Deontay Wilder (Esther Lin/Showtime)

Combat Press Boxing Rankings: November 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.

Heavyweight
  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)

Deontay Wilder returned to action after a year layoff, and it didn’t take long to remind people how dangerous his power can be. Robert Helenius didn’t even last a round, as he was knocked out with a short hook from Wilder.


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Cruiserweight (200 Pounds)
  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.

Light Heavyweight (175 Pounds)
  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.

Super Middleweight (168 Pounds)
  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)

Caleb Plant bounced back from his first career loss, and showed he isn’t just an elusive fighter, showing off knockout power we haven’t seen from him.

Middleweight (160 Pounds)
  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)

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

Jr. Middleweight (154 Pounds)
  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)

It was a spirited effort from Carlos Ocampo, but he lost via decision to Sebastian Fundora. Fundora remains undefeated and maintains his spot in the rankings.

Welterweight (147 Pounds)
  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.

Jr. Welterweight (140 Pounds)
  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.

Lightweight (135 Pounds)
  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. William Zepeda (NR)
  10. Zaur Abdullaev (10)

Dropped from the Rankings: Joseph Diaz Jr. (8)

Same two fighters. Same Location. Same Result. Devin Haney returned to Australia to contractually defend his titles against George Kambosos Jr. 

Vasily Lomachenko defeated Jamaine Ortiz by decision, but it wasn’t an easy fight by far. Ortiz won quite a few rounds and, if it wasn’t for Lomachenko finally getting things to click in the second half of the fight, Ortiz would have pulled off a major upset

William Zepeda has sneakily entered contender status, and a performance like his recent one against Joseph Diaz Jr. is a reason why. It was a completely one-sided affair, and the widest the scorecards have been against Diaz, which includes his fights against Haney and Gary Russell Jr. Zepeda enters the rankings at Diaz’s old spot.

Jr. Lightweight (130 Pounds)
  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)

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

Featherweight (126 Pounds)
  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. Ruben Villa (10)
  10. Issac Dogboe (NR)

Dropped from the Rankings: Kid Galahad (9)

Kiko Martinez had his way with Jordan Gill, to the point where Gill’s corner threw in the towel to end the fight in the fourth round. Mauricio Lara was also in action with a stay-busy fight against Jose Sanmartin. He got the knockout victory in the third round. With Kid Galahad’s removal from the rankings, Issac Dogboe enters at No. 10.

Jr. Featherweight (122 Pounds)
  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.

Bantamweight (118 Pounds)
  1. Naoya Inoue (1)
  2. Nonito Donaire (2)
  3. Emmanuel Rodriguez (4)
  4. Jason Maloney (3)
  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)

Emmanuel Rodriguez looked fantastic against Gary Russell, displaying why he’s a top-five fighter in the division and a serious contender. Rodriguez jumps ahead of Maloney in the rankings.

Jr. Bantamweight (115 Pounds)
  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. Carlos Cuadras (9)
  9. Argi Cortes (NR)
  10. Jerwin Acajas (8)

Dropped from the Rankings: Joshua Franco (10)

The second time was not the charm for Jerwin Ancajas, as the former IBF titleholder couldn’t reclaim his belt from Fernando Martinez. Both of their fights left no doubt who is the better fighter. Joshua Franco is removed due to inactivity, and Argi Cortes joins the rankings at No. 9. Ancajas falls to No. 10.

Flyweight (112 Pounds)
  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.

Jr. Flyweight (108 Pounds)
  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.

Strawweight (105 Pounds)
  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.

Pound-for-Pound
  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 (7)
  8. Juan Francisco Estrada (8)
  9. Tyson Fury (9)
  10. Shakur Stevenson (10)

No ranked fighters were in action, so the rankings remain unchanged.


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