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.
Note: the numbers in parentheses represent the fighter’s ranking from the previous month.
- Tyson Fury (1)
- Anthony Joshua (2)
- Deontay Wilder (3)
- Andy Ruiz (4)
- Luis Ortiz (5)
- Dillian Whyte (7)
- Alexander Povetkin (6)
- Kubrat Pulev (8)
- Oleksandr Usyk (9)
- Joe Joyce (10)
Dillian Whyte got his revenge with a fourth-round TKO of Alexander Povetkin. Povetkin looked defeated from the start, lethargic and possibly reeling from the effects of a tough battle with COVID-19. Whyte and Povetkin switch spots in the rankings due to the outcome of their bout.
- Mairis Briedis (1)
- Lawrence Okolie (7)
- Yunier Dorticos (2)
- Ilunga Makabu (3)
- Krzystztof Glowacki (4)
- Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (5)
- Kevin Lerena (6)
- Arsen Goulamirian (8)
- Aleksei Papin (9)
- Noel Gevor (10)
Lawrence Okolie made easy work of Krzystztof Glowacki. Glowacki hardly landed any punches, and they were all very insignificant. Okolie is a serious problem for the division, Mairis Briedis included. Okolie moves all the way up to second with the victory.
- Artur Beterbiev (1)
- Sergey Kovalev (2)
- Dmitry Bivol (3)
- Jean Pascal (4)
- Joe Smith Jr. (5)
- Badou Jack (6)
- Eleider Alvarez (7)
- Gilberto Ramirez (8)
- Maxim Vlasov (9)
- Umar Salamov (10)
Artur Beterbiev returned after a lengthy layoff. He didn’t look quite as imposing as what we’re used to from him, but he still put away the very game Adam Deines in the 10th round. Beterbiev holds onto the top spot in the rankings.
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (1)
- Callum Smith (2)
- David Benavidez (3)
- Billy Joe Saunders (4)
- Caleb Plant (5)
- Daniel Jacobs (6)
- John Ryder (7)
- Anthony Dirrell (8)
- Rocky Fielding (9)
- Fedor Chudinov (10)
David Benavidez beat up and battered Ronald Ellis in the later rounds of their clash, eventually resulting in an 11th-round TKO finish. Benavidez will have to wait a bit to collect gold, though, with Canelo Alvarez fighting Billy Joe Saunders next and presumably Caleb Plant waiting in the wings. For now, Benavidez holds firm in the third spot.
- Gennady Golovkin (1)
- Jermall Charlo (2)
- Demetrius Andrade (3)
- Sergiy Derevyanchenko (4)
- Ryota Murata (5)
- Jaime Munguia (6)
- Chris Eubank Jr. (7)
- Michael Zefara (8)
- Liam Williams (9)
- Rob Brant (10)
Eighth-ranked Michael Zefara put away the 45-year-old Anthony Mundine in a fight that had no business being sanctioned in the first place. Mundine didn’t make it out of the first round. Nonetheless, Zefara returned to the win column for the first time since 2019.
- Jermell Charlo (1)
- Jarrett Hurd (2)
- Erislandy Lara (3)
- Brain Carlos Castano (4)
- Jeison Rosario (5)
- Julian Williams (6)
- Tony Harirson (7)
- Kell Brook (8)
- Michel Soro (9)
- Tim Tszyu (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Patrick Teixeria (10)
Tim Tszyu enters the rankings after a fifth-round TKO of Dennis Hogan. The 26-year-old Aussie remains undefeated. His arrival in the top 10 bumps Patrick Teixeira from the rankings.
- Errol Spence Jr. (1)
- Terence Crawford (2)
- Shawn Porter (3)
- Manny Pacquiao (4)
- Keith Thurman (5)
- Yordenis Ugas (6)
- Danny Garcia (7)
- Mikey Garcia (8)
- Jessie Vargas (9)
- Sergey Lipinets (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged. However, Vergil Ortiz Jr. is knocking on the door after a very impressive finish of Maurice Hooker.
- Josh Taylor (1)
- Regis Prograis (2)
- Jose Carlos Ramirez (3)
- Viktor Postol (4)
- Jose Zepeda (6)
- Ivan Baranchyk (7)
- Mario Barrios (8)
- Jack Catterall (9)
- Arnold Barboza Jr. (10)
- Robert Easter Jr. (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Maurice Hooker (5)
Maurice Hooker departs the junior-welterweight top 10 after moving up to welterweight. Robert Easter Jr. joins the rankings after cruising to a unanimous decision over Ryan Martin. Easter is now 2-0 since moving up a division.
- Teofimo Lopez (1)
- Vasyl Lomachenko (2)
- Gervonta Davis (3)
- Ryan Garcia (4)
- Devin Haney (5)
- Richard Commey (6)
- Javier Fortuna (7)
- Emmanuel Tagoe (8)
- Luke Campbell (9)
- George Kambosos Jr. (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Oscar Valdez (1)
- Gervonta Davis (2)
- Leo Santa Cruz (3)
- Miguel Berchelt (4)
- Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (5)
- Joseph Diaz Jr. (6)
- Tevin Farmer (7)
- Jamel Herring (8)
- Shakur Stevenson (9)
- O’Shaquie Foster (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Gary Russell Jr. (1)
- Emanuel Navarette (3)
- Can Xu (4)
- Tugstsogt Nyambayar (5)
- Mauricio Lara (-)
- Josh Warrington (2)
- Jessie Magdaleno (6)
- Kid Galahad (7)
- Ruben Villa (8)
- James Dickens (9)
Dropped from the rankings: Joet Gonzalez (10)
Mauricio Lara scored a massive upset over former No. 2 Josh Warrington at Wembley Arena. The victory places Lara at fifth in the division, while Warrington plummets to sixth. Warrington has already exercised his rematch clause, so we’ll see the pair go at it again later this year. Lara’s entry also leads to the exit of Joet Gonzalez from the top 10.
- Rey Vargas (1)
- Murodjon Akhmadaliev (2)
- Daniel Roman (3)
- Ryosuke Iwasa (4)
- Ronny Rios (5)
- Stephen Fulton (6)
- Brandon Figueroa (7)
- Luis Nery (8)
- Carlos Castro (9)
- Angelo Leo (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Naoya Inoue (1)
- Nordin Oubaali (2)
- Emmanuel Rodriguez (3)
- Nonito Donaire (4)
- Jason Maloney (5)
- Guillermo Rigondeaux (6)
- John Riel Casimero (7)
- Zolani Tete (8)
- Takuma Inoue (9)
- Reymart Gaballo (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Juan Francisco Estrada (1)
- Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (2)
- Roman Gonzalez (3)
- Kazuto Ioka (4)
- Khalid Yafai (5)
- Jerwin Ancajas (6)
- Carlos Cuadras (7)
- Joshua Franco (8)
- Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (9)
- Andrew Maloney (10)
Top-ranked Juan Francisco Estrada just edged out No. 3 Roman Gonzalez in an early “Fight of the Year” candidate. A third bout between the two warriors has already been announced, with the date and venue to be determined. Second-ranked Srisaket Sor Rungvisai was also in action this month, albeit against an overmatched opponent in Ekkawit Songnui. SSR put away Songnui in the third round. He will now wait to face the winner of Estrada-Gonzalez III.
- Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar (1)
- Artem Dalakian (2)
- Moruti Mthalane (3)
- Junto Nakatani (4)
- Cristofer Rosales (5)
- McWilliams Arroyo (6)
- Sho Kimura (7)
- Giemel Magramo (8)
- Angel Acosta (9)
- Jay Harris (10)
Angel Acosta defeated Gilberto Mendoza via unanimous decision. It was just an eight-round affair, with Acosta fighting for the first time since October 2019. Acosta maintains his hold on the ninth spot with the win.
- Ken Shiro (1)
- Hiroto Kyoguchi (2)
- Carlos Canizales (3)
- Elwin Soto (4)
- Felix Alvarado (5)
- Edward Heno (6)
- Daniel Valladares (7)
- Tetsuya Hisada (8)
- Sivenathi Nontshinga (9)
- DeeJay Kriel (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Knockout CP Freshmart (1)
- Petchmanee Freshmart (-)
- Wanheng Menayothin (2)
- Byron Rojas (3)
- Jose Argumedo (4)
- Simphiwe Khonco (5)
- Nkosinathi Joyi (6)
- Joey Canoy (7)
- Melvin Jerusalem (8)
- Wilfredo Mendez (9)
Dropped from the rankings: Pedro Taduran (10)
Petchmanee Freshmart defeated Pattharapong Ruengsilanon in the fourth round. It was Ruengsilanon’s debut, which tells you everything you need to know about the depth and quality of the division. Petchmanee vaults to second and bumps Pedro Taduran from the rankings.
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (1)
- Naoya Inoue (2)
- Errol Spence (3)
- Terence Crawford (4)
- Oleksandr Usyk (5)
- Teofimo Lopez (6)
- Gennady Golovkin (7)
- Vasyl Lomachenko (8)
- Juan Francisco Estrada (9)
- Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (10)
Both Juan Francisco Estrada and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai notched victories this month, but they stay put in their respective spots in the pound-for-pound poll.
Editor’s Note: Fighters are eligible to be ranked if they have competed in the last 18 months. Fighters who announce their retirement will remain ranked for a period of six months following their final bout.