BoxRec

The RING’s ratings panel almost unanimously voted to significantly drop Sergey Kovalev in their mythical pound-for-pound rankings from 4th place to 9th, after his “sluggish” performance against the unrated and unheralded Igor Mikhalkin.

It has been twenty months since Krusher has scored a victory over a legitimate world class opponent, which was his lacklustre effort against Isaac Chilemba, who was rated 7th at the time by The RING.

Thoughts?

5 spots seem rather much just for looking sluggish, seems like maybe they reconsidered and thought he was too high to start with?

for me the 'no win in 20 months' isnt a big deal, because ill take a virtually even fight with a great like ward over beating pretty much anyone else, id rate that higher then spence (ring 8) beating peterson, and over pretty much anything inoue (7) has done

but ya the last two opponents werent good and vs mikhalkin he was lackluster. i think in reality these days you can definitely point to a number of guys who seem like right now there better then him. there are much fresher guys out there.

imo within the next year or two hell lose again, unless they stick to patsys

A drop was needed, but down to 9th is harsh.

Pretty much every Ring journalist thinks Kov should be 1-1 with the former p4p king, and the likes of Spence and Inoue haven't done anything to warrant being placed above him. Spence shouldn't even be on the list yet, in my opinion (Peterson is no better than Kov's last 2 opponents, he just has a more recognisable name, and Brook was drained/damaged from his previous fight) - nor should Rigo, who's still 10th.

Ring's p4p list isn't that great, at the moment.

Sergey Kovalev has been rated 9th according to ESPN’s pound-for-pound rankings for quite some time now, with the following members of their voters’ panel no longer considering Krusher as part of their top-ten: Claudia Trejos, Teddy Atlas, Nigel Collins, Charles Moynihan & Bernardo Pilatti.

To be honest, Sergey Kovalev has enjoyed a fine career and accomplished an awful lot within the sport, but he’ll be 35 years of age next month and it is highly-likely that his career is winding down and that he is no longer the fighter he once was.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see him suffering a third career defeat within the next 18 months of so from one of the 175lbs division’s young guns.

For sure, he’s still capable of defeating a lot of the top dogs’ his weight class has to offer, but most of the rising stars would probably relish the opportunity to add his name to their resume of fighters that they have beaten.

I prefer TBRB.. Non-biased..

Rank......Name..........................Record........Nat.........Last Week

TBRB...Adonis Stevenson......29-1-0 (24)....CAN........***

1.............Sergey Kovalev..............32-2-1 (28)....RUS.........1

2..........Dmitry Bivol......................13-0-0 (11)........RUS.........8

3...........Badou Jack.......................22-1-2 (13).......SWE........3

4...........Eleider Alvarez................23-0-0 (11).......COL........4

5............Sullivan Barrera..............21-2-0 (14).....CUB........2

6............Oleksandr Gvozdyk.......14-0-0 (12).....UKR........5

7.............Joe Smith Jr........................23-2-0 (19)....USA........6

8.............Artur Beterbiev.................12-0-0 (12).....RUS........7

9.............Marcus Browne...............21-0-0 (16).....USA........9

10............Anthony Yarde.................15-0-0 (14).....ENG........--

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 10:09 I prefer TBRB.. Non-biased..

Rank......Name..........................Record........Nat.........Last Week

TBRB...Adonis Stevenson......29-1-0 (24)....CAN........***

1.............Sergey Kovalev..............32-2-1 (28)....RUS.........1

2..........Dmitry Bivol......................13-0-0 (11)........RUS.........8

3...........Badou Jack.......................22-1-2 (13).......SWE........3

4...........Eleider Alvarez................23-0-0 (11).......COL........4

5............Sullivan Barrera..............21-2-0 (14).....CUB........2

6............Oleksandr Gvozdyk.......14-0-0 (12).....UKR........5

7.............Joe Smith Jr........................23-2-0 (19)....USA........6

8.............Artur Beterbiev.................12-0-0 (12).....RUS........7

9.............Marcus Browne...............21-0-0 (16).....USA........9

10............Anthony Yarde.................15-0-0 (14).....ENG........--

Pound-for-pound though?

Enlightened-One wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 10:20
Pound-for-pound though?

Oh. I was going of LHW rankings.

He's not even ranked..

1 Terence Crawford *
2 Vasyl Lomachenko
3 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai *
4 Gennady Golovkin
5 Saul Alvarez
6 Naoya Inoue
7 Leo Santa Cruz
8 Mikey Garcia
9 Oleksandr Usyk
10 Keith Thurman
* Champions as recognised by the Trans

Those 2 Ward losses hurt him..

IMO, all the above have had better wins in the last 2 years. Tell me i'm wrong..

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 10:27 He's not even ranked..

1 Terence Crawford *
2 Vasyl Lomachenko
3 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai *
4 Gennady Golovkin
5 Saul Alvarez
6 Naoya Inoue
7 Leo Santa Cruz
8 Mikey Garcia
9 Oleksandr Usyk
10 Keith Thurman
* Champions as recognised by the Trans

Those 2 Ward losses hurt him..

