In the world of boxing, the rankings picture can get a little muddled. There are multiple titleholders and different organizational rankings. We’ve taken the approach of simply identifying who we think are the 10 best fighters in each weight class as of this moment.
Every month, Combat Press will rank each weight class from heavyweight to strawweight, as well as the pound-for-pound rankings.
Note: the numbers in parentheses represent the fighter’s ranking from the previous rankings.
- Anthony Joshua (1)
- Deontay Wilder (2)
- Tyson Fury (3)
- Luis Ortiz (4)
- Dillian Whyte (5)
- Alexander Povetkin (6)
- Jarrell Miller (7)
- Kubrat Pulev (8)
- Joseph Parker (9)
- Adam Kownacki (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Oleksandr Usyk (1)
- Murat Gassiev (2)
- Mairis Briedis (3)
- Denis Lebedev (4)
- Krzysztof Glowacki (5)
- Yunier Dorticos (6)
- Ilunga Makabu (7)
- Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (8)
- Dmitry Kudryashov (9)
- Andrew Tabiti (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Sergey Kovalev (1)
- Oleksandr Gvozdyk (2)
- Eleider Alvarez (3)
- Adonis Stevenson (4)
- Artur Beterbiev (5)
- Dmitry Bivol (6)
- Marcus Browne (7)
- Badou Jack (8)
- Sullivan Barrera (9)
- Joe Smith Jr. (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Gilberto Ramirez (1)
- Callum Smith (2)
- Chris Eubank Jr. (5)
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (4)
- Anthony Dirrell (6)
- James DeGale (3)
- Jesse Hart (7)
- Caleb Plant (8)
- David Benavidez (9)
- Jose Uzcategui (10)
Anthony Dirrell returned to action to defeat Avni Yildirim on PBC’s Feb. 23 card. It was Dirrell’s first fight since April 2018, when he defeated Abraham Han. Chris Eubank Jr. defeated James DeGale. DeGale’s career seems to have diminished right before our eyes, ever since the Badou Jack fight. It’s safe to say his prime years are over, but he’s still a formidable fighter in the division. The loss sends DeGale tumbling to the No. 6 spot, while Eubank rises to third.
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (1)
- Gennady Golovkin (2)
- Daniel Jacobs (3)
- Billy Joe Saunders (4)
- Jermall Charlo (5)
- David Lemieux (6)
- Demetrius Andrade (7)
- Sergiy Derevyanchenko (8)
- Rob Brant (9)
- Maciej Sulecki (10)
Rob Brant made his first defense of his WBA middleweight title by defeating Khasan Baysangurov. Baysangurov was nowhere near the talent level of Brant, and it showed. Brant holds steady at ninth in our poll.
- Jarrett Hurd (1)
- Erislandy Lara (2)
- Jaime Munguia (3)
- Julian Williams (4)
- Kell Brook (5)
- Amir Khan (6)
- Tony Harrison (7)
- Jermell Charlo (8)
- Austin Trout (9)
- Liam Smith (10)
Brian Carlos Castano, who recently fell from the rankings, has another opportunity to join the top 10 when he fights Erislandy Lara on March 2 in a Showtime headliner. No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Terence Crawford (1)
- Keith Thurman (2)
- Errol Spence Jr. (3)
- Shawn Porter (4)
- Danny Garcia (5)
- Manny Pacquiao (6)
- Jessie Vargas (7)
- Jeff Horn (8)
- Lamont Peterson (9)
- Sadam Ali (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Mikey Garcia (1)
- Regis Prograis (2)
- Josh Taylor (3)
- Viktor Postol (4)
- Kiryl Relikh (5)
- Jose Carlos Ramirez (6)
- Maurice Hooker (7)
- Sergey Lipinets (8)
- Ivan Baranchyk (9)
- Mohamed Mimoune (10)
Jose Carlos Ramirez defeated Jose Zepeda in what was a really fun contest. It’s the most Ramirez had been challenged in some time, which can also be attributed to the favorable pairings Ramirez has been given until this point. He retains his No. 6 spot in the rankings, but holding that spot will be tough if those below him keep winning against tougher competition.
- Vasyl Lomachenko (1)
- Mikey Garcia (2)
- Richard Commey (3)
- Robert Easter (4)
- Jose Pedraza (5)
- Anthony Crolla (6)
- Luke Campbell (7)
- Raymundo Beltran (8)
- Emmanuel Tagoe (9)
- Jorge Linares (10)
Ray Beltran knocked out Hiroki Okada to get back in the win column after losing his WBO title at the hands of Jose Pedraza. Emmanuel Tagoe continues to go unnoticed despite defeating Vyacheslav Gusev. Beltran and Togue remain in the No. 8 and 9 spots, respectively, in our poll.
