Saturday’s superfight between Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Terence Crawford was made and will be contested with legacy in mind.
Two of the very best boxers of their generation collide in a clash that will weigh significantly in the final analysis when they hang up their gloves.
Can Crawford make a mockery of weight classes and, having reigned at lightweight a decade ago, jump after one fight at super welterweight to dethrone the undisputed super middleweight champion?
In every sense, Canelo has more to lose here. But a victory over a boxer as lavishly skilled as Crawford would do plenty to address the blemishes Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Dmitry Bivol placed on his otherwise impeccable resume.
As two of the best fighters of the modern era prepare to meet inside the squared circle, it’s as good a time as any to assess the greatest male boxers of the 21st century and where Canelo and Crawford sit within that mix.
Before we start, a quick note on the selection criteria. We’re judging fighters solely on their work from the year 2000 onwards, in terms of breadth and depth. Lennox Lewis, Roy Jones Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya are unquestionably among the finest boxers to have laced gloves this century, but they miss out on account of a significant number of their defining nights coming before the dawn of the millennium.
Anyway, dive in, enjoy, and tell us what we got wrong.
Best boxers of the 21st century, ranked: Sporting News’ list of top male fighters
21. Erik Morales
Professional record: 52-9 (36 KOs)
Titles won: WBC, WBO bantamweight; WBC featherweight; WBC, WBO featherweight, IBF super featherweight; WBC super lightweight
Morales ultimately discovered beating both Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera in their fighting primes might have been more trouble than it was worth. The Mexican hero lost the rematches and rubber fights with both men, but it ensured he was a key ingredient in arguably the most enduring fight series of the century. After his second KO loss to Pacquiao, ‘El Terrible’ fearlessly scaled the weight divisions, competing against the odds versus bigger men. His career record took a battering down the stretch as a result, but a victory over Pablo Cesar Cano to become a champion at 140 pounds was his reward.
20. Miguel Cotto
Professional record: 41-6 (33 KOs)
Titles won: WBO super lightweight; WBA, WBO welterweight; WBA super welterweight; WBC, WBO, Ring Magazine middleweight
Anyone who puts themselves in the conversation to be among the greatest boxers ever to hail from Puerto Rico is a truly special fighter. Cotto was a devastating wrecking ball at super lightweight and welterweight, claiming banner wins over Kelson Pinto, Ricardo Torres, Paulie Malignaggi, Zab Judah and Shane Mosley. But it was his responses to setbacks and a capacity for reinvention that truly elevated Cotto. After a sustained beating against Pacquiao, he gained sweet revenge over Antonio Margarito. He lost to Floyd Mayweather but gave ‘Money’ his hardest fight in years before an unlikely run up at middleweight, where a dismantling of the esteemed Sergio Martinez might rank as his finest hour.
19. Nonito Donaire
Professional record: 43-8 (28 KOs)
Titles won: IBF flyweight; WBC, WBA, WBO bantamweight; IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine super bantamweight; WBA featherweight
Donaire has reigned as a world champion across each decade of the century so far, his championship career launched in thrilling fashion when he iced Vic Darchinyan to be awarded Knockout of the Year and Upset of the Year by Ring Magazine in 2007. The ‘Filipino Flash’ dominated the lower weights until defeats to Guillermo Rigondeaux and Nicholas Walters in 2013 and 2014 appeared to spell the end of the road. Of course, he had other ideas, reigning once more at super bantamweight and bantamweight and giving Naoya Inoue the fight of his life in their initial 2019 encounter.
18. Wladimir Klitschko
Professional record: 64-5 (53 KOs)
Titles won: WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine heavyweight
The heavyweight era that Klitschko and his hulking brother Vitali ruled for more than a decade was far from vintage. However, Wladimir’s early career losses to Lamon Brewster, Corrie Sanders and Ross Puritty showed it did not take great fighters to bring the Ukrainian giant to the canvas. The fact that Klitschko remodelled his fighting style to disable the puncher’s change of a succession of challengers, becoming one of the most dominant heavyweight champions in history, stands as a truly remarkable triumph of mind over matter.
