{"id":831458,"date":"2026-07-29T14:45:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T14:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/831458\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T14:45:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T14:45:12","slug":"the-rings-latest-ratings-hitchins-among-changes-across-six-divisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/831458\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ring’s Latest Ratings: Hitchins among changes across six divisions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kenshiro Teraji<\/a> showed poise and the skills which previously saw him a fixture on pound-for-pound lists as he outboxed Israel Gonzalez to the tune of a 12-round decision for the WBO junior bantamweight strap on July 20<\/a>.His impressive win at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan was sandwiched between a gutsy 11th-round stoppage win for WBC junior flyweight champion Shokichi Iwata<\/a> against then-unbeaten challenger Erik Badillo. An even more tense main event tussle saw Riku Masuda continue his fine form<\/a>, beating the returning Daigo Higa over 12 rounds.While many were focused on heavyweight action in Asia and the Middle East, an unfortunate weight mishap saw former two-division beltholder Stephen Fulton (23-2, 8 KOs) fail to compete<\/a>, let alone deliver in a proposed 130-pound WBA title eliminator against Liam Wilson on the Errol Spence-Tim Tszyu undercard in Sydney, Australia.Former WBO 154-pound champion Tszyu still has work to do, if he’s to crack into the top 10 after declaring middleweight was his new home following a career-best win over Spence<\/a>, who retired post-fight at the weekend.IBF junior middleweight titleholder Josh Kelly was made to work for a gritty 12-round decision win during his first title defense against Caoimhin Agyarko, though didn’t do enough in Saudi Arabia to warrant movement as rising pound-for-pound force Jaron “Boots” Ennis continues to circle the Brit for an in-house title unification<\/a>.On a night where two attractions ended year-long layoffs, Edgar Berlanga is calling for big fights once again<\/a> after climbing off the canvas to stop Steven Butler in their Zuffa Boxing 09 headliner. Though it was his longtime friend and promotional stablemate Richardson Hitchins who produced a shutout against Ricardo Salas<\/a>, while nursing a hand injury, prompting a shake-up across two weight categories. Six different divisions saw changes, big and small, this week, so scroll down to read the breakdown.<\/p>\n

*Bold\/italics denotes movement in the division.<\/p>\n

Welterweight<\/p>\n

Hitchins’ points win sees him enter the bottom half of a loaded 147-pound division, leapfrogging two-division champion and former foe Paro into the No. 9 spot. Lewis Crocker, who Paro beat last month, drops out.<\/p>\n

C (vacant)<\/p>\n

1 DEVIN HANEY WBO U.S. 33-0-0 (15 KOs)<\/p>\n

2 BRIAN NORMAN JR. U.S. 28-1-0 (22 KOs)<\/p>\n

3 JACK CATTERALL U.K. 33-2-0 (14 KOs)<\/p>\n

4 EIMANTAS STANIONIS Lithuania 16-1-0 (9 KOs)<\/p>\n

5 RYAN GARCIA WBC U.S. 25-2-0 (20 KOs)<\/p>\n

6 ROHAN POLANCO Dom. Rep. 17-0-0 (10 KOs)<\/p>\n

7 RAUL CURIEL Mexico 17-0-1 (14 KOs)<\/p>\n

8 ALEXIS ROCHA U.S. 26-2-1 (16 KOs)<\/p>\n

9 RICHARDSON HITCHINS U.S. 21-0-0 (8 KOs)<\/p>\n

10 LIAM PARO IBF Australia 28-1-0 (16 KOs)<\/p>\n

Junior Welterweight<\/p>\n

The aforementioned 28-year-old’s departure from junior welterweight means all but two contenders move up a place at 140 pounds. Lopez is sure to join him after next month’s WBA title fight with Rolando Romero.<\/p>\n

C SHAKUR STEVENSON U.S. 25-0-0 (11 KOs)<\/p>\n

1 DALTON SMITH U.K. 19-0-0 (14 KOs)<\/p>\n

2 KEYSHAWN DAVIS U.S. 15-0-0 (10 KOs)<\/p>\n

3 TEOFIMO LOPEZ U.S. 22-2-0 (13 KOs)<\/p>\n

4 ALBERTO PUELLO Dom. Rep. 24-1-0 (10 KOs)<\/p>\n

5 GARY ANTUANNE RUSSELL U.S. 18-1-0 (17 KOs)<\/p>\n

6 ADAM AZIM U.K. 14-0-0 (11 KOs)<\/p>\n

7 SANDOR MARTIN Spain 43-4-0 (15 KOs)<\/p>\n

8 SUBRIEL MATIAS Puerto Rico 23-3-0 (22 KOs)<\/p>\n

9 PIERCE O’LEARY Ireland 19-0-0 (11 KOs)<\/p>\n

10 ERNESTO MERCADO U.S. 19-0-0 (18 KOs)<\/p>\n

Featherweight<\/p>\n

Fulton’s big weight miss at junior lightweight means he drops out of the 126-pound class with a whimper, while Venezuelan spoiler Parra \u2014 who drew with Trinidad last year and stunned Elijah Pierce, enters at No. 10.<\/p>\n

