With the retirement of Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather, perhaps boxing has stepped away from having the mantle of that definitive pound-for-pound best.
This has opened up the floodgates for debate over who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today.
Of course, this debate is laden with caveats due to the very nature of its discussion.
People might rank fighters based on their performance, their win/loss record, their CV or the championships they have won.
TalkSPORT have attempted to compile the top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world, its criteria with a little help from The Ring’s ranking formula.
The result is the most important factor in the criteria, with performance second and the fighter’s win/loss and championship record third, as well as how often a fighter has fought against top class opposition.
So without further ado, here's talkSPORT's top 10!
10. Artur Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs)
Artur Beterbiev holds a pristine record, having knocked out every opponent that he has faced, to become the WBC & IBF light-heavyweight champion.
9. Josh Taylor (16-0, 12 KOs)
Josh Taylor, with a similarly clean record of 16 wins and 12 knockouts, dismantled the World Boxing Super Series super-lightweight tournament. He is the current WBA & IBF champion, and also holds the Ring Magazine title, beating Regis Prograis and Ivan Baranchyk.
8. Gennady Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs)
The only blots on GGG’s copybook are the two fights against Canelo Alvarez; the first ending in a controversial draw and the rematch a narrow defeat. The Kazakh fighter is a champion once more, however, toppling Sergiy Derevyanchenko, but is one of three men on this list not to be undefeated.
7. Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs)
Tyson Fury’s career was curtailed after he climbed to the top of the mountain in 2015 with his win over Wladimir Klitschko. His two wars with Deontay Wilder have re-established him as one of the best heavyweights in the world, even more impressive when you factor in how he had to essentially rebuild his life from scratch.
6. Errol Spence Jr (26-0, 21 KOs)
Errol Spence Jr is the current WBC & IBF welterweight champion, beating Kell Brook in 2017. He hasn’t looked back, stopping the likes of Lamont Peterson, Mikey Garcia and Shawn Porter in an incredible run.
5. Oleksandr Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs)
Within 16 fights, Oleksandr Usyk destroyed the cruiserweight division, becoming the undisputed champion and ending his time in that division with an emphatic win over Tony Bellew. He has recently made the step up to heavyweight, and looks to do the same to the likes of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
4. Naoya Inoue (19-0, 16 KOs)
Naoya Inoue is a three-weight champion, blitzing through the light-flyweight, super-flyweight and bantamweight ranks. At just 26, he conquered the World Boxing Super Series tournament last year in a fight of the year bout with Nonito Donaire.
3. Terence Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs)
Like Inoue, Terence Crawford is a three-weight champion. Crawford is the undisputed king of the super-lightweight division, but has yet to face top-level opposition. The current WBO welterweight champion is a few unification wars at welterweight level away from becoming the pound-for-pound king.
2. Vasyl Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs)
After a ridiculous 396-win amateur career, the gold medallist Vasyl Lomachenko turned professional and immediately leapt into world-class fighting. In his 15 fights, he has become a three-weight champion, dispatching the likes of Gary Russell Jr, Nicholas Walters, Guillermo Rigondeaux and Jorge Linares.
1. Canelo Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs)
Canelo’s marquee fights with Gennady Golovkin as well as wins over the likes of Shane Mosley, Amir Khan, Austin Trout and Miguel Cotto, has taken the Mexican to the next level. His latest knockout of Sergey Kovalev has cemented him as the pound-for-pound king, at least according to talkSPORT.