Pound for Pound: 2029 – The Ring

After Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez’s efficiency towards Juan Francisco Estrada on Saturday evening, we thought it could be an excellent time to repost Tom Grey’s speculative story from the latest subject of The Ring Journal, the July 2024 version. In it, Grey took on the duty of making a pound-for-pound checklist from the attitude of someone in 2029. (And keep in mind, this was written earlier than Bam flattened Estrada.) What do you assume the P4P checklist will seem like in 5 years?

THE RING JUMPS FIVE YEARS INTO THE FUTURE TO IMAGINE THE POUND-FOR-POUND STARS OF TOMORROW

When a very particular fighter reaches the top of boxing by pulling off an array of fistic miracles, their lofty place atop the legendary pound-for-pound checklist can appear unassailable. They’re so good that you just simply can’t think about the game with out them in it.

From 1994 till 2004, the good Roy Jones Jr. was the consensus alternative for biggest fighter on the planet. The super-skilled dynamo from Pensacola captured world championships from middleweight to heavyweight and his efficiency degree put him on one other dimension. Jones was arguably probably the most gifted fighter who has but lived, however he made the deadly mistake of overstaying his welcome.

Shortly after Jones started his dramatic descent, Floyd Mayweather Jr. emerged as his pound-for-pound successor. From 2005 till 2015, with a quick retirement within the center, the artist previously generally known as “Fairly Boy” grew to become “Cash” … and he made loads of it. Emulating Jones as a multi-weight world champion, the Grand Rapids technician ended his profession as the most effective fighter on the earth with an immaculate 50-0 report.

Whether or not boxing forces a fighter off the pound-for-pound throne or whether or not the king willingly abdicates, there are all the time replacements on the prepared.

In the present day, there’s much more debate over who guidelines the pound-for-pound panorama. Naoya Inoue, Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk have all established themselves as double undisputed champions, and none of them has ever tasted defeat. Nonetheless, like Mayweather and Jones earlier than them, all three will likely be pressured to exit the elite degree in the end.

Who will step in to exchange “The Monster,” “Bud” and the present heavyweight king once they depart the pound-for-pound scene? 

Let’s think about the whole lot we all know proper now, in mid-2024, and look 5 years into the long run. What follows is an earnest try at predicting the highest 10 finest fighters on the earth and the way they bought there.

The 12 months is 2029 …

10 ZHANIBEK ALIMKHANULY
File: 25-0 (20 KOs)
Titles: Reigning IBF/WBO middleweight

Quickly after Gennadiy Golovkin retired from the game, one other rampaging middleweight from Kazakhstan started reducing a swathe by means of the 160-pound division.

Alimkhanuly has been so dominant on this weight class that securing additional unification fights has confirmed to be not possible for years now. He has gained his final 10 fights through knockout and none of his opponents have gone over 9 rounds.

Having posted 12 profitable defenses at middleweight, Alimkhanuly will quickly be knocking on the door of a few of the division’s greats. Nonetheless, to carve out a permanent legacy of his personal, he wants signature wins to be in comparison with his predecessors. There was a time frame, in 2025 and 2026, when Alimkhanuly held out hope for a megafight with Terence Crawford, however the American star by no means made the foray into the middleweight division, as a substitute retiring after unifying 154-pound titles.

9 DAVID MORRELL
File: 20-0 (18 KOs)
Titles: Reigning WBA gentle heavyweight

Cuban lefty David Morrell has been extremely touted since turning skilled in 2019. A chronic stint because the WBA “common” tremendous middleweight champ stunted his progress because of poor opposition, and he initially went the identical route at gentle heavyweight.

Nonetheless, since being upgraded to 175-pound full champion in 2027, Morrell has gained six extra title defenses and his performances have been terrific. The 31-year-old has scored shutout wins over Christian Mbilli and Diego Pacheco, and it nonetheless seems like there are extra gears to undergo.

Having competed in Canada, New York and Saudi Arabia, Morrell has constructed a considerable fan following. His fast arms, aggressive fashion and thudding energy make him an thrilling tv fighter, and he’s now headlining again in his house base of Minneapolis. 

The largest combat within the division could be towards No. 1-ranked 175-pounder David Benavidez, who holds two items of the sunshine heavyweight puzzle. With Morrell at No. 2, if they will get that combat made, then the winner will maintain the Ring belt and would solely want the WBO title to be anointed undisputed champion.

8 DAVID BENAVIDEZ
File: 38-0-1 (31 KOs)
Titles: Former two-time WBC tremendous middleweight, reigning IBF/WBC gentle heavyweight

Following a fruitless wait to face then-undisputed tremendous middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, Benavidez had no alternative however to show his consideration to the sunshine heavyweight division full-time.

