Combat Press Boxing Rankings: October 2022

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. Oleksandr Usyk (2)
3. Deontay Wilder (3)
4. Anthony Joshua (4)
5. Andy Ruiz (5)
6. Joe Joyce (8)
7. Luis Ortiz (6)
8. Dillian Whyte (7)
9. Joseph Parker (9)
10. Daniel Dubois (10)

Joe Joyce lived up to his Juggernaut moniker and disposed of Joseph Parker in the 11th round. Joyce’s power was too much, and the knockout victory brings him up to 6 in the rankings. 

1. Lawrence Okolie (1)
2. Jai Opetaia (2)
3. Mairis Briedis (3)
4. Yunier Dorticos (4)
5. Ilunga Makabu (5)
6. Aleksei Papin (6)
7. Noel Gevor (7)
8. Mateusz Masternak (8)
9. Thabiso Mchunu (9)
10. Michal Cieslak (10)

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

1. Dmitry Bivol (1)
2. Artur Beterbiev (2)
3. Joe Smith Jr. (3)
4. Gilberto Ramirez (4)
5. Callum Smith (5)
6. Maxim Vlasov (6)
7. Marcus Browne (7)
8. Joshua Buatsi (8)
9. Anthony Yarde (9)
10. Mathieu Bauderlique (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. David Benavidez (2)
3. Caleb Plant (3)
4. John Ryder (4)
5. Daniel Jacobs (5)
6. Rocky Fielding (6)
7. Lerrone Richards (7)
8. Carlos Gongora (8)
9. David Morrell Jr. (9)
10. Pavel Silyagin (10)

Canelo bested GGG to put the rivalry to rest. It was a lackluster end to the trilogy, with Golovkin looking every bit of 40 years old. Canelo didn’t look like a world beater himself, but he won easily by decision. The guess is he’ll take some time off to heal and get a rematch with Bivol, as long as Bivol remains undefeated after his upcoming fight with Gilberto Ramirez. .

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

GGG was in action, albeit at 168. The performance wasn’t the greatest and it’s hard to keep him at No. 1 at middleweight. Charlo bumps up to head the rankings. 

1. Jermell Charlo (1)
2. Brian Castano (2)
3. Sebastian Fundora (3)
4. Tim Tszyu (4)
5. Liam Smith (5)
6. Erickson Lubin (6)
7. Israel Madrimov (7)
8. Magomed Kurbanov (8)
9. Tony Harrison (9)
10. Danny Garcia (10)

Liam Smith picked up his third consecutive victory by TKO, putting away an overmatched Hassan Mwakinyo in the 4th round. It was a stay-busy fight for Smith, with the bout taking place above 154 pounds. Expect a bigger fight next go around for the Brit.

1. Errol Spence Jr. (1)
2. Terence Crawford (2)
3. Keith Thurman (3)
4. Jaron Ennis (4)
5. Yordenis Ugas (5)
6. Vergil Ortiz Jr. (6)
7. Eimantas Stanionis (7)
8. David Avanesyan (8)
9. Cody Crowley (9)
10. Conor Benn (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. Jack Catterall (4)
5. Jose Zepeda (5)
6. Arnold Barboza Jr. (6)
7. Montana Love (7)
8. Subriel Matias (8)
9. Gary Antuanne Russell (9)
10. Sandor Martin (10)

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

1. Devin Haney (1)
2. George Kambosos Jr. (2)
3. Teofimo Lopez (3)
4. Vasily Lomachenko (4)
5. Ryan Garcia (5)
6. Gervonta Davis (6)
7. Richard Commey (7)
8. Isaac Cruz (9)
9. Joseph Diaz Jr. (8)
10. Zaur Abdullaev (10)

Isaac Cruz made easy work of Eduardo Ramirez, getting the knockout victory in just the second round. Cruz won the WBC Silver Light title, which is a thing. Earlier in the year he won the WBO Inter-Continental title, which just shows you how many belts get thrown around in boxing. Cruz leaps Diaz Jr. in the rankings..

1. Shakur Stevenson (1)
2. Oscar Valdez (2)
3. Leo Santa Cruz (3)
4. Shavkat Rakhimov (4)
5. Hector Luis Garcia (5)
6. Joe Cordina (6)
7. Chris Colbert (7)
8. Kenichi Ogawa (8)
9. Robson Conceicao (9)
10. Jeremia Nakathiilia (10)

Shakur Stevenson’s last fight at 130 was pretty disappointing, given the fact he didn’t even make weight. The performance was a typical one from Stevenson. Completely schooled Robson Conceicao. It will be fun to see how Shakur does at lightweight, where he’ll have plenty of legit opponents and stars to face.

1. Emanuel Navarette (1)
2. Rey Vargas (2)
3. Mark Magsayo (3)
4. Gary Russell Jr. (4)
5. Mauricio Lara (5)
6. Josh Warrington (6)
7. Leigh Wood (7)
8. Kiko Martinez (8)
9. Kid Galahad (9)
10. Ruben Villa (10)

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

1. Stephen Fulton (1)
2. Murodjon Akhmadaliev (2)
3. Ronny Rios (3)
4. Brandon Figueroa (4)
5. Luis Nery (5)
6. Ra’eese Aleem (6)
7. Takuma Inoue (7)
8. Zolani Tete (8)
9. Daniel Roman (9)
10. Marlon Tapales (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. Jason Maloney (3)
4. Emmanuel Rodriguez (4)
5. John Riel Casimero (5)
6. Reymart Gaballo (6)
7. Rau’shee Warren (7)
8. Vincent Astrolabio (8)
9. Paul Butler (9)
10. Gary Antonio Russell (10)

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

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez continued his very impressive 2022 campaign, defeating Israel Gonzalez by unanimous decision. 

1. Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar (1)
2. Artem Dalakian (2)
3. Sunny Edwards (3)
4. Junto Nakatani (4)
5. Moruti Mthalane (5)
6. McWilliams Arroyo (6)
7. Giemel Magramo (7)
8. Angel Acosta (8)
9. Ricardo Sandoval (9)
10. Seigo Akui (10)

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

1. Hiroto Kyoguchi (1)
2. Masamichi Yabuki (2)
3. Ken Shiro (3)
4. Jonathan Gonzalez (4)
5. Hekkie Budler (5)
6. Felix Alvarado (6)
7. Edward Heno (7)
8. Daniel Valladares (8)
9. Esteban Bermudez (9)
10. Elwin Soto (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. Naoya Inoue (1)
2. Oleksandr Usyk (2)
3. Terence Crawford (3)
4. Errol Spence (4)
5. Dmitry Bivol (5)
6. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (6)
7. Josh Taylor (8)
8. Juan Francisco Estrada (9)
9. Tyson Fury (10)
10. Shakur Stevenson (NR)

Oleksandr Usyk keeps his spot in the rankings. GGG is removed from the list. Everyone below him moves up a spot and Shakur Stevenson appears at No. 10.