Combat Press Boxing Rankings: August 2021

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.

1. Tyson Fury (1)
2. Anthony Joshua (2)
3. Deontay Wilder (3)
4. Andy Ruiz (4)
5. Luis Ortiz (5)
6. Dillian Whyte (6)
7. Alexander Povetkin (7)
8. Kubrat Pulev (8)
9. Oleksandr Usyk (9)
10. Joe Joyce (10)

Tenth-ranked Joe Joyce, or “The Juggernaut” as he’s known, was back in action in July. He did not disappoint, finishing Carlos Takam in the sixth round.

1. Mairis Briedis (1)
2. Lawrence Okolie (2)
3. Yunier Dorticos (3)
4. Ilunga Makabu (4)
5. Krzystztof Glowacki (5)
6. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (6)
7. Kevin Lerena (7)
8. Arsen Goulamirian (8)
9. Aleksei Papin (9)
10. Noel Gevor (10)

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

1. Artur Beterbiev (1)
2. Sergey Kovalev (2)
3. Dmitry Bivol (3)
4. Joe Smith Jr. (4)
5. Badou Jack (5)
6. Eleider Alvarez (6)
7. Gilberto Ramirez (7)
8. Maxim Vlasov (8)
9. Marcus Browne (9)
10. Callum Johnson (10)

Gilberto Ramirez’s move up to light heavyweight has been a successful one so far. He added another victory against tough veteran Sullivan Barrera. Barrera had only been finished once before and that was a 12th-round loss. Ramirez got him out of there in the fourth rounds.

1. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (1)
2. Callum Smith (2)
3. David Benavidez (3)
4. Billy Joe Saunders (4)
5. Caleb Plant (5)
6. Daniel Jacobs (6)
7. John Ryder (7)
8. Rocky Fielding (8)
9. Fedor Chudinov (9)
10. Carlos Gongora (10)

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

1. Gennady Golovkin (1)
2. Jermall Charlo (2)
3. Demetrius Andrade (3)
4. Sergiy Derevyanchenko (4)
5. Ryota Murata (5)
6. Jaime Munguia (6)
7. Chris Eubank Jr. (7)
8. Michael Zefara (8)
9. Liam Williams (9)
10. Erislandy Lara (10)

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

1. Jermell Charlo (1)
2. Brian Castano (2)
3. Erickson Lubin (3)
4. Jeison Rosario (4)
5. Julian Williams (5)
6. Tony Harrison (6)
7. Kell Brook (7)
8. Michel Soro (8)
9. Tim Tszyu (9)
10. Sergio Garcia (10)

July featured a “Fight of the Year” candidate between the two best fighters in the division, Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano. The pair battled it out for 12 rounds. The fight was supposed to determine a unified champion, but the questionable judging ruined those plans. The head-scratching draw included a terrible 117-111 card for Charlo. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic fight that should warrant a future rematch.

1. Errol Spence Jr. (1)
2. Terence Crawford (2)
3. Shawn Porter (3)
4. Manny Pacquiao (4)
5. Keith Thurman (5)
6. Yordenis Ugas (6)
7. Danny Garcia (7)
8. Mikey Garcia (8)
9. Jaron Ennis (9)
10. Jessie Vargas (10)

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

1. Josh Taylor (1)
2. Regis Prograis (2)
3. Jose Carlos Ramirez (3)
4. Gervonta Davis (4)
5. Jose Zepeda (5)
6. Viktor Postol (6)
7. Ivan Baranchyk (7)
8. Mario Barrios (8)
9. Jack Catterall (9)
10. Arnold Barboza Jr. (10)

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

1. Teofimo Lopez (1)
2. Vasyl Lomachenko (2)
3. Ryan Garcia (3)
4. Devin Haney (4)
5. Richard Commey (5)
6. Joseph Diaz Jr. (-)
7. Emmanuel Tagoe (7)
8. George Kambosos Jr. (9)
9. Javier Fortuna (6)
10. Jorge Linares (10)

Dropped from the Rankings: Luke Campbell (8)

Joseph “Jojo” Diaz made his debut at lightweight, defeating Javier Fortuna to capture the WBC interim belt. Luke Campbell has been removed from the rankings after announcing his retirement.

1. Oscar Valdez (1)
2. Gervonta Davis (2)
3. Leo Santa Cruz (3)
4. Miguel Berchelt (4)
5. Jamel Herring (5)
6. Shavkat Rakhimov (6)
7. Tevin Farmer (8)
8. Shakur Stevenson (9)
9. Chris Colbert (10)
10. O’Shaquie Foster (-)

Dropped from the Rankings: Joseph Diaz Jr. (7)

Joseph Diaz has been removed from the rankings with his move up to lightweight. This allows O’Shaquie Foster to re-enter the rankings after being removed last month.

1. Gary Russell Jr. (1)
2. Emanuel Navarette (2)
3. Tugstsogt Nyambayar (4)
4. Mauricio Lara (5)
5. Josh Warrington (6)
6. Jessie Magdaleno (7)
7. Kid Galahad (8)
8. James Dickens (10)
9. Leigh Wood (-)
10. Can Xu (3)

Dropped from the Rankings: Ruben Villa (9)

Leigh Wood put on an excellent performance in August, scoring a TKO victory over Can Xu. He captured the WBA belt with the biggest win of professional career. Xu tumbles down to No. 10 and Wood enters at No. 9. This forces Ruben Villa from the top 10.

1. Rey Vargas (1)
2. Murodjon Akhmadaliev (2)
3. Daniel Roman (3)
4. Ronny Rios (4)
5. Stephen Fulton (5)
6. Brandon Figueroa (6)
7. Luis Nery (7)
8. Ryosuke Iwasa (8)
9. Carlos Castro (9)
10. Angelo Leo (10)

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

1. Naoya Inoue (1)
2. Nonito Donaire (2)
3. Emmanuel Rodriguez (3)
4. Nordine Oubaali (4)
5. Jason Maloney (5)
6. Guillermo Rigondeaux (6)
7. John Riel Casimero (7)
8. Zolani Tete (8)
9. Takuma Inoue (9)
10. Reymart Gaballo (10)

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

1. Juan Francisco Estrada (1)
2. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (2)
3. Roman Gonzalez (3)
4. Kazuto Ioka (4)
5. Khalid Yafai (5)
6. Jerwin Ancajas (6)
7. Carlos Cuadras (7)
8. Joshua Franco (8)
9. Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (9)
10. Andrew Maloney (10)

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

1. Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar (1)
2. Artem Dalakian (2)
3. Sunny Edwards (3)
4. Junto Nakatani (4)
5. Moruti Mthalane (5)
6. Cristofer Rosales (6)
7. McWilliams Arroyo (7)
8. Sho Kimura (8)
9. Giemel Magramo (9)
10. Angel Acosta (10)

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

1. Ken Shiro (1)
2. Hiroto Kyoguchi (2)
3. Carlos Canizales (3)
4. Elwin Soto (4)
5. Felix Alvarado (5)
6. Edward Heno (6)
7. Daniel Valladares (7)
8. Tetsuya Hisada (8)
9. Sivenathi Nontshinga (9)
10. DeeJay Kriel (10)

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

1. Knockout CP Freshmart (1)
2. Petchmanee Freshmart (2)
3. Wanheng Menayothin (3)
4. Byron Rojas (4)
5. Jose Argumedo (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.

1. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (1)
2. Naoya Inoue (2)
3. Errol Spence (3)
4. Terence Crawford (4)
5. Oleksandr Usyk (5)
6. Teofimo Lopez (6)
7. Gennady Golovkin (7)
8. Vasyl Lomachenko (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.