C (vacant)<\/p>\n

1 RAFAEL ESPINOZA WBO Mexico 28-0-0 (24 KOs)<\/p>\n

2 BRUCE CARRINGTON WBC U.S. 18-0-0 (10 KOs)<\/p>\n

3 ANGELO LEO IBF U.S. 26-1-0 (12 KOs)<\/p>\n

4 BRANDON FIGUEROA U.S. 27-2-1 (20 KOs)<\/p>\n

5 NICK BALL U.K. 23-1-1 (13 KOs)<\/p>\n

6 MIRCO CUELLO Argentina 16-0-0 (13 KOs)<\/p>\n

7 RA\u2019EESE ALEEM U.S. 23-1-0 (12 KOs)<\/p>\n

8 CRISTOBAL LORENTE Spain 21-0-3 (8 KOs)<\/p>\n

9 OMAR TRINIDAD U.S. 21-0-2 (14 KOs)<\/p>\n

10 LORENZO PARRA Venezuela 24-1-1 (18 KOs)<\/p>\n

Bantamweight<\/p>\n

Masuda rises two places to No. 4 at 118 pounds, a spot above WBO champion Medina. Meanwhile, Higa dropped one place though confirmed he will not be retiring after another agonising defeat at the elite level.<\/p>\n

C (vacant)<\/p>\n

1 SEIYA TSUTSUMI Japan 13-0-3 (8 KOs)<\/p>\n

2 TAKUMA INOUE WBC Japan 22-2-0 (5 KOs)<\/p>\n

3 JESSE RODRIGUEZ WBA U.S. 24-0-0 (17 KOs)<\/p>\n

4 RIKU MASUDA Japan 11-1-0 (9 KOs)<\/p>\n

5 CHRISTIAN MEDINA WBO Mexico 27-4-0 (19 KOs)<\/p>\n

6 DAIGO HIGA Japan 21-4-3 (19 KOs)<\/p>\n

7 JOSE SALAS IBF Mexico 17-0-0 (11 KOs)<\/p>\n

8 ANTONIO VARGAS U.S. 19-2-1 (11 KOs)<\/p>\n

9 TENSHIN NASUKAWA Japan 8-1-0 (3 KOs)<\/p>\n

10 MICHAEL ANGELETTI U.S. 15-0-0 (8 KOs)<\/p>\n

Junior Bantamweight<\/p>\n

Three-division champion Teraji rises into the top-half of a division previously ruled by Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, with four contenders below him all making way. <\/p>\n

C (vacant)<\/p>\n

1 FERNANDO MARTINEZ Argentina 18-1-0 (9 KOs)<\/p>\n

2 DAVID JIMENEZ WBA Costa Rica 18-1-0 (12 KOs)<\/p>\n

3 KENSHIRO TERAJI Japan 26-2-0 (16 KOs) <\/p>\n

4 PHUMELELA CAFU South Africa 11-1-3 (8 KOs)<\/p>\n

5 ANDREW MOLONEY IBF Australia 29-4-0 (18 KOs)<\/p>\n

6 TOMOYA TSUBOI Japan 3-0-0 (2 KOs)<\/p>\n

7 RICARDO MALAJIKA South Africa 17-2-0 (12 KOs)<\/p>\n

8 WILLIBALDO GARCIA Mexico 23-7-2 (13 KOs)<\/p>\n

9 THEOPHILOUS ALLOTEY Ghana 14-0-0 (11 KOs)<\/p>\n

10 SIKHO NQOTHOLE South Africa 22-3-0 (13 KOs)<\/p>\n

Junior Flyweight<\/p>\n

Iwata rises two spots to No. 3 after an impressive title defense, while Badillo falls furthest: three places and sits at No. 10 after suffering a harsh lesson at world level.<\/p>\n

C (vacant)<\/p>\n

1 RENE SANTIAGO WBA, WBO Puerto Rico 16-4-0 (9 KOs)<\/p>\n

2 THANONGSAK SIMSRI IBF Thailand 39-1-0 (34 KOs)<\/p>\n

3 SHOKICHI IWATA WBC Japan 17-2-0 (14 KOs)<\/p>\n

4 CARLOS CANIZALES Venezuela 28-3-1 (20 KOs)<\/p>\n

5 KYOSUKE TAKAMI Japan 10-1-0 (8 KOs)<\/p>\n

6 REGIE SUGANOB Philippines 18-1-0 (7 KOs)<\/p>\n

7 SIVENATHI NONTSHINGA S. Africa 14-2-0 (11 KOs)<\/p>\n

8 MASATAKA TANIGUCHI Japan 21-6-0 (15 KOs)<\/p>\n

9 AARON DE LA CRUZ Mexico 14-0-0 (9 KOs)<\/p>\n

10 ERIK BADILLO Mexico 19-1-0 (8 KOs)<\/p>\n

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