Terence Crawford (Amanda Armstrong/Combat Press)

Combat Press Boxing Rankings: May 2019

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. Tyson Fury (3)
  4. Luis Ortiz (4)
  5. Dillian Whyte (5)
  6. Alexander Povetkin (6)
  7. Kubrat Pulev (8)
  8. Joseph Parker (9)
  9. Adam Kownacki (10)
  10. Dominic Breazeale (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Jarrell Miller (7)

Jarrell Miller decided he wanted to fail not one, not two, but three drug tests. As a result, he falls from the rankings. Dominic Breazeale is the beneficiary of Miller’s stupidity and joins the rankings at No. 10.

Cruiserweight (200 Pounds)
  1. Oleksandr Usyk (1)
  2. Murat Gassiev (2)
  3. Mairis Briedis (3)
  4. Denis Lebedev (4)
  5. Krzysztof Glowacki (5)
  6. Yunier Dorticos (6)
  7. Ilunga Makabu (7)
  8. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (8)
  9. Dmitry Kudryashov (9)
  10. Andrew Tabiti (10)

No ranked fighters were in action, so the rankings remain unchanged.

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

No ranked fighters were in action, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Super Middleweight (168 Pounds)
  1. Gilberto Ramirez (1)
  2. Callum Smith (2)
  3. Chris Eubank Jr. (3)
  4. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (4)
  5. Anthony Dirrell (5)
  6. James DeGale (6)
  7. Jesse Hart (7)
  8. Caleb Plant (8)
  9. David Benavidez (9)
  10. Jose Uzcategui (10)

No ranked fighters were in action, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Middleweight (160 Pounds)
  1. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (1)
  2. Gennady Golovkin (2)
  3. Daniel Jacobs (3)
  4. Billy Joe Saunders (4)
  5. Jermall Charlo (5)
  6. David Lemieux (6)
  7. Demetrius Andrade (7)
  8. Sergiy Derevyanchenko (8)
  9. Rob Brant (9)
  10. Maciej Sulecki (10)

Sergiy Derevyanchenko rebounded from his loss to Daniel Jacobs and defeated Jack Culcay on the scorecards. He remains in the eighth spot in the poll. Canelo Alvarez and Jacobs square off on Saturday, May 4.

Jr. Middleweight (154 Pounds)
  1. Jarrett Hurd (1)
  2. Erislandy Lara (2)
  3. Jaime Munguia (3)
  4. Julian Williams (4)
  5. Kell Brook (5)
  6. Tony Harrison (7)
  7. Jermell Charlo (8)
  8. Austin Trout (9)
  9. Liam Smith (10)
  10. Brian Carlos Castano (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Amir Khan (6)

No. 3-ranked Jaime Munguia barely walked away with a win over Dennis Hogan in a very controversial decision. Amir Khan falls from the rankings after leaving the division. Brian Carlos Castano joins the rankings at the No. 10.

Welterweight (147 Pounds)
  1. Terence Crawford (1)
  2. Errol Spence Jr. (2)
  3. Keith Thurman (3)
  4. Shawn Porter (4)
  5. Danny Garcia (5)
  6. Manny Pacquiao (6)
  7. Jessie Vargas (7)
  8. Jeff Horn (8)
  9. Sergey Lipinets (9)
  10. Yordenis Ugas (10)

Danny Garcia destroyed Adrian Granados to keep his spot in the rankings. Terence Crawford defeated Amir Khan to maintain his claim as the best welterweight on the planet.

Jr. Welterweight (140 Pounds)
  1. Mikey Garcia (1)
  2. Regis Prograis (2)
  3. Josh Taylor (3)
  4. Viktor Postol (4)
  5. Maurice Hooker (6)
  6. Jose Carlos Ramirez (7)
  7. Kiryl Relikh (8)
  8. Ivan Baranchyk (5)
  9. Jack Catterall (-)
  10. Mohamed Mimoune (10)

Dropped from the rankings: Sergey Lipinets (8)

Regis Prograis made a strong argument for the No.1 spot after dismantling Kiryl Relikh to advance to the Jr. Welterweight WBSS finals. Prograis arguably has had a more impressive run at 140 pounds than the top-ranked Mikey Garcia. Viktor Postol was met with little resistance from Mohamed Mimoune en route to a decision win. Sergey Lipinets departs the junior-welterweight rankings after moving up to 147 pounds. Jack Catterall joins the rankings and jumps ahead of Mimoune.

Lightweight (135 Pounds)
  1. Vasyl Lomachenko (1)
  2. Mikey Garcia (2)
  3. Richard Commey (3)
  4. Robert Easter (4)
  5. Jose Pedraza (5)
  6. Anthony Crolla (6)
  7. Luke Campbell (7)
  8. Raymundo Beltran (8)
  9. Emmanuel Tagoe (9)
  10. Jorge Linares (10)

Vasyl Lomachenko had his way with Anthony Crolla. Crolla didn’t even make it out of the fourth round. Lomachenko is a generational talent, so Crolla isn’t penalized in the rankings.

