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)
- Oleksandr Usyk (2)
- Deontay Wilder (3)
- Anthony Joshua (4)
- Andy Ruiz (5)
- Luis Ortiz (6)
- Dillian Whyte (7)
- Joe Joyce (9)
- Joseph Parker (10)
- Daniel Dubois (NR)
Dropped from the Rankings: Kubrat Pulev (8)
Kubrat Pulev was in action and lost a close decision to Derek Chisora. Pulev’s resume is good, but I highly doubt we’ll be seeing any marquee wins on there going forward. He drops out of the rankings, making way for Daniel Dubois to enter at No. 10.
- Lawrence Okolie (2)
- Jai Opetaia (NR)
- Mairis Briedis (1)
- Yunier Dorticos (3)
- Ilunga Makabu (4)
- Aleksei Papin (7)
- Noel Gevor (8)
- Mateusz Masternak (8)
- Thabiso Mchunu (9)
- Michal Cieslak (10)
Dropped from the Rankings: Krzystztof Wloadarczyk (5)
Fantastic fight and upset victory for Jai Opetaia, who defeated Mairis Briedis, broken jaw and all. Opetaia enters the rankings at No. 2, with Okolie being atop for the first time. Krzystztof Wlodarczyk has not had a signature victory in a few years, and the 40-year-old seems content with racking up wins against fighters with 6-2 records. He has been removed from the rankings.
- Dmitry Bivol (1)
- Artur Beterbiev (2)
- Joe Smith Jr. (3)
- Gilberto Ramirez (4)
- Maxim Vlasov (5)
- Marcus Browne (6)
- Callum Smith (7)
- Joshua Buatsi (8)
- Anthony Yarde (9)
- Mathieu Bauderlique (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (1)
- David Benavidez (2)
- Caleb Plant (3)
- John Ryder (4)
- Daniel Jacobs (5)
- Rocky Fielding (6)
- Fedor Chudinov (7)
- Lerrone Richards (8)
- Carlos Gongora (9)
- David Morrell Jr. (10)
Dropped from the Rankings: David Lemieux (10)
David Benavidez put away David Lemieux in the third round, and now has 23 of his 26 victories via stoppage. Lemieux is a tough dude, too. Lemieux falls out of the rankings, and David Morrell Jr. takes his spot.
- Gennady Golovkin (1)
- Jermall Charlo (2)
- Demetrius Andrade (3)
- Jaime Munguia (4)
- Chris Eubank Jr. (5)
- Ryota Murata (6)
- Michael Zefara (7)
- Carlos Adames (8)
- Erislandy Lara (9)
- Sergiy Derevyanchenko (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Jermell Charlo (1)
- Brian Castano (2)
- Sebastian Fundora (3)
- Tim Tszyu (4)
- Liam Smith (5)
- Erickson Lubin (6)
- Israel Madrimov (7)
- Magomed Kurbanov (9)
- Tony Harrison (10)
- Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (NR)
Dropped from the Rankings: Jeison Rosario (8)
Jeison Rosario has not competed at 154 pounds since his knockout loss to Erickson Lubin last year. He had yet another fight in his home country of the Dominican Republic, finishing a local boxer with a padded record in the second round. Rosario has been removed from the rankings, and Zhanibek Alimkhanuly enters at No. 10.
- Errol Spence Jr. (1)
- Terence Crawford (2)
- Keith Thurman (3)
- Jaron Ennis (4)
- Yordenis Ugas (5)
- Danny Garcia (6)
- Vergil Ortiz Jr. (7)
- Eimantas Stanionis (8)
- David Avanesyan (9)
- Cody Crowley (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Josh Taylor (1)
- Regis Prograis (2)
- Jose Carlos Ramirez (3)
- Jack Catterall (4)
- Jose Zepeda (5)
- Arnold Barboza Jr. (6)
- Montana Love (7)
- Subriel Matias (8)
- Gary Antuanne Russell (9)
- Sandor Martin (10)
Arnold Barboza Jr. remains undefeated after defeating Danielito Zorilla, setting himself up for a much bigger fight.
- Devin Haney (1)
- George Kambosos Jr. (2)
- Teofimo Lopez (3)
- Vasily Lomachenko (4)
- Ryan Garcia (5)
- Gervonta Davis (6)
- Richard Commey (7)
- Joseph Diaz Jr. (8)
- Isaac Cruz (10)
- Zaur Abdullaev (NR)
Dropped from the Rankings: Javier Fortuna (9)
Ryan Garcia just absolutely manhandled Javier Fortuna at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles, knocking down the veteran three times before the fight was stopped in the sixth round. Garcia keeps his spot in the rankings, and Fortuna drops out completely. Zaur Abdullaev jumps into the top ten for the first time.
