Alexander Povetkin (L) and Christian Hammer (RCC Boxing Promotions)

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

You can put those talks of a Dillian Whyte showdown with Tyson Fury to rest. Alexander Povetkin knocked out the Brit with a highlight-worthy uppercut. The two switch spots in the rankings as a result.

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


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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. Dmitry Bivol (6)
  6. Jean Pascal (7)
  7. Joe Smith Jr. (10)
  8. Badou Jack (8)
  9. Eleider Alvarez (5)
  10. Gilberto Ramirez (9)

Joe Smith Jr. continued his impressive career resurgence with a TKO victory over Eleider Alvarez. That’s back-to-back wins over high-level competition for Smith, who climbs from 10th to seventh in the rankings. Meanwhile, Alvarez slides down to the No. 9 spot with the loss.

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)

David Benavidez defeated Alexis Angulo via TKO in the 10th round. However, he missed weight yet again and was therefore stripped of the WBC title. Benavidez needs to move up a division or take his diet regimen more seriously. He keeps his position in the rankings for now, but he’s in danger of dropping several spots if he keeps missing weight.

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 (7)
  8. Chris Eubank Jr. (8)
  9. Michael Zefara (10)
  10. Tim Tszyu (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Jeff Horn (9)

The improbable story of Jeff Horn has come to an end. He was defeated once more, this time by Tim Tszyu on the August 26 card in Australia. As a result, Horn falls from the top 10. Tszyu enters our poll with the win.

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

Erislandy Lara returned to competition in what was really little more than a stay-busy fight. The second-ranked junior middleweight won by decision against Greg Vendetti.

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. Yordenis Ugas (7)
  8. Mikey Garcia (8)
  9. Sergey Lipinets (9)
  10. Jessie Vargas (10)

Shawn Porter, our No. 3 welterweight, returned to action with a decision victory over Sebastian Formella. Porter remains in the running for a big fight, possibly against Terence Crawford.

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. Jose Zepeda (9)
  10. Mario Barrios (10)

Jose Carlos Ramirez defeated Viktor Postol by majority decision. It wasn’t a very convincing victory, though, as quite a few people had Postol up on their scorecards. Ramirez, who sits one spot above Postol in the rankings, sets himself up with a unifying fight against top-ranked Josh Taylor.

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

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last 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 (5)
  6. Joseph Diaz Jr. (6)
  7. Tevin Farmer (7)
  8. Jamel Herring (8)
  9. Oscar Valdez (9)
  10. Rene Alvarado (10)

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

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

Carl Frampton returned to action and defeated Darren Traynon by TKO in the seventh round of their bout. Frampton maintains his hold on the No. 3 spot with the victory.

Jr. Featherweight (122 Pounds)
  1. Rey Vargas (1)
  2. Emanuel Navaratte (2)
  3. Murodjon Akhmadaliev (3)
  4. Daniel Roman (4)
  5. Isaac Dogboe (5)
  6. Ryosuke Iwasa (6)
  7. Ronny Rios (7)
  8. Brandon Figueroa (8)
  9. Stephen Fulton (9)
  10. Carlos Castro (10)

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

Bantamweight (118 Pounds)
  1. Naoya Inoue (1)
  2. Luis Nery (2)
  3. Emmanuel Rodriguez (3)
  4. Nonito Donaire (4)
  5. Jason Maloney (5)
  6. Nordine Oubaali (6)
  7. Guillermo Rigondeaux (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 last 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. Roman Gonzalez (4)
  5. Khalid Yafai (5)
  6. Donnie Nietes (6)
  7. Kazuto Ioka (7)
  8. Carlos Cuadras (8)
  9. Joshua Franco (9)
  10. Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (10)

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

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

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last 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 last 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. Nkosinathi Joyi (7)
  8. Joey Canoy (8)
  9. Melvin Jerusalem (9)
  10. Wilfredo Mendez (10)

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


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