Ring Ratings Update: Naoya Inoue retakes No. 1 in P4P rankings, Japan rules bantamweight

Two undisputed champions in the top five of Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound rankings were in action during a 48-hour span ending last week and starting this week.  

Canelo Alvarez scored a knockdown en route to defending the super middleweight championship via unanimous decision over Jaime Munguia in Las Vegas on May 4. Naoya Inoue got up from an opening-round knockdown to twice drop Luis Nery before scoring a brutal sixth-round KO in defense of the junior featherweight championship. 

Both future hall of famers defeated formidable challengers ranked No. 5 by The Ring in their respective weight classes, but Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) did so in a manner that eventually prompted discussion of his advancement in the pound-for-pound rankings. 

However, the status quo of Terence Crawford at No. 1 and Inoue at No. 2, was assumed immediately after the 31-year-old Japanese star thrilled more than 50,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome.

“Inoue gave his countrymen a scare in the first round but then went on to take Nery apart,” said Anson Wainwright. “To me it’s Crawford 1a and Inoue 1b [in the pound for pound rankings].”

At first members of the Panel (including Yours Truly) went along with Wainwright’s view, which was certainly not unreasonable, but then Tom Gray (who’s had the privilege of covering Inoue vs. Emmanuel Rodriguez in his native Scotland as well as The Monster’s 2019 Fight of the Year first showdown with Nonito Donaire in Saitama, Japan) stated:

“I’m voting for Inoue as No. 1 P4P. Bud and [No. 3-rated Oleksandr] Usyk are [each] 4-0 this decade. Inoue is 8-0 (8 KOs) and he more than matched these guys in terms of ring accomplishments.

“I also thought the Nery win was one of his top-3 best performances. To get up and make immediate adjustments the way he did was insane. In this crackpot world of social media, you’ll have fans saying Inoue isn’t that good because he got dropped. Response: Cassius Clay was dropped by a 182-pound Henry Cooper eight months before beating the shit out of Sonny Liston. Knockdowns come with the territory. It’s how you respond that counts. Inoue couldn’t have responded any better than he did.”

Naoya Inoue got from the first knockdown of his career to score a punishing sixth-round KO of Luis Nery. Photo by Naoki Fukuda / Top Rank

Gray’s suggestion (and reasoning behind it) sparked a change of heart among other panelists, many of whom made note of Inoue’s activity (along with the quality of his opposition and dynamic skillset).

“Originally, I was for keeping Bud at No. 1 and Monster at No. 2,” said Michael Montero. “However, just looking at activity, Crawford has fought 4X in four years and Inoue has fought EIGHT times in that span. He also went undisputed twice in one year. Further, his last three opponents were all rated in the top five at 122 by Ring at the end of last year. I believe the Japanese superstar has clearly separated himself as the top guy for now. 

“Usyk has a chance to usurp him in a couple weeks, as does Crawford in August. But for right now, Naoya Inoue is the P4P king.”

Diego Morilla agreed with Montero and Gray.

“I also believe he should be our new No. 1,” he said. “Crawford is an extraordinary fighter, but Inoue has that extra power and grit that makes him even more special. The combinations he used to drop Nery could not have been thrown by any other fighter in recent memory. He’s in a completely different category, and his record during the past couple of years speaks for itself.”

Added senior editor Brian Harty:

“Yeah, even if it turns out to be another short-lived run at No. 1, right now I think Inoue deserves it.”

Added Jake Donovan: 

“I’ll vote Inoue No. 1. He’s been at the top of my personal list for nearly two years (since the Donaire rematch) and nothing about Monday changed that. 

“At the same time, I figured since Crawford was already No. 1 on The Ring list, the argument would have to be that Inoue did something specific on Monday to surpass him. Not sure that took place. The fight went according to the odds (Inoue was as high as -1200 on some reputable sites).

“That said, no wrong answer in this conversation. More so if Usyk beats Fury next weekend. But for now, I’m fine with declaring Inoue No. 1.”

Added your favorite Editor-In-Chief:

“You all already know how I feel about The Monster. In my opinion, he’s been THE MAN since his rematch destruction of Nonito Donaire. Crawford and Usyk are right behind him, in part because we just don’t see them as often.”

Abraham Gonzalez and Daisuke Sugiura also cast their votes for Inoue to take the top pound-for-pound spot.

“I put Crawford very slightly above Inoue last July and Crawford hasn’t done anything since then (although his next fight is set in August) but Inoue already destroyed quality opponents twice,” said Sugiura. “That’s enough reason for me to elevate Inoue. I’d like to appreciate the activity.”

Adam Abramowitz and Wainwright voted to keep Crawford at No. 1. 

