Last Saturday, minutes after his name was announced as the winner of the hotly anticipated light heavyweight rematch with Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol briefly succumbed to emotion. Standing in the ring, a two-inch cut still open above his left eye, Bivol reflected on what the moment meant to him. “I’m just so happy,” Bivol said. “I went through a lot in the last year. Thank you so much. Everybody.”
In the days leading up to the fight, Bivol was clear: Losing bothered him. It had been more than a decade since Bivol tasted defeat. He was a decorated amateur, collecting gold medals at European and world levels. He turned pro and won his first 23 fights, most of them by knockout or wide decision. The loss to Beterbiev wasn’t disappointing, Bivol said. It was crushing.
And, he added, motivating. The first fight was six years in the making. The rematch came 133 days later. In the gym, Bivol refined his game plan. He vowed to be more active. In the first fight, Bivol averaged 35 punches per round, per CompuBox, landing 12. In the rematch, those numbers jumped to 46 and 14. He landed 170 punches on Beterbiev, most of any opponent. He racked up double digit connects in 11 of the 12 rounds. And after a sluggish finish to the first fight, Bivol surged in the second half of the second, winning five of the final six rounds on SI’s unofficial scorecard.
Asked what the difference was in the rematch, Bivol said, “Just me.”
“I was better,” said Bivol. “I was pushing myself more. I was more confident, I was lighter, and I just wanted to win so much today.”
He did, and now boxing has a new undisputed champion. As for pound-for-pound, Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, said Bivol belongs in the second spot, just behind Oleksandr Usyk on the pound-for-pound list. Bivol’s résumé, which includes wins over Beterbiev and Canelo Álvarez, Hearn said, is the reason why.
How high will Bivol rise? On to Sports Illustrated’s latest pound-for-pound list …
1. Oleksandr Usyk
Record: 23-0
Last Rankings: No. 2
Last Fight: UD win vs. Tyson Fury
Next fight: TBD
Usyk is No. 1. Period. Full stop. Undisputed cruiserweight champion, a pair of wins over Anthony Joshua, a knockout win over Daniel Dubois and a 2024 headlined by back-to-back wins over Tyson Fury. Heavyweights don’t often land the top spot on pound-for-pound lists. But Usyk is one of the most talented heavyweights of any generation. Skills matter. Résumés matter. Usyk has both.
2. Terence Crawford
Record: 41–0
Last Ranking: No. 1
Last Fight: UD win vs. Israil Madrimov
Next Fight: TBD
Speaking of résumés, Crawford has built one of boxing’s most impressive: Four-division world champion, two-division undisputed champion and reigning titleholder at 154 pounds, courtesy of a clean win over Madrimov last summer. Madrimov, a decorated amateur with a herky-jerky style, gave Crawford a few problems, but Crawford’s patience helped him produce a narrow decision win. What’s next? Crawford has made it clear there is only one opponent that interests him: Álvarez, the unified super middleweight champion who still reigns as boxing’s biggest star. And if Turki Alalshikh has his way, Crawford will get it in September.
3. Naoya Inoue
Record: 29–0
Last Ranking: No. 3
Last Fight: KO win vs. Ye-Joon Kim
Next Fight: TBD
It still feels disrespectful to place an undefeated, two-division undisputed champion third, but such is the state of the top of the sport. In January, Inoue delivered a four-round beating to Kim, a late replacement for mandatory challenger Sam Goodman. Inoue has plans to fight three more times this year: In the spring in Las Vegas (potentially against David Picasso), in the fall in Japan and will end the year in Saudi Arabia. Will Junto Nakatani be one of those fights? Inoue-Naktani would be one of the biggest fights in Japanese boxing history—and needs to happen soon.
4. Dmitry Bivol
Record: 24–1
Last Ranking: No. 7
Last fight: MD win vs. Artur Beterbiev
Next fight: TBD
In a must-win fight, Bivol, 34, delivered. Now what? A rubber match is obvious; Beterbiev wants it and Bivol said after some time off he’d be up for it, too. David Benavidez is lurking, but with Alalshikh determined to continue the Beterbiev-Bivol rivalry, Benavidez may have to wait a little longer for his shot.
