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 month.
- Deontay Wilder (1)
- Tyson Fury (2)
- Andy Ruiz (3)
- Anthony Joshua (4)
- Luis Ortiz (5)
- Dillian Whyte (6)
- Alexander Povetkin (7)
- Kubrat Pulev (8)
- Joseph Parker (9)
- Adam Kownacki (10)
Oleksandr Usyk made his heavyweight debut in October and picked up the victory over Chazz Witherspoon. However, this win by itself isn’t enough to get him a spot in the top 10 in his new weight class.
- Murat Gassiev (2)
- Mairis Briedis (3)
- Denis Lebedev (4)
- Yunier Dorticos (5)
- Ilunga Makabu (6)
- Krzystztof Glowacki (7)
- Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (8)
- Kevin Lerena (9)
- Lawrence Okolie (10)
- Noel Gevor (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Oleksandr Usyk (1)
Oleksandr Usyk has moved up to heavyweight and therefore departs our cruiserweight rankings, making way for Noel Gevor to enter at No. 10. Lawrence Okolie, who benefits from Usyk’s removal with a bump one spot up to ninth in our poll, knocked out Yves Ngabu. Okolie’s looking to make a run up the rankings in 2020 after an impressive 2019 that included four wins, all by finish.
- Artur Beterbiev (4)
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (-)
- Sergey Kovalev (1)
- Oleksandr Gvovdyk (2)
- Eleider Alvarez (3)
- Dmitry Bivol (5)
- Badou Jack (6)
- Gilberto Ramirez (7)
- Jesse Hart (8)
- Jean Pascal (9)
Dropped from the rankings: Marcus Browne (10)
Saul “Canelo” Alavarez is just so damn good. He moved up to 175 pounds and knocked out Sergey Kovalev cold in the 11th round in what was a lackluster fight up until the highlight-reel finish. This is now the fourth division in which Alvarez has won a belt. He makes his light-heavyweight rankings debut at No. 2, while Kovalev drops to third. A few weeks prior to the Alvarez/Kovalev showdown, Artur Beterbiev bullied Oleksandr Gvovdyk to unify the WBC and IBF titles. Beterbeiv claims the No. 1 spot as a result of his victory and Kovalev’s loss. No. 6-ranked Dmitry Bivol was in action, but against another far inferior opponent in Lenin Castillo. Bivol got the win, but he’s done very little of note in 2019. Alvarez’s arrival forces Marcus Browne outside of the top 10.
- Callum Smith (1)
- Chris Eubank Jr. (2)
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (3)
- David Benavidez (4)
- James DeGale (5)
- Caleb Plant (6)
- Anthony Dirrell (7)
- Jose Uzcategui (8)
- John Ryder (9)
- Willie Monroe Jr. (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (1)
- Gennady Golovkin (2)
- Daniel Jacobs (3)
- Billy Joe Saunders (4)
- Jermall Charlo (5)
- David Lemieux (6)
- Demetrius Andrade (7)
- Sergiy Derevyanchenko (8)
- Ryota Murata (9)
- Michael Zefara (10)
Gennady Golovkin and Sergiy Derevyanchenko went the distance in a very competitive fight. Golovkin won by decision, but he looks as beatable as ever at this point in his career.
- Julian Williams(1)
- Jarrett Hurd (2)
- Erislandy Lara (3)
- Jaime Munguia (4)
- Kell Brook (5)
- Tony Harrison (6)
- Jermell Charlo (7)
- Liam Smith (8)
- Brian Carlos Castano (9)
- Michel Soro (10)
Brian Carlos Castano headlined a PBC card and picked up an easy victory over Wale Omotso.
- Terence Crawford (1)
- Errol Spence Jr. (2)
- Shawn Porter (3)
- Manny Pacquiao (4)
- Keith Thurman (5)
- Danny Garcia (6)
- Jessie Vargas (7)
- Sergey Lipinets (8)
- Yordenis Ugas (9)
- Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Josh Taylor (3)
- Regis Prograis (2)
- Jose Carlos Ramirez (4)
- Viktor Postol (5)
- Maurice Hooker (6)
- Kiryl Relikh (7)
- Ivan Baranchyk (8)
- Jack Catterall (9)
- Mohamed Mimoune (10)
- Jose Zepeda (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Mikey Garcia (1)
Regis Prograis and Josh Taylor put on a fantastic fight, one in which Taylor walked out the winner via majority decision. The bout lived up to the hype. These two men could very well be part of a fun rivalry for years to come. With Mikey Garcia removed from our poll due to inactivity within the division, Taylor takes the top spot in the rankings. Garcia’s exit paves the way for Jose Zepeda’s entry at No. 10. Zepeda has had a good year and fell just short of handing Jose Carlos Ramirez his first loss when they fought in February.
- Vasyl Lomachenko (1)
- Richard Commey (3)
- Luke Campbell (5)
- Emmanuel Tagoe (7)
- Devin Haney (8)
- Rances Barthelemy (9)
- Yuriorkis Gamboa (10)
- Teofimo Lopez (-)
- Javier Fortuna (-)
- Lee Selby (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Mikey Garcia (2), Robert Easter Jr. (4), Anthony Crolla (6)
The lightweight division may not have had many key fights in October, but there’s plenty of movement in the rankings due to inactivity and shifts in weight. Mikey Garcia departs the lightweight rankings after more than a year without a fight at this weight. Robert Easter Jr. moved up to 140 pounds and therefore exits the 135-pound rankings. Anthony Crolla also departs our poll after announcing his retirement. The vacant spots in the rankings are filled by Teofimo Lopez, Lee Selby and Javier Fortuna.
