Heavyweight (Limit: None)<\/p>\n
Last
\n Rank
\n Name
\n Record<\/p>\n
1
\n 1
\n Oleksandr Usyk
\n 24-0-0 (15)<\/p>\n
–
\n 2
\n Tyson Fury
\n 34-2-1 (24)<\/p>\n
2
\n 3
\n Fabio Wardley
\n 20-0-1 (19)<\/p>\n
3
\n 4
\n Agit Kabayel
\n 27-0-0 (19)<\/p>\n
4
\n 5
\n Joseph Parker
\n 36-3-0 (24)<\/p>\n
5
\n 6
\n Daniel Dubois
\n 22-3-0 (21)<\/p>\n
–
\n 7
\n Anthony Joshua
\n 29-4-0 (26)<\/p>\n
6
\n 8
\n Derek Chisora
\n 36-13-0 (23)<\/p>\n
7
\n 9
\n Filip Hrgovic
\n 19-1-0 (14)<\/p>\n
8
\n 10
\n Moses Itauma
\n 13-0-0 (11)<\/p>\n
Titles: WBC – Oleksandr Usyk, WBA – Oleksandr Usyk, IBF – Oleksandr Usyk, WBO – Fabio WardleyUpcoming Notable Fights: Labinot Xhoxhaj vs Pezhman Seifkhani, 2\/14 \u2026 Efe Ajagba vs Charles Martin, 2\/15 \u2026 Danier Pero vs Donald Haynesworth, 2\/20 \u2026 Dave Allen vs TBA, 2\/21 \u2026 Victor Faust vs Mariusz Wach, 3\/25 \u2026 (8) Moses Itauma vs Jermaine Franklin, 3\/28 \u2026 (7) Derek Chisora vs Deontay Wilder, 4\/4 \u2026 (2) Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov, 4\/11<\/p>\n
Notes: Not much change in the interim. Anthony Joshua does return after his win over Jake Paul, but of course there are now questions about Joshua\u2019s boxing future overall after the tragic death of two of his team members not long after that win in December. Purely from a boxing standpoint, I know and agree that his performance with Paul wasn\u2019t the most impressive, but I take it about how I do Tyson Fury\u2019s win over Francis Ngannou. It\u2019s so goofy it\u2019s hard to truly figure it into things, so the point is Joshua won his novelty fight and he\u2019s active.<\/p>\n
Speaking of Fury, he returns in April, \u201cending\u201d his \u201cretirement\u201d once again. I said when he was removed due to \u201cretiring\u201d that if he had a fight set, I\u2019d just put him back in the rankings, and I am. We\u2019d passed the one-year mark for inactivity, but just barely. He\u2019s got a fight set, he\u2019s back in, and while the Real Boxing Fan in me wanted to keep Kabayel and Wardley ahead of him, if I think back on that second fight with Usyk, I still firmly believe I saw the two best heavyweights in the world on that day. It wasn\u2019t so long ago that I\u2019ve got firm reason to believe he\u2019s been passed by either of them.<\/p>\n
Cruiserweight (Limit: 200)<\/p>\n
Last
\n Rank
\n Name
\n Record<\/p>\n
1
\n 1
\n Jai Opetaia
\n 28-0-0 (22)<\/p>\n
2
\n 2
\n Zurdo Ramirez
\n 48-1-0 (30)<\/p>\n
3
\n 3
\n Chris Billam-Smith
\n 21-2-0 (13)<\/p>\n
4
\n 4
\n Badou Jack
\n 29-3-3 (17)<\/p>\n
5
\n 5
\n Noel Mikaelyan
\n 27-3-0 (12)<\/p>\n
6
\n 6
\n Michal Cieslak
\n 28-2-0 (22)<\/p>\n
7
\n 7
\n Yuniel Dorticos
\n 27-3-0 (25)<\/p>\n
8
\n 8
\n Ryan Rozicki
\n 20-1-1 (19)<\/p>\n
10
\n 9
\n Mateusz Masternak
\n 49-6-0 (32)<\/p>\n
–
\n 10
\n Viddal Riley
\n 13-0-0 (7))<\/p>\n
Titles: WBC – Badou Jack, WBA – Gilberto \u201cZurdo\u201d Ramirez, IBF – Jai Opetaia, WBO – Gilberto \u201cZurdo\u201d RamirezUpcoming Notable Fights: Imran Haddabah vs Alan Campa, 2\/28 \u2026 Michiel Partoens vs Ellis Zorro, 2\/28 \u2026 Lenar Perez vs Isaac Chilemba, 3\/5 \u2026 Roman Fress vs Tahir Kahrovic, 3\/7 \u2026 Karim Maatalla vs Floyd Masson, 4\/8 \u2026 (2) Zurdo Ramirez vs David Benavidez, 5\/2<\/p>\n
