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)
- Joe Joyce (8)
- Luis Ortiz (6)
- Dillian Whyte (7)
- Joseph Parker (9)
- Daniel Dubois (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Lawrence Okolie (1)
- Jai Opetaia (2)
- Mairis Briedis (3)
- Yunier Dorticos (4)
- Ilunga Makabu (5)
- Aleksei Papin (6)
- Noel Gevor (7)
- Mateusz Masternak (8)
- Thabiso Mchunu (9)
- Michal Cieslak (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Dmitry Bivol (1)
- Artur Beterbiev (2)
- Joe Smith Jr. (3)
- Callum Smith
- Gilberto Ramirez (4)
- Maxim Vlasov (6)
- Joshua Buatsi (8)
- Anthony Yarde (9)
- Mathieu Bauderlique (10)
- Jean Pascal (NR)
Jean Pascal finds himself back in the rankings, with Marcus Browne dropping out due to inactivity. Pascal enters at 10.
- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (1)
- David Benavidez (2)
- Caleb Plant (3)
- John Ryder (4)
- Daniel Jacobs (5)
- Rocky Fielding (6)
- Lerrone Richards (7)
- Carlos Gongora (8)
- David Morrell Jr. (9)
- Pavel Silyagin (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Jermall Charlo (1)
- Gennady Golovkin (2)
- Demetrius Andrade (3)
- Jaime Munguia (4)
- Chris Eubank Jr. (5)
- Ryota Murata (6)
- Michael Zefara (7)
- Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (8)
- Carlos Adames (9)
- Erislandy Lara (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 (8)
- Tony Harrison (9)
- Danny Garcia (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Errol Spence Jr. (1)
- Terence Crawford (2)
- Keith Thurman (3)
- Jaron Ennis (4)
- Yordenis Ugas (5)
- Vergil Ortiz Jr. (6)
- Eimantas Stanionis (7)
- Cody Crowley (9)
- Conor Benn (10)
- David Avanesyan (8)
No surprise here, as Terence Crawford steamrolled past David Avanesyan, picking up the knockout victory in the sixth round. It was a disappointing year for Crawford, and boxing fans alike, with a matchup with Errol Spence Jr. falling apart during negotiations. Avenesyan stays in the rankings, but falls to No. 10.
- Josh Taylor (1)
- Regis Prograis (2)
- Jose Carlos Ramirez (3)
- Jack Catterall (4)
- Arnold Barboza Jr. (5)
- Subriel Matias (6)
- Gary Antuanne Russell (7)
- Teofimo Lopez (NR)
- Sandor Martin (8)
- Jose Zepeda (9)
Dropped from the Rankings: Montana Love (10)
Teofimo Lopez had his first test at his new weight class, and it wasn’t an inspiring performance. Lopez was lucky to walk out with a victory over Sandor Martin, thanks to some questionable scoring. The intimidation factor is gone with Lopez, and it doesn’t seem his skills have improved or evolved since his upset victory over Lomachenko. Nonetheless, Lopez did win and enters the rankings at No. 8. Montana Love exits the rankings.
- Devin Haney (1)
- George Kambosos Jr. (2)
- Vasily Lomachenko (4)
- Ryan Garcia (5)
- Gervonta Davis (6)
- Richard Commey (7)
- Isaac Cruz (8)
- William Zepeda (9)
- Zaur Abdullaev (10)
- Frank Martin (NR)
Dropped from the Rankings: Teofimo Lopez (3)
Teofimo Lopez has been removed after moving up in weight. Everyone moves up a spot, and Frank Martin joins the rankings. Martin had a hell of a performance, taking the zero away from Michel Rivera’s record, all while staying undefeated himself.
- 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 (2)
- Mark Magsayo (3)
- Gary Russell Jr. (4)
- Mauricio Lara (5)
- Leigh Wood (7)
- Luis Alberto Lopez (NR)
- Josh Warrington (6)
- Kiko Martinez (8)
- Ruben Villa (9)
Dropped from the Rankings: Issac Dogboe (10)
Josh Warrington suffered defeat, falling on the scorecards to Luis Alberto Lopez. For Lopez, it was his biggest victory to date, and he left no doubt who the victor was, beating Warrington on his own turf. Warrington falls to No. 8, and Issac Dogboe is removed. It’s more than fair to ask whether Warrington will bounce back and become a top-tier fighter again, as he only has one victory since 2019, albeit an impressive one against Kiko Martinez in March 2022.
- Stephen Fulton (1)
- Murodjon Akhmadaliev (2)
- Ronny Rios (3)
- Brandon Figueroa (4)
- Luis Nery (5)
- Ra’eese Aleem (6)
- Takuma Inoue (7)
- Zolani Tete (8)
- Daniel Roman (9)
- Marlon Tapales (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Naoya Inoue (1)
- Nonito Donaire (2)
- Emmanuel Rodriguez (4)
- Jason Maloney (3)
- John Riel Casimero (5)
- Reymart Gaballo (6)
- Rau’shee Warren (7)
- Vincent Astrolabio (8)
- Paul Butler (9)
- Gary Antonio Russell (10)
Another opponent and another knockout victory for Naoya Inoue. Paul Butler was tough as hell, but eventually was put away in the eleventh round. Both fighters retain their respective spots in the rankings.
- Juan Francisco Estrada (1)
- Jesse Rodriguez (2)
- Roman Gonzalez (3)
- Kazuto Ioka (4)
- Joshua Franco (NR)
- Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (5)
- Junto Nakatani (NR)
- Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (6)
- Fernando Martinez (7)
- Argi Cortes (9)
Dropped from the Rankings: Jerwin Acajas (10), Carlos Cuadras (8)
Kazuto Ioka and Joshua Franco fought to a draw, in what was Franco’s first bout since 2021. Not a bad way to shake off the rust, and get himself back in the rankings. Franco is back in at No. 5, and Acajas drops out from the rankings. Junto Nakatani moved up a weight class and defeated Francisco Rodriguez Jr. at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. Carlos Cuadras is removed, and Nakatani enters at No. 7.
- Sunny Edwards (3)
- Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar (1)
- Artem Dalakian (2)
- McWilliams Arroyo (6)
- Angel Acosta (8)
- Ricardo Sandoval (9)
- Seigo Akui (10)
- Felix Alvarado (NR)
- Taku Kuwahara (NR)
- Giemel Magramo (8)
Dropped from the Rankings: Junto Nakatani (4), Moruti Mthalane (5)
Sunny Edwards reigns supreme in the flyweight division, leaving behind a 2022 which saw him successfully defend his IBF title twice. Julio Cesar Martinez dropped back down to flyweight after a loss to Roman Gonzalez, one where he was ineligible to win the title after not making weight. IT’s odd to see a fighter move up and miss weight, only to see them go back to their prior weight class. Martinez defeated Samuel Carmona by majority decision. Martinez falls to No. 2. Artem Dalakian was to be removed from the rankings for inactivity, but finally has a fight scheduled late January. He drops a spot, regardless. Junto Nakatani is out after moving up in weight.
Also in action, Giemel Magramo lost to Taku Kuwahara. Magramo slides down to No. 10, with Kuwahara debuting at No. 9. Moruti Mthalane is also out due to inactivity at flyweight. Felix Alvarado enters at No. 8, despite his most recent fight being a loss. That loss just happened to be against Sunny Edwards, but it was a good performance nonetheless. Alvarado was a top fighter at Jr. Flyweight, and I see no reason why he can’t continue his success in his new weight class.
- Ken Shiro (3)
- Masamichi Yabuki (2)
- Hiroto Kyoguchi (1)
- Jonathan Gonzalez (4)
- Hekkie Budler (5)
- Esteban Bermudez (9)
- Elwin Soto (10)
- Daniel Matellon (NR)
- Sivenathi Nontshinga (NR)
- Carlos Canizales (NR)
Dropped from the Rankings: Felix Alvarado (6), Edward Heno (7), Daniel Vallardes (8)
Ken Shiro jumps up to No. 1 after capping off an impressive 2022. Shiro revenged his lone loss to Masamichi Yabuki and then defeated Hiroto Kyoguchi, taking his top spot in the rankings. Edward Heno has fallen quite a bit, not even able to pick up a victory in an eight-round contest against an opponent with just 14 wins coupled with 8 losses. He drops all the way out of the rankings after a lackluster year. Daniel Vallardes also leaves the rankings after doing something you don’t see often, dropping down a weight class this far into a career. And with Felix Alvarado moving up in weight, there’s a substantial change to the rankings heading into 2023, with three new fighters entering.
- 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)
- Josh Taylor (7)
- Juan Francisco Estrada (8)
- Tyson Fury (9)
- Shakur Stevenson (10)
Naoya Inoue keeps his No. 1 spot after defeating Paul Butler.