- Vasyl Lomachenko (1)
- Miguel Berchelt (2)
- Gervonta Davis (3)
- Francisco Vargas (4)
- Jezreel Corrales (5)
- Miguel Roman (6)
- Tevin Farmer (7)
- Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (9)
- Andrew Cancio (-)
- Alberto Machado (3)
Dropped from the rankings: Masuyuki Ito (10)
Gervonta Davis knocked out Hugo Ruiz to remain unbeaten. Ruiz was a short-notice replacement for Abner Mares, who had to drop out due to injury. There was a big upset in the division, too, as Alberto Machado was finished by Andrew Cancio. Cancio delivered the first feel-good story of 2019 with his win. He enters the rankings at No. 9 as a result, with Machado dropping from third to 10th and Masuyuki Ito falling entirely from the rankings. Machado is likely moving up a division, because the weight cut is becoming too much.
- Gary Russell Jr. (1)
- Leo Santa Cruz (2)
- Josh Warrington (3)
- Carl Frampton (4)
- Abner Mares (5)
- Oscar Valdez (6)
- Scott Quigg (7)
- Lee Selby (8)
- Joseph Diaz Jr. (9)
- Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar (10)
Leo Santa Cruz cruised to a decision win over Rafael Rivera to retain his WBA title. Santa Cruz retains his No. 2 spot. It would be nice to see a clash between Cruz and top-ranked Gary Russell Jr. in 2019. Elsewhere, Lee Selby was in action. The eighth-ranked boxer defeated Omar Douglas.
- Guillermo Rigondeaux (1)
- Rey Vargas (2)
- Jessie Magdaleno (3)
- Emanuel Navarrete (4)
- Diego De La Hoya (5)
- Isaac Dogboe (6)
- Daniel Roman (7)
- Moises Flores (8)
- TJ Doheny (9)
- Ryosuke Iwasa (10)
Rey Vargas did what he’s done his entire professional career, and that’s win. Vargas defeated Franklin Manzanilla on the same card that featured the Cancio upset over Machado. The win keeps Vargas in the No. 2 hole in our rankings.
- Naoya Inoue (1)
- Luis Nery (2)
- Ryan Burnett (3)
- Jamie McDonnell (4)
- Juan Carlos Payano (5)
- Zhanat Zhakiyanov (6)
- Emmanuel Rodriguez (7)
- Zolani Tete (8)
- Jason Moloney (9)
- Takuma Inoue (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (1)
- Juan Francisco Estrada (2)
- Jerwin Ancajas (3)
- Khalid Yafai (4)
- Roman Gonzalez (5)
- Donnie Nietes (6)
- Kazuto Ioka (7)
- McWilliams Arroyo (8)
- Carlos Cuadras (9)
- Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Donnie Nietes (1)
- Juan Carlos Reveco (2)
- Charlie Edwards (3)
- Cristofer Rosales (4)
- Daigo Higa (5)
- Artem Dalakian (6)
- Kosei Tanaka (7)
- Sho Kimura (8)
- Moruti Mthalane (9)
- Andrew Selby (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Ken Shiro (1)
- Pedro Guevara (2)
- Ryoichi Taguchi (3)
- Hiroto Kyoguchi (4)
- Milan Melindo (5)
- Hekkie Budler (6)
- Carlos Canizales (7)
- Felix Alvarado (8)
- Ganigan Lopez (9)
- Angel Acosta (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Wanheng Menayothin (1)
- Knockout CP Freshmart (2)
- Hiroto Kyoguchi (3)
- Byron Rojas (4)
- Jose Argumedo (5)
- Leroy Estrada (6)
- Simphiwe Khonco (7)
- Joey Canoy (8)
- Vic Saludar (9)
- Ryuya Yamanaka (10)
Vic Saludar was the only ranked fighter in action in February. He defeated Masataka Taniguchi to retain the WBO minimumweight championship and his No. 9 spot in the rankings.
- Terence Crawford (1)
- Vasyl Lomachenko (2)
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (3)
- Oleksandr Usyk (4)
- Gennady Golovkin (5)
- Mikey Garcia (6)
- Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (8)
- Naoya Inoue (9)
- Donnie Nietes (10)
- Ken Shiro (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.