Notes: Mikaelyan won the rematch with Jack, so they switch spots. Rozicki has a fight scheduled so he stays in despite passing a year of inactivity; his most recent opponent, Yamil Peralta, does not get this luxury, as he has no fight scheduled. Rozicki is constantly scheduling fights that somehow or other don\u2019t happen, so this is a \u201cpretty sneaky, sis\u201d sort of situation.<\/p>\n
Light Heavyweight (Limit: 175)<\/p>\n
Last
\n Rank
\n Name
\n Record<\/p>\n
1
\n 1
\n Dmitry Bivol
\n 24-1-0 (12)<\/p>\n
2
\n 2
\n Artur Beterbiev
\n 21-1-0 (20)<\/p>\n
3
\n 3
\n David Benavidez
\n 31-0-0 (25)<\/p>\n
4
\n 4
\n Callum Smith
\n 31-2-0 (22)<\/p>\n
5
\n 5
\n David Morrell
\n 12-1-0 (9)<\/p>\n
8
\n 6
\n Albert Ramirez
\n 22-0-0 (19)<\/p>\n
9
\n 7
\n Joshua Buatsi
\n 19-1-0 (13)<\/p>\n
10
\n 8
\n Anthony Yarde
\n 27-4-0 (24)<\/p>\n
–
\n 9
\n Imam Khataev
\n 11-1-0 (10)<\/p>\n
–
\n 10
\n Radivoje Kaladjzic
\n 21-2-0 (17)<\/p>\n
Titles: WBC – David Benavidez, WBA – Dmitry Bivol, IBF – Dmitry Bivol, WBO – Dmitry BivolUpcoming Notable Fights: Mehmet Unal vs Altin Zogaj, 2\/5 \u2026 (7) Albert Ramirez vs Lerrone Richards, 2\/5 \u2026 Kirra Ruston vs Bordin Peepueh, 3\/7 \u2026 Willy Hutchinson vs Ezra Taylor, 3\/28<\/p>\n
Notes: Hey, so here\u2019s a fun thing. Bivol (1), Beterbiev (2), and Smith (4) are all set to go one-year inactive at the end of February; on February 22, to be exact. Bivol had a surgery, Beterbiev had a December stay-busy fight scrapped, and Smith, as best I can tell, had been waiting on the bigger names to figure out their next moves, and maybe for a belt to fall vacant or Bivol to be \u201cin-recessed\u201d by one of those sanctioning bodies.<\/p>\n
So that\u2019s fun! If none of those three guys gets something scheduled or at least expected, like a \u201cdate TBD, but gonna happen\u201d type thing, I guess it could be fun to fully honor the one-year deal and just see what this top 10 looks like next month missing those guys.<\/p>\n
Beyond that, Benavidez (2), as the plans are now, intends to move to cruiserweight for at least a one-off with Zurdo Ramirez.<\/p>\n
Ali Izmailov is out. His most recent fight came in December and he scraped out a decision over a guy with a 5-2-1 record. I do think he\u2019s a good fighter, but after those top three slots this division gets really tight to rank, especially after the top five. I don\u2019t like leaving guys in spots just because I had them there before. Izmailov is 32 years old, he hasn\u2019t made that good of a case to be ahead of anyone here or several others. So an iffy performance like that should matter and have some penalty in a case like this, where there are a good handful, maybe a handful-and-a-half, of contenders for Nos. 6-10 that past the five who make it for me right now.<\/p>\n
Imam Khataev is in, as is Radivoje \u201cHot Rod\u201d Kalajdzic on the back of his comeback knockout of Oleksandr Gvozdyk, who falls out of the top 10. Gvozdyk was in pretty firm control of that fight, but he get stopped. Is the 34-year-old \u201cHot Rod\u201d likely to be a long-term standout? No. But you gotta kinda feel good that one of these bigger shots went his way. Between them, people haven\u2019t exactly been keen to fight the guy for a reason.<\/p>\n
