Usyk maintains heavyweight lead, Benavidez rises in rankings after recent fights

"

David Benavidez now sits at No. 2 in two divisions. (Photo by Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy/Getty Images) | Getty Images We’re back! Things got muddled for a couple months there so this is our first update since March, and we’re taking into account three full months of boxing’s results and also reshuffling here and there, because I think it’s important to do that, as I’ve said before. Things can change fast, performance matters as much as wins and losses a lot of the time, and you start seeing things differently here and there. If you don’t do this, in my experience, you wind up staying static and keeping people ranked highly just because they were before. Anyway, on with the many lists! Heavyweight (Limit: None) Last Rank Name Info 1 1 Oleksandr Usyk WBC, WBA, IBF 24-0-0 (15) Ukraine Next: Rico Verhoeven, 5/23 4 2 Agit Kabayel 27-0-0 (19) Germany Next: TBA 2 3 Tyson Fury 35-2-1 (24) United Kingdom Next: TBA 6 4 Daniel Dubois WBO 23-3-0 (22) United Kingdom Next: TBA 10 5 Moses Itauma 14-0-0 (12) United Kingdom Next: TBA 3 6 Fabio Wardley 20-1-1 (19) United Kingdom Next: TBA 5 7 Joseph Parker 36-4-0 (24) New Zealand Next: TBA 7 8 Anthony Joshua 29-4-0 (26) United Kingdom Next: Kristian Prenga, 7/25 9 9 Filip Hrgovic 20-1-0 (15) Croatia Next: TBA – 10 Frank Sanchez 26-1-0 (19) Cuba Next: TBA Titles: WBC – Oleksandr Usyk, WBA – Oleksandr Usyk, IBF – Oleksandr Usyk, WBO – Daniel Dubois Upcoming Notable Fights: Dante Stone vs Kingsley Ibeh, 6/20 … Gurgen Hovhannisyan vs Uila Mau’u, 7/11 … (7) Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga, 7/25 Notes: Oleksandr Usyk retains the top spot. The Rico fight is weird, it’s an anomaly of sorts, it’s hard to know what to make of it in a ratings context. Same with Fury scraping by Ngannou a couple years ago. Speaking of, Tyson Fury dips to No. 3, I just didn’t make much of his win over Makhmudov nor his performance, but Tyson is still No. 2 or No. 3, I just think Agit Kabayel’s recent performances really have earned a nod above today’s version of Tyson. Daniel Dubois goes up to No. 4 after trouncing Fabio Wardley, who drops to No. 6. Moses Itauma shoots up the rankings because when I look at the landscape of this division, the way that guy’s been thrashing opponents is quite impressive compared to the field. He’s young, he may sink instead of swim when the opposition gets better, but I’m being bold here. I really think he’s that good. Frank Sanchez returns to the rankings after absolutely obliterating Richard Torrez Jr, and his win from years ago over Efe Ajagba still matters enough for me to put him in at No. 10 over Ajagba, who was the other consideration for me. We now wait for big fights to shake out. AJ vs Fury is likely coming, so long as the two of them get past tune-ups they don’t actually need very much. Usyk vs Kabayel seems the probable next fight, but I would actually not be shocked if Usyk retired or gave up the WBC belt and fought Rico again. Cruiserweight (Limit: 200) Last Rank Name Info 1 1 Jai Opetaia Zuffa 30-0-0 (23) Australia Next: TBA – 2 David Benavidez WBA, WBO 32-0-0 (26) United States Next: TBA 2 3 Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez 48-2-0 (30) Mexico Next: TBA 3 4 Chris Billam-Smith 21-2-0 (13) United Kingdom Next: Ryan Rozicki, 6/6 4 5 Noel Mikaelyan WBC 28-3-0 (12) Armenia Next: TBA 5 6 Badou Jack 29-4-3 (17) Sweden Next: TBA 6 7 Michal Cieslak 28-2-0 (22) Poland Next: TBA 7 8 Yuniel Dorticos 27-3-0 (25) Cuba Next: TBA 10 9 Viddal Riley 14-0-0 (7) United Kingdom Next: TBA 8 10 Ryan Rozicki 21-1-1 (20) Canada Next: Chris Billam-Smith, 6/6 Titles: WBC – Noel Mikaelyan, WBA – David Benavidez, IBF – Vacant, WBO – David Benavidez, Zuffa – Jai Opetaia Upcoming Notable Fights: (4) Chris Billam-Smith vs (10) Ryan Rozicki, 6/6 … Jack Massey vs Cheavon Clarke, 6/6 … Leonardo Mosquea vs Francisco Rivas, 6/6 … Luke Modini vs Xibei Jia, 6/6 … David Nyika vs Floyd Masson, 8/8 … Karim Maatalla vs TBA, 8/8 Notes: I don’t love Zuffa, but I’ll acknowledge their belt(s) with the others. Every bit as