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)
- Badou Jack (5)
- Ilunga Makabu (6)
- Aleksei Papin (7)
- Noel Gevor (8)
- Mateusz Masternak (9)
- Richard Riakporhe (NR)
Dropped from the Rankings: Thabiso Mchunu (10)
Lawrence Okolie cruised to a boring decision victory over David Light. Okolie really needs a step-up in competition, because he hasn’t been challenged in some time. Thabiso Mchunu has been removed from the rankings and replaced by Richard Riakporhe. Riakporhe has been on a tear as of late, and Mchunu has gone backwards fast.
- Dmitry Bivol (1)
- Artur Beterbiev (2)
- Joe Smith Jr. (3)
- Callum Smith (4)
- Gilberto Ramirez (5)
- Joshua Buatsi (7)
- Anthony Yarde (8)
- Mathieu Bauderlique (9)
- Dan Azeez (NR)
- Michael Eifert (NR)
Dropped from the Rankings: Maxim Vlasov (6), Jean Pascal (10)
Jean Pascal was out-boxed over 12 rounds in his home country of Canada, losing to Michael Eifert of Germany. Easily the biggest win of Eifert’s career, and his reward is an IBF mandatory shot at Artur Beterbiev. Pascal’s spot at No. 10 is now Eifert’s. Maxim Vlasov is removed from the rankings as well, with undefeated British Boxer Dan Azeez entering at No. 9.
- 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)
Months of trash talk between Caleb Plant and David Benavidez culminated with an average fight. The build up was definitely more entertaining, and it was Benavidez who backed up his talk, taking over in the latter part of the fight as he walked away with the decision victory. It took a few rounds for Benavidez to get going, but once he did, he pieced apart Plant and came close to having the fight stopped in the championship rounds. Benavidez will be stuck in a holding pattern for a while, with his wish of wanting Canelo not likely being granted until 2024. Benavidez holds onto the No. 2 spot, and Plant keeps his spot at No. 3, due to a very shallow division.
- Jermall Charlo (1)
- Gennady Golovkin (2)
- Jaime Munguia (3)
- Liam Smith (4)
- Chris Eubank Jr. (5)
- Michael Zefara (7)
- Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (8)
- Carlos Adames (9)
- Erislandy Lara (10)
- Meiirim Nursultanov (NR)
Dropped from the Rankings: Ryota Murata (6)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, but Ryota Murata did announce his retirement. The former champion had a good career and racked up some knockouts throughout. Everyone that was below him moves up a spot, and Meiirim Nursultanov enters at No. 10. Nursultanov is an undefeated fighter from Kazakhstan who holds the WBO International Title.
- Jermell Charlo (1)
- Brian Castano (2)
- Sebastian Fundora (3)
- Tim Tszyu (4)
- Liam Smith (5)
- Erickson Lubin (6)
- Israel Madrimov (7)
- Magomed Kurbanov (8)
- Jesus Ramos (NR)
- Danny Garcia (10)
Dropped from the Rankings: Tony Harrison (9)
Tim Tsyzu looked fantastic, as he stopped Tony Harrison in the ninth round of their WBO interim title contest. Tszyu is waiting for a fight against Jermell Charlo to unify the WBO title, as Charlo has been on the sidelines due to an injury. Tony Harrison drops out of the rankings, with Abel Ramos sliding in at 9 to take his spot.
- 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 (8)
- Conor Benn (9)
- David Avanesyan (10)
Cody Crowley was in action on the Plant-Benavidez card, and kept his unbeaten record intact. Crowley was able to eek out a split decision victory over Abel Ramos in their 12-round fight. More competitive of a fight than I think most expected, as Ramos came into the fight with only one victory since 2020. It was a WBC title eliminator fight, but that means nothing in boxing with sanctioning bodies changing the rules all the time.
- 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)
- Jose Zepeda (10)
- Sandor Martin (9)
Jose Zepeda was in action and had a clean sweep on the scorecards, defeating Neeraj Goyat in Guadalajara, Mexico. Zepeda jumped a spot to No. 9 in the rankings.
- 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)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Shakur Stevenson (1)
- Oscar Valdez (2)
- O’Shaquie Foster (3)
- Leo Santa Cruz (4)
- Shavkat Rakhimov (5)
- Hector Luis Garcia (6)
- Joe Cordina (7)
- Emanuel Navarette (8)
- Kenichi Ogawa (9)
- Robson Conceicao (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)
- Brandon Figueora (NR)
- Mark Magsayo (3)
- Gary Russell Jr. (4)
- Mauricio Lara (5)
- Leigh Wood (6)
- Luis Alberto Lopez (7)
- Josh Warrington (8)
- Kiko Martinez (9)
Dropped from the Rankings: Ruben Villa (10)
Brandon Figueroa had a very successful move up to featherweight, winning the WBC interim title by defeating Mark Magsayo via decision. It was a great performance by Figueroa, and the scorecards reflected that. Figueroa enters the rankings at No. 3, with Magsayo falling to No. 4. Ruben Villa is dropped due to Figueroa’s arrival.
- Stephen Fulton (1)
- Murodjon Akhmadaliev (2)
- Ronny Rios (3)
- Luis Nery (5)
- Ra’eese Aleem (6)
- Takuma Inoue (7)
- Zolani Tete (8)
- Daniel Roman (9)
- Marlon Tapales (10)
- Liam Davies (NR)
Dropped from the Rankings: Brandon Figueroa (4)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged. Brandon Figueroa has been removed from the rankings after moving up to bantamweight. Liam Davies is the beneficiary of Brandon’s move up, entering at No. 10.
- 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)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- 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.