5. Jesse Rodriguez
Record: 21–0
Last Ranking: No. 5
Last Fight: TKO win vs. Pedro Guevara
Next Fight: TBD
The meteoric rise of Rodriguez, 25, continued in November with a third-round knockout over Guevara, the mandatory challenger for Bam’s world title. Rodriguez continues to blend elite skills with burgeoning power. Last June, he stopped Juan Francisco Estrada with a body shot. Against Guevara, it was a rear uppercut. Eddie Hearn, Rodriguez’s promoter, has been negotiating a title unification fight with Fernando Martinez, a matchup ticketed for this spring.
6. Canelo Álvarez
Record: 62–2–2
Last Ranking: No. 6
Last Fight: UD win vs. Edgar Berlanga
Next Fight: May 4 vs. William Scull
In dispatching Berlanga last September, Álvarez reaffirmed that he is the top fighter at 168 pounds—and that, at 34, he’s not the destroyer he used to be. Despite dropping Berlanga in the third round, Álvarez was unable to finish him, instead cruising to a wide decision win. A wild few days in February—where it appeared Álvarez was headed for a fight with Jake Paul—ended with Álvarez cutting a deal with Alalshikh to face Scull in a title unification fight in Riyadh in May. After that: an anticipated showdown with Crawford.
7. Artur Beterbiev
Record: 21–1
Last Ranking: No. 4
Last Fight: MD loss to Dmitry Bivol
Next Fight: TBD
Was the loss to Bivol the beginning of the end for Beterbiev? While the fight with Bivol was competitive, Beterbiev wasn’t able to find that extra gear to close Bivol out. At 40, age isn’t on Beterbiev’s side. The two top light heavyweights will likely run it back at the end of the year, giving Beterbiev time to rest. But he will be pushing 41 ahead of an expected trilogy-defining fight. It’s fair to wonder if after more than a decade of dominance Beterbiev’s best days are behind him.
8. David Benavidez
Record: 30–0
Last Ranking: NR
Last Fight: UD win vs. David Morrell
Next Fight: TBD
The Mexican Monster has arrived in the light heavyweight division. In January, Benavidez outworked Morrell, besting one of boxing’s boogeymen to solidify his spot just behind Bivol and Beterbiev at 175 pounds. The sanctioning bodies say Benavidez is owed a shot at Bivol, but with Beterbiev and Bivol headed for a third fight, Benavidez will need another dance partner. Callum Smith, who earned a hard-fought decision over Joshua Buatsi on the Beterbiev-Bivol undercard, is a leading candidate.
9. Shakur Stevenson
Record: 23–0
Last Ranking: No. 7
Last Fight: TKO win vs. Josh Padley
Next Fight: TBD
Stevenson, 27, dominated Padley, a late replacement for Floyd Schofield, flashing the sharp skills and elite athleticism that made him a fixture last year on this pound-for-pound list while pounding Padley with body shots to collect his first knockout in nearly two years. Still, Stevenson appeared to injure his left hand in the fight, the latest in a string of hand injuries that have limited his activity in recent years. Stevenson has called for a title unification fight with Gervonta Davis, while a title defense against undefeated contender William Zepeda has been discussed.
10. Junto Nakatani
Record: 30–0
Last Ranking: NR
Last Fight: KO win vs. David Cuellar
Next Fight: TBD
Finally, longtime observers of Japanese boxing are (probably) saying. After four years of collecting titles between flyweight (112 pounds) and bantam (118), Nakatani has cracked SI’s top 10. The 27-year-old made the third defense of his 118-pound belt on Monday, blowing out an undefeated Cuellar in three rounds. Nakatani blends size (5’ 8”, large for the lower weight classes), crushing power (23 knockouts) and a desire to rumble with his opponents; he has knocked out all four of his bantamweight challengers inside six rounds. Nakatani wants unification fights—titleholder Ryosuke Nishida joined him in the ring after the win over Cuellar—but the real fight is a division north, at 122, where Inoue is waiting.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dmitry Bivol Rises in Boxing Pound-for-Pound Rankings After Defeating Beterbiev.