legit, especially in this case with Opetaia, who is the top cruiserweight in the sport. I don’t love the WBC, WBA, IBF, or WBO, either. Zuffa will soon enough have some weak champions. So do all of those sanctioning bodies. David Benavidez rockets into the cruiserweight rankings and sits just behind Opetaia. The way Benavidez smoked Zurdo Ramirez really was a special performance. Zurdo is a good, tough fighter, and Benavidez took him apart and made him quit, basically. I don’t think a fight with Opetaia would be quite so easy for David, because Opetaia has hand speed that Zurdo lacks and a greater danger in his return fire, but I also know Benavidez is smart enough that he wouldn’t fight Zurdo the same way, and Benavidez hasn’t put a foot wrong in game planning yet. Light Heavyweight (Limit: 175) Last Rank Name Info 1 1 Dmitry Bivol WBA, IBF, WBO 25-1-0 (12) Russia Next: TBA 2 2 David Benavidez WBC 32-0-0 (26) United States Next: TBA 4 3 Albert Ramirez 22-0-0 (19) Venezuela Next: Lerrone Richards, 6/4 5 4 Joshua Buatsi 20-1-0 (13) United Kingdom Next: TBA 6 5 Anthony Yarde 27-4-0 (24) United Kingdom Next: TBA 7 6 Imam Khataev 11-1-0 (10) Russia Next: Mickael Diallo, 6/4 8 7 Radivoje Kalajdzic 30-3-0 (22) United States Next: TBA 9 8 Umar Dzambekov 14-0-0 (10) Austria Next: TBA 10 9 Willy Hutchinson 20-2-0 (14) United Kingdom Next: TBA – 10 Najee Lopez 16-0-0 (13) Puerto Rico Next: TBA Titles: WBC – David Benavidez, WBA – Dmitry Bivol, IBF – Dmitry Bivol, WBO – Dmitry Bivol Upcoming Notable Fights: (3) Albert Ramirez vs Lerrone Richards, 6/4 … (6) Imam Khataev vs Mickael Diallo, 6/4 … Mehmet Unal vs Yoann Kongolo, 6/11 … Lyndon Arthur vs Lewis Edmondson, 6/20 … Ben Whittaker vs Richard Rivera, 6/27 … Jean Pascal vs Francis Lafreniere, 6/27 … Ardian Krasniqi vs Vinko Zadro, 6/27 … Maidel Sando vs TBA, 7/7 Notes: Dmitry Bivol is back, easy win over Michael Eifert, and now something bigger probably comes next. Probably. Maybe not! Could be Artur Beterbiev, who remains unranked here due to inactivity. I’m not as high on a third fight between Bivol and a 41-year-old, inactive Beterbiev as some may be. Maybe it’s still a good fight, maybe it kinda isn’t. And I say that as a huge fan of Beterbiev and Bivol, too, really. That said, unless the alternative is David Benavidez, I don’t know that you can make a better fight than Bivol vs Beterbiev 3, either. I know that among the current 175 crop, you can’t make a bigger one other than Benavidez. David Morrell goes a-tumbling out of the top 10 after his shock upset loss to Zak Chelli, who does not join the top 10, but maybe would if we had our own pretend champions like The Ring does, which would provide an extra “contender” spot. Super Middleweight (Limit: 168) Last Rank Name Info 1 1 Canelo Alvarez 63-3-2 (39) Mexico Next: Christian Mbilli, 9/12 2 2 Osleys Iglesias IBF 15-0-0 (14) Cuba Next: TBA 3 3 Christian Mbilli WBC 29-0-1 (24) France Next: Canelo Alvarez, 9/12 4 4 Lester Martinez 19-0-1 (16) Argentina Next: TBA 5 5 Diego Pacheco 25-0-0 (18) United States Next: TBA 6 6 Hamzah Sheeraz WBO 23-0-1 (19) United Kigndom Next: TBA – 7 Jaime Munguia WBA 46-2-0 (35) Mexico Next: TBA 7 8 Jacob Bank 19-0-0 (11) Denmark Next: TBA 8 9 Kevin Sadjo 28-1-0 (25) France Next: Richard Mtangi, 6/10 10 10 Bektemir Melikuziev 17-1-0 (11) Uzbekistan Next: TBA Titles: WBC – Christian Mbilli, WBA – Jaime Munguia, IBF – Osleys Iglesias, WBO – Hamzah Sheeraz Upcoming Notable Fights: Weljon Mindoro vs Elias Espadas, 6/5 … (9) Kevin Sadjo vs Richard Mtangi, 6/10 … Wilkens Mathieu vs Esquiva Falcao, 6/11 … Moreno Fendero vs Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz, 6/11 … Edin Avdic vs Juan Narvaez, 6/19 … Elijah Garcia vs Ryan Adams, 6/20 … William Scull vs TBA, 7/7 … (1) Canelo Alvarez vs (3) Christian Mbilli, 9/12 Notes: Canelo has his next fight, and as expected it will be against Christian Mbilli on September 12, when “Mexico” goes on the road to battle “The World,” celebrating Mexican Independence with a real spectacle in Saudi Arabia. The post-Crawford vacancies have all been filled and settled into place. Jaime Munguia took the WBA title from Armando Resendiz, a