The Ring magazine, known to fight fans as “The Bible of Boxing,” has installed Andre “S.O.G.” Ward of Oakland in the top-10 of its most recent pound-for-pound list.
Ward (23-0, 13 KOs), the reigning WBA super middleweight champion, made his debut in the 10th spot replacing Juan Manuel Lopez of Puerto Rico, who lost his WBO featherweight title to Mexican Orlando Salido over the weekend.
The definition of “pound-for-pound” has long been up for debate, but the general consensus is that the list ranks the top-10 fighters in the world regardless of weight class, based on skill and quality of opposition defeated.
“As subjective opinion plays a large role in the pound-for-pound ratings, there were many suggestions as to who should replace Juan Manuel Lopez,” said Nigel Collins, editor-in-chief of The Ring magazine, via e-mail. “Among those nominated were Vitali Klitschko, Miguel Cotto, Lucian Bute, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Amir Khan, and Salido. But after reviewing each fighter’s body of work, The Ring decided to award the spot to Andre Ward.”
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