The Sportspedia
Here we introduce The Sportspedia’s 2020 World Men’s Boxing Rankings. In our rankings we do not only list the boxers but we explain the reasoning behind each ranking.
Columns represent: Ranking, Fighter, Country, Record, World Championship, 2020 fight results.
HEAVYWEIGHT
Former and now #1 Fury beat #5 ranked Wilder to become undefeated World Champion. Joshua defeated former #1 Andy Ruiz, who had Knocked him out when he was #1 but Ruiz has still never been knocked out unlike Wilder, who suffered a TKO against Fury. Usyk cleaned with the Cruiserweight and had made a mark already by defeating strong contender Dereck Chisora.
| 1 | Tyson Fury | England | 30(21)-0-1 | WBC, The Ring | WTKO Deontay Wilder |
| 2 | Anthony Joshua | England | 24(22)-1 | IBF, WBO, WBA Super | WKO Kubrat Pulev |
| 3 | Oleksandr Usyk | Ukraine | 18(13)-0 | WUD Dereck Chisora | |
| 4 | Andy Ruiz Jr. | México | 33(22)-2 | ||
| 5 | Deontay Wilder | United States of America | 42(41)-1-1 | LTKO Tyson Fury |
CRUISERWEIGHT
Breidis beat former #1 Glowacki and current #2, former World Champion Dorticos, who has only lost to him and now-Heavyweight Gassiev. World Champion Makabu hasn’t lost in 4 years and Goulamirian is an undefeated World Champion that defeated Constantin Bejenaru, who himself beat strong Thabiso Mchunu. Former #1 Glowacki has only lost to Breidis and now Heavyweight, former #1 Usyk.
| 1 | Mairis Briedis | Latvia | 27(19)-1 | IBF, The Ring | WMD Yuniel Dorticos |
| 2 | Yuniel Dorticos | Cuba | 24(22)-2 | LMD Breidis | |
| 3 | Ilunga Junior Makabu | Democratic Republic Of The Congo | 28(25)-2 | WBC | WUD Michal Cieslak, WTKO Olanrewaju Durodola |
| 4 | Arsen Goulamirian | France | 26(18)-0 | WBA Super | |
| 5 | Krzysztof Glowacki | Poland | 31(19)-2 |
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Bivol and Beterbiev are both undefeated World Champions and Beterbiev holds two belts plus has an impressive 100% KO rate but Bivol has faced better opposition, having defeated #5 Smith Jr and former ranked Jean Pascal, and Bivol’s wins of common opponents were clearer. Kovalev is still there in the mix and gave Saúl Álvarez a good fight until he was knocked out. Unbeaten former World Champion Ramírez has only fought in this weight twice, but did beat Jesse Hart, who beat Sullivan Barrera, who beat Smith Jr but Smith jr then beat Hart, so is the best among the rest. Álvarez relinquished his title and is no longer planning to fight as a Light Heavyweight, hence he is not ranked.
| 1 | Dmitry Bivol | Russian Federation | 17(11)-0 | WBA Super | |
| 2 | Artur Beterbiev | Russian Federation | 15(15)-0 | WBC, IBF | |
| 3 | Sergey Kovalev | Russian Federation | 34(29)-4-1 | ||
| 4 | Gilberto Ramírez Sánchez | México | 41(27)-0 | WTKO Alfonso López | |
| 5 | Joe Smith Jr | United States of America | 26(21)-3 | WSD Jesse Hart, WTKO Eleider Álvarez |
SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT
Pound for Pound #1 Álvarez has beat #4 Jacobs and #5 Smith. Jacobs’ fight was closer, hence their respective positions. Benavídez and Plant are still undefeated with Benavídez’ KO of Dirrell the biggest win any of those two fighters have had. Plus Benavídez has a better KO rate.