fight that should have made it clear enough how much of a contender Caleb Plant isn’t at this moment, and that’s the sort of thing I mean when I talk about getting too “static” if you don’t start shuffling now and then and dusting things off. Plant was a top name in this division some years back. Big emphasis on “some years back.” Having him ranked highly right now just doesn’t reflect the division’s reality to me. Mbilli, like Resendiz, was “elevated” and now makes a big defense. Osleys Iglesias claimed the IBF. And Hamzah Sheeraz had the WBO title gift-wrapped and delivered with a basket of beautiful fresh-baked breads and high-end jams. Middleweight (Limit: 160) Last Rank Name Info 2 1 Carlos Adames WBC 25-1-1 (18) Dominican Republic Next: TBA 1 2 Erislandy Lara WBA 32-3-3 (19) Cuba Next: TBA 3 3 Aaron McKenna 20-0-0 (10) Ireland Next: TBA 4 4 Jesus Ramos Jr 24-1-0 (19) United States Next: TBA 8 5 Yoenli Hernandez 10-0-0 (9) Cuba Next: TBA 6 6 Etinosa Oliha 22-0-0 (10) Italy Next: TBA 7 7 Anauel Ngamissengue 15-1-0 (10) France Next: TBA – 8 Denzel Bentley 22-3-1 (18) United Kingdom Next: TBA 10 9 George Liddard 14-0-0 (8) United Kingdom Next: TBA – 10 Andreas Katzourakis 17-0-0 (11) Greece Next: TBA Titles: WBC – Carlos Adames, WBA – Erislandy Lara, IBF – Vacant, WBO – Janibek Alimkhanuly Upcoming Notable Fights: Michele Soro vs Hassan Mwakinyo, 6/10 … Troy Isley vs Leonardo Di Stefano, 6/14 … Derek Pomerlau vs TBA, 6/17 … Brad Pauls vs Bradley Goldsmith, 6/20 … Jahi Tucker vs Euri Cedeno, 6/27 … Bujar Tahiri vs TBA, 6/27 Notes: A switch at the top. Carlos Adames’ win over Ammo Williams kinda trumps the entire middleweight run of Lara, realistically. Would be nice if they fought each other! Lara did intend to fight Janibek. Speaking of, the IBF title that was stripped from Janibek has been given an order for a fight between Aaron McKenna and Etinosa Oliha, which is a fine enough matchup. Meanwhile, the WBO continue to keep Janibek as champ despite the drug test failures that saw the IBF strip him. Dropping out from last time are Ammo Williams, who lost pretty heavily to Adames, and Fiodor Czerkaszyn, who did nothing wrong but this is what I’m feeling right now. Denzel Bentley and Andreas Katzourakis are in. Katzourakis scored a really solid win over Misael Rodriguez on the May 10 Zuffa card, and Bentley’s on a good run of form right now, too, picking up the British and European titles two fights ago, and the interim WBO belt on April 4. There are a lot of combinations you could have this division ordered after Adames/Lara or Lara/Adames at the top right now. The margins are thin. Also in the mix for me at the moment: Czerkaszyn still, Shane Mosley Jr, Ammo, Amari Jones (if you’re about to super object to that, I’m talking about Amari, not Omari), Vadim Tukov. And I’ve got a real eye on Jahi Tucker vs Euri Cedeno, too; an impressive performance in victory for one of those guys puts them in this conversation. If you were giving individual scores to fighters over a top 10 — this guy is an 8.7, then we’ve got an 8.2, a few spots later is a 6.8 or whatever — then a top 10 would always have a better average among those 10 fighters than a top 15 would, just because it’s less people. But this is a division where I think a top 10 and top 15 would basically be the same average score for me. There’s nothing really separating a bunch of people. (John doesn’t seem to have caught on fully to Katzourakis just yet, if we’re all quiet enough a bit longer he won’t dropkick the door in waving the Greek flag.) Super Welterweight (Limit: 154) Last Rank Name Info 2 1 Sebastian Fundora WBC 24-1-1 (16) United States Next: TBA 1 2 Vergil Ortiz Jr 24-0-0 (22) United States Next: TBA 3 3 Jaron “Boots” Ennis 35-0-0 (31) United States Next: Xander Zayas, 6/27 4 4 Xander Zayas WBA, WBO 23-0-0 (13) Puerto Rico Next: Jaron Ennis, 6/27 5 5 Israil Madrimov 11-2-1 (7) Uzbekistan Next: TBA 6 6 Josh Kelly IBF 18-1-1 (9) United Kingdom Next: TBA 7 7 Abass Baraou 17-2-0 (9) Germany Next: TBA 8 8 Bakhram Murtazaliev 23-1-0 (17) Russia Next: TBA 9 9 Yoenis Tellez 12-1-0 (8) Cuba Next: TBA 10 10 Tim Tszyu 27-3-0 (18) Australia Next: Errol Spence Jr, 7/25 Titles: WBC – Sebastian Fundora, WBA – Xander Zayas, IBF – Josh Kelly, WBO – Xander Zayas Upcoming Notable Fights: Milan Prat vs Amiri Rashidi Matumla, 6/10 … Freddy Kiwitt vs Erik Agtaeljan, 6/13 … (3) Jaron “Boots” Ennis vs (4) Xander Zayas, 6/27 … (10) Tim Tszyu vs Errol Spence Jr, 7/25 Notes: Sebastian Fundora goes up to No. 1 for now. The win over Keith Thurman was just Keith Thurman, old and small, but he’s active and winning impressively, which trumps what Vergil Ortiz is doing at the moment. My feeling right now is that the Zayas vs Ennis winner will have their own strong argument in July, but we’ll have to see what happens. The other news of note is that Errol Spence Jr is indeed returning, and will face Tim Tszyu in late July. If Spence looks good, yeah, he’ll probably jump into the top 10. But there are a lot of questions about Spence right now. The man hasn’t fought in three years, got absolutely walloped the last time he did, and is 36 years old. He’s also going up in weight. He also had some concerns about his general condition and dedication to boxing even before this very long hiatus. A long break honestly can be good, but I’d advise real caution with the expectations of his form upon return. Welterweight (Limit: 147) Last Rank Name Info 1 1 Devin Haney WBO 33-0-0 (15) United States Next: TBA 2 2 Eimantas Stanionis 16-1-0 (9) Lithuania Next: TBA 3 3 Rolly Romero WBA 17-2-0 (13) United States Next: TBA 9 4 Ryan Garcia WBC 25-2-0 (21) United States Next: Conor Benn, 9/12 5 5 Brian Norman Jr 29-1-0 (23) United States Next: TBA 8 6 Jack Catterall 33-2-0 (14) United Kingdom Next: TBA 7 7 Lewis Crocker IBF 22-0-0 (11) United Kingdom Next: Liam Paro, 6/24 4 8 Vadim Musaev 14-0-0 (9) Russia Next: TBA 10 9 Conah Walker 18-3-1 (9) United Kingdom Next: TBA – 10 Liam Paro 27-1-0 (16) Australia Next: Lewis Crocker, 6/24 Titles: WBC – Ryan Garcia, WBA – Rolly Romero, IBF – Lewis Crocker, WBO – Devin Haney Upcoming Notable Fights: Egidijus Kavaliauskas vs Luis Lopez, 6/19 … (6) Lewis Crocker vs (10) Liam Paro, 6/24 … Victor Cakiqi vs Florent Davis, 6/27 … Brandun Lee vs Cain Sandoval, 6/28 … Tiger Johnson vs Christopher Guerrero, 7/4 … Harlem Eubank vs David Papot, 7/18 … (4) Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn, 9/12 … Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao, 9/19 Notes: Did some major shuffling into more what I think the division really is right now, again a case where it’s easy for a guy to sit on a spot because the movement in the division has been a little strange. Stanionis has barely been active since losing to Boots Ennis, Haney feels pretty vulnerable for an unbeaten No. 1 and three-division champ, Romero and Garcia are inconsistent oddballs, Norman got pretty well handled by Haney but otherwise always looks good, Crocker’s two wins over Paddy Donovan both had some questions but they were wins all the same, and the second one in particular was solid — on and on. There is star power here, relatively speaking, although certainly this isn’t five or 10 years ago in this division. All of that star power feels a lot more vulnerable than it did in those days, which in a way can be exciting, if they take good fights. On Romero’s activity: It’s been 13 months since he fought. We’re giving him two more to get something scheduled. That’s my usual adjustment for Boxing Circumstances of some sort, a three-month grace period. Rolly had negotiated with Manny Pacquiao’s team for a January fight that obviously never materialized. As it stands, he probably should have lined up something else by now, but he’s on the PBC roster and PBC has very limited dates at this point. So a bit of leeway, but it’s coming up soon. Super Lightweight (Limit: 140) Last Rank Name Info 1 1 Shakur Stevenson WBO 25-0-0 (11) United States Next: TBA 2 2 Dalton Smith WBC 19-0-0 (14) United Kingdom Next: TBA 5 3 Gary Antuanne Russell WBA 19-1-0 (17) United States Next: TBA 6 4 Subriel Matias 23-3-0 (22) Puerto Rico Next: TBA 7 5 Alberto Puello 24-1-0 (10) Dominican Republic Next: TBA 8 6 Adam Azim 15-0-0 (12) United Kingdom Next: TBA 9 7 Keyshawn Davis 