Boxing can be a difficult sport to judge at the best of times.

With several weight classes and disciplines in the sport, the sport has evolved in the modern era. Fighters like Canelo Alvarez and Oleksandr Usyk have moved up the weight classes and that can have a major impact on the divisional rankings.

In today’s day and age, boxing aficionados have come up with ‘pound for pound’ rankings to determine which fighters are the best in the business. Here are our top 10 pound-for-pound boxers as we end 2019.

 

Juan Francisco Estrada (40-3-1, 27 KOs)

Estrada is a two-weight world champion and he deserves his spot on this list. He lost to Roman Gonzalez in his first world title bout at light-flyweight level but relished the step up to flyweight, eventually unifying the division.

Since then, the Mexican has gone on to win the WBC belt at super-flyweight and he will be one to follow in 2020. Estrada proved himself as tough as they come against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai back in April, securing victory by unanimous decision.

 

Anthony Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs)

Joshua sneaks onto this list after regaining his world heavyweight titles in the Clash of the Dunes. The British fighter was dominant from start to finish against Andy Ruiz Jr and boxing fans will hope to see Joshua face Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury in 2020.

Now arguably the best heavyweight boxer in the sport, Joshua’s euphoric journey to the top of world boxing has been fantastic to follow. British boxing fans will hope that he can cement his status as a top 10 pound-for-pound superstar.

 

Mikey Garcia (39-1, 30 KOs)

Garcia was undefeated before his bout against fellow boxing star Errol Spence but he failed to cope with the move to welterweight. Even the most ardent Garcia fan would struggle to argue against that but it wouldn’t be a huge shock to see the American bounce back.

With a tough clash against Jessie Vargas approaching in February, Garcia could get back to winning ways at the first time of asking. Garcia failed to win a round on all three judges’ scorecards in the Spence bout and a change in tactics may be adopted.

Gennady Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs)

Golovkin and Canelo’s rivalry has been well-documented over the years, with their second bout ranking as one of boxing’s greatest rematches. Known all over the world, Golovkin is to boxing what Roger Federer is to tennis.

Often referred to as ‘Triple G’, Golovkin has been linked with a third bout with Canelo. Fans from all over the world will be hoping that boxing could be set for one of the biggest trilogy bouts in the history of the sport – and Golovkin might even settle the score.

 

Oleksandr Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs)

Usyk’s rapid rise up the cruiserweight division led to him unifying the belts inside just 15 professional bouts. The Ukrainian’s fight with fan favourite Tony Bellew put him on the map in British boxing and Usyk could be the next heavyweight superstar.

Although he doesn’t boast tremendous height, Usyk is tactically astute and he will put the best heavyweights in the business under immense strain. Write him off at your peril, we may see Usyk climb these pound-for-pound rankings in the coming months.

 

Errol Spence (26-0, 21 KOs)

Spence has been dominant in the welterweight division since 2017, defeating Kell Brook to claim the IBF title. Spence has since gone on to defeat the great Mikey Garcia before unifying the division against Shawn Porter.

At 29 years old, Spence has the world at his feet and he is still improving. One of the sport’s biggest names, Spence is likely to feature prominently in boxing betting odds ahead of his next fight. Keep up with he latest news and tips ahead of 2020. 

 

Terence Crawford (35-0, 26 KOs)

Another fighter with a spot cemented in the top five – Crawford has won world titles in three different weight classes. However, his greatest achievement of all was becoming the undisputed super-lightweight king. That fight with Julius Indongo will live long in the memory...

You could argue that he has yet to be seriously tested. Crawford has been accused of hand-picking opponents but it would be disrespectful to ignore his accomplishments. If he can unify the welterweight division, he could break into the top two in these rankings.

Naoya Inoue (18-0, 16 KOs)

One of Japan’s sporting heroes, Inoue has cruised through the light-flyweight and super-flyweight divisions and he is building a stronghold in the bantamweight division. Without a doubt, Inoue is one of the most exciting fighters in world boxing.