Jr. Lightweight (130 Pounds)
  1. Miguel Berchelt (2)
  2. Gervonta Davis (3)
  3. Francisco Vargas (4)
  4. Jezreel Corrales (5)
  5. Miguel Roman (6)
  6. Tevin Farmer (7)
  7. Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (8)
  8. Andrew Cancio (9)
  9. Alberto Machado (10)
  10. Masayuki Ito (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Vasyl Lomachenko (1)

Lomachenko has firmly entrenched himself as a lightweight and therefore has been removed from the junior-lightweight rankings. This allows everyone else to shift up one spot, with Miguel Berchelt becoming the new No. 1 in the division. Lomachenko’s removal opens up a space for Masayuki Ito at No. 10.

Featherweight (126 Pounds)
  1. Gary Russell Jr. (1)
  2. Leo Santa Cruz (2)
  3. Josh Warrington (3)
  4. Carl Frampton (4)
  5. Abner Mares (5)
  6. Oscar Valdez (6)
  7. Scott Quigg (7)
  8. Lee Selby (8)
  9. Joseph Diaz Jr. (9)
  10. Can Xu (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar (10)

Can Xu enters the rankings in place of Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar, whose inactivity causes him to fall from the top 10.

Jr. Featherweight (122 Pounds)
  1. Guillermo Rigondeaux (1)
  2. Rey Vargas (2)
  3. Emanuel Navarette (4)
  4. Daniel Roman (7)
  5. Diego De La Hoya (5)
  6. Isaac Dogboe (6)
  7. TJ Doheny (8)
  8. Jessie Magdaleno (3)
  9. Ryosuke Iwasa (9)
  10. Shingo Wake (10)

Daniel Roman and TJ Doheny put on one of the better fights so far of 2019. Roman took the decision, but their performances cause some shuffling in the rankings.

Bantamweight (118 Pounds)
  1. Naoya Inoue (1)
  2. Luis Nery (2)
  3. Ryan Burnett (3)
  4. Jamie McDonnell (4)
  5. Juan Carlos Payano (5)
  6. Emmanuel Rodriguez (7)
  7. Zolani Tete (8)
  8. Jason Moloney (9)
  9. Takuma Inoue (10)
  10. Nonito Donaire (-)

Removed from the rankings: Zhanat Zhakiyanov (6)

Zhanat Zhakiyanov has been inactive for well over a year and falls from the rankings as a result. Nonito Donaire enters at in the 10 spot after advancing to the Bantamweight WBSS Finals.

Jr. Bantamweight (115 Pounds)
  1. Juan Francisco Estrada (2)
  2. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (1)
  3. Jerwin Ancajas (3)
  4. Khalid Yafai (4)
  5. Roman Gonzalez (5)
  6. Donnie Nietes (6)
  7. Kazuto Ioka (7)
  8. McWilliams Arroyo (8)
  9. Carlos Cuadras (9)
  10. Andrew Maloney (10)

Juan Francisco Estrada defeated Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in their highly anticipated rematch. The actual fight, however, didn’t live up to expectations. Estrada cruised to a decision win, with Sor Rungvisai incorporating a rather dumbfounded game plan.The pair swap spots at the top of the junior-bantamweight poll.

Flyweight (112 Pounds)
  1. Donnie Nietes (1)
  2. Juan Carlos Reveco (2)
  3. Charlie Edwards (3)
  4. Cristofer Rosales (4)
  5. Daigo Higa (5)
  6. Artem Dalakian (6)
  7. Kosei Tanaka (7)
  8. Sho Kimura (8)
  9. Moruti Mthalane (9)
  10. Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar (10)

No ranked fighters were in action, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Jr. Flyweight (108 Pounds)
  1. Ken Shiro (1)
  2. Ryoichi Taguchi (2)
  3. Hiroto Kyoguchi (3)
  4. Milan Melindo (4)
  5. Hekkie Budler (5)
  6. Carlos Canizales (6)
  7. Angel Acosta (9)
  8. Felix Alvarado (7)
  9. Ganigan Lopez (8)
  10. Saul Juarez (10)

Angel Acosta defeated Ganigan Lopez by knockout. Acosta leapfrogs both Lopez and Felix Alvarado to take the No. 7 spot.

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. Joey Canoy (8)
  9. Vic Saludar (9)
  10. Ryuya Yamanaka (10)

No ranked fighters were in action, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Pound-for-Pound
  1. Terence Crawford (1)
  2. Vasyl Lomachenko (2)
  3. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (3)
  4. Oleksandr Usyk (4)
  5. Gennady Golovkin (5)
  6. Naoya Inoue (7)
  7. Errol Spence Jr. (8)
  8. Mikey Garcia (9)
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada (-)
  10. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (7)

Dropped from the rankings: Donnie Nietes (10)

Estrada’s brilliant performance against Sor Rungvisai was easily enough for him to join the rankings at No. 9. Sor Rungvisai drops to 10th, with Nietes falling out of the rankings. Crawford stays at the top with his win over Khan.


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