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)
- Alexander Povetkin (5)
- Dillian Whyte (6)
- Jarrell Miller (7)
- Kubrat Pulev (8)
- Joseph Parker (9)
- Dereck Chisora (10)
Jarrell Miller returned to action against Bogdan Dinu. If you have been playing the drinking game of “Take a shot every time Eddie Hearn gives Miller a questionable opponent,” then you have been drinking quite a bit recently. Nevertheless, Miller looked good, scored the knockout and retains his No. 7 spot in the rankings.
- 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 (10)
- Andrew Tabiti (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Maksim Vlasov (9)
There are a few names that have made a case for Combat Press “2018 Boxer of the Year,” and Oleksandr Usky is among those. He continued a sensational 2018 campaign by doing what he does best, which is traveling to his opponent’s home turf and making them look silly. This time, Tony Bellew was the victim. The top-ranked Usyk sent him straight to the canvas and into retirement with a knockout. Elsewhere, Mairis Briedis defeated Noel Gevor, Krzysztof Glowacki defeated Maksim Vlasov by unanimous decision, and Denis Lebedev scored a decision win while knocking Mike Wilson from the undefeated ranks. As a result of Vlasov’s loss, he falls from the rankings. Andrew Tabiti joins the top 10 for the first time.
- Adonis Stevenson (1)
- Eleider Alvarez (3)
- Sergey Kovalev (2)
- Badou Jack (4)
- Oleksandr Gvozdyk (5)
- Artur Beterbiev (6)
- Dmitry Bivol (7)
- Sullivan Barrera (8)
- Marcus Browne (9)
- Joe Smith Jr. (10)
Dmitry Bivol continued his surge with a unanimous nod over Jean Pascal. There’s nowhere to go but up for the No. 7-ranked Bivol, but he may have to wait to see how the divisional match-ups play out before he finds an opponent. Currently, Sergey Kovalev is rematching Eleider Alvarez, Badou Jack is set to fight Marcus Browne, and Oleksandr Gvozdyk is slated to meet Adonis Stevenson.
- Gilberto Ramirez (1)
- Callum Smith (5)
- James DeGale (3)
- George Groves (4)
- Chris Eubank Jr. (5)
- Anthony Dirrell (6)
- Jose Uzcategui (7)
- David Benavidez (8)
- Rocky Fielding (9)
- Jesse Hart (10)
All is quiet on the super-middleweight front, but expect things to pick up and the rankings to shuffle following a December in which Canelo Alvarez makes a jump up to fight Rocky Fielding and Jesse Hart rematches the top-ranked Gilberto Ramirez.
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (1)
- Gennady Golovkin (2)
- Daniel Jacobs (3)
- Billy Joe Saunders (4)
- Jermall Charlo (5)
- David Lemieux (6)
- Sergiy Derevyanchenko (7)
- Demetrius Andrade (9)
- Rob Brant (10)
- Maciej Sulecki (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Avtandil Khurtsidze (8)
Avtandil Khurtsidze, who has not fought since early 2017, departs the rankings due to inactivity. As a result, Maciej Sulecki joins at No. 10. Sulecki was a formidable opponent for anyone when he fought at junior middleweight, but his last two fights have been at middleweight.
- Jarrett Hurd (1)
- Erislandy Lara (2)
- Jermell Charlo (3)
- Julian Williams (4)
- Kell Brook (5)
- Amir Khan (6)
- Jaime Munguia (7)
- Austin Trout (9)
- Liam Smith (10)
- Brian Carlos Castano (-)
Dropped from the Rankings: Maciej Sulecki (8)
Sulecki’s move to middleweight prompts his removal from our junior-middleweight rankings. In his place, Brian Carlos Castano slides in at No. 10.
- Terence Crawford (1)
- Keith Thurman (2)
- Errol Spence Jr. (3)
- Shawn Porter (4)
- Danny Garcia (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.
- Mikey Garcia (1)
- Regis Prograis (2)
- Josh Taylor (3)
- Viktor Postol (4)
- Kiryl Relikh (5)
- Jose Carlos Ramirez (6)
- Sergey Lipinets (7)
- Adrien Broner (8)
- Ivan Baranchyk (9)
- Maurice Hooker (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Eduard Troyanovsky (10)
Eduard Troyanovsky’s fall continues. He was once ranked No. 5. Now, he is no longer in the top 10. This is largely due to the continued excellence shown by Maurice Hooker. Hooker recently knocked out Alex Saucedo to retain his WBO championship. As a result, Hooker joins our rankings at No. 10.
- Mikey Garcia (1)
- Vasyl Lomachenko (2)
- Jorge Linares (3)
- Robert Easter (4)
- Jose Pedraza (5)
- Anthony Crolla (6)
- Luke Campbell (7)
- Richard Commey (8)
- Raymundo Beltran (9)
- Emmanuel Tagoe (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 (6)
- Miguel Roman (7)
- Orlando Salido (8)
- Jhonny Gonzalez (9)
- Tevin Farmer (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Gary Russell Jr. (1)
- Leo Santa Cruz (2)
- Carl Frampton (3)
- Abner Mares (4)
- Oscar Valdez (5)
- Scott Quigg (6)
- Josh Warrington (7)
- Lee Selby (8)
- Joseph Diaz Jr. (9)
- Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Guillermo Rigondeaux (1)
- Rey Vargas (2)
- Isaac Dogboe (3)
- Jessie Magdaleno (4)
- Diego De La Hoya (5)
- Daniel Roman (6)
- Moises Flores (7)
- Emanuel Navarrete (8)
- TJ Doheny (9)
- Ryosuke Iwasa (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- 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)
- Paul Butler (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)
- Carlos Cuadras (6)
- Kazuto Ioka (7)
- McWilliams Arroyo (8)
- Rau’shee Warren (9)
- Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (10)
Khalid Yafai was the lone ranked fighter in action in November. He defeated Israel Gonzalez by unanimous decision and maintains his No. 4 ranking as a result.
- Donnie Nietes (1)
- Kazuto Ioka (2)
- Juan Carlos Reveco (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)
- Milan Melindo (3)
- Hekkie Budler (4)
- Ryoichi Taguchi(5)
- Carlos Canizales (6)
- Felix Alvarado (7)
- Ganigan Lopez (8)
- Angel Acosta (10)
- Edward Heno (-)
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)
Top-ranked Wanheng Menayothin defeated a fighter with a record of 2-9. That should tell you all you need to know about the depth of this division. Knockout CP Freshmart, who holds the No. 2 spot in our poll, defeated fellow ranked fighter Byron Rojas, ranked fourth, by unanimous decision.
- Terence Crawford (1)
- Vasyl Lomachenko (2)
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (3)
- Oleksandr Usyk (6)
- Gennady Golovkin (4)
- Mikey Garcia (5)
- Guillermo Rigondeaux (7)
- Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (8)
- Naoya Inoue (9)
- Donnie Nietes (10)
Oleksandr Usyk’s brilliance allows him to jump both Mikey Garcia and Gennady Golovkin in the pound-for-pound rankings. Usyk now sits in the No. 4 spot.