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)
- Luis Ortiz (6)
- Dillian Whyte (7)
- Daniel Dubois (10)
- Zhilei Zhang (NR)
- Joe Joyce (6)
Dropped from the Rankings: Joseph Parker (9)
Lack of defense and head movement finally caught up to Joe Joyce, and it was Zhilei Zhang who made him pay for it. Punch after punch just kept landing from Zhang easily, eventually shutting Joyce’s right eye completely and stopping the fight in the sixth round. For Zhang, it’s the biggest win of his career, and a nice rebound from his first professional loss last year. Zhang joins the rankings at No. 9, with Joyce falling down to No. 10, and Joseph Parker being removed.
- 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 (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)
- Joshua Buatsi (6)
- Anthony Yarde (7)
- Mathieu Bauderlique (8)
- Dan Azeez (9)
- Michael Eifert (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- 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)
David Morrell Jr. is an absolute beast and just keeps overpowering his opponents. Yamaguchi Falcao was the latest victim, and he didn’t make it past Round 1. If David Benavidez doesn’t get his Canelo fight this year, then a matchup between him and Morrell would be massive. Both are PBC fighters which makes one less obstacle to get through.
- Jermall Charlo (1)
- Gennady Golovkin (2)
- Jaime Munguia (3)
- Liam Smith (4)
- Chris Eubank Jr. (5)
- Michael Zefara (6)
- Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (7)
- Carlos Adames (8)
- Erislandy Lara (9)
- Meiirim Nursultanov (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)
- Tim Tszyu (4)
- Brian Mendoza (NR)
- Liam Smith (5)
- Sebastian Fundora (3)
- Erickson Lubin (6)
- Israel Madrimov (7)
- Magomed Kurbanov (8)
- Jesus Ramos (9)
Dropped from the Rankings: Danny Garcia (10)
The Towering Inferno, Sebastian Fundora, is undefeated no more. Brian Mendoza pulled off the shocker, and did so with a finish on his six-foot-five-inch opponent in the seventh round. Fundora falls to No. 6, Mendoza debuts at No. 5, and Danny Garcia is out of the rankings.
- 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)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- 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 (9)
- Sandor Martin (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Devin Haney (1)
- Vasily Lomachenko (3)
- Shakur Stevenson (NR)
- Gervonta Davis (5)
- Ryan Garcia (4)
- George Kambosos Jr. (2)
- William Zepeda (8)
- Richard Commey (6)
- Isaac Cruz (7)
- Frank Martin (10)
Removed from the Rankings: Zaur Abdullaev (9)
Boxing had itself a huge fight in April with Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia willing to risk their undefeated records against one another. Davis was too strong and quick, catching Garcia flush on counters. A body shot in the seventh round finished off Garcia, and gives Davis that signature victory. William Zepeda had no problem in a stay-busy fight against Jaime Arboleda, dispatching the Panamanian in the second round with a knockout. Zepeda continues his tear and keep his record spotless at 28-0. Last, but definitely not least, Shakur Stevenson officially joins the lightweight division, and it was much of the same for Shakur, with pure dominance displayed in the ring. Shuichiro Yoshino couldn’t muster up anything and was stopped in the sixth round. Big fights loom for Stevenson, which is something he couldn’t get at 130 pounds. Stevenson enters the rankings at No. 3, and, with some shuffling due to April’s activity and Stevenson’s arrival, Zaur Abdullaev is the odd one out.
- Oscar Valdez (2)
- O’Shaquie Foster (3)
- Joe Cordina (7)
- Shavkat Rakhimov (5)
- Hector Luis Garcia (6)
- Emanuel Navarette (8)
- Kenichi Ogawa (9)
- Robson Conceicao (10)
- Zelfa Barrett (NR)
- Lamont Roach Jr. (NR)
Dropped from the Rankings: Shakur Stevenson (1), Leo Santa Cruz (4)
Joe Cordina’s impressive career continues without a hitch. The Brit headlined against IBF titleholder, Shavkat Rakhimov, captured the title and handed Rakhimov his first loss. It was a narrow, split decision victory and the sixteenth win for Cordina. Cordina moves up to No. 4. Leo Santa Cruz is removed due to inactivity, and Shakur Stevenson is out after moving up to lightweight, making way for Zelfa Barrett to join at No. 9, and Lamont Roach Jr. at No. 10.
- Emanuel Navarette (1)
- Rey Vargas (2)
- Brandon Figueora (3)
- Mark Magsayo (4)
- Mauricio Lara (6)
- Leigh Wood (7)
- Luis Alberto Lopez (8)
- Josh Warrington (9)
- Reiya Abe (NR)
- Robeisy Ramirez (NR)
Dropped from the Rankings: Gary Russell Jr. (5), Kiko Martinez (10)
Kiko Martinez falls out of the rankings after being defeated by Reiya Abe in Abe’s home country. IT was a clean performance from Abe, winning widely on the scorecards. He takes the No. 10 spot from Martinez. It’s safe to say Robeisy Ramirez has rebounded quite well after starting his professional career with a loss. Ramirez captured the vacant WBO title, defeating Isaac Dogboe in a clear decision. Gary Russell Jr. is removed due to, shocker, inactivity.
- Stephen Fulton (1)
- Luis Nery (4)
- Marlon Tapales (9)
- Murodjon Akhmadaliev (2)
- Ronny Rios (3)
- Ra’eese Aleem (6)
- Takuma Inoue (7)
- Zolani Tete (8)
- Daniel Roman (9)
- Liam Davies (10)
It was a massive win for Marlon Tapales as he won a razor-close fight against Murodjon Akhmadaliev, taking Akhmadaliev’s IBF and WBA titles, and the 0 off his loss record. Tapales is now ranked at No. 3.
- 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)
- Jesse Rodriguez (NR)
- Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar (2)
- Artem Dalakian (3)
- Felix Alvarado (8)
- Seigo Akui (7)
- McWilliams Arroyo (4)
- Taku Kuwahara (9)
- Giemel Magramo (10)
- David Jimenez (NR)
Dropped from the rankings: Angel Acosta (5), Ricardo Sandoval (6)
Not many fighters, if any, have had a better past two years than Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez. Rodriguez moved down to flyweight to capture another title, this time the vacant WBO flyweight title. Rodriguez joins the rankings at No. 2. Angel Acosta has slipped quite a ways, and with his latest loss in April, he’s removed entirely. More ranking shuffling with the recent activity in the division, leading to Ricardo Sandoval being removed. David Jimenez joins the top ten.
- 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)
Ken Shiro continues his impressive career, finishing Anthony Olascuaga in the 9th round. Kudos to Olascuaga, who entered the fight with just five wins, and stayed in the fight for almost nine full rounds. Shiro is still the king of the division.
- 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.