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)
Joseph Parker bounced back from his knockout defeat to Joe Joyce, winning via decision against Jack Massey. Parker always is around the bottom of the top 10, but he has yet to breakthrough further when given the chance. He’s a solid fighter nonetheless.
- 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 (4)
- Gilberto Ramirez (5)
- Maxim Vlasov (6)
- Joshua Buatsi (7)
- Anthony Yarde (8)
- Mathieu Bauderlique (9)
- Jean Pascal (10)
Anthony Yarde was game, but not game enough to dethrone Artur Beterbiev. Yarde had several good moments in the fight, but ultimately fell victim to the Russian’s power, like many before him have. Beterbiev remains undefeated, and a tantalizing matchup with Dmitry Bivol still remains possible for 2023.
- 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)
- Demetrius Andrade (10)
- Pavel Silyagin (10)
Removed from the Rankings: Pavel Silyagin (10)
Demetrius Andrade moved up to 168 pounds on the Gervonta Davis-Hector Garcia undercard, and was victorious. It was an easy debut win against Desmond Nicholson, and we’ll see if he gets any big fights in his new weight class. I wouldn’t count on it, but it would be great to see him against tougher competition. “Boo Boo” debuts at No. 10.
- Jermall Charlo (1)
- Gennady Golovkin (2)
- Jaime Munguia (4)
- Liam Smith (NR)
- Chris Eubank Jr. (5)
- Ryota Murata (6)
- Michael Zefara (7)
- Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (8)
- Carlos Adames (9)
- Erislandy Lara (10)
Dropped from the Rankings: Demetrius Andrade (3)
Liam Smith moved up to 160 pounds and made quite the statement, stopping Chris Eubank Jr. in the fourth round. It was seen as an upset, and the betting odds reflected that, but I didn’t see it as a shocker. Smith is a good fighter and it’s not like Eubank Jr. had lit the world on fire as of late. Smith debuts at No. 4, with Eubank Jr. staying at No. 5, due to Demetrius Andrade being removed.
- 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)
I’m not completely sure if Liam Smith is moving up to 160 pounds officially after his victory against Chris Eubank Jr. He will remain in the rankings for now.
- 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)
Jaron Ennis fought on the undercard of the Gervonta Davis-Hector Garcia fight, and cruised to a decision victory over Karen Chukhadzhyan. It was a 12-round fight, and he won all 12 rounds. “Boot” maintains his spot at No. 4 in the rankings.
- 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 (8)
- Sandor Martin (9)
- Jose Zepeda (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Devin Haney (1)
- George Kambosos Jr. (2)
- Vasily Lomachenko (3)
- Ryan Garcia (4)
- Gervonta Davis (5)
- Richard Commey (6)
- Isaac Cruz (7)
- William Zepeda (8)
- Zaur Abdullaev (9)
- Frank Martin (10)
Gervonta Davis gave a rude welcome to Hector Garcia in Garcia’s move up to 135 pounds for the fight. Davis secured the ninth-round stoppage victory over Garcia, and held on to his WBA title. Davis stays at No. 5
- 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)
I don’t think Hector Garcia’s fight against Gervonta Davis at 135 pounds means he will stay at that weight class. Thus, Garcia will keep his spot in the rankings at 130 pounds.
- Emanuel Navarette (1)
- Rey Vargas (2)
- Mark Magsayo (3)
- Gary Russell Jr. (4)
- Mauricio Lara (5)
- Leigh Wood (6)
- Luis Alberto Lopez (7)
- Josh Warrington (8)
- Kiko Martinez (9)
- Ruben Villa (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- 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)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Juan Francisco Estrada (1)
- Jesse Rodriguez (2)
- Roman Gonzalez (3)
- Kazuto Ioka (4)
- Joshua Franco (5)
- Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (6)
- Junto Nakatani (7)
- Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (8)
- Fernando Martinez (9)
- Argi Cortes (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Sunny Edwards (1)
- Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar (2)
- Artem Dalakian (3)
- McWilliams Arroyo (4)
- Angel Acosta (5)
- Ricardo Sandoval (6)
- Seigo Akui (7)
- Felix Alvarado (8)
- Taku Kuwahara (9)
- Giemel Magramo (10)
Artem Dalakian finally returned to action, and he didn’t waste any time jumping right into a 12-round affair. He squeezed out a decision victory over David Jimenez.
- Ken Shiro (1)
- Masamichi Yabuki (2)
- Hiroto Kyoguchi (3)
- Jonathan Gonzalez (4)
- Hekkie Budler (5)
- Esteban Bermudez (6)
- Elwin Soto (7)
- Daniel Matellon (8)
- Sivenathi Nontshinga (9)
- Carlos Canizales (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- 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)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.