15-0-0 (10) United States Next: TBA 10 8 Lamont Roach 25-1-3 (10) United States Next: TBA – 9 Pierce O’Leary 19-0-0 (11) Ireland Next: Mark Chamberlain, 8/1 – 10 Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz 28-3-2 (18) Mexico Next: TBA Titles: WBC – Dalton Smith, WBA – Gary Antuanne Russell, IBF – Vacant, WBO – Shakur Stevenson Upcoming Notable Fights: Jhon Orobio vs Jonathan Montrel, 6/4 … Kuntae Lee vs Izuki Tomioka, 6/6 Joshuah Lupia vs Pasquale Barile, 6/6 … Mazlum Akdeniz vs Maurice Lee, 6/17 … Emiliano Vargas vs Bryce Mills, 6/27 … (9) Pierce O’Leary vs Mark Chamberlain, 8/1 Notes: Teofimo Lopez has fully confirmed he’s going up to 147, so he’s out at 140. If he changes his mind, I put him back in. It’s not that hard, really. And the same goes for Richardson Hitchins, who has vacated the IBF title and signed with Zuffa to move to 147. That will stick, because Zuffa doesn’t do the “in-between” divisions like 140 for now. So Pierce O’Leary — who has an August fight I’m really looking forward to against Mark “Kid Turki” Chamberlain — and Pitbull Cruz are in. Both spots are fragile, as most 8 through 10s are in any division. Guys like Tito Mercado and Artur Biyarslanov have arguments about on the same level, and could make a better one with any fight. I was really impressed with Adam Azim when I watched his TKO-3 win over Steve Claggett. Claggett’s kind of a knockaround pro, solid but not a contender, but that guy is tough and does not get trucked like that historically. He went all 12 with Teofimo in 2024. His only other stoppage loss was in 2011. Azim thrashing him like that says something for Azim’s ability. Azim might really be No. 2 or No. 3 in this division right now. Lightweight (Limit: 135) Last Rank Name Info 1 1 Raymond Muratalla IBF 22-0-0 (17) United States Next: TBA 2 2 Abdullah Mason WBO 20-0-0 (17) United States Next: Joe Cordina, 7/4 3 3 Floyd Schofield 19-0-0 (13) United States Next: TBA 4 4 Sam Noakes 18-1-0 (16) United Kingdom Next: TBA 5 5 William Zepeda 33-1-0 (27) Mexico Next: TBA 6 6 Andy Cruz 6-1-0 (3) Cuba Next: TBA 7 7 Bakhodur Usmonov 12-0-0 (5) Tajikistan Next: TBA 8 8 Jadier Herrera 18-0-0 (16) Cuba Next: TBA – 9 Andres Cortes 25-0-0 (13) United States Next: TBA 9 10 Armando Martinez 17-0-0 (15) Cuba Next: TBA Titles: WBC – Vacant, WBA – Gervonta “Tank” Davis, IBF – Raymond Muratalla, WBO – Abdullah Mason Upcoming Notable Fights: Dzimitry Asanau vs Roger Gutierrez, 6/4 … Avery Martin Duval vs Jose Rodolfo Macias, 6/4 … Shuma Nakazato vs Taiga Imanaga, 6/7 … Siro Choi vs Hong Quan Dinh, 6/13 … Joshua Pagan vs Rodolfo Bustamante, 6/14 … Jose Valenzuela vs Edwin De Los Santos, 6/28 … (2) Abdullah Mason vs Joe Cordina, 7/4 Notes: Only a minor shift, with Andres Cortes coming in now that he’s signed with Zuffa, moved up to 135, and won a fight. Justin Pauldo drops out. Super Featherweight (Limit: 130) Last Rank Name Info 1 1 Emanuel Navarrete IBF, WBO 40-2-1 (31) Mexico Next: TBA 2 2 O’Shaquie Foster WBC 25-3-0 (12) United States Next: TBA 4 3 Robson Conceicao 19-3-1 (8) Brazil Next: TBA 5 4 Charly Suarez 18-0-0 (10) Philippines Next: TBA 3 5 Anthony Cacace IBF 25-1-0 (9) Ireland Next: TBA 6 6 Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez 29-2-0 (27) Mexico Next: TBA 7 7 Oscar Valdez 33-3-0 (24) Mexico Next: TBA 8 8 Raymond Ford 18-2-1 (8) United States Next: TBA – 9 Ryan Garner 19-0-0 (10) United Kingdom Next: Michael Magnesi, 6/20 – 10 Josh Padley 18-1-0 (6) United Kingdom Next: Aqib Fiaz, 6/6 Titles: WBC – O’Shaquie Foster, WBA – Anthony Cacace, IBF – Emanuel Navarrete, WBO – Emanuel Navarrete Upcoming Notable Fights: Edward Vazquez vs Daniel Lugo, 6/5 … (10) Josh Padley vs Aqib Fiaz, 6/6 … (9) Ryan Garner vs Michael Magnesi, 6/20 … Liam Wilson vs Alexandru Marin, 6/24 … Yamato Hata vs Tsubasa Narai, 7/4 … Hayato Tsutsumi vs TBA, 7/14 Notes: It’s a tough call for the No. 1 slot between Navarrete and Foster, but they’ve both been fantastic for years now at 130. Still edge a bit to Navarrete, but it’s close. Foster looked really good again beating Ray Ford, and for what it’s worth, the situation this division has right now, I don’t think