While many in boxing now hail Terence Crawford as the sport’s pound-for-pound king following his historic victory over Canelo Alvarez, David Benavidez believes one man still stands above him - Oleksandr Usyk.
Crawford’s win over Canelo made him a three-division undisputed champion, a feat unmatched in the modern era. Yet Benavidez, the former super-middleweight world champion who now campaigns at light-heavyweight, insists that Usyk’s accomplishments carry greater weight.
“I think Usyk number one without a doubt,” Benavidez said in a recent interview with FightHype. “I don’t think nobody even comes close to Usyk because of the amount of big fights he’s taken. Even from when he was in cruiserweight, he was fighting the best fighters, and then he went to the heavyweight division and nobody really gave him that much of a chance. He went and took everybody out.”
The 28-year-old will soon defend his WBC light-heavyweight title against Anthony Yarde, but still gave credit to Crawford’s historic achievement. “Terence Crawford [is] number two. He did something that I didn’t think he was going to do – he beat Canelo. That’s three weight classes going up. He made it look pretty easy.”
As for Naoya Inoue, Benavidez praised the Japanese superstar but argued that he still lacks a defining win. “Inoue needs that big signature win. He’s an amazing fighter, amazing talent, but he still needs that signature victory that really puts him on the mountain.”
Inoue will have another chance to make his case on December 27, when he defends his undisputed super-bantamweight titles against David Picasso. For now, though, in Benavidez’s view, it’s Usyk who reigns supreme at the top of boxing’s pound-for-pound mountain.
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Image Credit: The Ring