The back half of this top 10 is ripe for those within and beyond to make their cases with impressive showings this year.<\/p>\n
Super Middleweight (Limit: 168)<\/p>\n
Last
\n Rank
\n Name
\n Record<\/p>\n
2
\n 1
\n Canelo Alvarez
\n 63-2-2 (39)<\/p>\n
3
\n 2
\n Osleys Iglesias
\n 13-0-0 (12)<\/p>\n
4
\n 3
\n Christian Mbilli
\n 29-0-1 (24)<\/p>\n
5
\n 4
\n Lester Martinez
\n 19-0-1 (16)<\/p>\n
6
\n 5
\n Diego Pacheco
\n 24-0-0 (18)<\/p>\n
9
\n 6
\n Hamzah Sheeraz
\n 22-0-1 (18)<\/p>\n
–
\n 7
\n Jacob Bank
\n 18-0-0 (10)<\/p>\n
7
\n 8
\n Kevin Sadjo
\n 26-1-0 (23)<\/p>\n
8
\n 9
\n Armando Resendiz
\n 16-2-0 (11)<\/p>\n
–
\n 10
\n Bektemir Melikuziev
\n 16-1-0 (10)<\/p>\n
Titles: WBC – Christian Mbilli, WBA – Armando Resendiz, IBF – Vacant, WBO – VacantUpcoming Notable Fights: (7) Kevin Sadjo vs Heriberto Santillan, 2\/7 \u2026 Nieky Holzken vs Besir Ay, 2\/7 \u2026 (10) Bektemir Melikuziev vs Sena Agbeko, 2\/21 \u2026 Steven Butler vs Ramadan Hiseni, 3\/5 \u2026 Moreno Fendero vs TBA, 3\/5 \u2026 Oliver Zaren vs TBA, 5\/2<\/p>\n
Notes: I don\u2019t particularly believe in Bud Crawford\u2019s retirement any more than I did Tyson Fury\u2019s most recent, but he\u2019s gone through the steps of formally vacating every single one of his belts. The \u201cvacancies\u201d have been filled without fights by the WBC and WBA, and now Christian Mbilli and Armando Resendiz are recognized as the top dog at 168 by those organizations.<\/p>\n
So Canelo is back at No. 1. Nobody else really has a very good case; Iglesias looks like a terrific fighter, sure, but in the immortal words of Teddy Atlas, \u201cAgainst who? Against who? Against who? Against who? Against who?\u201d And that\u2019s kind of the state of the division after Canelo, really. A lot of guys with talent, not much really proven at top level.<\/p>\n
Jacob Bank comes in to take Crawford\u2019s spot in the top 10, basically, after dominating and stopping William Scull on January 31 in Denmark. To me, Bank has all the look of a good-not-great fighter, but he did the job at hand in that one, and that\u2019s what he\u2019s done so far with his stature growing bit-by-bit. Also, Bek Melikuziev is in, because Jermall Charlo being ranked is basically useless. He\u2019s fought once in the last two years and it was against Cornflake LaManna, like, what are we rewarding here? His 168 lb wins are over LaManna and Jose Benavidez Jr. He was sitting on name value from, at this point, years ago. If he gets back, active, stays in the mix, faces something approaching a contender, sure. I\u2019m not a huge believer in Melikuziev or anything but you\u2019re weighing two mediocre wins against several, in this case I\u2019m favoring quantity and ignoring faded Brand Name.<\/p>\n
For a note, and we\u2019ll get more into this thing in a moment, Jaime Munguia was cleared of the doping charges following his May 2025 win over Bruno Surace. But I don\u2019t think he\u2019s been very impressive in recent fights, honestly. I don\u2019t see him having a particularly clear case other than he\u2019s more popular than most of these guys. He\u2019s 2-2 in his last four and lost to Surace before getting even with the rematch, which had a scandal around it. I can see him being ranked.<\/p>\n