IMO, all the above have had better wins in the last 2 years. Tell me i'm wrong..

Can't disagree.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 10:27 He's not even ranked..

1 Terence Crawford *
2 Vasyl Lomachenko
3 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai *
4 Gennady Golovkin
5 Saul Alvarez
6 Naoya Inoue
7 Leo Santa Cruz
8 Mikey Garcia
9 Oleksandr Usyk
10 Keith Thurman
* Champions as recognised by the Trans

Those 2 Ward losses hurt him..

IMO, all the above have had better wins in the last 2 years. Tell me i'm wrong..

Officially correct.

I'd still have him on the list instead of Thurman though, and have Inoue and Santa Cruz 9 and 10. Kov goes between 6th and 8th (haven't decided how high I rate Mikey, or where Usyk should be).

That's certainly a better list than The Ring's though. The thing I don't like about TBRB's rankings is they have to have an artificial 'champion'. It creates the opportunity for the guy at the top to defend in a string of lacklustre performances against no hopers, meanwhile someone else comes up the rankings blasting through top fighter after top fighter, but stuck ranked lower. Just tell us who you think the best is and have done with it.

Deleted_Scenes wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 11:01 Officially correct.

I'd still have him on the list instead of Thurman though, and have Inoue and Santa Cruz 9 and 10. Kov goes between 6th and 8th (haven't decided how high I rate Mikey, or where Usyk should be).

Thurman's last 2 wins in the last 2 years are against Porter and Garcia..

Kovalev has beaten Chilemba, Shabranskyy and Mikhalkin in the last 24 months, whilst losing 2 officially to Ward.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 11:22

Deleted_Scenes wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 11:01 Officially correct.

I'd still have him on the list instead of Thurman though, and have Inoue and Santa Cruz 9 and 10. Kov goes between 6th and 8th (haven't decided how high I rate Mikey, or where Usyk should be).

Thurman's last 2 wins in the last 2 years are against Porter and Garcia..

Kovalev has beaten Chilemba, Shabranskyy and Mikhalkin in the last 24 months, whilst losing 2 officially to Ward.

As I said. Officially, Kovalev's results drop him off the list. I wouldn't argue with that.

For my own personal list though, I have the freedom to disregard official results if I disagree with them.

I didn't see a way of scoring the first fight to Ward, even though it was close, so I can't justify dropping Kov from my own list (yet).

Thurman, although he won, didn't look that great in either of those fights (I don't even rate Danny that highly - imo he got the benefit of two gifts not too long ago). Even a draw against the best fighter on the planet (the score I could just about come to, giving Ward every benefit) beats two labouring wins against inferior fighters. Just my opinion though.

Inoue - done nothing since beating Hernandez and Narvaez.
Leo - 1-1 with Frampton not as good as 1-1 with Ward.

Again, looking at official results only (which Ring/TBRB etc probably should do) you're right.

Deleted_Scenes wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 11:47 As I said. Officially, Kovalev's results drop him off the list. I wouldn't argue with that.

For my own personal list though, I have the freedom to disregard official results if I disagree with them.

I didn't see a way of scoring the first fight to Ward, even though it was close, so I can't justify dropping Kov from my own list (yet).

Thurman, although he won, didn't look that great in either of those fights (I don't even rate Danny that highly - imo he got the benefit of two gifts not too long ago). Even a draw against the best fighter on the planet (the score I could just about come to, giving Ward every benefit) beats two labouring wins against inferior fighters. Just my opinion though.

Inoue - done nothing since beating Hernandez and Narvaez.
Leo - 1-1 with Frampton not as good as 1-1 with Ward.

Again, looking at official results only (which Ring/TBRB etc probably should do) you're right.

You're entitled to your list and your opinion.

But yeh, they go of official results.

He'll be back in top 10 PFP very soon, I'm sure. He's too good.

oogiebe wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 11:53 He'll be back in top 10 PFP very soon, I'm sure. He's too good.

He'll need to defeat someone in the top 5 LHW rankings IMO..

Or someone from the P4P top 10 would need to take a big hit.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 12:30

oogiebe wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 11:53 He'll be back in top 10 PFP very soon, I'm sure. He's too good.

He'll need to defeat someone in the top 5 LHW rankings IMO..

Or someone from the P4P top 10 would need to take a big hit.

I'm not so sure...He is a great fighter who ran into PERHAPS and all-time great. But...I guess my point was similar to you. He'll need to take on a top contender, but I'm 100% he'll be there. How about Stevenson/Kovalev?

oogiebe wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 12:33

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 12:30

oogiebe wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 11:53 He'll be back in top 10 PFP very soon, I'm sure. He's too good.

He'll need to defeat someone in the top 5 LHW rankings IMO..

Or someone from the P4P top 10 would need to take a big hit.

I'm not so sure...He is a great fighter who ran into PERHAPS and all-time great. But...I guess my point was similar to you. He'll need to take on a top contender, but I'm 100% he'll be there. How about Stevenson/Kovalev?