The king of the division was Artur Beterbiev, whose crowning achievement was a dramatic, come-from-behind stoppage of Dmitry Bivol to grow to be undisputed champion. A controversial draw towards Beterbiev in 2025 was a bitter tablet to swallow for Benavidez, who scored two knockdowns within the combat. However since Beterbiev’s retirement, the Las Vegas-born stress fighter has gone from energy to energy.

“The Mexican Monster” is now on an eight-fight win streak and has picked up IBF and WBC titles at 175 kilos. His most spectacular victories have been knockout wins over Diego Pacheco and Jaime Munguia, neither of whom had been stopped earlier than.

The 32-year-old Benavidez is a veteran now however maintains the identical breakneck tempo and depth he did in his tremendous middleweight heyday. The objective now could be to lastly unify the whole gentle heavyweight division and retire on high.

7 KEYSHAWN DAVIS
File: 25-0 (19 KOs)
Titles: Reigning Ring/WBO junior welterweight

Davis shortly outgrew the light-weight division and got here of age with an in depth determination win over lingering junior welterweight champ Teofimo Lopez in 2026, after which Lopez referred to as it a profession. 

The fast-fisted phenom from Norfolk, Virginia, has made six defenses of his title and he’s been largely dominant. Nonetheless, regardless of all his success, there have been never-ending requires “The Businessman” to face light-weight titleholder Andy Cruz, who went 4-0 towards him within the amateurs and defeated the American on the Tokyo Olympics.

A combat between these younger hotshots has been mentioned for over 5 years now, but it surely’s nonetheless no nearer to turning into a actuality. Promoter and community allegiances have prevented the combat from turning into a actuality, and Saudi Arabia has not proven any curiosity in fronting the cash required to make it occur.

The extra real looking possibility for Davis is a large unification matchup with WBA and WBC counterpart Abdullah Mason. High Rank promotes each fighters.

6 ANDY CRUZ
File: 15-0 (9 KOs)
Titles: Reigning WBC light-weight

The skids had been greased for Cruz earlier than he’d even turned skilled. Unmatched glory within the amateurs noticed the Cuban sensation declare three World Championship gold medals earlier than signing off as Olympic champion at Tokyo 2020.

Cruz doesn’t have the signature triumphs of a few of his pound-for-pound contemporaries but it surely isn’t for an absence of attempting. The 33-year-old veteran chased Gervonta Davis for years when the favored American was nonetheless within the pound-for-pound rankings, however politics stored the light-weight standouts aside and Davis has since been feeding solely on sacrificial lambs.

Nonetheless, Cruz has handed the attention check with flying colours. His talent set and hand velocity are unbelievable, and there are occasions when his reflexes seem otherworldly. Cruz makes high contenders reluctant to throw a punch, and you would depend the variety of rounds he has misplaced on one hand.

His vacant world title got here courtesy of a dominant determination win over Edwin De Los Santos in 2025. Cruz has since made seven defenses, and his excessive exercise degree is a essential contributor to his pound-for-pound place, however the combat followers wish to see continues to be marinating. A matchup with former beginner rival and Ring/WBO junior welterweight champ Keyshawn Davis stays some of the enticing fights in world boxing.

5 ABDULLAH MASON
File: 29-0 (24 KOs)
Titles: Former WBC light-weight, reigning WBA/WBC junior welterweight

Mason was born right into a preventing household, and a profitable beginner run was bolstered by world-class sparring towards elite gamers similar to Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney. When it lastly got here time for Mason to showcase his wares on the high degree, he didn’t disappoint, and the sky’s the restrict for this shiny younger star.

Whereas it was unlucky that the Ohio-born lefty outgrew the light-weight restrict, which dominated out a money-spinning matchup with Andy Cruz, Mason has been no much less spectacular at junior welterweight. In three fights, he has already unified two world titles with dominant wins over Raymond Muratalla and William Zepeda.

There’s already discuss of Mason shifting north to 147 kilos, the place extra large fights can be found. Having now crammed out and gained his man energy, the two-weight world champ gained’t be intimidated by any of right now’s welterweights. If something, they need to be nervous about him.

4 JAI OPETAIA
File: 32-0 (23 KOs)
Titles: Former undisputed cruiserweight, reigning IBF/WBA heavyweight

No sooner had undisputed heavyweight and former undisputed cruiserweight champ Oleksandr Usyk retired from the game than one other 200-pound king staked his declare on the heavyweight division.