Middleweight (Limit: 160)<\/p>\n
Last
\n Rank
\n Name
\n Record<\/p>\n
3
\n 1
\n Erislandy Lara
\n 31-3-3 (19)<\/p>\n
2
\n 2
\n Carlos Adames
\n 24-1-1 (18)<\/p>\n
4
\n 3
\n Aaron McKenna
\n 20-0-0 (10)<\/p>\n
–
\n 4
\n Jesus Ramos Jr
\n 24-1-0 (19)<\/p>\n
5
\n 5
\n Conor Benn
\n 24-1-0 (14)<\/p>\n
6
\n 6
\n Austin Williams
\n 20-1-0 (13)<\/p>\n
7
\n 7
\n Chris Eubank Jr
\n 35-4-0 (25)<\/p>\n
8
\n 8
\n Etinosa Oliha
\n 22-0-0 (10)<\/p>\n
9
\n 9
\n Anauel Ngamissengue
\n 15-1-0 (10)<\/p>\n
10
\n 10
\n Yoenli Hernandez
\n 9-0-0 (8)<\/p>\n
Titles: WBC – Carlos Adames, WBA – Erislandy Lara, IBF – Janibek Alimkhanuly, WBO – Janibek AlimkhanulyUpcoming Notable Fights: Slawa Spomer vs Jaime Villegas, 2\/7 \u2026 Shakiel Thompson vs Brad Pauls, 3\/28Temporarily removed: Janibek Alimkhanuly (failed doping test)<\/p>\n
Notes: A limp division keeps finding ways to get worse and more infuriating.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s why Erislandy Lara, 42 years of age and with no particularly good wins at middleweight, takes over the top spot:<\/p>\n
He was meant to face Janibek Alimkhanuly in December. Janibek failed a drug test. Janibek got pulled. So the latest mediocre Lara win is not really on Lara or PBC. Lara showed up and won a fight. Janibek didn\u2019t.Carlos Adames didn\u2019t fail a drug test, but he biffed his weight cut \u2014 or whatever you\u2019re opting to believe as the reason \u2014 and didn\u2019t fight on January 31 as scheduled. Adames is about to go one-year inactive at the end of this month. He didn\u2019t lose a scheduled fight due to anyone else pulling out or whatever, it was him. So unless there\u2019s a new date or something for that fight, he\u2019ll be out in March. It\u2019s entirely possible he\u2019ll have to move up to 168, where there are titles available these days.<\/p>\n
In unfortunate terms, the doping scandal with Janibek is what it is. That\u2019s the reality that to some degree, we have to accept with boxing. Boxing does not actually care about these things. If they did, Bald Baby Miller would be on a lifetime ban and we\u2019d see someone, anyone who fails a doping test face any actual consequences. Instead, almost every time someone \u2014 a sanctioning body, a governing body, whatever \u2014 finds a way to sweep it under the rug. And sometimes even if someone does serve some sort of actual suspension, which you can guess by time inactive, they\u2019re spared the indignity of anyone being firm and direct that it\u2019s actually happening. They just sit out a year or so and casually return. Every bit of everybody in boxing pretending they treat the doping problem seriously is lip service; even when a promoter or someone takes a hard stance, they\u2019re going to change that tune when it affects their fighter adversely, and suddenly the hunt is on for contaminated cows and eggs, or some dastardly conspiracy about supplement tampering.<\/p>\n
