Who would Canelo have to beat

In order to regain P4P #1?

Canelo has fallen all the way down to #10 in both the Ring and ESPN P4P Rankings. Is this disrespectful to Canelo to drop him so far after losing to P4P #1 in a close decision? This would seem to be overly harsh considering many posters on this very forum had Canelo beating Crawford or had the fight very close.

To do a thought experiment, lets consider the scenario of Canelo retaining his titles against Bud, either by drawing, which he was very close to doing or by maybe doing a little more in a few rounds and winning a decision. Or lets say he did exactly what he did but the judges scored it in his favor. Ask yourself where would Canelo be sitting in the P4P Ranking had he retained vs Bud. Is the difference between Canelo being P4P #1 or very close to it had he retained and being P4P #10 a subjective debate over a handful of hard to score rounds? Is that what boxing has come to?

I would remind all you Canelo haters that Canelo is a former P4P #1 and he reigned as P4P #1 for many years ruling the sport in his time. So I would ask to please take this question seriously. What does Canelo have to do now to regain P4P #1. And before you say Benavidez, would that put him back at P4P #1 or would he need to beat Bud or Bivol in a rematch? This may be a minority opinion, but I find Canelo being pushed down to P4P #10 to be harsh especially after he was still considered P4P #1 by some publications in the aftermath of the Bivol loss but it wasn't until the beating of GGG that for some reason he then dropped further. Maybe for old man GGG abuse but the point is, Canelo's fall from P4P #1 has been curious to say the least.

Most seemed to agree that going into the Crawford Fight both were P4P Top 5. Is a close loss to Crawford really enough to drop Canelo 5 or more spots? This is crazy when you consider the level of opposition that many fighters who are now ahead of Canelo in the P4P Rankings have been in with. Now I'm not claiming that Canelo is still P4P #1. He's definitely not after that last performance, the last two performances really, but is it within Canelo's ability to have one last push of greatness before he rides off into the sunset?

It would seem to me that if he rematched Bivol and beat Bivol that would be enough to reclaim P4P #1. Now if he rematched Bud and beat him, he might move up, maybe back into the Top 5 but would it be enough to get to #1 I'm not so sure. And what about if he fought Benavidez and beat him. The question is, what is his clearest path back to P4P #1 at this point. If many doubt that Canelo could beat a great fighter like Bivol at his age I can understand that. One thing about Canelo is that he is very much like a bull in the ring. He does lose rounds, and this is definitely a part of P4P however P4P is more than just about winning rounds.

Canelo has to really step up his game from how he fought in 2025 if he has any chance to move up the P4P Rankings. But what is his clearest or most realistic path to reclaimng P4P #1 or at least getting to the highest possible ranking given his current situation.

Canelo has no reason not to challenge himself against the best, especially without titles now. Maybe move up and take on a Benavidez now. If you lose you lose but if you win then you really shock the world since people do not think he can do it now. It just seems to me that fights like Mbilli might be fun and entertaining but are they really going to move the needle in the P4P rankings for Canelo. A big part of a fighter's legacy is if they take losses lying down or if they fight back and demand rematches and even the score. How does Canelo get back to the Top?

 

Who does he have to beat now to move back up into the Top 5 or to #1?