Saul Alvarez (left) vs. Gennady Golovkin (Tom Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions)

Combat Press Boxing Rankings: October 2017

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.


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Heavyweight
  1. Anthony Joshua (1)
  2. Deontay Wilder (2)
  3. Luis Ortiz (3)
  4. Joseph Parker (4)
  5. Kubrat Pulev (5)
  6. Alexander Povetkin (6)
  7. Jarrell Miller (7)
  8. Andy Ruiz Jr. (8)
  9. Carlos Takam (9)
  10. Johann Duhaupas (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Cruiserweight (200 Pounds)
  1. Oleksandr Usyk (1)
  2. Murat Gassiev (2)
  3. Mairis Briedis (3)
  4. Denis Lebedev (4)
  5. Krzysztof Glowacki (5)
  6. Tony Bellew (6)
  7. Yunier Dorticos (-)
  8. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (8)
  9. Ilunga Makabu (9)
  10. Maksim Vlasov (10)

Dropped from the rankings: Marco Huck (7)

Marco Huck exits the rankings following his TKO defeat at the hands of No. 1-ranked Oleksandr Usyk. This opens the door for Yunier Dorticos to enter at No. 7 following his second-round knockout of Dmitry Kudryashov. No. 3-ranked Mairis Briedis won a boring decision over Mike Perez on Sept. 30. All three bouts were part of the World Boxing Super Series, and the winners advance to the semifinal round.

Light Heavyweight (175 Pounds)
  1. Adonis Stevenson (2)
  2. Sergey Kovalev (3)
  3. Eleider Alvarez (4)
  4. Oleksandr Gvozdyk (5)
  5. Sullivan Barrera (7)
  6. Badou Jack (6)
  7. Artur Beterbiev (6)
  8. Marcus Browne (9)
  9. Dmitry Bivol (10)
  10. Joe Smith Jr. (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Andre Ward (1)

Top light heavyweight Andre Ward’s sudden and unexpected retirement announcement shakes up the rankings quite a bit. Most of the fighters move up a spot by default as a result. Ward’s departure makes room for Joe Smith Jr. to enter the rankings at No. 10.

Super Middleweight (168 Pounds)
  1. James Degale (1)
  2. Gilberto Ramirez (2)
  3. George Groves (3)
  4. Chris Eubank Jr. (4)
  5. Anthony Dirrell (5)
  6. Callum Smith (6)
  7. Andre Dirrell (7)
  8. David Benavidez (-)
  9. Tyron Zeuge (8)
  10. Jose Uzcategui (9)

Dropped from the rankings: Avni Yildirim (10)

Gilberto Ramirez maintains his No. 2 ranking with a hard-fought decision victory over Jesse Hart. David Benavidez enters at No. 8 following his split-decision victory over Ronald Gavril to win the vacant WBC super middleweight championship. Benavidez’s entrance knocks Avni Yildirim out of the top 10. Sixth-ranked Callum Smith scored a victory over Erik Skoglund to advance in the World Boxing Super Series tournament.

Middleweight (160 Pounds)
  1. Gennady Golovkin (1)
  2. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (2)
  3. Daniel Jacobs (3)
  4. Billy Joe Saunders (4)
  5. David Lemieux (5)
  6. Jermall Charlo (6)
  7. Sergiy Derevyanchenko (7)
  8. Andy Lee (8)
  9. Avtandil Khurtsidze (9)
  10. Ryoto Murata (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Willie Monroe Jr. (10)

Willie Monroe exits the rankings following a decision loss to No. 4-ranked Billy Joe Saunders. This allows Ryoto Murata to enter at No. 10.

Jr. Middleweight (154 Pounds)
  1. Erislandy Lara (1)
  2. Jermell Charlo (2)
  3. Demetrius Andrade (3)
  4. Jarrett Hurd (4)
  5. Miguel Cotto (5)
  6. Erickson Lubin (6)
  7. Julian Williams (7)
  8. Liam Smith (8)
  9. Austin Trout (9)
  10. Maciej Sulecki (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Welterweight (147 Pounds)
  1. Keith Thurman (1)
  2. Errol Spence Jr. (2)
  3. Danny Garcia (3)
  4. Shawn Porter (4)
  5. Kell Brook (5)
  6. Jeff Horn (6)
  7. Jessie Vargas (7)
  8. Manny Pacquiao (8)
  9. Lamont Peterson (9)
  10. Sadam Ali (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Jr. Welterweight (140 Pounds)
  1. Terence Crawford (1)
  2. Mikey Garcia (2)
  3. Julius Indongo (3)
  4. Antonio Orozco (4)
  5. Adrian Granados (5)
  6. Eduard Troyanovsky (6)
  7. Regis Prograis (7)
  8. Sergey Lipinets (8)
  9. Adrien Broner (9)
  10. John Molina (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Lightweight (135 Pounds)
  1. Jorge Linares (1)
  2. Mikey Garcia (2)
  3. Terry Flanagan (3)
  4. Robert Easter Jr. (4)
  5. Anthony Crolla (5)
  6. Raymundo Beltran (6)
  7. Dejan Zlaticanin (8)
  8. Luke Campbell (9)
  9. Denis Shafikov (7)
  10. Felix Verdejo (10)

No. 1-ranked Jorge Linares won a close decision over Luke Campbell. Campbell’s effort is enough to allow him to rise one notch in the rankings. The names remain the same, but the order changes a little.

