For the first time in more than a decade, Canelo Alvarez is no longer considered one of the 10 best fighters on the planet by The Ring. On Monday, The Ring released its updated pound-for-pound rankings, and the omission of the Mexican superstar was impossible to ignore. This isn’t disciplinary, political, or contractual. It’s performance-based and that’s what makes it significant.
The last time Alvarez was absent from The Ring’s P4P top 10 strictly for boxing reasons was in the spring of 2013, shortly after his win over Austin Trout. In the years since, he’s become a four-division champion, the undisputed king at 168, and one of the sport’s biggest global attractions.