Rankings: Sandoval new top dog at flyweight, Pacquiao, Usyk, more
Ricardo Sandoval has shot up to No. 1 at flyweight, plus more from July!
- Titles: WBC - Oleksandr Usyk, WBA - Oleksandr Usyk, IBF - Oleksandr Usyk, WBO - Oleksandr Usyk
- Upcoming Notable Fights: Bakhodir Jalolov vs TBA, 8/9 ... (8) Filip Hrgovic vs David Adeleye, 8/16 ... Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte, 8/16 ... Murat Gassiev vs Andrzej Wawrzyk, 8/23 ... Kem Ljungquist vs Daniel Bulabula, 9/13 ... Dave Allen vs Arslanbek Makhmudov, 10/11
Notes: Oleksandr Usyk further cemented his top spot with a devastating knockout win over Daniel Dubois in July, once again becoming undisputed champion and now left to figure out his next move.
The move by sanctioning body politics is and has to be Joseph Parker, whose WBO mandatory title shot is due and deserves to be called. But Usyk — like others — has shown a willingness to chuck a belt and pass on a mandatory order to chase bigger money and bigger fights, which has repeatedly put into question how much being “undisputed” in the four-belt era really means in the first place. If Turki Alalshikh has an amount of money waiting where it makes sense for Usyk to hang out until next April and do a third fight with Tyson Fury, he just might do that, and Joseph Parker might wind up fighting Moses Itauma or Filip Hrgovic for the vacant title by the end of the year.
That said, Usyk would also be putting a lot of faith in Fury to actually fight next April. I think part of Fury certainly does want to do it again for many reasons — chance to “right a wrong,” money, status, money, money, and competitive spirit, also money — but Fury is notoriously erratic, too, and he says a lot of things. Not all of them pan out.
But the division once again fully and completely runs through Usyk, at least for the moment.
- Titles: WBC - Badou Jack, WBA - Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, IBF - Jai Opetaia, WBO - Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez
- Upcoming Notable Fights: Mike Perez vs Christian Fabian Luis, 8/8 ... Ilunga Junior Makabu vs Charles Manyuchi, 8/23 ... Jonathan Kogasso vs Viktar Chvarkou, 9/13 ... Muhsin Cason vs Suray Mahmutovic, 9/27 ... (8) Ryan Rozicki vs Akani Phuzi, 10/25
Notes: Zurdo Ramirez will be out of action for a while after undergoing shoulder surgery, but the division sits tight otherwise for now.
- Titles: WBC - David Benavidez, WBA - Dmitry Bivol, IBF - Dmitry Bivol, WBO - Dmitry Bivol
- Upcoming Notable Fights: (10) Albert Ramirez vs Jerome Pampellone, 8/8 ... Denis Savitsky vs Meysam Gheshlaghi, 8/9 ... Atif Oberlton vs Chown Sims, 9/5 ... Umar Dzambekov vs TBA, 10/3 ... (3) David Benavidez vs (5) Anthony Yarde, 11/22
Notes: “Hot Rod” Kalajdzic officially went inactive, and at any rate he probably would drop out right now anyway. Albert Ramirez replaces him.
Imam Khataev is an odd case at the moment because he comes off of a loss, but he pushed David Morrell to the absolute brink, and frankly I thought he won that fight on July 12. Khataev also has a drug testing issue outstanding with the ITA, but it seems as though that’s not going to come to anything for his professional career, as it was brought to light a few days before that fight — dating back to a 2024 test — and the fight went on without NYSAC or “The Ring” stepping in at all.
Does he belong here? Probably, in terms of qualification and all that. But our rankings take stances on recent drug test failures Jaime Munguia and Francisco Rodriguez Jr, among other cases, and while Khataev’s failure came during “amateur” competition, and thus is an odder happening than that of Munguia or Rodriguez, it’s not nothing, either. The stance is impotent, I have no delusion about that, and the truth is, it seems clear that the people in charge of the sport of boxing’s organization — major promoters, sanctioning bodies, and commissions — just don’t actually care about this stuff, whether it’s the Khataev case or Munguia or Rodriguez or whomever. Only when it’s convenient or too repetitive a problem with a single fighter does any hammer actually seem to fall.
- Titles: WBC - Canelo Alvarez, WBA - Canelo Alvarez, IBF - Canelo Alvarez, WBO - Canelo Alvarez
- Upcoming Notable Fights: (3) Osleys Iglesias vs Vladimir Shishkin, 9/4 ... Mark Dickinson vs Troy Williamson, 9/6 ... (1) Canelo Alvarez vs Terence “Bud” Crawford, 9/13 ... Jacob Bank vs Tyron Zeuge, 9/13 ... Oliver Zaren vs TBA, 10/4
Notes: Whatever possible mystique Edgar Berlanga had left, Hamzah Sheeraz pretty much torched on July 12. Sheeraz didn’t just beat Berlanga, didn’t just stop him, he beat him down. Frankly, the fight should have been stopped in the fourth round, as Berlanga opened the fifth very clearly in no condition to be fighting.
I think Bob Arum summed up the Berlanga case pretty well recently. It’s one thing to — as Top Rank did — promote someone as this devastating, incredible rising superstar for publicity purposes. It’s another thing for the fighter to buy into the image to the degree Berlanga seems to have done. I don’t think Berlanga has or had the pure ability to become a very tip-top guy in any division that isn’t exceptionally weak at the moment, but he definitely could have handled a lot of things differently the last few years.
Maybe he never beats Canelo (I’m sure of that) or Sheeraz (I’m even pretty sure of that), but he does have “back end of a top 10” ability. If you think that’s wrong, that his record is too weak, really sit down and compare his record to that of the No. 7 through No. 10 fighters in most divisions. And don’t just go by my rankings, try TBRB or BoxRec or ESPN or The Ring or whomever. Just being fair, I think that’s ... well, fair.
Either way, Sheeraz makes his splash in the top 10 as he successfully moved up to super middle by crushing Berlanga, and I think he can be a top-end guy, especially if the move in weight really did help him as much as he says it did following the draw at 160 with Carlos Adames. And it sounds like Sheeraz will get his shot at Canelo Alvarez in early 2026, provided Alvarez beats Terence Crawford in September.
(For what it’s worth, I don’t think Turki Alalshikh is doing anything terrible or whatever by stating things like that plan, or having announced Bam Rodriguez vs Fernando Martinez for November before Bam got past Cafu in July. All promoters do this, Turki’s just willing to say it out loud ahead of time and accept that plans might change if the “before then” fight goes the other way. I mean, we were supposed to see a Garcia vs Haney rematch. Then Garcia lost to Rolly Romero. Now we won’t. If Crawford beats Canelo, Sheeraz won’t fight Canelo for the belts in February. If Cafu had beaten Bam, maybe it’s Cafu vs Martinez, or maybe you run Cafu vs Bam again and Martinez is SOL, as it were. Boxing always has Plan B, Plan C, and Plan D if an anticipated Plan A doesn’t come off.)
- Titles: WBC - Carlos Adames, WBA - Erislandy Lara, IBF - Janibek Alimkhanuly, WBO - Janibek Alimkhanuly
- Upcoming Notable Fights: Derek Pomerlau vs Dmytro Rybalko, 8/13 ... Michael Zerafa vs Mikey Dahlman, 8/20 ... Euri Cedeno vs Willie Jones, 9/5 ... Kieron Conway vs George Liddard, 10/17
Notes: This division was supposed to have an at least somewhat interesting fight between Austin Williams and Etinosa Oliha last month. Then Oliha ruptured a vein in his eye and Ivan Vazquez stepped in, giving a spirited but fruitless effort, with Williams lamenting that he “had to knock out (his) friend,” as the two have known each other for years. Oh well! Maybe in October or November.
- Titles: WBC - Sebastian Fundora, WBA - Terence “Bud” Crawford, IBF - Bakhram Murtazaliev, WBO - Xander Zayas
- Upcoming Notable Fights: Nikita Tszyu vs Lulzim Ismaili, 8/20 ... (8) Yoenis Tellez vs Abass Baraou, 8/23 ... JJ Metcalf vs TBA, 9/5 ... Caoimhin Agyarko vs Ishmael Davis, 9/13 ... Freddy Kiwitt vs Ifrain Alcantara, 9/13 ... Junaid Bostan vs Bilal Fawaz, 10/11 ... Bakary Samake vs Saulo Morales, 10/25
Note: Tim Tszyu tumbles again, but does hang on — barely — to a ranking because, well, you go look at who else is out there. Tszyu has lost three of four, yes, and he quit in that last one, yes, but those three losses are to Fundora twice and Murtazaliev, top-line guys, both of them with a square argument for No. 1 in the division. How many people out there could make Tszyu quit? Could Keith Thurman, who has fought twice this decade? Could Jesus Garcia? Uisma Lima or Bakary Samake? Brandon Adams or Callum Walsh? Josh Kelly?