Opetaia, like Usyk earlier than him, has the mobility, hand velocity and technical craft to render right now’s heavyweight behemoths inept. Consequently, the Australian lefty is simply two fights away from totally unifying the glamor division.

At heavyweight, Opetaia is incomes the respect and a spotlight he was denied at cruiserweight. Whereas his abilities and attributes had been clear to see throughout his rise, the 33-year-old technician was hidden away on Saudi Arabia undercards and largely ignored.

Nonetheless, the shockwaves that Opetaia has despatched by means of the game since shifting up in late 2026 have been felt worldwide. Wins over Filip Hrgovic and Agit Kabayel noticed him grow to be the unified champion, and he’s coming off a 12-round unanimous determination win over Daniel Dubois in London.

If he can declare the WBO and WBC crown from Moses Itauma and Jared Anderson, respectively, then the coveted Ring Journal championship will likely be his, and even perhaps the No. 1 pound-for-pound spot could also be his for the taking.

3 JUNTO NAKATANI
File: 37-1 (26 KOs)
Titles: Former WBO flyweight, former WBO junior bantamweight, former undisputed bantamweight, reigning undisputed junior featherweight

Japan’s Nakatani had some large footwear to fill when compatriot and former conqueror Naoya Inoue retired in 2027.

Inoue walked off into the sundown as a three-weight undisputed champion and one of many biggest fighters ever. His swansong, a superb Tenth-round TKO victory over Nakatani on New 12 months’s Eve 2026, solidified his legend and showcased his successor’s qualities in equal measure.

The setback was a sink-or-swim second for Nakatani, who was crestfallen following his first skilled defeat. Having moved as much as 126 kilos for the Inoue bout, he returned to junior featherweight and added three extra world titles, in addition to the Ring championship, to his assortment to unify the whole division. Emulating Inoue’s run at 122, Nakatani seems nearly as good as ever, and his pound-for-pound recognition has been earned the onerous manner.

Now out from beneath The Monster’s shadow, Nakatani is a double undisputed champion with the world at his ft. The 31-year-old lefty holds good wins over Fernando Martinez, Takuma Inoue, Yoshiki Takei, Stephen Fulton and Murodjon Akhmadaliev. 

2 JESSE RODRIGUEZ
File: 26-0 (16 KOs)
Titles: Former IBF/WBO flyweight, reigning Ring/WBA/WBC/WBO junior bantamweight

“Bam” has been the noise of his ring moniker ever since he turned skilled. The Texas-based left-hander has additionally been blessed with a golden period of opposition, and his superiority within the decrease weight courses has vaulted him up the legendary rankings.

After unifying the flyweight division on the expense of Sunny Edwards, Rodriguez moved north and took out a trio of genuine boxing legends at 115 kilos. Factors wins over Juan Francisco Estrada, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and Kazuto Ioka have assured “Bam” a first-ballot Corridor of Fame slot, and he’s displaying no indicators of slowing down.

Whereas Rodriguez has had a string of necessary obligations and a brief layoff because of damage, his achievements are past reproach. At 29 years outdated, he’s nonetheless contemporary and in his preventing prime.

One combat away from securing undisputed standing at junior bantamweight, Bam insists that bantamweight can also be in his future. If he turns into a three-weight world champion, his already-formidable popularity will attain even higher heights.

1 JARON “BOOTS” ENNIS
File: 41-0 (36 KOs)
Titles: Former IBF/WBC welterweight, reigning WBA/WBC junior middleweight

Within the custom of the game’s most acclaimed and gifted practitioners, Jaron “Boots” Ennis has maintained a vice-like grip on pound-for-pound supremacy by means of a lot of the previous 5 years, and he’s now the face of boxing in 2029.

Aligning himself with Matchroom 5 years in the past, Boots has competed towards the most effective and confirmed to be ranges above. After unifying titles at welterweight and junior middleweight, the 5-foot-10 Ennis is now looking for extra glory in a brand new division and intends to marketing campaign as a middleweight.

Will the 31-year-old boxer-puncher combine with the fearsome and long-reigning middleweight king Janibek Alimkhanuly? Time will inform.

Since turning skilled in 2016, the Philadelphia-born Ennis has showcased a stunning talent set and lights-out energy. Nonetheless, there’s a lot extra to the two-weight world champ, and he’s nonetheless bettering. His velocity, mixture punching, switch-hitting and precision have seen him in comparison with legendary pound-for-pound predecessors Roy Jones Jr. and Terence Crawford.

Signature wins have come towards Richardson Hitchins, Errol Spence, Eimantas Stanionis, Tim Tszyu and Vergil Ortiz Jr.

Tom Grey is a former managing editor of The Ring Journal.
Observe @x