Tyson Fury (Chris Roberts/Frank Warren)

Combat Press Boxing Rankings: July 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 (200 Pounds)
  1. Deontay Wilder (1)
  2. Tyson Fury (2)
  3. Andy Ruiz (3)
  4. Anthony Joshua (4)
  5. Luis Ortiz (5)
  6. Dillian Whyte (6)
  7. Alexander Povetkin (7)
  8. Kubrat Pulev (8)
  9. Joseph Parker (9)
  10. Adam Kownacki (10)

Tyson Fury returned to the ring in his first fight since his clash with Deontay Wilder. Fury dominated and finished Tom Schwarz in the second round. Joseph Parker also put on a performance that was typically not eventful in defeating Alex Leapai.

Cruiserweight (200 Pounds)
  1. Oleksandr Usyk (1)
  2. Murat Gassiev (2)
  3. Mairis Briedis (3)
  4. Denis Lebedev (4)
  5. Yunier Dorticos (6)
  6. Krzystztof Glowacki (5)
  7. Ilunga Makabu (7)
  8. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (8)
  9. Kevin Lerena (-)
  10. Lawrence Okolie (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Dmitry Kudryashov (9), Andrew Tabiti (10)

Mairis Briedis picked up a very controversial win over Krzystztof Glowacki in the WBSS semifinals. Also in the semifinals, Yunier Dorticos turned in a “Knockout of the Year” contender against Andrew Tabiti. Meanwhile, Dmitry Kudryashov was finished by Ilunga Makabu. With these results, Kudryashov and Tabiti exit the top 10, Lawrence Okolie and Kevin Lerena joining the rankings, and Dorticos leapfrogs Glowacki.

Light Heavyweight (175 Pounds)
  1. Sergey Kovalev (1)
  2. Oleksandr Gvozdyk (2)
  3. Eleider Alvarez (3)
  4. Artur Beterbiev (5)
  5. Dmitry Bivol (6)
  6. Marcus Browne (7)
  7. Badou Jack (8)
  8. Jesse Hart (-)
  9. Sullivan Barrera (9)
  10. Jean Pascal (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Adonis Stevenson (4), Anthony Yarde (10)

Jesse Hart made his light heavyweight debut and defeated Sullivan Barrera. Hart, who is fully committed to the division, joins the rankings at No. 8. Elsewhere, Adonis Stevenson has been removed from the rankings, making way for Jean Pascal to enter our poll.

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. Jeff Horn (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Maciej Sulecki (10)

Demetrius Andrade cruised to a uneventul victory over Maciej Sulecki. The loss knocks Sulecki from the top 10, opening the door for Jeff Horn to join the rankings. Uneventful fights were the theme for the division, as Jermall Charlo took a decision over Brandon Adams to hold onto his No. 5 spot.

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

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

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. Sergey Lipinets (9)
  9. Yordenis Ugas (10)
  10. Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Jeff Horn (8)

Jeff Horn has been removed from the rankings due to inactivity as a welterweight. As a result, Kudratillo Abdukakhorov enters at No. 10.

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

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

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

Richard Commey continued an impressive run by getting the knockout victory over Raymundo Beltran. Beltran slides down to No. 10. He is barely hanging on as a ranked fighter. With all the emerging young talent, he most likely won’t be here for long.

Jr. Lightweight (130 Pounds)
  1. Miguel Berchelt (1)
  2. Gervonta Davis (2)
  3. Francisco Vargas (3)
  4. Miguel Roman (4)
  5. Tevin Farmer (5)
  6. Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (6)
  7. Joseph Diaz Jr. (7)
  8. Jamel Herring (8)
  9. Andrew Cancio (9)
  10. Masayuki Ito (10)

Andrew Cancio proved he was no fluke. He dominated and finished Alberto Machado yet again and therefore maintains his hold on the No. 9 spot.

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. Can Xu (9)
  10. Tugstsogt Nyambayar (10)

It was an ugly fight and win for Josh Warrington, but you can blame Kid Galahad for that. Warrington stays undefeated at 29-0 and remains as our third-ranked featherweight.

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

Guillermo Rigondeaux is active once again! He put on a slugfest against Julio Ceja, too. What a time to be alive! The Cuban picked up the TKO victory and remains at the top among junior featherweights.

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 (6)
  7. Zolani Tete (7)
  8. Jason Moloney (8)
  9. Takuma Inoue (9)
  10. Nonito Donaire (10)

No. 4-ranked Jamie McDonnell returned for the first time since his defeat against Naoya Inoue. He fought several classes above bantamweight, and it was only a six-round fight. It’s just a small confidence-booster for him.

Jr. Bantamweight (115 Pounds)
  1. Juan Francisco Estrada (1)
  2. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (2)
  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)

Khalid Yafai won easily by decision over Norbelto Jimenez, but he didn’t wow anyone. Kazuto Ioka finished Aston Palicte in an impressive display. Andrew Maloney also was a winner, getting the TKO victory after Selamani Bengaiza did not want to continue to fight in the second round.

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)

Artem Dalakian is on another level right now. The no. 6-ranked flyweight scored another knockout victory, this time over Sarawut Thawornkham. Now, he just needs a shot against a member of the top five.

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. Elwin Soto (-)
  8. Angel Acosta (7)
  9. Felix Alvarado (8)
  10. Ganigan Lopez(9)

Dropped from the rankings: Saul Juarez (10)

Hiroto Kyoguchi fought for the first time in 2019 and cruised to a decision victory over Tanaway Nakoon. In what was a “Fight of the Year” candidate, Elwin Soto seemingly came out of nowhere to post an impressive victory over Angel Acosta. Soto, who won by knockout, enters the rankings at No. 7. His entry into the top 10 bumps Saul Jaurez from our poll.

Strawweight (105 Pounds)
  1. Wanheng Menayothin (1)
  2. Knockout CP Freshmart (2)
  3. Byron Rojas (4)
  4. Jose Argumedo(5)
  5. Leroy Estrada (6)
  6. Simphiwe Khonco (7)
  7. Joey Canoy (8)
  8. Vic Saludar (9)
  9. Ryuya Yamanaka (10)
  10. Melvin Jerusalem (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Hiroto Kyoguchi (3)

Hiroto Kyoguchi has moved up permanently to the junior-flyweight level. His departure means that everyone below him takes a step up in the rankings and Melvin Jerusalem enters at No. 10.

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

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


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