Yordenis Ugás (Stephanie Trapp/TGB Promotions)

Combat Press Boxing Rankings: February 2020

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.

Heavyweight
  1. Deontay Wilder (1)
  2. Tyson Fury (2)
  3. Anthony Joshua (3)
  4. Andy Ruiz (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)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged. February, on the other hand, looks to be a huge month for the division, with the long-awaited rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury set to take place on Feb. 22.

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

No. 5-ranked Ilunga Makabu is one of the more entertaining boxers in the sport. He’s rarely in a boring fight. His most recent win came against Michal Cieslak by unanimous decision to capture the vacant WBC title.


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Light Heavyweight (175 Pounds)
  1. Artur Beterbiev (1)
  2. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (2)
  3. Sergey Kovalev (3)
  4. Oleksandr Gvovdyk (4)
  5. Eleider Alvarez (5)
  6. Dmitry Bivol (6)
  7. Jean Pascal (7)
  8. Badou Jack (8)
  9. Gilberto Ramirez (9)
  10. Joe Smith Jr. (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Jesse Hart (10)

Jesse Hart falls out of the top 10 after a terrible showing against Joe Smith Jr. He looked unprepared for Smith’s smothering attack. Smith takes over at No. 10.

Super Middleweight (168 Pounds)
  1. Callum Smith (1)
  2. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (2)
  3. David Benavidez (3)
  4. Billy Joe Saunders (4)
  5. Caleb Plant (5)
  6. Daniel Jacobs (6)
  7. Anthony Dirrell (7)
  8. John Ryder (8)
  9. Willie Monroe Jr. (9)
  10. Rocky Fielding (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Middleweight (160 Pounds)
  1. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (1)
  2. Gennady Golovkin (2)
  3. Jermall Charlo (3)
  4. Demetrius Andrade (4)
  5. Sergiy Derevyanchenko (5)
  6. Ryota Murata (6)
  7. Jaime Munguia (-)
  8. Chris Eubank Jr. (7)
  9. Jeff Horn (8)
  10. Michael Zefara (9)

Dropped from the rankings: Maciej Sulecki (10)

Jaime Munguia moved up to middleweight and scored a TKO finish of Spike O’Sullivan in the 11th round. Munguia jumps in at No. 8 and bumps Maciej Sulecki outside of the top 10. Demetrius Andrade, our No. 4 middleweight, got the win over Luke Keeler. Andrade really needs to start fighting better opposition, though.

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

Dropped from the rankings: Jaime Munguia (4)

In a really big upset to start off 2020, Jeison Rosario scored a TKO of Julian Williams in the fifth round. The previously unranked Rosario vaults to fourth, while Williams tumbles to fifth. Meanwhile, Jaime Munguia moved up to middleweight and therefore relinquishes his spot in the junior-middleweight rankings. Thanks to all of the shuffling, the PBC now has the top six fighters of the division under its umbrella. While there is no true consensus No. 1, Hurd holds the top spot here.

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

Danny Garcia started off his 2020 campaign with an easy win over Ivan Redkach. Yordenis Ugás had an easy time against Mike Dallas Jr. Both fighters retain their respective spots in the rankings.

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

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Lightweight (135 Pounds)
  1. Vasyl Lomachenko (1)
  2. Teofimo Lopez (2)
  3. Luke Campbell (3)
  4. Emmanuel Tagoe (4)
  5. Richard Commey (5)
  6. Devin Haney (6)
  7. Gervonta Davis (7)
  8. Rances Barthelemy (8)
  9. Javier Fortuna (9)
  10. Lee Selby (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Jr. Lightweight (130 Pounds)
  1. Miguel Berchelt (1)
  2. Leo Santa Cruz (2)
  3. Francisco Vargas (3)
  4. Miguel Roman (4)
  5. Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (6)
  6. Joseph Diaz Jr. (7)
  7. Tevin Farmer (5)
  8. Jamel Herring (8)
  9. Rene Alvarado (9)
  10. Masayuki Ito (10)

Tevin Farmer and Joseph Diaz Jr. battled it out for the IBF title, with Diaz coming out on top via the decision. Farmer, who formerly checked in at No. 5, slides to seventh with the loss, while Diaz inches up to sixth.

Featherweight (126 Pounds)
  1. Gary Russell Jr. (1)
  2. Josh Warrington (2)
  3. Carl Frampton (3)
  4. Abner Mares (4)
  5. Oscar Valdez (5)
  6. Can Xu (6)
  7. Tugstsogt Nyambayar (7)
  8. Shakur Stevenson (8)
  9. Jessie Magdaleno (9)
  10. Claudior Marrero (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Jr. Featherweight (122 Pounds)
  1. Guillermo Rigondeaux (1)
  2. Rey Vargas (2)
  3. Emanuel Navarette (3)
  4. Murodjon Akhmadaliev (-)
  5. Daniel Roman (4)
  6. Isaac Dogboe (5)
  7. TJ Doheny (6)
  8. Ryosuke Iwasa (7)
  9. Ronny Rios (8)
  10. Brandon Figueroa (9)

Dropped from the rankings: Azat Hovhannisyan (10)

Daniel Roman suffered his first loss since 2013 when he dropped his January outing to Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev. Akhmadaliev is now the WBA and IBF champion after only eight pro fights. He’s also our new No. 4-ranked junior featherweight. Azat Hovhannisyan falls out of the top 10 as a result, and Roman slots in at No. 5.

Bantamweight (118 Pounds)
  1. Naoya Inoue (1)
  2. Luis Nery (2)
  3. Jamie McDonnell (3)
  4. Emmanuel Rodriguez (4)
  5. Nonito Donaire (5)
  6. Jason Maloney (6)
  7. Nordine Oubaali (7)
  8. John Riel Casimero (8)
  9. Zolani Tete (9)
  10. Takuma Inoue (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

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. Carlos Cuadras (8)
  9. Andrew Maloney (9)
  10. Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Flyweight (112 Pounds)
  1. Charlie Edwards (1)
  2. Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar (2)
  3. Cristofer Rosales (3)
  4. Artem Dalakian (4)
  5. Kosei Tanaka (5)
  6. Sho Kimura (6)
  7. Moruti Mthalane (7)
  8. McWilliams Arroyo (8)
  9. Andrew Selby (9)
  10. Junto Nakatani (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Jr. Flyweight (108 Pounds)
  1. Ken Shiro (1)
  2. Hiroto Kyoguchi (2)
  3. Hekkie Budler (3)
  4. Carlos Canizales (4)
  5. Elwin Soto (5)
  6. Angel Acosta (6)
  7. Felix Alvarado (7)
  8. Edward Heno (8)
  9. Daniel Valladares (9)
  10. Tetsuya Hisada (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

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

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

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 fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.


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