Jr. Lightweight (130 Pounds)
  1. Vasyl Lomachenko (1)
  2. Miguel Berchelt (2)
  3. Jezreel Corrales (3)
  4. Gervonta Davis (4)
  5. Francisco Vargas (5)
  6. Orlando Salido (6)
  7. Robinson Castellanos (7)
  8. Miguel Roman (8)
  9. Jhonny Gonzalez (9)
  10. Kenichi Ogawa (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Featherweight (126 Pounds)
  1. Gary Russell Jr. (1)
  2. Leo Santa Cruz (2)
  3. Carl Frampton (3)
  4. Lee Selby (4)
  5. Abner Mares (5)
  6. Oscar Valdez (6)
  7. Scott Quigg (7)
  8. Joseph Diaz Jr. (10)
  9. Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar (9)
  10. Jesus Rojas (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Claudio Marrero (8)

Joseph Diaz Jr. moves up two spots in the rankings with a unanimous-decision win over Rafael Rivera on Sept. 16. Claudio Marrero exits the rankings following a seventh-round TKO loss to Jesus Rojas, who enters at No. 10.

Jr. Featherweight (122 Pounds)
  1. Guillermo Rigondeaux (1)
  2. Rey Vargas (5)
  3. Julio Ceja (6)
  4. Ryosuke Iwasa (-)
  5. Jessie Magdaleno (2)
  6. Diego De La Hoya (-)
  7. Daniel Roman (-)
  8. Jonathan Guzman (7)
  9. Moises Flores (8)
  10. Hugo Ruiz (9)

Dropped from the rankings: Nonito Donaire (3), Yukinori Oguni (4), Cesar Juarez (10)

There are a lot of changes in this weight class. Ryosuke Iwasa enters at No. 4 following a sixth-round TKO victory over previously ranked Yukinori Oguni. Rey Vargas moves up to No. 2 following his victory over Ronny Rios. Nonito Donaire, who was ranked third, is out because he’s going to campaign at featherweight now. Diego De La Hoya enters at No. 6 following his unanimous-decision victory over Randy Caballero. Daniel Roman enters at No. 7 following a ninth-round TKO finish of Shun Kubo. All of these changes force Cesar Juarez out of the top 10.

Bantamweight (118 Pounds)
  1. Luis Nery (1)
  2. Zhanat Zhakiyanov (2)
  3. Shinsuke Yamanaka (3)
  4. Jamie McDonnell (4)
  5. Juan Carlos Payano (5)
  6. Ryan Burnett (6)
  7. Zolani Tete (7)
  8. Liborio Solis (8)
  9. Karim Guerfi (9)
  10. Paul Butler (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Takuma Inoue (10)

Paul Butler enters at No. 10 following a second win over Stuart Hall. The two had fought previously, but this victory was much more decisive for Butler. Takuma Inoue exits as a result.

Jr. Bantamweight (115 Pounds)
  1. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (3)
  2. Naoya Inoue (1)
  3. Juan Francisco Estrada (-)
  4. Jerwin Ancajas (5)
  5. Khalid Yafai (6)
  6. Roman Gonzalez (2)
  7. Carlos Cuadras (4)
  8. Kohei Kono (9)
  9. Rau’shee Warren (8)
  10. Sho Ishida (10)

Dropped from the rankings: Luis Concepcion (7)

The Sept. 9 “Superfly” card shakes up the rankings in this division quite a bit. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai rises to the top spot following his emphatic fourth-round knockout of Roman Gonzalez, who drops from No. 2 to No. 6 as a result. Naoya Inoue drops to the No. 2 slot, but he scored a knockout victory over Antonio Nieves. Juan Francisco Estrada joins the top 10 off the strength of his victory over Carlos Cuadras, who falls three spots to No. 7. Luis Concepcion drops out of the rankings as a result of a unanimous-decision loss to Iran Diaz.

Flyweight (112 Pounds)
  1. Kazuto Ioka (1)
  2. Donnie Nietes (2)
  3. Daigo Higa (3)
  4. Juan Carlos Reveco (4)
  5. Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (5)
  6. Sho Kimura (6)
  7. Moruti Mthalane (7)
  8. Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep (8)
  9. Andrew Selby (9)
  10. Vincent Legrand (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Jr. Flyweight (108 Pounds)
  1. Kosei Tanaka (1)
  2. Pedro Guevara (2)
  3. Ken Shiro (3)
  4. Milan Melindo (4)
  5. Ryoichi Taguchi (5)
  6. Carlos Canizales (6)
  7. Felix Alvarado (7)
  8. Hekkie Budler (8)
  9. Ganigan Lopez (9)
  10. Randy Petalcorin (10)

No. 4 ranked Milan Melindo scored a split-decision victory over No. 8-ranked Hekkie Budler. Both fighters remain ranked as they were.

Strawweight (105 Pounds)
  1. Wanheng Menayothin (1)
  2. Knockout CP Freshmart (2)
  3. Hiroto Kyoguchi (3)
  4. Byron Rojas (4)
  5. Jose Argumedo (5)
  6. Leroy Estrada (6)
  7. Simphiwe Khonco (7)
  8. Carlos Buitrago (8)
  9. Joey Canoy (9)
  10. Ryuya Yamanaka (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Pound-for-Pound
  1. Terence Crawford (2)
  2. Gennady Golovkin (4)
  3. Vasyl Lomachenko (3)
  4. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (6)
  5. Mikey Garcia (9)
  6. Oleksandr Usyk (-)
  7. Guillermo Rigondeaux (8)
  8. Sergey Kovalev (10)
  9. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (7)
  10. Naoya Inoue (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Andre Ward (1), Roman Gonzalez (5)

Andre Ward’s retirement from the sport shakes up the pound-for-pound list, too. Terence Crawford benefits from Ward’s retirement and grabs the top spot. Roman Gonzalez exits following his TKO loss to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue, who each scored victories in September, join the top 10.


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