Tszyu is vulnerable to fall out if someone does anything notable, mind you, but for the moment he hangs in — again, barely. And I like Tim Tszyu a lot, I love watching him fight, but no, the form is not good, and quitting is worrisome just from a competitive standpoint, even if as a human being you fully understand why he did what he did.
- Titles: WBC - Mario Barrios, WBA - Rolly Romero, IBF - Vacant, WBO - Brian Norman Jr
- Upcoming Notable Fights: Pat McCormack vs Miguel Parra, 9/6 ... (7) Paddy Donovan vs Lewis Crocker, 9/13 ... (2) Eimantas Stanionis vs TBA, 9/27 ... Jackson Griffiths vs TBA, 11/8 ... (1) Brian Norman Jr vs (9) Devin Haney, 11/22
Notes: I thought Manny Pacquiao looked pretty decent, for a 46-year-old fighter, in his draw with Mario Barrios. And I think that says a lot more about Barrios than Pacquiao’s future, in all honesty. Barrios was coming off of a draw with Abel Ramos — a career fringe contender at his best — and Old Manny won enough rounds to force a draw. Barrios started well and finished well, but the middle stages too handily belonged to Pacquiao. So WBC belt or not, Barrios is barely sitting in the top 10 at this point. There is nobody else here I would pick him to beat, even the very limited Rolly Romero.
Speaking of, Rolly is a popular pick for whom Manny “should” fight next. He’s got a world title, he’s popular (or at least he draws eyeballs), and he’s beatable, on paper, for someone of Pacquiao’s ability. Manny has no pop left as a 147 lb fighter, though, and Romero has an awkward, unorthodox sort of approach that can be bothersome. He’s kind of perfected his craft, as it were, at this stage of his career. Pacquiao could beat him, yes, but it’s far from any guarantee that he would. He’d be even older next time, and having picked up whatever wear and tear set in from this camp and fight.
And no, I don’t think Manny is a top 10 welterweight right now, though you could argue it. Everyone here has question marks, honestly. In its way, it’s an intriguing division.
We do have the IBF situation settled, as Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan will rematch on September 13 to fill the vacancy left by Boots Ennis. And we all better prepare for the idea that Devin Haney is 36 good “Devin Haney” minutes from being called the world’s best welterweight if he can beat Brian Norman in November, a fight I kinda love on paper. Haney really is a terrific, if basic, boxer when he’s at his best, probably more fundamentally sound than Norman. But Norman is a natural 147, young, confident, and ferocious. He’s a guy who wants to attack, and Haney looked skittish against Jose Ramirez, who lucky for Devin was about as disinterested in throwing punches as he was. Norman’s not going to give him that sort of time to stand around and cautiously move at distance.
- Titles: WBC - Subriel Matias, WBA - Gary Antuanne Russell, IBF - Richardson Hitchins, WBO - Teofimo Lopez
- Upcoming Notable Fights: John Mannu vs Alexander Devyatov, 8/9 ... Jack Rafferty vs Mark Chamberlain, 8/23 ... Jamaine Ortiz vs Steve Claggett, 8/23 ... Cain Sandoval vs TBA, 10/3
Notes: Subriel Matias took the WBC title and hops up to No. 3 after his win over Alberto Puello, which was a close one, a good fight, and Puello doesn’t drop much from that. Puello is also being guaranteed a rematch at some point, after Matias fights mandatory challenger Dalton Smith, which has the potential to be an excellent fight.
- Titles: WBC - Shakur Stevenson, WBA - Gervonta “Tank” Davis, IBF - Raymond Muratalla, WBO - Vacant
- Upcoming Notable Fights: Sofiane Oumiha vs Francisco Fonseca, 8/8 ... Lucas Bahdi vs Roger Gutierrez, 8/23 ... Albert Bell vs Keith Hunter, 8/30 ... Dzmitry Asanau vs Laid Douadi, 9/4 ... Taiga Imanaga vs Yudai Murakami, 9/14 ... Shu Utsuki vs TBA, 9/26 ... (9) Abdullah Mason vs Sam Noakes, 11/22
Notes: Shakur Stevenson fairly easily handled his business with William Zepeda, which wasn’t really a surprise. It was a good effort from Zepeda, who I think is still a legitimate contender, but the style matchup with Shakur was always going to be rough. The style matchup with Shakur is going to be rough for pretty much anybody, whatever else you think of him, he’s a very talented fighter with a lot of skills he can call on for any sort of challenge.