IF that ever get's made.. I think they've missed a big opportunity. Who's to blame I don't care. The fact that they haven't already fought is a crime. lol

Adonis Stevenson
Dmitry Bivol
Badou Jack
Oleksandr Gvozdyk
Artur Beterbiev

If he beats any of the above NEXT, he'll be in the P4P top 10. I can feel it. Assuming Jack beats Stevenson that is.. I'm not too sure on Gvozdyk though. he definitely needs another belt and he should enter the rankings again.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 10:27 He's not even ranked..

1 Terence Crawford *
2 Vasyl Lomachenko
3 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai *
4 Gennady Golovkin
5 Saul Alvarez
6 Naoya Inoue
7 Leo Santa Cruz
8 Mikey Garcia
9 Oleksandr Usyk
10 Keith Thurman
* Champions as recognised by the Trans

Those 2 Ward losses hurt him..

IMO, all the above have had better wins in the last 2 years. Tell me i'm wrong..

Decent list but:
- Rungvisai is too high
- There should be Spence instead of Thurman and at least at #5
- LSC shouldn't be in top 10
- Canelo shouldn't be higher than 10
- If Usyk is on the list, then so should be Gassiev (maybe both should be out until they fight)

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 12:52

oogiebe wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 12:33

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 12:30

He'll need to defeat someone in the top 5 LHW rankings IMO..

Or someone from the P4P top 10 would need to take a big hit.

I'm not so sure...He is a great fighter who ran into PERHAPS and all-time great. But...I guess my point was similar to you. He'll need to take on a top contender, but I'm 100% he'll be there. How about Stevenson/Kovalev?

IF that ever get's made.. I think they've missed a big opportunity. Who's to blame I don't care. The fact that they haven't already fought is a crime. lol

Adonis Stevenson
Dmitry Bivol
Badou Jack
Oleksandr Gvozdyk
Artur Beterbiev

If he beats any of the above NEXT, he'll be in the P4P top 10. I can feel it. Assuming Jack beats Stevenson that is.. I'm not too sure on Gvozdyk though. he definitely needs another belt and he should enter the rankings again.

Nothing to argue with here.

boxing_rocks wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 12:55
Decent list but:

- Rungvisai is too high

I kind of agree. But his last 3 wins are Gonzalez 2x, Estrada

- There should be Spence instead of Thurman and at least at #5

Based on overall 147 resume Thurman is fine. Brook and Peterson EVEN Porter and Garcia.. Porter beat Brook and Garcia "beat" Peterson

- LSC shouldn't be in top 10

Will agree with this one. One could argue though, he's beaten everyone he has fought.

- Canelo shouldn't be higher than 10

- If Usyk is on the list, then so should be Gassiev (maybe both should be out until they fight)

Tricky one this.. Usyk is okay on the list IMO, But the winner of Usyk vs. Gassiev should enter top 5...

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 10:27 He's not even ranked..

1 Terence Crawford *
2 Vasyl Lomachenko
3 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai *
4 Gennady Golovkin
5 Saul Alvarez
6 Naoya Inoue
7 Leo Santa Cruz
8 Mikey Garcia
9 Oleksandr Usyk
10 Keith Thurman
* Champions as recognised by the Trans

Those 2 Ward losses hurt him..

IMO, all the above have had better wins in the last 2 years. Tell me i'm wrong..

This list (without Joshua) is senseless for me.
Current version of Kovalev should not be on the top 10 list. Perhaps, he will be back, but right now he doesn't belong here.

ValMar wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 13:24

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 10:27 He's not even ranked..

1 Terence Crawford *
2 Vasyl Lomachenko
3 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai *
4 Gennady Golovkin
5 Saul Alvarez
6 Naoya Inoue
7 Leo Santa Cruz
8 Mikey Garcia
9 Oleksandr Usyk
10 Keith Thurman
* Champions as recognised by the Trans

Those 2 Ward losses hurt him..

IMO, all the above have had better wins in the last 2 years. Tell me i'm wrong..

This list (without Joshua) is senseless for me.
Current version of Kovalev should not be on the top 10 list. Perhaps, he will be back, but right now he doesn't belong here.

That's why we say he (Kovalev) needs a solid win or two, but that he'll be back soon enough.

Don't see Joshua in best P4P just yet. Arguable no doubt.

boxing_rocks wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 12:55 - There should be Spence instead of Thurman and at least at #5

Slow down a bit... He'll get there, but not just on the basis of beating a damaged and drained Brook and an average Peterson. He either needs a single marquee win, or a handful of impressive performances against top 10 welters first.

Deleted_Scenes wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 13:53

boxing_rocks wrote: ↑12 Mar 2018, 12:55 - There should be Spence instead of Thurman and at least at #5

Slow down a bit... He'll get there, but not just on the basis of beating a damaged and drained Brook and an average Peterson. He either needs a single marquee win, or a handful of impressive performances against top 10 welters first.

We seem to apply the crown based on potential...I know I do it sometimes. P4P is for accomplishments and not potential...so I agree.