (1)
Seventh place: Lomachenko (9), Fury (3), Estrada (2), Kambosos (1), Beterbiev (1)
Eighth place: Davis (3), Lomachenko (2), Estrada (2), Taylor (2), Kambosos (2), Gonzalez (2), Spence (1), Usyk (1), Golovkin (1)
Ninth place: Estrada (6), Davis (3), Taylor (2), Lomachenko (1), Golovkin (1), Fulton (1), Beterbiev (1), Jermell Charlo (1)
10th place: Kambosos (4), Beterbiev (3), Estrada (2), Taylor (2), Davis (2), Gonzalez (1), Stevenson (1), Lopez (1)