| 1 | Saúl Alvarez | México | 54(36)-1-2 | The Ring, WBC, WBA Super | WUD Callum Smith |
| 2 | David Benavídez | México | 23(20)-0 | WRTD Roamer Alexis Angulo | |
| 3 | Caleb Plant | United States of America | 20(12)-0 | IBF | WTKO Vincent Feigenbutz |
| 4 | Daniel Jacobs | United States of America | 37(30)-3 | WSD Gabriel Rosado | |
| 5 | Callum Smith | England | 27(19)-1 | LUD Saúl Álvarez |
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Álvarez beat former #1 Golovkin the second time around after a draw, although it seems like this will be the last time we rank him as a Middleweight. Unbeaten World Champion Charlo beat Sergiy Derevyanchenko via UD as Golovkin did. Unbeaten World Champion Andrade is yet to fight an opposition as the top 3 have, while unbeaten Munguía barely edges unbeaten World Champion Ryōta Murata out due to his stronger wins against Sadam Ali and Liam Smith (both at Super Welterweight) and his recent win by RTD6 against Tureano Johnson, who lasted 12 rounds against Derevyanchenko.
| 1 | Saúl Alvarez | México | 54(36)-1-2 | The Ring | WUD Callum Smith |
| 2 | Gennadiy Golovkin | Kazakhstan | 41(36)-1-1 | IBF | WRTD Kamil Szeremeta |
| 3 | Jermall Charlo | United States of America | 31(22)-0 | WBC | WUD Sergiy Derevyanchenko |
| 4 | Demetrius Andrade | United States of America | 29(18)-0 | WBO | WTKO Luke Keeler |
| 5 | Jaime Munguía | México | 36(29)-0 | WTKO Gary O’Sullivan, WRTD Tureano Johnson |
SUPER WELTERWEIGHT
A division with a clear #1 that has most of the belts. Charlo beat #2 Rosario, who beat #3 Williams, who beat #4 Hurd, who beat -via a close Split Decision- #5 Lara, former #1 that drew to Castaño, who woud be #6. Other World Champion, Patrick Teixeira, has not defeated big names and has lost to Curtis Stevens via a 2nd round KO (Middleweight).
| 1 | Jermell Charlo | United States of America | 34(18)-1 | WBA Super, WBC, IBF, The Ring | WKO Jeison Rosario |
| 2 | Jeison Rosario | Dominican Republic | 20(14)-2-1 | WTKO Julian Williams, LKO Jermell Charlo | |
| 3 | Julian Williams | United States of America | 27(16)-2-1 | LTKO Jeison Rosario | |
| 4 | Jarrett Hurd | United States of America | 24(16)-1 | WUD Francisco Santana | |
| 5 | Erislandy Lara | United States of America | 27(15)-3-3 | WBA | WUD Greg Vendetti |
WELTERWEIGHT
Unbeaten World Champion Crawford has been the #1 Lightweight and Super Lightweight by beating the best in those divisions. He has still not beat the very best Welters but just beat Kell Brook in 4 rounds, while #2 Errol Spence Jr took 11 to beat him. Spence has unified against Porter and also beat #5 García. Former Pound for Pound #1, Manny Pacquiao has been ranked in the weight for over a decade (save fo a brief retirement) and is still a World Champion, having defeated #4 Thurman, in a Split Decision. WBC Diamond World Champion, García, beat Vargas via UD, as did Pacquiao -albeit a bit closer- and has only lost to #2 Spence Jr.
| 1 | Terence Crawford | United States of America | 37(28)-0 | WBO | WTKO Kell Brook |
| 2 | Errol Spence Jr. | United States of America | 27(21)-0 | WBC, IBF | WUD Danny Garcia |
| 3 | Manny Pacquiao | Philippines | 62(39)-7-2 | WBA Super | |
| 4 | Keith Thurman | United States of America | 29(22)-1 | ||
| 5 | Miguel Ángel García Cortez | México | 40(30)-1 | WBC Diamond | WUD Jessie Vargas |
SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT
Taylor is an unbeaten World Champion and has defeated two of the top 5-rated boxers, and last won by KO in 1. Ramírez is also an unbeaten World Champion that has defeated two of the top 5, but he defeated Postol via MD unlike Taylor’s UD. He also barely beat Zepeda in a close Majority Decision, and Zepeda just beat strong Ivan Baranchyk by KO. Prograis was also able to lose just by Majority Decision against #1 Taylor, his only defeat. Postol remains in the ranking since beating Matthysse back in 2015 and his only defeats since have been an Unanimous Decision against #1 Taylor and a recent Majority Decision against #2 Ramírez.