You have two options to believe, I think. The first is that all these high-level professional athletes and their teams are morons, constantly stumbling into positive \u201cA\u201d and \u201cB\u201d samples, and it\u2019s always some misunderstanding or mistake, or there continues to be a clear problem that nobody really wants to address, and yes, fighters and their teams are cheating across the sport. VADA was a great idea, but it has proven to be a Band-Aid at best, as they ultimately wind up having no real power once the testing is done. In Alimkhanuly\u2019s case, the Kazakh governing body say they\u2019re on the case, and wouldn\u2019t you know it, but as soon as the \u201cB\u201d sample was positive, too, they revealed that just then, after a thorough investigation for two months or so, \u201cnew facts came to light<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n So Janibek is just out. It stinks, but it stinks less than the doping scandal. I suspect he won\u2019t lose either of his belts to this. I suspect not much will come of it at all, frankly. It\u2019s a feeble, ultimately meaningless statement to remove him from independent rankings that do not have an impact on the sport at large, but it\u2019s something we can do, and something I believe in. And even then, at some point they fight again and you have to acknowledge that they\u2019re active, and the doping scandal is no longer \u201cactive\u201d itself. Such is boxing.<\/p>\n So there you are. Erislandy Lara in 2026, based off of wins over Cornflake LaManna, Spike O\u2019Sullivan, Michael Zerafa, Danny Garcia, and Johan Gonzalez. Benn is here \u201cfor the time being,\u201d so this top 10 is not even as \u201cgood\u201d as it seems.<\/p>\n Super Welterweight (Limit: 154)<\/p>\n Last 1 3 4 5 6 – 7 2 8 9 Titles: WBC – Sebastian Fundora, WBA – Xander Zayas, IBF – Josh Kelly, WBO – Xander ZayasUpcoming Notable Fights: Ishmael Davis vs Bilal Fawaz, 2\/21 \u2026 Sebastian Fundora vs Keith Thurman, 3\/28 \u2026 Caoimhin Agyarko vs Brandon Adams, 4\/11 \u2026 Andrew Hunt vs Benjamin Hussain, 5\/8<\/p>\n Notes: One-and-a-half new titlists! Josh Kelly upset Bakhram Murtazaliev to take the IBF title in Newcastle, and then later on in Puerto Rico on that same date, all of a couple days ago, Xander Zayas beat Abass Baraou to add the WBA title to the WBO belt he already held.<\/p>\n If you missed Zayas vs Baraou, what with it running head-to-head against Teofimo vs Stevenson, it was a good one. I thought Zayas had his most inspired and probably best performance to date as a pro, and I think he\u2019s earned the jump over \u201cBoots\u201d Ennis. That\u2019s one of those boxing-complicated things where I really wouldn\u2019t pick Zayas to beat Ennis, but Zayas has definitely proven more in the division and arguably in general, although I struggle to see that as Boots\u2019 fault, because he can\u2019t get anyone to fight him.<\/p>\n He might get Kelly. That\u2019s been floated and Ennis and his team have good sway with the IBF. Kelly\u2019s win was the best night of his pro career for sure, and the biggest, and he just out-boxed Murtazaliev. I went in thinking Josh would win early rounds but might succumb to the pressure of Murtazaliev, but even though Bakhram did find some success in the middle and later rounds, it truly wasn\u2019t enough. Kelly survived it, danced around it \u2014 look, he doesn\u2019t have a style that\u2019s going to make him some massive fan favorite, but it won him a world title. He was smart and did what he had to do to win that fight. I don\u2019t think he reigns too long, especially if Ennis winds up being next for him, but he\u2019ll always be able to say he was world champion.