In 2021, boxing was as hot as it gets, with nearly every member of the pound-for-pound ranks stepping into the ring at least once. Over the course of a year, major names like Canelo Alvarez, Tyson Fury, and Anthony Joshua all competed at the top levels of the sport.

All eyes are now on 2022, with the expectation of even greater activity in each of the sport’s spectacular divisions. After unifying all four belts at 168 pounds, the largest start and P4P No. 1 has a lot of alternatives for his next bout. Could we see anything similar in the heavyweight category this year when Oleksandr Usyk stunned Anthony Joshua, with Fury waiting in the background?

The lightweight category, however, saw its own upheaval at the top when George Kambosos stunned Teofimo Lopez Jr. to win the unified titles at 135 pounds. Now, everyone from Lopez to Devin Haney to Vasiliy Lomachenko, the former unified champion, is aiming to take on the Australian next and win gold.

The most recent Pound for Pound rankings update, which occurred following Josh Taylor’s dubious victory over Jack Catterall in February, may be seen here.

Pound-for-Pound Rankings

1. Canelo Alvarez (57-1-2, 38 KOs) Undisputed super middleweight champion (57-1-2, 38 KOs) | Previous ranking: No. 1

The greatest in the world continues to improve in some way. By defeating the unbeaten Caleb Plant, Alvarez became the first undisputed monarch at 168 pounds.

2. WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford (37-0, 27 KOs) | Previous ranking: No. 2

Crawford’s detractors can no longer argue that he has yet to meet a top fighter in the 147-pound category.

Unified bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (19-0, 17 KOs) | Previous ranking: No. 3

3. Inoue, the “Monster” from Japan, ended the year with a stay-busy knockout in his homeland.

4. Errol Spence Jr. | Previous ranking: No. 4 | Unified welterweight champion (27-0, 21 KOs)

Spence was forced to withdraw from a PPV bout against Manny Pacquiao in August due to surgery for a detached retina, raising questions about the 31-year-future.

5. Lightweight Vasiliy Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) | Previous ranking: No. 7

Despite an unexpected setback against Teofimo Lopez Jr. the previous year, Lomachenko spent his time in 2021 reassuring admirers of his excellence.

6. WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (31-0-1, 23 KOs) | Previous ranking: 5

In a stunning 11th-round knockout of Deontay Wilder in their trilogy match, “The Gypsy King” returned after a nearly two-year hiatus to rise twice from the canvas.

7. Unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) | Previous ranking: No. 6

In London, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion upset the apple cart by comfortably defeating Anthony Joshua.

8. WBO junior lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs) | Previous ranking: No. 9

When he stopped Jamel Herring in October to win the 130-pound championship, the two-division champion delivered the breakthrough performance his skill had been teasing.