James Toney picks David Benavidez over Usyk, Inoue and Stevenson

James Toney has selected David Benavidez as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter, putting the three-division champion ahead of Oleksandr Usyk, Naoya Inoue and Shakur Stevenson.

The choice comes during an unusually open debate over boxing’s top fighter in 2026. Terence Crawford’s retirement removed one leading candidate, while Usyk’s underwhelming performance against Rico Verhoeven in May has weakened his claim to the position.

Inoue has since gained support from many fans for the number one ranking. The Japanese star was also passed over by Toney, who instead backed Benavidez after being asked to identify his pound-for-pound leader in an interview with About Boxing.

Toney also dismissed Stevenson’s case for the top spot. He questioned the strength of the American’s achievements and argued that Stevenson must face the leading fighters in his division if he wants to establish himself as boxing’s best.

The former champion contrasted the current era with his own, saying that becoming a four-division world champion would have carried greater weight during his time. He pointed to his own career, along with those of Roy Jones Jr. and Marvin Hagler, as examples of fighters who took on the strongest opposition available to them.

Benavidez strengthened his position in May by stopping Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and winning the unified WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles. He is a three-division world champion, and a possible next step is a bout with interim WBC champion Michal Cieslak as he targets another belt.