<\/p>\n Welterweight (Limit: 147)<\/p>\n Last 1 2 3 – 5 8 10 – 9 – Titles: WBC – Mario Barrios, WBA – Rolly Romero, IBF – Lewis Crocker, WBO – Devin HaneyUpcoming Notable Fights: Jin Sasaki vs Marlon Pagalpalan, 2\/19 \u2026 (9) Mario Barrios vs Ryan Garcia, 2\/21 \u2026 Constantin Ursu vs Owen Cooper, 2\/28 \u2026 Tahmir Smalls vs Abel Ramos, 2\/28 \u2026 Christopher Guerrero vs Samuel Jaime Rodriguez, 3\/5 \u2026 Avious Griffin vs TBA, 3\/7<\/p>\n Notes: Decided to take a fresher look, still came away thinking Stanionis is the second-best welter out there right now, still think Haney is \u2014 despite name value and what he\u2019s achieved \u2014 kind of a weak No. 1, because Norman had been a pretty weak \u201ctop guy\u201d in resume terms. But Haney at his best is world class, and he was definitely at his best in that one.<\/p>\n Vadim Musaev rockets in at No. 4 after dominating Tulani Mbenge, Jack Catterall slips into the \u201cgood but not great\u201d pack toward the back end, and I\u2019m going with Conah Walker at No. 10. Career momentum can be huge in boxing and right now that guy\u2019s got a ton of it. He fought really close with Lewis Crocker in June 2024 and since then has beaten Lewis Ritson, Harry Scarff, Liam Taylor, and Pat McCormack, the last three by stoppage. It\u2019s a fantastic run. Sometimes a guy like Walker just puts it together mid-career and starts rolling, and he has. Even before the Crocker fight he\u2019d started moving, \u201cupsetting\u201d Cyrus Pattinson and Lloyd Germain in 2023-24, and his other two losses had been really close against solid fighters, too.<\/p>\n Welterweight right now doesn\u2019t have the star power or standouts that it did for much of this century, but there is depth here and there is promise. I mean, you could take a few guys out that I have in and sub in Raul Curiel, Karen Chukhadzhian, Rohan Polanco, Liam Paro is in the division now, Tiger Johnson, Souleymane Cissokho if you\u2019re into time wasters, Julian Rodriguez has put together a couple good wins, Paddy Donovan shouldn\u2019t be forgotten.<\/p>\n
\n Rank
\n Name
\n Record<\/p>\n
\n 1
\n Vergil Ortiz Jr
\n 24-0-0 (22)<\/p>\n
\n 2
\n Sebastian Fundora
\n 23-1-1 (15)<\/p>\n
\n 3
\n Jaron “Boots” Ennis
\n 35-0-0 (31)<\/p>\n
\n 4
\n Xander Zayas
\n 22-0-0 (13)<\/p>\n
\n 5
\n Israil Madrimov
\n 10-2-1 (7)<\/p>\n
\n 6
\n Josh Kelly
\n 18-1-1 (9)<\/p>\n
\n 7
\n Abass Baraou
\n 17-1-0 (9)<\/p>\n
\n 8
\n Bakhram Murtazaliev
\n 23-1-0 (17)<\/p>\n
\n 9
\n Yoenis Tellez
\n 10-1-0 (7)<\/p>\n
\n 10
\n Tim Tszyu
\n 25-3-0 (18)<\/p>\n
\n Rank
\n Name
\n Record<\/p>\n
\n 1
\n Devin Haney
\n 33-0-0 (15)<\/p>\n
\n 2
\n Eimantas Stanionis
\n 16-1-0 (9)<\/p>\n
\n 3
\n Shakhram Giyasov
\n 17-0-0 (10)<\/p>\n
\n 4
\n Vadim Musaev
\n 14-0-0 (9)<\/p>\n
\n 5
\n Brian Norman Jr
\n 28-1-0 (22)<\/p>\n
\n 6
\n Rolly Romero
\n 17-2-0 (13)<\/p>\n
\n 7
\n Lewis Crocker
\n 22-0-0 (11)<\/p>\n
\n 8
\n Jack Catterall
\n 32-2-0 (14)<\/p>\n
\n 9
\n Mario Barrios
\n 29-2-2 (18)<\/p>\n
\n 10
\n Conah Walker
\n 17-3-1 (8)<\/p>\n