Ford lost any standing. He lost to a better fighter in a good fight. I’d probably pick Ford to beat Oscar Valdez, really. And I still think Ford’s very best might be ahead of him. He handles adversity pretty well in fights, that’s the most impressive thing about him to me. More than his hand speed or anything. Foster wants a fight with Shakur Stevenson, says if he can’t get that he hopes to fight Navarrete. I’d honestly rather see the Navarrete fight, but I’m guessing Foster might get more money out of the Shakur bout, and also that seems more personal for him. We’ll see what Shakur does next. Could be 140, could be 147, could be 135, could be signing with Zuffa which would mean 147 or 135. Featherweight (Limit: 126) Last Rank Name Info 1 1 Rafael Espinoza WBO 28-0-0 (24) Mexico Next: TBA 2 2 Brandon Figueroa WBA 27-2-1 (20) United States Next: TBA 3 3 Angelo Leo IBF 26-1-0 (12) United States Next: TBA 4 4 Bruce Carrington WBC 17-0-0 (10) United States Next: Rene Palacios, 7/4 5 5 Nick Ball 23-1-1 (13) United Kingdom Next: TBA 8 6 Mirco Cuello 16-0-0 (13) Argentina Next: TBA 10 7 Luis Nery 37-2-0 (28) Mexico Next: John Riel Casimero, 6/6 – 8 Liam Davies 18-1-0 (9) United Kingdom Next: TBA – 9 Cristobal Lorente 21-0-3 (8) Spain Next: TBA – 10 Lorenzo Parra 24-1-1 (18) Venezuela Next: TBA Titles: WBC – Bruce Carrington, WBA – Brandon Figueroa, IBF – Angelo Leo, WBO – Rafael Espinoza Upcoming Notable Fights: (7) Luis Nery vs John Riel Casimero, 6/6 … Omar Trinidad vs Jerwin Ancajas, 6/28 … (4) Bruce Carrington vs Rene Palacios, 7/4 Notes: Three new in at the back end, three out. Otabek Kholmatov is gone on inactivity. He hasn’t had a serious fight in over two years, hasn’t had a fight at all in 14 months, has nothing scheduled. I think he’s a good fighter, but that’s how it goes. Sam Goodman is gone because he’s moved back down to 122, and is ranked there. And Ra’eese Aleem is out because he missed weight and had an IBF title fight with Angelo Leo scrapped. We’ll also give Leo something of a grace period; technically, he’s now inactive a year, but that’s not his fault. He showed up to fight, he made weight. Carrington has a chance to leapfrog Leo if he looks good on July 4, but I don’t think that fight is quite at the level to jump Figueroa at No. 2. Super Bantamweight (Limit: 122) Last Rank Name Info 1 1 Naoya Inoue WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO 33-0-0 (27) Japan Next: TBA 3 2 Junto Nakatani 32-1-0 (24) Japan Next: TBA 4 3 Sebastian Hernandez 20-1-0 (18) Mexico Next: TBA – 4 Sam Goodman 22-1-0 (8) Australia Next: TBA 5 5 Alan Picasso 32-1-1 (17) Mexico Next: TBA 6 6 Ramon Cardenas 27-2-0 (15) United States Next: TBA – 7 Ryosuke Nishida 11-1-0 (2) Japan Next: TBA 7 8 Shabaz Masoud 15-0-0 (4) United Kingdom Next: TBA 8 9 Murodjon Akhmadaliev 14-2-0 (11) Uzbekistan Next: TBA 10 10 Fillipus Nghitumbwa 17-2-0 (15) South Africa Next: TBA Titles: WBC – Naoya Inoue, WBA – Naoya Inoue, IBF – Naoya Inoue, WBO – Naoya Inoue Upcoming Notable Fights: Toshiya Ishii vs Kaito Yamasaki, 6/7 … Arturo Cardenas vs Jordan Martinez, 6/13 … Alexandro Santiago vs Alessio Lorusso, 6/21 Notes: Inoue vs Nakatani has come and gone, and I think we pretty obviously saw the two best super bantamweights in the sport. They sit a clear 1-2 for me, and I think if you go back to Nakatani’s fight with Sebastian Hernandez, that guy put in the effort that, to me, in a volatile sort of division at the moment, earns him the No. 3 spot. Lots of changes. Sam Goodman is back at 122, looked good, he’s never lost at this weight, he comes in high at No. 4. Ryosuke Nishida comes in at No. 7 on the strength of a good win over Bryan Mercado, and hey, before he got stopped, he was giving Nakatani some decent looks down at bantamweight, too. Nishida can box. Fillipus Nghitumbwa comes in at No. 10; the South African had a loss to John Riel Casimero in 2023, has won five in a row since, including a TKO-1 stoppage of Yukinori Oguni, and that carries a little weight at the moment, too. Why? Because Oguni is the reason Marlon Tapales is out of the top 10, Oguni scored a 10-round decision upset over Tapales on April 3 in Tokyo. In a weird way, this is a very interesting division below the top two guys, who I don’t think anyone else can beat or is on that same level. But it’s really nip-and-tuck beyond that with a lot of good fighters. Bantamweight (Limit: 118) Last Rank Name Info 1 1 Seiya Tsutsumi WBA 13-0-3 (8) Japan Next: TBA 3 2 Takuma Inoue WBC 22-2-0 (5) Japan Next: TBA 2 3 Christian Medina WBO 27-4-0 (19) Mexico Next: TBA 4 4 Jose Salas IBF 17-0-0 (11) Mexico Next: TBA 9 5 Tenshin Nasukawa 8-1-0 (3) Japan Next: TBA 6 6 Antonio Vargas 19-1-1 (11) United States Next: Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, 6/13 – 7 Riku Masuda 10-1-0 (9) Japan Next: TBA 10 8 David Cuellar 29-1-0 (18) Mexico Next: TBA – 9 Michael Angeletti 14-0-0 (8) United States Next: Kenneth Llover, 6/6 – 10 Andrew Cain 15-1-0 (13) United Kingdom Next: TBA Titles: WBC – Takuma Inoue, WBA – Seiya Tsutsumi, IBF – Jose Salas, WBO – Christian Medina Upcoming Notable Fights: (9) Michael Angeletti vs Kenneth Llover, 6/6 … Shori Umezu vs Keita Kurihara, 6/6 … Tasana Salapat vs Noli James Maquilan, 6/10 … (6) Antonio Vargas vs Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, 6/13 … Mauro Forte vs Vincenzo Picardi, 7/4 Notes: Bam Rodriguez is coming into the division this month. Sounds like a pit stop, basically, as he’s checking in at 118 to win a title (?????????????) from Antonio Vargas en route to a fight at 122 with Naoya Inoue. The title bit is somewhat of a mess. Vargas was promoted to full WBA titlist a little less than a year ago, and defended in a draw against Daigo Higa, while Seiya Tsutsumi was moved to “champion in recess.” But Tsutsumi has returned and as of their latest update, I double-checked here, Tsutsumi is listed by the WBA as champion, not Vargas. But obviously the WBA will want some money, so I’m guessing somehow Vargas is also WBA champion. Usually on their rankings they’ll list, you know, Super World, World, Interim, whatever they’ve got, but not at 118. Just Tsutsumi as “World Champion.” No mention of Vargas. That’s probably just a mistake, or at least could be explained away as one, but anyway, whatever Bam’s possibly/probably about to win with the WBA at 118, it’s full-on paper belt status because of the standard idiot way this has all been handled. He’s a great fighter, but I’m not about to take this claim of a world title at 118 seriously. Not his fault, just standard WBA absurdity. Tenshin Nasukawa gets a bump back up after his pretty one-sided win over Juan Francisco Estrada. Estrada’s small at 118, he’s gotten older, but he still clearly could fight. He just couldn’t do much of anything with Tenshin. This remains one of my favorite divisions in boxing at the moment, has been for a while. Nobody’s great, but there’s a lot of quality, and these guys tend to fight each other. Super Flyweight (Limit: 115) Last Rank Name Info 2 1 Fernando Martinez 18-1-0 (9) Argentina Next: TBA 3 2 David Jimenez 18-1-0 (12) Costa Rica Next: TBA 4 3 Phumelela Cafu 11-1-3 (8) South Africa Next: TBA 5 4 Ricardo Malajika 17-2-0 (12) South Africa Next: TBA 6 5 Tomoya Tsuboi 3-0-1 (2) Japan Next: TBA 7 6 Chocolatito Gonzalez 53-4-0 (42) Nicaragua Next: TBA 8 7 Willibaldo Garcia IBF 23-6-2 (13) Mexico Next: Andrew Moloney, 6/6 10 8 Ryusei Kawaura 15-2-0 (9) Japan Next: TBA – 9 Sikho Nqothole 22-3-0 (13) South Africa Next: TBA – 10 Theophilus Allotey 14-0-0 (11) Ghana Next: TBA Titles: WBC – Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, WBA – Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, IBF – Willibaldo Garcia, WBO – Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez Upcoming Notable Fights: (7) Willibaldo Garcia vs Andrew Moloney, 6/6 … Jayr Raquinel vs Kenbun Torres, 7/12 Notes: Bam Rodriguez hasn’t vacated his belts yet, but he’s functionally gone from the division, moving up this month with plans to move up again right after, should he win. Now, if he doesn’t win, he’d have leverage to come back to 115, and if he does that, we put him back. Rene Calixto is also out, as he’s moving down to flyweight to challenge for a title. So it’s a division that will have to figure itself out soon at the