- Miguel Berchelt (1)
- Gervonta Davis (2)
- Francisco Vargas (3)
- Miguel Roman (4)
- Tevin Farmer (5)
- Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (6)
- Joseph Diaz Jr. (7)
- Jamel Herring (8)
- Andrew Cancio (9)
- Masayuki Ito (10)
Top junior lightweight Miguel Berchelt’s victory went largely unnoticed since it took place on the same night as Alvarez/Kovalev and a huge UFC pay-per-view. Nevertheless, the Mexican fighter handled Jason Sosa in a huge mismatch.
- Gary Russell Jr. (1)
- Leo Santa Cruz (2)
- Josh Warrington (3)
- Carl Frampton (4)
- Abner Mares (5)
- Oscar Valdez (6)
- Scott Quigg (7)
- Can Xu (9)
- Tugstsogt Nyambayar (10)
- Shakur Stevenson (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Lee Selby (8)
Josh Warrington took a victory over Sofiane Takoucht in a stay-busy fight. Shakur Stevenson, who picked up a win over Joet Gonzalez, enters the rankings at No. 10. Stevenson flashed the skill set that has turned many into a firm believer that he will be a star very soon. Stevenson replaces Lee Selby, who has moved up in weight, in our poll.
- Guillermo Rigondeaux (1)
- Rey Vargas (2)
- Emanuel Navarette (3)
- Daniel Roman (4)
- Isaac Dogboe (5)
- TJ Doheny (6)
- Jessie Magdaleno (7)
- Ryosuke Iwasa (8)
- Ronny Rios (10)
- Brandon Figueroa (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Shingo Wake (9)
Shingo Wake suffered an upset defeat at the hands of Jhunriel Ramonal. It was supposed to be a routine tune-up fight, but Wake was finished in the third round. The huge upset drops Wake out of the top 10, with Brandon Figueroa entering to take the final spot.
- Naoya Inoue (1)
- Luis Nery (2)
- Jamie McDonnell (4)
- Emmanuel Rodriguez (5)
- Zolani Tete (6)
- Jason Maloney (7)
- Takuma Inoue (8)
- Nonito Donaire (9)
- Nordine Oubaali (10)
- Rau’shee Warren (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Ryan Burnett (3)
Ryan Burnett made a shocking retirement announcement. He’s only 27 years old, but suffered a bad back injury earlier in the year in his fight against Nonito Donaire. Burnett’s retirement makes way for Rau’shee Warren to climb back into the rankings.
- Juan Francisco Estrada (1)
- Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (2)
- Jerwin Ancajas (3)
- Khalid Yafai (4)
- Roman Gonzalez (5)
- Donnie Nietes (6)
- Kazuto Ioka (7)
- Carlos Cuadras (8)
- Andrew Maloney (9)
- Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (10)
Francisco Rodriguez Jr. picked up the TKO victory over William Riera in the third round of their encounter.
- Charlie Edwards (1)
- Cristofer Rosales (2)
- Artem Dalakian (3)
- Kosei Tanaka (4)
- Sho Kimura (5)
- Moruti Mthalane (6)
- Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar (7)
- McWilliams Arroyo (8)
- Andrew Selby (9)
- Junto Nakatani (10)
Junto Nakatani finished Milan Melindo in what was an unsuccessful move up in weight by Melindo, who was a top-10 junior flyweight before transitioning to the flyweight division.
- Ken Shiro (1)
- Hiroto Kyoguchi (2)
- Hekkie Budler (4)
- Carlos Canizales (5)
- Elwin Soto (6)
- Angel Acosta (7)
- Felix Alvarado (8)
- Ganigan Lopez (9)
- Edward Heno (10)
- Daniel Valladares (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Milan Melindo (3)
Elwin Soto wrapped up a stellar 2019 with a decision win over fellow ranked fighter Edward Heno. Soto was an unknown as recently as June, but he has now picked up victories over Heno and Angel Acosta to become a major player in the division. Milan Melindo moved up in weight and suffered a loss to Junto Nakatani. As a result, Melindo, who hasn’t picked up a victory since 2017, departs the junior-flyweight poll. Daniel Valladares, our new No. 10, is the beneficiary of Melindo’s struggles.
- Wanheng Menayothin (1)
- Knockout CP Freshmart (2)
- Byron Rojas (3)
- Jose Argumedo (4)
- Leroy Estrada (5)
- Simphiwe Khonco (6)
- Joey Canoy (7)
- Melvin Jerusalem (8)
- Wilfredo Mendez (9)
- Vic Saludar (10)
Wanheng Menayothin won a decision over Simphiwe Khonco to continue his undefeated career. He has not lost in 54 fights. Wilfredo Mendez also added a win to his record in October when he defeated Axel Vega.
- Terence Crawford (1)
- Vasyl Lomachenko (2)
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (3)
- Naoya Inoue (4)
- Oleksandr Usyk (5)
- Gennady Golovkin (6)
- Errol Spence Jr. (7)
- Mikey Garcia (8)
- Juan Francisco Estrada (9)
- Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (10)
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin and Oleksandr Usyk all picked up victories and retain their respective spots in the pound-for-pound rankings.