ESPN
Nov 4, 2026, 07:16 AM ET
Canelo Alvarez returns to the top 10 pound-for-pound rankings following a dominant victory over Christian Mbilli in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 31. Alvarez had previously lost his spot after less-than-stellar performances against Edgar Berlanga in 2024 and William Scull in 2025, followed by a clear defeat against Terence Crawford later that year. At 64-3-2 with 39 KOs, he has not scored a knockout since stopping Caleb Plant in November 2021. While he went the distance against Mbilli, the fight was never in question, reaffirming his status as the best super middleweight in boxing. He takes over the No. 10 spot.
Another fighter making a strong case is O'Shaquie Foster, who unified the WBO, IBF and WBC junior lightweight titles with an impressive performance against three-division champion Emanuel Navarrete on Oct. 24. Foster received several votes but fell just short of the top 10. He could strengthen his case by becoming undisputed, potentially facing the winner of WBA champion Anthony Cacace's matchup against Nick Ball on Dec. 19.
The panel of Joe Tessitore, Teddy Atlas, Nick Parkinson, James Regan, Eric Woodyard, Bernardo Pilatti, Salvador Rodriguez, Jim Zirolli, Michael Mascaro, Aladdin Freeman, Victor Lopez, Damian Delgado Averhoff and German Garcia shares its votes. Naoya Inoue holds the No. 1 spot after his victory over Junto Nakatani.
Source: ESPN General · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing