Saturday’s heavyweight rematch between #1 ranked Deontay Wilder and #2-ranked Tyson Fury is for THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE WORLD. Let’s all hope and pray that there is no draw, robbery, or no-decision.
There are some that hold that Tyson Fury is the division’s “lineal champion” as if that were an official title. Please note that the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board does not consider him to be the true champion right now. Why? Because he retired in 2015 and then confirmed it in 2016. He is therefore no more the champion of the world than Joe Louis was when he came out of retirement and faced Ezzard Charles or Jim Jeffries was when he did the same to face Jack Johnson. If by “lineal” you mean the last champion of record, then that’s one thing, but to argue that Fury is now the rightful or true champion of the world is off. If that isn’t enough of a persuader, then take a note from a boxing columnist writing 110 years ago (1910):
“‘A’ says that Jim Jeffries is still champion of the world, while ‘B’ contends otherwise. Which is right?” -A FIGHT BUG
“‘A’ is a trifle bughouse. Jeffries was champion, but he isn’t now, and he may be again. Do you get it? Roosevelt used to be president of the United States but he isn’t now, and he may be again. Same with Jeffries. Ask me something easy.” -STRAIGHT DOPE
Meanwhile, at Super Middleweight, Caleb Plant tries the patience of the boxing world by facing Vincent Feigenbutz. He got a stoppage win in 10 rounds and climbs one spot anyway to #3. Why? Because Gilberto Ramirez hasn’t fought a super middleweight since December 2018. Almost nothing is better than nothing at all, right? It looks like Ramirez will be competing at light heavyweight again and so will be exiting this division’s rankings soon.
Lightweight Ryan Garcia moves up from #9 to #7 after a first-round, head-bouncing KO of Francisco Fonseca. Garcia, despite the hype, is not a world-beater yet and he sure as hell isn’t the champ. In fact, he hasn’t done enough to crack the top 5, even if it seems assured that he will soon enough. Garcia failed to answer Devin Haney’s challenge as he should have. (Where have you gone Erik Morales?)
Let’s hope that Bernard and Oscar understand that the best boxing business puts the fans first.
P4P:
Rank
Name
Nationality
Record
Division
1
Saul Alvarez *
MEX
53-1-2 (36)
Middle/Light Ht
2
Naoya Inoue
JPN
19-0-0 (16)
Bantamweight
3
Vasiliy Lomachenko
UKR
14-1-0 (10)
Lightweight
4
Terence Crawford
USA
35-0-0 (26)
Welterweight
5
Oleksandr Usyk
UKR
17-0-0 (13)
Heavyweight
6
Gennady Golovkin
KAZ
38-1-1 (34)
Middleweight
7
Juan Francisco Estrada *
MEX
40-3-0 (27)
Jr. Bantamweight
8
Errol Spence Jr.
USA
25-0-0 (21)
Welterweight
9
Manny Pacquiao
PHI
62-7-2 (39)
Welterweight
10
Josh Taylor
SCO
16-0-0 (12)
Jr. Welterweight
* Champions as recognised by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
Heavyweight (+200lbs/+91kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
OPEN (since Tyson Fury’s retirement in October 2016)
–
–
–
1
Deontay Wilder
42-0-1 (41)
USA
1
2
Tyson Fury
29-0-1 (20)
ENG
2
3
Anthony Joshua
23-1-0 (21)
ENG
3
4
Andy Ruiz Jr.
33-2-0 (22)
USA
4
5
Dillian Whyte
27-1-0 (18)
ENG
5
6
Luis Ortiz
31-2-0 (26)
CUB
6
7
Alexander Povetkin
35-2-1 (24)
RUS
7
8
Michael Hunter
18-1-1 (12)
USA
8
9
Kubrat Pulev
27-1-0 (14)
BUL
9
10
Filip Hrgovic
10-0-0 (8)
HRV
10
Cruiserweight (200lbs/91kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
OPEN (since October 2019 with Olesksandr Usyk’s abdication)
—
—
—
1
Mairis Briedis
26-1-0 (19)
LVA
1
2
Yunier Dorticos
24-1-0 (22)
CUB
2
3
Krzysztof Glowacki
31-2-0 (19)
POL
3
4
Ilunga Makabu
27-2-0 (24)
COD
4
5
Kevin Lerena
25-1-0 (12)
RSA
5
6
Andrew Tabiti
17-1-0 (13)
USA
6
7
Thabiso Mchunu
22-5-0 (13)
RSA
7
8
Michal Cieslak
19-1-0 (13)
POL
8
9
Arsen Goulamirian
26-0-0 (18)
ARM
9
10
Lawrence Okolie
14-0-0 (11)
ENG
10
Light Heavyweight (175lbs/79kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
Artur Beterbiev
15-0-0 (15)
RUS
***
1
Dmitry Bivol
17-0-0 (11)
RUS
1
2
Oleksandr Gvozdyk
17-1-0 (14)
UKR
2
3
Saul Alvarez
53-1-2 (36)
MEX
3
4
Sergey Kovalev
34-4-1 (29)
RUS
4
5
Eleider Alvarez
25-1-0 (13)
COL
5
6
Jean Pascal
35-6-1 (20)
CAN
6
7
Joe Smith Jr.
25-3-0 (20)
USA
7
8
Marcus Browne
23-1-0 (16)
USA
8
9
Badou Jack
22-3-3 (13)
SWE
9
9
Anthony Yarde
18-1-0 (17)
ENG
10
Super Middleweight (168lbs/76.2kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
OPEN (since March 2016 with Andre Ward’s abdication)
–
–
–
1
Callum Smith
27-0-0 (19)
ENG
1
2
David Benavidez
22-0-0 (19)
USA
2
3
Caleb Plant
20-0-0 (12)
USA
4
4
Gilberto Ramirez
40-0-0 (26)
MEX
3
5
Saul Alvarez
53-1-2 (36)
MEX
5
6
John Ryder
28-5-0 (16)
ENG
6
7
Fedor Chudinov
22-2-0 (15)
RUS
7
8
Danny Jacobs
36-3-0 (30)
USA
8
9
Juergen Braehmer
52-3- 0 (38)
GER
9
10
Lionell Thompson
22-5-0 (12)
USA
10
Middleweight (160lbs/72.5kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
Saul Alvarez
53-1-2 (36)
MEX
***
1
Gennady Golovkin
40-1-1 (35)
KAZ
1
2
Sergiy Derevyanchenko
13-2-0 (10)
UKR
2
3
Jermall Charlo
30-0-0 (22)
USA
3
4
Demetrius Andrade
28-0-0 (17)
USA
4
5
Ryota Murata
16-2-0 (13)
JPN
5
6
Rob Brant
25-2-0 (17)
USA
6
7
Kamil Szeremeta
21-0-0 (5)
POL
7
8
Willie Monroe Jr.
24-3-0 (6)
USA
8
9
Liam Williams
22-2-1 (17)
WAL
9
10
Maciej Sulecki
28-2-0 (11)
POL
10
Junior Middleweight (154lbs/70kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
OPEN (since Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s retirement in September 2015)
–
–
–
1
Jeison Rosario
20-1-1 (14)
DR
1
2
Julian Williams
27-2-1 (16)
USA
2
3
Jarrett Hurd
24-1-0 (16)
USA
3
4
Jermell Charlo
33-1-0 (17)
USA
4
5
Brian Castano
16-0-1 (12)
ARG
5
6
Erislandy Lara
26-3-3 (15)
CUB
6
7
Michel Soro
35-2-1- (23)
FRA
7
8
Tony Harrison
28-3-0 (21)
USA
8
9
Patrick Teixeira
31-1-0 (22)
BRA
9
10
Erickson Lubin
22-1-0 (16)
USA
10
Welterweight (147lbs/66.7kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
Open (since April 2016 when Manny Pacquiao announced his retirement)
–
–
–
1
Errol Spence Jr.
26-0-0 (21)
USA
1
2
Manny Pacquiao
62-7-2 (39)
PHI
2
3
Terence Crawford
36-0-0 (27)
USA
3
4
Shawn Porter
30-3-1 (17)
USA
4
5
Yordenis Ugas
25-4-0 (12)
CUB
5
6
Keith Thurman
29-1-0 (22)
USA
6
7
Danny Garcia
36-2-0 (21)
USA
7
8
Kudratillo Abdukakhorov
17-0-0 (9)
UZB
8
9
Sergey Lipinets
16-1-0 (11)
KAZ
9
10
Vergil Ortiz Jr.
15-0-0 (15)
USA
10
Junior Welterweight (140lbs/63.5kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
Mikey Garcia(* see Charter: 6.III)
39-1-0 (30)
USA
***
1
Josh Taylor
16-0-0 (12)
SCO
1
2
Regis Prograis
24-1-0 (20)
USA
2
3
Jose Carlos Ramirez
25-0-0 (17)
USA
3
4
Viktor Postol
31-2-0 (12)
UKR
4
5
Kiryl Relikh
23-3-0 (19)
BLR
5
6
Maurice Hooker
27-1-3 (18)
USA
6
7
Ivan Baranchyk
20-1-0 (13)
RUS
7
8
Pablo Cesar Cano
33-7-1 (23)
MEX
8
9
Jose Zepeda
31-2-0 (25)
USA
9
10
Robert Easter Jr.
22-1-1 (14)
USA
10
Lightweight (135lbs/61.2kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
OPEN (since Terence Crawford abdicated in April 2015)
–
–
–
1
Vasiliy Lomachenko
14-1-0 (10)
UKR
1
2
Teofimo Lopez
15-0-0 (12)
USA
2
3
Rances Barthelemy
27-1-1 (14)
CUB
3
4
Devin Haney
24-0-0 (15)
USA
4
5
Luke Campbell
20-3-0 (16)
ENG
5
6
Richard Commey
29-3-0 (26)
GHA
6
7
Ryan Garcia
20-0-0 (17)
USA
9
8
Yvan Mendy
44-5-1 (22)
FRA
7
9
Emmanuel Tagoe
31-1-0 (15)
GHA
8
10
Gervonta Davis
23-0-0 (22)
USA
10
Junior Lightweight (130lbs/59kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
OPEN (since July 2008 when Manny Pacquiao abdicated)
–
–
–
1
Miguel Berchelt
37-1-0 (33)
MEX
1
2
Gervonta Davis
23-0-0 (22)
USA
2
3
Joseph Diaz Jr.
31-1-0 (15)
USA
3
4
Jamel Herring
21-2-0 (10)
USA
4
5
Rene Alvarado
32-8- 0 (21)
NIC
5
6
Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov
15-0-0 (12)
RUS
6
7
Tevin Farmer
30-5-1 (6)
USA
7
8
Masayuki Ito
26-2-1 (14)
JPN
8
9
Miguel Roman
62-13-0 (47)
MEX
9
10
Andrew Cancio
21-5-2 (16)
USA
10
Featherweight (126lbs/57.1kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
OPEN (since March 2005 when Manny Pacquiao abdicated)
–
–
–
1
Leo Santa Cruz
37-1-1 (19)
USA
1
2
Josh Warrington
30-0-0 (7)
ENG
2
3
Gary Russell Jr.
31-1-0 (18)
USA
3
4
Can Xu
18-2-0 (3)
CHI
4
5
Shakur Stevenson
13-0-0 (7)
USA
5
6
Kid Galahad
27-1-0 (16)
ENG
6
7
Tugstsogt Nyambayar
11-1-0 (9)
MNG
7
8
Jessie Magdaleno
27-1-0 (18)
USA
8
9
Oscar Escandon
26-5-0 (18)
COL
9
10
Ryan Walsh
25-2-2 (12)
ENG
10
Junior Featherweight (122lbs/55.3kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
Guillermo Rigondeaux
20-1-0 (13)
CUB
***
1
Rey Vargas
34-0-0 (22)
MEX
1
2
Emanuel Navarrete
30-1-0 (26)
MEX
2
3
Murodjon Akhmadaliev
8-0-0 (6)
UZB
3
4
Daniel Roman
27-3-1 (10)
USA
4
5
TJ Doheny
22-1-0 (16)
IRE
5
6
Ryosuke Iwasa
27-3-0 (17)
JPN
6
7
Brandon Figueroa
20-0-1 (15)
USA
7
8
Ronny Rios
32-3-0 (16)
USA
8
9
Azat Hovhannisyan
18-3-0 (15)
ARM
9
10
Angelo Leo
19-0-0 (9)
USA
10
Bantamweight (118lbs/53.5kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
OPEN (since March 1987 when Bernardo Pinango abdicated)
–
–
–
1
Naoya Inoue
19-0-0 (16)
JPN
1
2
John Riel Casimero
29-4-0 (20)
PHI
2
3
Luis Nery
30-0-0 (24)
MEX
3
4
Nordine Oubaali
17-0-0 (12)
FRA
4
5
Nonito Donaire
40-6-0 (26)
PHI
5
6
Zolani Tete
28-4-0 (21)
RSA
6
7
Emmanuel Rodriguez
19-1-0 (12)
PR
7
8
Jason Moloney
20-1-0 (17)
AUS
8
9
Guillermo Rigondeaux
20-1-0 (13)
CUB
9
10
Takuma Inoue
13-1-0 (3)
JPN
10
Junior Bantamweight (115lbs/52.1kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
Juan Francisco Estrada
40-3-0 (27)
MEX
***
1
Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
47-5-1 (41)
THA
1
2
Kazuto Ioka
25-2-0 (14)
JPN
2
3
Jerwin Ancajas
32-1-2 (22)
PHI
3
4
Khalid Yafai
26-0-0 (15)
ENG
4
5
Roman Gonzalez
48-2-0 (40)
NIC
5
6
Israel Gonzalez
25-3-0 (11)
MEX
6
7
Andrew Moloney
21-0-0 (14)
AUS
7
8
Francisco Rodriguez, Jr.
33-4-1 (24)
MEX
8
9
Pedro Guevara
36-3-1 (21)
MEX
9
10
Jeyvier Cintron
11-1-0 (5)
PR
10
Flyweight (112lbs/51kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
OPEN (since October 2016 when Roman Gonzalez abdicated)
–
–
–
1
Kosei Tanaka
15-0-0 (9)
JPN
1
2
Moruti Mthalane
39-2-0 (26)
RSA
2
3
Julio Cesar Martinez
15-1-0 (12)
MEX
3
4
Artem Dalakian
20-0-0 (14)
UKR
4
5
Charlie Edwards
15-1-0 (6)
ENG
5
6
Sho Kimura
19-3-2 (12)
JPN
6
7
Giemel Magramo
24-1-0 (20)
PHI
7
8
Masayuki Kuroda
30-8-3 (16)
JPN
8
9
Cristofer Rosales
29-5-0 (20)
NIC
9
10
Jonathan Gonzalez
22-3-1 (13)
PR
10
Junior Flyweight (108lbs/49kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
OPEN (since April 2011 when Giovani Segura abdicated)
–
–
–
1
Kenshiro Teraji
17-0-0 (10)
JPN
1
2
Hiroto Kyoguchi
14-0-0 (9)
JPN
2
3
Carlos Canizales
22-0-1 (17)
VEN
3
4
Felix Alvarado
35-2-0 (30)
NIC
4
5
Elwin Soto
17-1-0 (12)
MEX
5
6
Daniel Valladeres
22-1-1 (13)
MEX
6
7
Edward Heno
14-1-5 (5)
PHI
7
8
Tetsuya Hisada
34-10-2 (20)
JPN
8
9
Agustin Mauro Gauto
14-0-0 (9)
ARG
9
10
Mark Vicelles
11-0-1 (5)
PHI
10
Strawweight (105lbs/47.6kg)
Rank
Name
Record – W-L-D (KO)
Nationality
Last Week
OPEN (since October 1999 when Ricardo Lopez abdicated)
Boxing Rankings
