Ward v Kovalev II:Tony Bellew reveals his top five pound-for-pound fighters in the world

By Tony Bellew, Boxer & Pundit

Image: Do Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev feature in Tony Bellew's pound-for-pound top five?

Andre Ward can reinforce his status as one of boxing's pound-for-pound best if he defeats Sergey Kovalev, but where does he feature in Tony Bellew's top five?

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The American is considered one of the finest fighters 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 himself want to reestablish himself as one of the sport's very elite following a narrow defeat to Ward, but do they both feature in Bellew's pound-for-pound top five?

5. Guillermo Rigondeaux

Rigondeaux is probably the hardest man in world boxing to beat. But his offensive game isn't as good as some of the other fighters on the list.

His defence is impregnable and let's not forget he's no spring chicken and no one can live with him still. I would love to see him against Lomachenko.

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4. Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez

I think 'Canelo' is the best counter puncher in boxing today. Technically he's absolutely fantastic and probably also one of the best body punchers.

He's ruthless on the inside and on the outside he's shown he can box against the bigger man in the Julio Chavez Jr fight. He's just an all-round brilliant, brilliant fighter. If he beats 'GGG' he could possibly go to number one on the list.

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3. Gennady Golovkin

Golovkin's resume is outstanding and the way he has done things is unbelievable. The reason that Golovkin is at three is because he's probably the easiest person to beat on that pound-for-pound list.

Stylistically he's easy to hit, but he hits very hard, which is a good deterrent.

2. Andre Ward

Ward is very, very hard to beat. He's not easy on the eye, but he always finds a way to win and he gets the job done.

Ward has an exceptional inside game, good on the outside as well, with a fantastic defence. He has all the attributes and the only thing he doesn't have is one punch KO power.

1. Vasyl Lomachenko

I'm going to put Lomachenko as number one because I believe he's the most balanced in offence and defence.

My only issue with it - is that he hasn't beaten an elite level fighter yet. But he's the closest thing to perfect in boxing at the moment.

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.

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