top levels. Good chance the WBA will elevate David Jimenez from interim status to full title status, which would be fair enough, given how things work. Hopefully that means those thought to be real contenders fight each other, but it’s boxing, so we’ll see. That said, there’s depth in this division, and it can also be a chance for someone to really emerge. Flyweight (Limit: 112) Last Rank Name Info 2 1 Ricardo Sandoval WBC, WBA 27-2-0 (18) United States Next: TBA 3 2 Anthony Olascuaga WBO 12-1-0 (9) United States Next: Andy Dominguez, 7/11 2 3 Masamichi Yabuki IBF 19-4-0 (18) Japan Next: Rene Calixto, 6/6 4 4 Seigo Yuri Aku 22-3-1 (12) Japan Next: TBA 5 5 Angel Ayala 19-1-0 (8) Mexico Next: TBA 8 6 Felix Alvarado 42-5-0 (35) Nicaragua Next: TBA 9 7 Jonathan Gonzalez 29-4-1 (14) Puerto Rico Next: Abraham Perez, 6/14 – 8 Yoali Mejia 15-0-0 (12) Mexico Next: TBA 7 9 Galal Yafai 9-0-0 (7) United Kingdom Next: TBA – 10 Abraham Perez 14-0-0 (7) United States Next: Jonathan Gonzalez, 6/14 Titles: WBC – Ricardo Sandoval, WBA – Ricardo Sandoval, IBF – Masamichi Yabuki, WBO – Anthony Olascuaga Upcoming Notable Fights: (3) Masamichi Yabuki vs Rene Calixto, 6/6 … (7) Jonathan Gonzalez vs (10) Abraham Perez, 6/14 … (2) Anthony Olascuaga vs Andy Dominguez, 7/11 Notes: Up first, should be noted that the loss was taken off of Galal Yafai’s record finally, with Francisco Rodriguez Jr’s failed drug test fully acknowledged in April. Hey, only took nine months. Rodriguez, meanwhile, won a WBC eliminator on May 30, beating Angelino Cordova. We’ll see if that win sticks for Rodriguez, since the two before it both got erased. You’d think the WBC, with their immense concern for doping in boxing, would not keep rewarding someone with further opportunities, but that would involve taking them seriously in the first place. Yafai technically goes inactive this month but will get a grace period. I still wonder what he’ll really have if/when the fight with Ricardo Sandoval is rescheduled. You can give him back the “0,” but you can’t take away the beating he took from Rodriguez. Light Flyweight (Limit: 108) Last Rank Name Info 1 1 Rene Santiago WBA, WBO 16-4-0 (9) Puerto Rico Next: TBA 3 2 Shokichi Iwata WBC 16-2-0 (13) Japan Next: TBA 7 3 Thanongsak Simsri IBF 40-1-0 (35) Thailand Next: TBA 2 4 Carlos Canizales 28-3-1 (20) Venezuela Next: TBA 4 5 Regie Suganob 18-1-0 (7) Philippines Next: TBA 5 6 Erik Badillo 19-0-0 (8) Mexico Next: TBA 8 7 Sivenathi Nontshinga 14-2-0 (11) South Africa Next: TBA 9 8 Cristian Araneta 25-3-0 (20) Philippines Next: TBA – 9 Kyosuke Takami 10-1-0 (8) Japan Next: TBA – 10 Aaron De La Cruz 14-0-0 (9) Mexico Next: TBA Titles: WBC – Shokichi Iwata, WBA – Rene Santiago, IBF – Thanongsak Simsri, WBO – Rene Santiago Upcoming Notable Fights: TBA Notes: Iwata claimed the WBC title from Thammanoon Niyomtrong (aka Knockout CP Freshmart) via 8th round TKO on March 15, pretty much dominated him. Thammanoon’s status as a champ was pretty paper-y in the first place and he got a beating in that fight, he’s had a good career but the last two times he’s faced anyone near true world class, he has been dominated. Minimumweight (Limit: 105) Last Rank Name Info 1 1 Oscar Collazo WBA, WBO 14-0-0 (11) Puerto Rico Next: TBA 3 2 Pedro Taduran IBF 20-4-1 (14) Philippines Next: TBA 4 3 DianXing Zhu 17-1-0 (14) China Next: TBA 10 4 Siyakholwa Kuse WBC 10-3-1 (4) South Africa Next: TBA 2 5 Melvin Jerusalem 25-4-0 (12) Philippines Next: TBA 5 6 Joey Canoy 25-5-2 (15) Philippines Next: TBA 6 7 Ryusei Matsumoto 8-0-0 (4) Japan Next: TBA 7 8 Takeshi Ishii 11-1-0 (8) Japan Next: TBA – 9 Joseph Sumabong 10-1-0 (5) Philippines Next: TBA – 10 Beaven Sibanda 9-1-0 (3) Zimbabwe Next: TBA Titles: WBC – Siyakholwa Kuse, WBA – Oscar Collazo, IBF – Pedro Taduran, WBO – Oscar Collazo Upcoming Notable Fights: Russell Acosta vs Mario Cardenas, 6/6 Note: Kuse upset Jersusalem to win the WBC title on May 16 in Kempton Park, where Kuse obviously had home advantage, which was a rematch of a close fight in the Philippines last October.

"

David Benavidez is No. 2 in two divisions, Usyk hangs on at heavyweight, Bivol returns, and much more.