Gervonta Davis is once again sidelined, it appears, due to yet another arrest, so that planned rematch with Lamont Roach obviously isn’t going to happen in August as originally designed, and there’s been no solid word on when it might.
- Titles: WBC - O’Shaquie Foster, WBA - Lamont Roach, IBF - Eduardo Nunez, WBO - Emanuel Navarrete
- Upcoming Notable Fights: Yamato Hata vs Shigetoshi Kotari, 8/2 ... Xu Can vs Jaouad Belmehdi, 8/15 ... Muhammad Yaqubov vs William Foster III, 8/15 ... (9) Raymond Ford vs Abraham Nova, 8/16 ... Hayato Tsutsumi vs Qais Ashfaq, 8/16 ... Jordan White vs Rene Tellez Giron, 9/5 ... Josh Padley vs Reece Bellotti, 10/11
Notes: Jazza Dickens enters at No. 10, replacing Albert Batyrgaziev, as Dickens went ahead and pretty much wrecked Batyrgaziev on July 2 in a fashion that might lead Batyrgaziev to reconsider a pro boxing career. He’s a skilled boxer and all that, he could hang around a while at a certain level, but it’s pretty obvious he’s not going to be a contender. His punch resistance and defense are just too iffy to truly succeed at a high level.
- Titles: WBC - Stephen Fulton, WBA - Nick Ball, IBF - Angelo Leo, WBO - Rafael Espinoza
- Upcoming Notable Fights: Mirco Cuello vs Sergio Rios, 8/8 ... Omar Cande Trinidad vs Lorenzo Parra, 8/15 ... (3) Nick Ball vs Sam Goodman, 8/16 ... Bryan Acosta vs Sulaiman Segawa, 9/5
Notes: I know the guy’s had a ton of chances, but there’s not anyone pressing hard enough from outside the previous top 10 to replace Joet Gonzalez, who largely fought quite well in a close loss to Brandon Figueroa in July. I could just put someone there, sure, but Gonzalez showed quality in a loss against a contender, I think that kinda trumps, say, Elijah Pierce coming up from 122 to beat Michael Dasmarinas or whatever. At least for now.
- Titles: WBC - Naoya Inoue, WBA - Naoya Inoue, IBF - Naoya Inoue, WBO - Naoya Inoue
- Upcoming Notable Fights: Toshiya Ishii vs Ryuya Tsugawa, 8/21 ... (1) Naoya Inoue vs (3) Murodjon Akhmadaliev, 9/14 ... Toshiki Shimomachi vs Han Sol Lee, 9/14
Notes: Elijah Pierce won last month, but he was also making the move up to featherweight — and it came with a WBO rankings trinket, so it seems like it’s an actual move, not a one-off. So he’s out. And David-Alan-Alan-David Picasso is also campaigning at 126 now, so he’s out.
That makes room for Peter McGrail, whose lone loss has always seemed fluky to me, not that he’s an otherwise flawless fighter or anything. But this is a division that the top dog has largely already cleared out, and there are openings to make waves. McGrail and the also-incoming Subaru Murata beat out 114-year-old Guillermo Rigondeaux in my final three considerations.
- Titles: WBC - Junto Nakatani, WBA - Antonio Vargas, IBF - Junto Nakatani, WBO - Yoshiki Takei
- Upcoming Notable Fights: Charlie Edwards vs TBA, 9/5 ... (2) Yoshiki Takei vs Christian Medina, 9/14 ... Muhammad Waseem vs TBA, 11/29
Notes: Daigo Higa is out as he’s announced his retirement following a frustrating draw with Antonio Vargas, his third straight fight for a world title where he really could have gotten his hand raised, but just didn’t, going 0-1-2 in those bouts. Higa had a fine career he can be proud of, and if he stays out, then he should hold his head high. Japan’s rules mean he can never fight at 115 lbs again, which is where he’s best, and he gave it a sincere and hard-fought go at winning a bantamweight belt. It just didn’t happen, barely, three times.
Michael Angeletti is in at No. 10 to take the open slot.
- Titles: WBC - Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, WBA - Fernando Martinez, IBF - Willibaldo Garcia, WBO - Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez
- Upcoming Notable Fights: Ryusei Kawaura vs Joe Shiraishi, 8/12 ... Otoya Inuzuka vs Reon Fujino, 8/16 ... Kento Hatanaka vs Diomel Diocos, 8/16 ... Aoi Yokoyama vs Ryusei Baba, 8/19 ... Jack Turner vs Nicolas Agustin Muguruza, 8/23 ... (1) Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez vs (2) Fernando Martinez, 11/22
Notes: Bam Rodriguez added another belt, taking the WBO title from Phumelela Cafu, and now is fully set for the big showdown with Fernando Martinez on November 22, which won’t quite crown an undisputed champion, but is very obviously for all the marbles that mean much of anything right now at 115.
Chocolatito Gonzalez is back to being Officially Inactive, so he’s out, and in comes IBF titleholder Willibaldo Garcia, who could, I guess, await the Rodriguez vs Martinez winner, which is a pretty funny path all things considered.
- Titles: WBC - Ricardo Sandoval, WBA - Ricardo Sandoval, IBF - Masamichi Yabuki, WBO - Anthony Olascuaga
- Upcoming Notable Fights: Sho Nogami vs Josuke Nagata, 8/12 ... (9) Yankiel Rivera vs Angelino Cordova, 8/23 ... Mark Vicelles vs Kosuke Tomioka, 9/7
Notes: Ricardo Sandoval rockets to the top of the division after going to Japan to upset Kenshiro Teraji and claim the WBC and WBA titles. Personally, I had the fight for Teraji, but not by much. I do think the 117-110 Sandoval card was absurd, but I’m not upset about the winner, you could easily reason for Sandoval, I just don’t think you can reason he won that many rounds. Well, you can, but I wouldn’t at all agree.
Teraji drops but only to No. 2, and I really do think there should be a rematch. First of all, it was a good fight. Second of all, it’s the biggest and best fight to make at the weight for either of them.
Francisco Rodriguez Jr is out because of his failed drug test. The WBC can do whatever illogical nonsense they want, but I don’t have to respect or “honor” it and neither do you. Unless you work there, I guess. It was actually, it turns out, failed drug tests in two straight fights.
Hiroto Kyoguchi is out for more noble reasons, he simply decided to retire from the sport. He had a terrific career. In at the last two slots are Yankiel Rivera and Tobias Reyes. I think that Rivera vs Angelino Cordova fight on August 23 is a real sleeper, that could be quality, Cordova can fight. No gimme for Rivera, on paper.
- Titles: WBC - Carlos Canizales, WBA - Kyosuke Takami, IBF - Thanongsak Simsri, WBO - Rene Santiago
- Upcoming Notable Fights: Masataka Taniguchi vs Takeru Inoue, 8/3 ... Shokichi Iwata vs TBA, 9/6 ... Hyuga Oki vs Retsu Terashita, 9/6
Notes: A new top two. Canizales smashed Pradabsri in their rematch, righting a wrong to claim the WBC title. Pradabsri tumbles down to No. 8 and there should be questions about how viable he truly is in this division, but it’s also not really bursting with fighters on white hot streaks or anything, either.
Takami is someone I kept almost ranking but thought he had to prove it at a bit higher level. Erick Rosa’s a good fighter, good boxer, and Takami marched through him, basically, broke him down, and it’s not that Rosa didn’t have good moments, good rounds, or even a fundamentally decent plan of attack. Takami was just better, and that power looks real, in part because it’s not just one-shot stuff you see. I do think his leaky defense would be a nightmare against someone like Canizales or other guys who are better punchers than Rosa, but right now he looks quite good.
- Titles: WBC - Melvin Jerusalem, WBA - Oscar Collazo, IBF - Pedro Taduran, WBO - Oscar Collazo
- Upcoming Notable Fights: Ian Abne vs Rento Miyazawa, 8/16 ... Mthokozisi Ngxaka vs Thinumzi Gqola, 8/17 ... Takeshi Ishii vs Jake Amparo, 9/9 ... (9) Ryusei Matsumoto vs Yuni Takada, 9/14
Notes: 105 remains very quiet with the top names for now, and there are four guys here set to go Officially Inactive by October 1. Hopefully we get some fights soon.