| 1 | Josh Taylor | Scotland | 17(13)-0 | WBA Super, IBF | WKO Apinun Khongsong |
| 2 | José Carlos Ramírez | United States of America | 26(17)-0 | WBC, WBO | WMD Viktor Postol |
| 3 | José Zepeda | México | 33(26)-2 | WUD Kendo Castaneda, WKO Ivan Baranchyk | |
| 4 | Regis Prograis | United States of America | 25(21)-1 | WTKO Juan Heraldez | |
| 5 | Viktor Postol | Ukraine | 31(12)-3 | LMD José Carlos Ramírez |
LIGHTWEIGHT
López beat Pound for Pound-rated Lomachenko to earn four World Title belts and remain unbeaten, while Davis beat Santa Cruz by KO6 and remains unbeaten, and simultaneously Champion in two weight classes. Haney beat former top 5 Gamboa to also remain as an unbeaten Champion. Commey lost to Teófimo López but his win against Raymundo Beltrán is bigger than any win Ryan García has, but that could change in the García vs Campbell fight. Campbell has lost to Linares, who was Knocked out by Lomachenko and just in one round by Pablo César Cano (Super Lightweight).
| 1 | Teófimo López | Honduras | 16(12)-0 | WBA Super, IBF, WBO, The Ring | WUD Vasyl Lomachenko |
| 2 | Vasyl Lomachenko | Ukraine | 14(10)-2 | LUD López | |
| 3 | Gervonta Davis | United States of America | 24(23)-0 | WBA | WKO Leo Santa Cruz |
| 4 | Devin Haney | United States of America | 25(15)-0 | WBC | WUD Yuriorkis Gamboa |
| 5 | Richard Commey | Ghana | 29(26)-3 |
SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT
World Champion Davis takes #1 with his huge TKO win over Santa Cruz, the only fight among the very top-rated fighters. World Champion Berchelt was #1 with his great wins against Francisco Vargas. Valdez, unbeaten, looked good in his Super Featherweight debut and has beat names like Quigg. World Champion Díaz Jr. beat Tevin Farmer to earn the title and has not lost since falling to Gary Allen Russell Jr -who is rated below Santa Cruz in Featherweight- in 2018.
| 1 | Gervonta Davis | United States of America | 24(23)-0 | WBA Super | WKO Leo Santa Cruz |
| 2 | Miguel Berchelt | México | 37(33)-1 | WBC | NC Eleazar Valenzuela |
| 3 | Óscar Valdez | México | 28(22)-0 | WTKO Jayson Velez | |
| 4 | Léodegario Santa Cruz | México | 37(19)-2-1 | LTKO Davis | |
| 5 | Joseph Pedroza Díaz Jr. | United States of America | 31(15)-1 | IBF | WUD Tevin Farmer |
FEATHERWEIGHT
Unbeaten World Champion Warrington beat Frampton via UD while Santa Cruz lost one fight and won the other one via MD against Frampton. Both Santa Cruz and Russell Jr beat Kiko Martínez in 5 but Santa Cruz also beat former-rated Ábner Mares twice, while Russell Jr has not had names as big as Mares in his résumé. Galahad gave #1-rated Warrington a big fight that ended in a Split Decision but he could have won. World Champion Emanuel Navarrete hasn’t lost since 2012 and has given great fights and beat Dogboe, who beat Magdaleno, who beat Donaire, but hasn’t fought names as big as those since. But he could well be underrated.
