Pound for pound


Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports, such as boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts, of who the better fighters are relative to their weight, i.e. adjusted to compensate for weight class. As these fighters do not compete directly, judging the best fighter pound for pound is subjective, and ratings vary. They may be based on a range of criteria including "quality of opposition", factors such as how exciting the fighter is or how famous they are, or be an attempt to determine who would win if all those ranked were the same size.

Boxing

In boxing, the term was historically associated with fighters such as Benny Leonard and Sugar Ray Robinson who were widely considered to be the most skilled fighters of their day, to distinguish them from the generally more popular heavyweight champions. Since 1990, The Ring magazine has maintained a pound for pound ranking of fighters.

Mixed martial arts

has a list for mixed martial artists.