Pound-for-pound: Miguel Berchelt out, Oscar Valdez in
Miguel Berchelt was on the Boxing Junkie pound-for-pound list as an Honorable Mention and one the hottest fighters in the world, having knocked out one quality opponent after the other the past few years.
And Oscar Valdez ripped his fellow Mexican to pieces on Saturday before stopping him with a single left hook in the 10th round.
Where does that leave the two fighters?
Well, no one who took the kind of beating Berchelt absorbed could remain on the pound-for-pound list. Berchelt is gone. And in light of Valdez’s dominating victory over an elite opponent, combined with past success, he replaces Berchelt among our Honorable Mentions.
This is Valdez’s first appearance in Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound rankings. Based on his performance on Saturday, he could stick around for a while.
Next up on the list?
No. 2-ranked Canelo Alvarez defends his super middleweight titles against mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim this coming Saturday in Miami on DAZN and pay-per-view. The Mexican star is a 21-1 favorite, per BetMGM, meaning it’s unlikely the pound-for-pound rankings will look different next week.
The list is more likely to change on March 13, when No. 10 Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman Gonzalez face one another in a compelling 115-pound title-unification bout. Estrada is only a 1½-1 favorite.
Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (honorable mention) also is scheduled to face Kwanthai Sithmorseng on March 13, although Sor Rungvisai should be a heavy favorite.
No. 12 Artur Beterbiev will face Adam Deines on March 20, a fight which Beterbiev should win easily.
Here is where the pound-for-pounders stand.
BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND
Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled), Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled), Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (scheduled to face Kwanthai Sithmorseng on March 13), Josh Taylor (no fight scheduled) and Oscar Valdez (no fight scheduled).