Ward v Kovalev II: Johnny Nelson reveals his top five pound-for-pound fighters

By Johnny Nelson, Boxing Expert & Columnist

Andre Ward can reinforce his status as one of the pound-for-pound best if he defeats Sergey Kovalev, but where do they feature in Johnny Nelson's top five?

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The American is considered one of the finest boxers on the planet and can extend his 31-fight unbeaten record in Saturday's rematch with Kovalev in Las Vegas, live on Sky Sports.

Kovalev will want to reestablish himself as one of the sport's very elite following a narrow defeat to Ward, but do they both feature in Nelson's pound-for-pound top five? Read on to find out...

5. Gennady Golovkin

At No 5 I am putting Gennady Golovkin and it's mainly because there's something about him that makes you think that he could lose.

For me, he is one-dimensional, a very aggressive and powerful fighter, those are his outstanding attributes.

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4. Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez

Canelo is aggressive and can punch, but he can also box too. When we saw him go up against Amir Khan, he did not just bully him, he took him out from long range.

That's why I rate him over Golovkin, simply because he has the better boxing ability with the same amount of power.

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3. Vasyl Lomachenko

When you look at Vasyl Lomachenko, he's very consistent and I have little doubt that eventually he will be at the top of the hill.

Floyd Mayweather has said it before about the Ukrainian and I have to agree - he is a brilliant box fighter with great instinct.

2. Andre Ward

Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward are definitely the No 1 and No 2, which was demonstrated by how close their first fight was.

Like it or not, I thought Kovalev won the first fight against Ward so for now, the Russian is just ahead. I previously had Ward as my pound-for-pound No 1 so it is all on the line again this weekend.

1. Sergey Kovalev

Paul Smith vs Tyron Zeuge is live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 9pm on Saturday, then Andre Ward vs Sergey Kovalev II is live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 2am on Sunday morning.5

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