17. Tyson Fury
Professional record: 34-2-1 (24 KOs)
Titles won: WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine heavyweight
Fury’s victory over Klitschko in Dusseldorf in 2015, dealing him a first loss for 11 and a half years, is one of the most underrated of modern times — perhaps in part because the 12 rounds themselves, while masterful from Fury, did not set the pulse racing. But the main reason was Fury’s descent into physical and mental collapse and addiction issues. That became the unlikely foundation story for the Gypsy King’s redemption arc, one synonymous with his Deontay Wilder trilogy. His fearless brilliance in the second fight, when he walked down Wilder to completely disarm one of the hardest punchers in history, was a heavyweight performance that would stand tall in any era.
16. Marco Antonio Barrera
Professional record: 67-7 (44 KOs)
Titles won: WBO super bantamweight; WBC, Ring Magazine featherweight; WBC, IBF super featherweight
Barrera began the century with a defeat to Morales via split decision in an instant classic. Far from becoming embittered over that disputed loss, the ‘Baby Faced Assassin’ used it as fuel for an incredible run, during which he dethroned the imperious ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed, gained revenge over Morales and beat Johnny Tapia and Kevin Kelley before running into Pacquiao. Barerra rebounded by becoming WBC super featherweight king in his Morales rubber match.
15. Artur Beterbiev
Professional record: 21-1 (20 KOs)
Titles won: WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine light heavyweight
A ferocious, terrifying puncher, facing Beterbiev at his relentless peak must have felt like tangling with a human buzzsaw for the rest of a light heavyweight division that he reduced to woodchips. That was until he met his match in fellow Russian Dmitry Bivol, edging their first fight before coming out on the wrong end of a second decision. Fingers crossed for the trilogy encounter between two men who seem incapable of sharing a dull round.
Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing
14. Dmitry Bivol
Professional record: 24-1 (12 KOs)
Titles won: WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine light heavyweight
As in their two fights, Bivol and Beterbiev are hard to separate. However, Dmitry’s unshakable faith in his impeccable skills, even in the face of his rival’s murderous power, was something to behold. Let’s not forget his dominant win over Saul Alvarez at a time when Canelo was the consensus best fighter on the planet. Sure, Canelo “dared to be great” by stepping up to light heavyweight, but no one banked on Bivol doing such a convincing job on the Mexican hero.
13. Vasiliy Lomachenko
Professional record: 18-3 (12 KOs)
Titles won: WBO featherweight; WBO super featherweight; WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine lightweight
The best 18-3 record of all time. Lomachenko fought for a world title in his second fight, won one in his third and never contemplated a reverse gear from that point. His “No Mas-checko” era of forcing supreme combatants such as Nicholas Walters and Guillermo Rigondeaux to quit on their stools was one of utterly beguiling brilliance. Lomachenko could have settled into burnishing a reputation as one of the greatest featherweights and super featherweights in history, but he wanted a fast-track to greatness and ruled at lightweight against bigger, stronger fighters.
12. Gennadiy Golovkin
Professional record: 42-2-1 (37 KOs)
Titles won: WBC, WBA, IBF middleweight
Some question the overall level of Golovkin’s opposition, but just look at what he did to basically all of his middleweight contemporaries worth mentioning. He knocked them all out, compiling an astonishing run of 23 consecutive KOs that lasted almost a decade and ended with a points win over accomplished American Danny Jacobs in March 2017. Later that year, Golovkin finally got his hands on Canelo. It would be his defining rivalry, and GGG had every right to be aggrieved over their first contest being called a draw. The rematch could have gone either way but went to Canelo, and the Kazakh great was a faded force by the time the trilogy came around at 168 pounds.
11. Joe Calzaghe
Professional record: 46-0 (32 KOs)
Titles won: WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine super middleweight; Ring Magazine light heavyweight
A long-reigning WBO champion, the dazzlingly skilled and unorthodox Calzaghe was mockingly dubbed ‘Stay Home Joe’ by some American fans and commentators. Jeff Lacy came over to Manchester in 2006 with a fearsome reputation as a mini-Mike Tyson; he might have wished he had stayed at home as Calzaghe unfurled an unrelenting 12-round masterpiece. He then cleaned out the super-middleweight by battling past Mikkel Kessler in Cardiff before his adoring public. A final flourish in the US followed, as Calzaghe climbed off the canvas to beat Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. The Hopkins win has aged superbly.