Inoue has been dominant against good opponents in recent fights, defeating Jamie McDonnell, Juan Carlos Payano and Emmanuel Rodriguez within a combined total of four rounds. His most recent bout went to the judges’ scorecards but he did more than enough to come out on top.

 

Vasyl Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs)

Lomachenko had an incredible 396 victories from 397 fights as an amateur and he has taken to professional boxing like a duck to water. The two-time Olympic gold medallist has already won world titles at three different weight classes – an incredible feat.

He made light work of Anthony Crolla before outclassing Luke Campbell for 12 rounds to notch a one-sided unanimous decision. He is the clear pick as the second best boxer on the planet, with only Canelo above him in our pound-for-pound rankings.

 

Canelo Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs)

You only have to look at Canelo’s impressive list of scalps to understand why the Mexican ranks at the top of our list. Barring that courageous defeat to Floyd Mayweather Jr, Canelo has been almost perfect throughout his 14-year professional career.

Canelo has wins over the likes of Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs, Amir Khan and Miguel Cotto and you won’t find too many boxing fans playing down his achievements. He is our pound-for-pound king and hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for his next fight.

 

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Kevin Hagen / AP Photo*

The European Championship is the second most prestigious international competition in world football.

Obviously nothing can compete with the World Cup in terms of history and heritage but the Euros is always competitive and the 2020 tournament could go down as one of the greatest in recent memory.

A slight change to the traditional format means that 24 teams will now compete at Euro 2020 instead of the usual 16.

At the time of writing, we have 20 confirmed teams for the finals next summer while eight teams will do battle for the final four spots in a two-legged playoff.

Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the tournament. Whether England emerge victorious or not, Euro 2020 could be an iconic competition for the future of international football.

It isn’t going to be as straightforward for travelling supporters but Euro 2020 has all the makings of a roaring success.

 

Euro 2020: Format

The format for the 2020 European Championship will be exactly the same as it was for Euro 2016. The top two from each group will advance to the last-16, with the four best third-place finishers joining those teams in the next round.

From there, it is a round robin knockout format all the way to the final. The Euro 2020 final will take place on July 12th and Wembley Stadium, one of 12 stadiums hosting the tournament, will be the venue for the competition’s showpiece fixture.

Host Cities At Euro 2020

There are 12 host cities in total, with matches taking place across the continent.

Wembley Stadium in London will host the final and semi-finals, as well as one last-16 game and three group stage matches. The other host cities and stadiums are listed below:

• Baku, Azerbaijan – Baku Olympic Stadium
• Munich, Germany – Allianz Arena
• Rome, Italy – Stadio Olimpico
• Saint Petersburg, Russia – Saint Petersburg Stadium
• Budapest, Hungary – Puskas Ferenc Stadion
• Bucharest, Romania – Arena Nationala
• Amsterdam, Netherlands – Johan Cruijff Arena
• Bilbao, Spain – Estadio San Mames
• Glasgow, Scotland – Hampden Park
• Dublin, Republic of Ireland – Aviva Stadium
• Copenhagen, Denmark – Parken

 

Euro 2020: How Are Matches Split?

Host nations that qualified for the competition were automatically put into appropriate groups to ensure three group stage home games. England were entered in Group D and will play all three group matches at Wembley Stadium.

At the time of writing, football betting odds have England as 9/2 favourites to win Euro 2020 – those fixtures at Wembley will certainly help. As previously mentioned, the London venue will also host both semi-finals and the final as well.

Euro 2020: Groups

• Group A – Italy, Turkey, Wales, Switzerland
• Group B – Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Russia
• Group C – Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria, Playoff Winner D
• Group D – England, Croatia, Czech Republic, Playoff Winner C
• Group E – Spain, Sweden, Poland, Playoff Winner B
• Group F – Portugal, France, Germany, Playoff Winner A

 

Euro 2020 Tickets – How To Buy

With around 2.5 million tickets for Euro 2020 going on sale to fans, a ballot application is the fairest way to determine who can purchase tickets for each fixture.

