Canelo Alvarez drops to No.6 in new Ring Magazine pound-for-pound rankings

Canelo Alvarez has lost his spot as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. Ring Magazine has revealed its new rankings and Alvarez has dropped from No.1 to No.6.

The Mexican star was defeated by Dmitry Bivol last Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Despite being the favorite, Canelo was outboxed by Bivol over 12 rounds to suffer the second professional defeat of his career. The Russian demonstrated speed, endurance and boxing skills to retain his WBA (Super) Light Heavyweight Championship.

Here is Ring Magazine's updated top 10 pound-for-pound list, as reported by talkSPORT's Michael Benson:

After his upset victory over Canelo Alvarez, Bivol has broken into the list. He is now widely considered the best light heavyweight in the world. Dmitry Bivol has the option of rematching Alvarez or taking on the winner of Artur Beterbiev vs. Joe Smith Jr. for undisputed status at 175lbs.

Oleksandr Usyk is now regarded as the best boxer. The Ukrainian produced a phenomenal performance against Anthony Joshua back in September to become a Unified Heavyweight Champion. Usyk could rematch Joshua on July 23, according to Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn.

If Usyk defeats 'AJ' again and goes on to become undisputed in his current weight class, he will have created history. The Ukrainian will become the first fighter since the legendary Evander Holyfield to have held all the belts at both cruiserweight and heavyweight.

---

Does Canelo Alvarez deserve to lose his spot as pound-for-pound king?

In 2018, Canelo Alvarez defeated Gennadiy Golovkin to become a Unified Middleweight Champion. The Mexican superstar then captured the WBO Light Heavyweight Championship by defeating Sergey Kovalev before becoming undisputed at 168lbs.

However, his recent loss has resulted in some of the boxing public questioning the Mexican's greatness. With Usyk and Terence Crawford still unbeaten, it is plausible that this is the reason the two boxers are now ranked higher by Ring Magazine.

Canelo's first loss came against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013. The former pound-for-pound king then went on a 16-fight unbeaten run before his recent loss to Bivol.

Time will tell whether Alvarez can regain his position at the very top of boxing. The Mexican is still the most popular fighter in the world and could reclaim his status if he beats Bivol in a rematch. A second fight between the two has not yet been made official.