“I view Crawford and Inoue as 1 a and 1 b,” said Wainwright. “But that’s not helping the discussion. No wrong answer for me. That Crawford has been inactive since the Spence win doesn’t help but to me that was very, very impressive. Not that Inoue hasn’t been, just Crawford did it against another pound-for-pound guy. I’d vote for Crawford but it’s such fine margins.”

That’s 8-2 among the panelists who shared their opinions on the pound-for-pound rankings, so The Monster returns to No. 1, for now. 

RING RATINGS UPDATE (as of May 6):

POUND FOR POUND – Inoue retakes the No. 1 spot. Alvarez remains at No. 4.

CRUISERWEIGHT – Michal Cieslak remains at No. 9 following a fourth-round TKO of Juan Diaz.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT – Michael Eifert exits due to inactivity. Undefeated Libya-born Maltese Malik Zinad (22-0, 17 KOs), slated to sub for injured Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol on June 1, enters at No. 10.

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT – Alvarez remains champ. Munguia remains at No. 5. Erik Bazinyan drops to No. 8 after struggling to a 10-round split draw against Shakeel Phin.

Canelo Alvarez lands a left hook against Jaime Munguia during their super middleweight championship at T-Mobile Arena on May 4. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Wainwright suggested Bazinyan drop one space to No. 7 based on his poor performance, but Abramowitz pushed for a drop to No. 8, which was unanimously supported. 

Gray suggested that Munguia drop out of the top five after losing in one sided fashion, but was challenged on that by Yours Truly:

“Hey guys, I just watched the replay of Canelo-Munguia and while Alvarez clearly outclassed the unbeaten contender over 12 rounds, I thought Jaime had genuine moments in many of the rounds he lost. I agreed with the 116-111 scorecard. It wasn’t close but it was a competitive fight with the reigning undisputed champion and No. 4 in our pound-for-pound rankings, so I’m not in favor of dropping Munguia to No. 6.

“Nothing against [No. 6-rated Diego] Pacheco, but he’s yet to face a super middleweight of Munguia’s level, let alone a future hall of famer like Canelo. Come to think of it, Pacheco has yet to face a super middleweight at the level of Munguia’s previous two opponents: John Ryder and Sergey Derevyanchenko.”

Abramowitz, Montero, and Wainwright supported keeping Munguia at No. 5.

“No. 3 Caleb Plant is well beyond one year inactive and—by his own admission—nothing lined up and eyeing a stay-busy fight,” noted Donovan.

JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT – Jesus Ramos remains at No. 6 following his ninth-round stoppage of Johan Gonzalez.

“Vergil Ortiz stopped Thomas Dulorme in one round,” noted Wainwright. “I think Ortiz is top 10 but he doesn’t have the resume yet to crack our top 10. The good news is he’ll get that chance when he faces Tim Tszyu on August 3.”

WELTERWEIGHT – Eimantas Stanionis re-enters at No. 3 following his unanimous decision over Gabriel Maestre. Mario Barrios advances to No. 5 after his unanimous decision over Fabian Maidana. 

JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT – Jose Ramirez remains at No. 4 following his unanimous decision over Rances Barthelemy. 

FEATHERWEIGHT – Brandon Figueroa remains at No. 5 after scoring a body shot ninth-round KO of Jessie Magdaleno.

JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHT – Inoue remains champ. Nery drops to No. 6. TJ Doheny advances to No. 8 following a fourth-round TKO of Bryl Bayogos. Ramon Cardenas remains at No. 10 following a ninth-round KO of Jesus Rubio.

BANTAMWEIGHT – Ryosuke Nishida advances to No. 2 after his hard-fought unanimous decision over Emmanuel Rodriguez, who drops to No. 5. Takuma Inoue advances to No. 3 after scoring a unanimous decision over veteran Sho Ishida. Yoshiki Takei enters at No. 4 after scoring an upset unanimous decision over Jason Moloney, drops to No. 6. 

Takuma Inoue takes it to Sho Ishida. Photo by Naoki Fukuda

“Rodriguez was dropped and though he hung tough, lost his IBF title to Nishida by 12-round unanimous decision,” noted Wainwright. “Moloney started slowly and was outhustled by Takei, who claimed the WBO title. Takuma Inoue had to get off the canvas like big brother in the opening round but then dominated Ishida to retain his WBA title by 12-round unanimous decision. All the bantamweight titles are now in Japan.”

FLYWEIGHT – Seigo Yuri Akui remains at No. 4 following his unanimous decision over Taku Kuwahara.

STRAWWEIGHT – Wilfredo Mendez remains at No. 7 following his unanimous decision over Jesus Haro.

Email Fischer at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter and IG at @dougiefischer, and join him, Tom Loeffler, Coach Schwartz and friends via Tom’s or Doug’s IG Live most Sundays.

Follow Dougiefischer