If you are unsuccessful in the ballot, don’t worry just yet. UEFA have introduced a ‘Fans First’ programme to give supporters another opportunity to purchase tickets ahead of next summer’s competition.

It is well worth keeping an eye on the official UEFA Euro 2020 website for the latest ticketing news ahead of the competition. 888sport will also be here with betting news, Euro 2020 tips and odds on the tournament.

 

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Andreea Alexandru / AP Photo*

Wimbledon is the third tennis Grand Slam of the year, and the only one that takes place on grass.

This hasn’t always been the case, but it is the focal point of the ‘grass court season’ now with smaller warm-up events preparing players with the Grand Slam final in the United Kingdom.

Like the clay courts of Roland Garros, Wimbledon provides an opportunity to those players that specialise on grass.

Lesser known entrants can shock a few who aren’t accustomed to the pace of grass court tennis and write their own pieces of history along the way, perhaps joining the lists of famous Wimbledon upsets.

Wimbledon in 2020 is the focus of this piece, starting with the dates and running through to some Wimbledon tips...

When Is Wimbledon 2020?

The 2020 version of Wimbledon begins on Monday 29th June. The event runs for just shy of a fortnight, finishing with the men’s singles final on Sunday 12th July.

Like all Grand Slams, the journey to the tournament proper begins long before the excitement of 29th June with qualification taking place in the weeks before.

The British summertime weather can cause some delays, and this can give the schedulers some headaches.

If matches from the outer courts are moved, or there’s a particularly poor spell of weather, the finals can end up being moved but this is very unlikely.

Wimbledon 2020: Where is it?

Wimbledon is held at the All England Club and has been since 1877, when the first tournament was hosted. Wimbledon is an affluent area of south-west London, and obviously attracts a lot of tourists during the tournament fortnight.

The main court at the All England Club is inventively named Centre Court and had a retractable roof added in 2009. The secondary court, with an equally thrilling name, No1 Court, has recently had a roof added too, which was first used at Wimbledon 2019.

Wimbledon is renowned for its strict all-white dress code and the traditional consumption of strawberries and cream.

Wimbledon 2020: Reigning Champions

The media might be focused on the singles events, but there are more than two people celebrating glory come the end of a Grand Slam fortnight. There were 29 Wimbledon champions in 2019 across 18 different events.

Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in the 2019 men’s singles finals in what is widely considered one of the greatest matches ever played.

Djokovic has won Wimbledon on five occasions and will be looking to make it three titles in a row in 2020. Wimbledon prize money has played a major part in Djokovic’s $140 million tournament earnings.

Simona Halep lifted the women’s trophy to secure her second career Grand Slam following her French Open triumph in 2018.

The only British success was for Andrew Lapthorne and his Australian partner Dylan Alcott in the wheelchair quad doubles.

Wimbledon 2020: Betting

The latest tennis odds offer prices for the men’s and women’s Wimbledon draws.

After his historic win in 2019, Djokovic leads the way in the men’s market, while Serena Williams is favoured over Halep and Ashleigh Barty in the women’s draw.

Women’s Odds

Serena Williams – 6/1

Ashleigh Barty – 7/1 

Simona Halep – 7/1

Bianca Andrescu – 9/1

Petra Kvitova – 9/1

Karolina Pliskova – 9/1

Naomi Osaka – 12/1

Angelique Kerber – 16/1

Belinda Bencic – 20/1

Johanna Konta – 20/1

Elina Svitolina – 20/1

Men’s Odds

Novak Djokovic – 6/4

Roger Federer – 9/2

Rafael Nadal – 9/2

Daniil Medvedev – 11/1

Stefanos Tsitsipas – 12/1

Andy Murray – 20/1

Wimbledon 2020 With 888sport

Along with the British Grand Prix, FA Cup final and Lord’s Test match, Wimbledon is a huge occasion in the British sporting summer.

The 2020 edition will be no different, and 888sport is the place to find all the news, odds and tips.

888sport.com has tennis markets galore - all the tennis bets you could ever want

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Tim Ireland / AP Photo*