- Shakur Stevenson (1)
- Oscar Valdez (2)
- Leo Santa Cruz (3)
- Shavkat Rakhimov (4)
- Hector Luis Garcia (5)
- Joe Cordina (6)
- Chris Colbert (7)
- Kenichi Ogawa (8)
- Robson Conceicao (9)
- Jeremia Nakathiilia (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Emanuel Navarette (1)
- Rey Vargas (7)
- Mark Magsayo (2)
- Gary Russell Jr. (3)
- Mauricio Lara (4)
- Josh Warrington (5)
- Leigh Wood (6)
- Kiko Martinez (8)
- Kid Galahad (9)
- Ruben Villa (10)
Rey Vargas and Mark Magsayo squared off, and Vargas walked away the champion in a very close split decision victory. Vargas has now become a champion in two weight classes, just two fights removed from moving up from Jr. Featherweight. Vargas is now the No. 2 ranked fighter in the division.
- Stephen Fulton (1)
- Murodjon Akhmadaliev (2)
- Daniel Roman (3)
- Ronny Rios (4)
- Brandon Figueroa (5)
- Luis Nery (6)
- Angelo Leo (9)
- Takuma Inoue (10)
- Ra’eese Aleem (NR)
- Zolani Tete (NR)
Dropped from the Rankings: Carlos Castro (8), Ryosuke Iwasa (7)
Brandon Figueroa finished fellow ranked fighter Carlos Castro in the sixth round, getting back in the victory column after a majority decision loss to Stephen Fulton last year. Castro drops out of the rankings, as does Ryosuke Iwasa for inactivity. Ra’eese Aleem and Zolani Tete both enter the rankings.
- Naoya Inoue (1)
- Nonito Donaire (2)
- Nordine Oubaali (3)
- Jason Maloney (4)
- Emmanuel Rodriguez (5)
- John Riel Casimero (6)
- Reymart Gaballo (9)
- Rau’shee Warren (9)
- Vincent Astrolabio (10)
- Paul Butler (NR)
Dropped from the Rankings: Zolani Tete (7)
Zolani Tete moved up a weight class and has therefore been removed from the rankings at bantamweight. Paul Butler is a new entrant in the rankings, in a division that’s in desperate need for depth.
- Juan Francisco Estrada (1)
- Jesse Rodriguez (6)
- Roman Gonzalez (3)
- Kazuto Ioka (4)
- Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (2)
- Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (5)
- Fernando Martinez (7)
- Jerwin Ancajas (8)
- Carlos Cuadras (9)
- Joshua Franco (10)
Jesse Rodriguez made Srisaket Sor Rungvisai look like an overmatched club fighter, and you can argue Rodriguez has had the most impressive 2022 of any fighter, not just his division. Rodriguez now sits behind Juan Francisco Estrada in the rankings. Ugly showing by SSR which drops him to No. 5, with plenty of questions opening up on his career going forwards. Kazuto Ioka avenged a previous loss to Donnie Nietes, leaving no controversy behind as he made easy work en route to a decision win.
- Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar (1)
- Artem Dalakian (2)
- Sunny Edwards (3)
- Junto Nakatani (4)
- Moruti Mthalane (5)
- McWilliams Arroyo (6)
- Giemel Magramo (7)
- Angel Acosta (8)
- Ricardo Sandoval (9)
- Seigo Akui (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Hiroto Kyoguchi (1)
- Masamichi Yabuki (2)
- Ken Shiro (3)
- Jonathan Gonzalez (4)
- Hekkie Budler (NR)
- Felix Alvarado (6)
- Edward Heno (7)
- Daniel Valladares (8)
- Esteban Bermudez (9)
- Elwin Soto (5)
Dropped from the Rankings: Carlos Canizales (10)
Hekkie Budler entered foreign territory and defeated Elwin Soto, showcasing brilliant footwork and speed. Budler joins the top 10 at No. 5, with Soto falling to No. 10 and Canizales removed
- Knockout CP Freshmart (1)
- Petchmanee Freshmart (2)
- Wanheng Menayothin (3)
- Byron Rojas (4)
- Jose Argumedo (5)
- Simphiwe Khonco (6)
- Nkosinathi Joyi (7)
- Joey Canoy (8)
- Melvin Jerusalem (9)
- Wilfredo Mendez (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Naoya Inoue (1)
- Oleksandr Usyk (2)
- Terence Crawford (3)
- Errol Spence (4)
- Dmitry Bivol (5)
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (6)
- Gennady Golovkin (7)
- Josh Taylor (8)
- Juan Francisco Estrada (9)
- Tyson Fury (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged