World Boxing News looks into whether Deontay Wilder has ever been considered the pound-for-pound number one fighter on the planet.
An excitable Forbes writer claimed Wilder was the current P4P top dog before the Tyson Fury clash.
Forbes placed Wilder above Canelo, Terence Crawford, Naoya Inoue, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and Oleksandr Usyk. The move was likely driven more by the desire to garner attention.
Of those mentioned, three were unified in a division at the time, and four became undisputed.
At the time, WBN held Wilder in high regard as the top heavyweight on the planet after ten straight WBC title defenses. But in no way did Wilder hold the top spot.
Pound for Pound is reserved only for the best boxers around. Wilder had many accomplishments to achieve before that.
Despite this fact, Forbes highlighted Wilder’s recent win.
They said, “As we head into the final month of 2019 with a number of solid fights on the ledger, we have a moment to pause and list the top ten pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.
“Following another stunning KO victory, I think it’s time everyone stopped criticizing Deontay Wilder for his lack of conventional boxing skills and started appreciating his dominance.
“How high is Deontay Wilder on the pound-for-pound list? Take a look.”
The Forbes P4P Top 10 – December 2019
10 – Manny Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KO) – WBN Ranked 5
9 – Gennady Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KO) – WBN Ranked 6
8 – Errol Spence Jr. (26-0, 21 KO) – WBN Ranked 4
7 – Juan Francisco Estrada (40-3, 27 KO) – WBN Ranked 9
6 – Oleksandr Usyk (17-0 , 13 KO) – WBN Ranked 8
5 – Canelo Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KO) – WBN Ranked 1
4 – Naoya Inoue (19-0, 16 KO) – WBN Ranked 3
3 – Vasyl Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KO) – WBN ranked 2
2 – Terence Crawford (35-0, 26 KO) – WBN Ranked 7
1 – Deontay Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KO) – WBN Ranked 10
On Wilder, they added: “Forget about his skinny legs. Forget about the penchant to become wild when he hurts an opponent.
“All you need to know is that Wilder’s opponents have the smallest margin for error of any fighter on the planet.
“Luis Ortiz saw this firsthand in his rematch with the WBC champion last month.
“All it takes is one, and no fighter embodies this concept more literally than Wilder. I did score his first fight with Tyson Fury for the Gypsy King, but Wilder is still officially undefeated.
“There is no doubt in my mind that when Wilder faces Fury in the rematch in February, he will win by KO. Furthermore, I’m convinced Wilder also knocks out Andy Ruiz or Anthony Joshua.”
Hmm. I wonder if that view still holds true today?
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Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, an experienced boxing writer and World Boxing News Editor since 2010.
