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)
- Luis Ortiz (3)
- Joseph Parker (4)
- Kubrat Pulev (5)
- Alexander Povetkin (6)
- Jarrell Miller (7)
- Dillian Whyte (8)
- Andy Ruiz Jr. (9)
- Carlos Takam (10)
Deontay Wilder stays at the No. 2 spot with a dominating performance over Bermane Stiverne. Luis Ortiz, Alexander Povetkin and Jarrell Miller were all in action as well, coming away with wins in their respective bouts.
- Oleksandr Usyk (1)
- Murat Gassiev (2)
- Mairis Briedis (3)
- Denis Lebedev (4)
- Krzysztof Glowacki (5)
- Yunier Dorticos (6)
- Ilunga Makabu (7)
- Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (8)
- Maksim Vlasov (9)
- Dmitry Kudryashov (10)
No ranked fighters were in action so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Adonis Stevenson (1)
- Sergey Kovalev (2)
- Eleider Alvarez (3)
- Oleksandr Gvozdyk (4)
- Artur Beterviev (6)
- Sullivan Barrera (5)
- Badou Jack (7)
- Marcus Browne (8)
- Dmitry Bivol (9)
- Joe Smith Jr. (10)
Artur Beterbiev won the vacant IBF title knocking out Enrico Koelling in the main event in Fresno, Calif. That performance moves him ahead of Sullivan Barrera, who also was victorious in December. Barrera won an unanimous decision over Felix Valera.
- Gilberto Ramirez (2)
- George Groves (3)
- Chris Eubank Jr. (4)
- James DeGale (1)
- Anthony Dirrell (5)
- Callum Smith (6)
- Andre Dirrell (7)
- David Benavidez (8)
- Tyron Zeuge (9)
- Caleb Truax (-)
Dropped from rankings: Tyron Zeuge (10)
James DeGale suffered the upset loss of the year to Caleb Truax, and as a result, slides to No. 4. Truax enters the rankings at No. 10. Fifth-ranked Anthony Dirrell won a technical decision.
- Gennady Golovkin (1)
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (2)
- Daniel Jacobs (3)
- Billy Joe Saunders (4)
- David Lemieux (5)
- Jermall Charlo (6)
- Sergiy Derevyanchenko (7)
- Andy Lee (8)
- Avtandil Khurtsidze (9)
- Ryoto Murata (10)
Billy Joe Saunders put on a clinic against David Lemieux, cruising to an unanimous decision victory. He retains his No. 4 spot.
- Erislandy Lara (1)
- Jermell Charlo (2)
- Jarrett Hurd (3)
- Demetrius Andrade (4)
- Julian Williams (6)
- Sadam Ali (-)
- Liam Smith (7)
- Maciej Sulecki (8)
- Austin Trout (9)
- Tony Harrison (10)
Dropped from rankings: Miguel Cotto (5)
A few changes with the retirement of Miguel Cotto. Sadam Ali, who defeated Cotto, enters the rankings at No. 6. Julian Williams moves into the top five.
- Keith Thurman (1)
- Errol Spence Jr. (2)
- Danny Garcia (3)
- Shawn Porter (4)
- Kell Brook (5)
- Jeff Horn (6)
- Jessie Vargas (7)
- Manny Pacquiao (8)
- Lamont Peterson (9)
- Sadam Ali (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Terence Crawford (1)
- Mikey Garcia (2)
- Julius Indongo (3)
- Antonio Orozco (4)
- Adrian Granados (5)
- Eduard Troyanovsky (6)
- Regis Prograis (7)
- Sergey Lipinets (8)
- Adrien Broner (9)
- John Molina (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Jorge Linares (1)
- Mikey Garcia (2)
- Terry Flanagan (3)
- Robert Easter Jr. (4)
- Anthony Crolla (5)
- Raymundo Beltran (6)
- Dejan Zlaticanin (7)
- Luke Campbell (8)
- Denis Shafikov (9)
- Felix Verdejo (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Vasyl Lomachenko (1)
- Miguel Berchelt (2)
- Alberto Machado (3)
- Gervonta Davis (4)
- Francisco Vargas (5)
- Jezreel Corrales (7)
- Robinson Castellanos (8)
- Miguel Roman (9)
- Orlando Salido (6)
- Jhonny Gonzalez (10)
Vasyl Lomachecnko was the highlight fighter of the month, dismantling Guillermo Rigondeaux. He easily retains his No. 1 spot. Miguel Roman defeated Orlando Salido on HBO, moving him up a spot and sliding Salido down to No. 9.
- Gary Russell Jr. (1)
- Leo Santa Cruz (2)
- Carl Frampton (3)
- Lee Selby (4)
- Abner Mares (5)
- Oscar Valdez (6)
- Scott Quigg (7)
- Joseph Diaz Jr. (8)
- Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar (9)
- Jesus Rojas (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Guillermo Rigondeaux (1)
- Rey Vargas (2)
- Julio Ceja (3)
- Ryosuke Iwasa (4)
- Jessie Magdaleno (5)
- Diego De La Hoya (6)
- Daniel Roman (7)
- Jonathan Guzman (8)
- Moises Flores (9)
- Hugo Ruiz (10)
Second-ranked Rey Vargas stayed busy with a victory over Oscar Negrete.
- Luis Nery (1)
- Ryan Burnett (6)
- Shinsuke Yamanaka (3)
- Jamie McDonnell (4)
- Juan Carlos Payano (5)
- Zhanat Zhakiyanov (2)
- Zolani Tete (7)
- Liborio Solis (8)
- Karim Guerfi (9)
- Paul Butler (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain the same.
- Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (1)
- Naoya Inoue (2)
- Juan Francisco Estrada (3)
- Jerwin Ancajas (4)
- Khalid Yafai (5)
- Roman Gonzalez (6)
- Carlos Cuadras (7)
- Kohei Kono (8)
- Rau’shee Warren (9)
- Sho Ishida (10)
Over the New Year’s weekend, Naoya Inoue continued to show why he’s a top pound-for-pound candidate, stopping Yoann Boyeaux in round three.
- Kazuto Ioka (1)
- Donnie Nietes (2)
- Daigo Higa (3)
- Juan Carlos Reveco (4)
- Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (5)
- Sho Kimura (6)
- Moruti Mthalane (7)
- Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep (8)
- Andrew Selby (9)
- Vincent Legrand (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Kosei Tanaka (1)
- Ken Shiro (2)
- Pedro Guevara (3)
- Milan Melindo (4)
- Ryoichi Taguchi (5)
- Carlos Canizales (6)
- Felix Alvarado (7)
- Hekkie Budler (8)
- Ganigan Lopez (9)
- Randy Petalcorin (10)
Ken Shiro stays at No. 2, fighting on the same card as Naoya Inoue, defeating Gilberto Pedroza in the co-main event.
- Wanheng Menayothin (1)
- Knockout CP Freshmart (2)
- Hiroto Kyoguchi (3)
- Byron Rojas (4)
- Jose Argumedo (5)
- Leroy Estrada (6)
- Simphiwe Khonco (7)
- Carlos Buitrago (8)
- Joey Canoy (9)
- Ryuya Yamanaka (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Terence Crawford (1)
- Vasyl Lomachencko (3)
- Gennady Govolkin (2)
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (4)
- Mikey Garcia (5)
- Oleksandr Usyk (6)
- Guillermo Rigondeaux (7)
- Sergey Kovalev (8)
- Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (9)
- Naoya Inoue (10)
Lomachencko’s dominance swaps him spots with Govolkin, now acquiring the No. 2 ranking behind Terence Crawford.