10. Terence Crawford
Professional record: 41-0 (31 KOs)
Titles won: WBO, Ring Magazine lightweight; WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine super lightweight; WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine welterweight; WBA super welterweight
Crawford has been a flawless world-champion presence since he tackled a tough away day with ease in 2014, defeating Ricky Burns in Scotland to win the WBO lightweight belt. After two defences, ‘Bud’ stepped up to super lightweight and became the undisputed champion when he obliterated the previously undefeated Julius Indongo. Crawford’s subsequent welterweight run was hindered by a lack of regular activity and a frustrating wait to face off with Errol Spence. When he demolished his fellow American in 2023, those complaints felt a little churlish. Another title at another weight against Israil Madrimov is all that’s followed, but if Canelo goes the way of Crawford’s 41 other opponents, his claims to all-time greatness will be indisputable.
9. Andre Ward
Professional record: 32-0 (16 KOs)
Titles won: WBC, WBA, Ring Magazine super middleweight; WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine light heavyweight
This list does not lack for technically impeccable, undefeated American fighters. The inaugural Super Six series came along at the perfect time for Ward, who was able to box and resoundingly beat high-class rivals such as Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch. A comprehensive triumph over Chad Dawson followed, but there was an asterisk that the light heavyweight king had come down in weight to take on Ward. There could be no such criticism when Ward stepped up to take on the lethal Sergey Kovalev, getting off the canvas to pinch a points decision the first time around before stopping the Russian in the rematch.
8. Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez
Professional record: 52-4 (42 KOs)
Titles won: WBA minimumweight; WBA light flyweight; WBC, Ring Magazine flyweight; WBC, WBA super flyweight
A phenomenon of the lower weights and Nicaragua’s first four-weight world champion, Chocolatito surpassed his idol and mentor, Alexis Arguello. A dazzling run at flyweight and super flyweight took him to the upper reaches of pound-for-pound lists in the middle of the 2010s and to a spotless 46-0 record. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai stunningly dealt out back-to-back defeats to Gonzalez, the second via stoppage. He returned to world-champion status, rolling back the years to dismantle Kal Yafai before dropping to razor-thin verdicts to his great rival Juan Francisco Estrada.
7. Juan Manuel Marquez
Professional record: 56-7-1 (40 KOs)
Titles won: WBA, IBF featherweight; WBC super featherweight; WBA, WBO, Ring Magazine lightweight; WBO super lightweight
One half of boxing’s greatest 21st-century rivalry. World titles across four different weight classes, fighting them all as a late bloomer, give Marquez an utterly enviable career, even before you consider Pacquiao’s part in his story. Dropped three times in the opening round of their first fight before battling to a draw and losing a disputed decision in the second, lesser men would have had to accept unfinished business as Pacquiao’s freakish speed and power helped him to scale the weight divisions. Juanma followed him. A third fight at a 144-pound catchweight was the biggest scoring injustice to date. In the fourth instalment, Marquez’s showreel knockout of his greatest foe was a moment of sporting validation of the rarest kind.
6. Naoya Inoue
Professional record: 30-0 (27 KOs)
Titles won: WBC light flyweight; WBO super flyweight; WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine bantamweight; WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine super bantamweight
To stand out in the lower weights at a time when the likes of Oleksandr Usyk, Crawford and Canelo are doing such remarkable things in boxing’s more glamorous divisions speaks volumes for Inoue’s beguiling qualities. For a man of his frame, bantamweight should have been the upper limit. He’s now two-weight undisputed, having cleaned out the super bantamweight division. The footwork and technique are still immaculate and the power holds up, even if it takes a little longer against bigger men. “The Monster” gets them in the end.
5. Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez
Professional record: 63-2-2 (39 KOs)
Titles won: WBC, WBO, Ring Magazine super welterweight; WBC, WBA, IBF, Ring Magazine middleweight; WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine super middleweight; WBO light heavyweight
It’s familiar to hear critics talk of Canelo picking opponents at the right time and doing things on his terms. But those are the privileges A-sides get, and you don’t retain that status for charitable reasons. Canelo learned plenty of good lessons from his educational loss to Floyd Mayweather in 2013. Since then, he’s fought them all and beaten the vast majority. Stepping up to defeat Kovalev at light heavyweight was notable, but returning to super middleweight to clean out the division with victories over undefeated champions Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant when pandemic boxing needed a superhero remains his greatest feat.
4. Bernard Hopkins
Professional record: 55-8-2 (32 KOs)
Titles won: WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine middleweight; WBC, WBA, IBF, Ring Magazine light heavyweight
At the dawn of the millennium, Hopkins was a long-reigning IBF middleweight champion with 10 defences under his belt. He was also about to turn 35 and defy normal sporting expectations and biology. PPV wins over Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya underlined Hopkins’ Hall of Fame credentials. When he lost back-to-back fights to rising star Jermain Taylor, that should have been that. Six months later, Hopkins was up two divisions at light heavyweight to dethrone Antonio Tarver. He continued to torment the 175-pound category long after he had any right to, most notably when he beat Tavoris Cloud to become the oldest world champion in boxing history at 48.
3. Oleksandr Usyk
Professional record: 24-0 (15 KOs)
Titles won: WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine cruiserweight; WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine heavyweight
This era was supposed to be the battle for heavyweight supremacy between Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Wilder. Meanwhile, Usyk compiled a sensational run with wins over Mairis Briedis, Murat Gassiev and Tony Bellew to become undisputed at cruiserweight. He then stepped up to beat Joshua and Fury. Twice. Oh, and Daniel Dubois twice, and emphatically for good measure. The best heavyweight since Muhammad Ali? It’s a legitimate conversation to have.
2. Manny Pacquiao
Professional record: 62-8-3 (39 KOs)
Title won: WBC flyweight; IBF super bantamweight; Ring Magazine featherweight; WBC, Ring Magazine super featherweight; WBC lightweight; Ring Magazine super lightweight; WBA, WBO welterweight; WBC super welterweight
The numbers and titles alone make Pacquiao’s place near the top of this list inarguable. Being boxing’s only octuple world champion perhaps makes a case for him being top of the pile. Beyond the baubles, there are the incredible nights: the showdowns with Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barerra, the eternal rivalry with Juan Manuel Marquez, and the surge through the weights. Pacquiao’s ravenous 2008-2009 run that took out David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto was a peak of performance few fighters have ever reached. Time appeared to catch up with him — Marquez certainly did — after that and his showdown with Mayweather came scandalously late. After rotator cuff surgery, Pacquiao returned to a level few expected. His wins over Timothy Bradley and Keith Thurman were particularly wonderful. Amid fears of embarrassment when he came out of retirement to face Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title in 2025, Pacquiao almost pulled off another miracle.
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr
Professional record: 50-0 (27 KOs)
Titles won: WBC super featherweight; WBC, Ring Magazine lightweight; WBC super lightweight; WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine welterweight; WBC, WBA, Ring Magazine super welterweight
He didn’t need to get to 50-0. “The sport of boxing” as Mayweather likes to call it is still frequently feeling the sapping effects of his farewell cash grab against Conor McGregor. But the more unsavoury aspects of the “Money” era should never detract from the immaculate resume Mayweather put together. He fought all the best boxers of the time and beat them all, barely losing rounds against several. When he got drawn into fights against Marcos Maidana and Miguel Cotto it was notable, but not to the extent anyone thought Mayweather lost. Then there was the time Shane Mosley rocked him badly and Mayweather responded by winning every one of the 10 remaining rounds. Before he became the PPV king, “Pretty Boy” Floyd was a spiteful and brilliant fighting machine between 130 and 140 pounds. His career touched perfection with remarkable regularity.
Honourable mentions: Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright, Sergey Kovalev, Carl Froch, Josh Taylor, Juan Francisco Estrada, Shane Mosley, Jorge Linares, Leo Santa Cruz, Vitali Klitschko, Shakur Stevenson, Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, Ivan Calderon, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Errol Spence, Sergio Martinez
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