| 1 | Josh Warrington | England | 30(7)-0 | IBF | |
| 2 | Léodegario Santa Cruz | México | 37(19)-2-1 | WBA Super | LTKO Davis |
| 3 | Gary Allen Russell Jr | United States of America | 31(18)-1 | WBC | |
| 4 | Kid Galahad | England | 27(16)-1 | WRTD Claudio Marrero | |
| 5 | Emanuel Navarrete | México | 32(27)-1 | WBO | WTKO Jeo Santisima, NC Uriel López, WUD Rubén Villa |
SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT
Luis Nery defeated then #1 Shinsuke Yamanake twice, although he was overweight in one. He is an unbeaten World Champion and has ended 10 of hist last 11 fights early. Champion in recess, Vargas, is also unbeaten. He hasn’t won by KO as often but has defeated #4 Hovhannisyan, former rated Kameda, and Ronny Ríos. World Champion Figueroa has won 8 of his last 9 fights early and he beat Moisés Flores in 3 rounds, unlike former World Champion Daniel Roman’s win in 12. Román himself lost to now #5, World Champion Akhmadaliev, who only has 8 fights, whereas Hovhannisyan has a 32-3 Record including only losing to Rey Vargas in the last six years. He beat Ríos in 6, while #2 Vargas went to the distance with him, and he also beat Manzanilla in 4, unlike Vargas’ 12. But again, he did lost to Vargas via UD.
| 1 | Luis Nery | México | 31(24)-0 | WBC | WUD Aarón Alameda |
| 2 | Rey Geovani Vargas Roldán | México | 34(22)-0 | WBC in recess | |
| 3 | Brandon Lee Figueroa | México | 21(16)-0-1 | WBA | WTKO Damien Vazquez |
| 4 | Azat Hovhannisyan | Armenia | 18(15)-3 | ||
| 5 | Murodjon Akhmadaliev | Uzbekistan | 8(6)-0 | WBA Super, IBF | WSD Daniel Román |
BANTAMWEIGHT
Inoue is one of the top Pound for Pound boxers and has beaten four top 10 fighters (at the time) in a row, including #4 Nonito Donaire, the only one he did not Knock Out. World Champion Rigondeaux might be 40 but has only lost once, against Vasyl Lomachenko, three weightclasses above Bantamweight, and when both were rated Pound for Pound. World Champion Oubaali is unbeaten, while former Pound for Pound-rated Donaire has three defeats in his last 6 fights but still gave #1 Inoue a very good fight. World Champion Casimero has won his six fights in this weight class by KO/TKO, including one against Zolani Tete.
| 1 | Naoya Inoue | Japan | 20(17)-0 | WBA Super, IBF, The Ring | WKO Jason Moloney |
| 2 | Guillermo Rigondeaux | Cuba | 20(13)-1 | WBA | WSD Liborio Solís |
| 3 | Nordine Oubaali | France | 17(12)-0 | WBC | |
| 4 | Nonito Donaire | Philippines | 40(26)-6 | ||
| 5 | John Riel Casimero | Philippines | 30(21)-4 | WBO | WTKO Duke Micah |
SUPER FLYWEIGHT
Former Pound for Pound-rated González lost to Wangek (twice), who lost to Estrada (in a second convincing fight, after losing the first one). World Champion Ioka lost to Donnie Nietes two years ago but has three consecutive World Title bout wins, including frustrating unbeaten three-weightclass World Champion Kosei Tanaka on December 31st, 2020. World Champion Jerwin Ancajas was able to beat Israel González by TKO unlike González’ UD but has not faced names as strong as the four fighters above him.
| 1 | Juan Francisco Estrada | México | 41(28)-3 | WBC | WTKO Carlos Cuadras |
| 2 | Wisaksil Wangek (Srisaket Sor Rungvisai Nakornl) | Thailand | 49(42)-5-1 | WUD Amnat Ruenroeng, WTKO Jomar Fajardo | |
| 3 | Román Alberto González Luna | Nicaragua | 50(41)-2 | WBA | WTKO Khalid Yafai, WUD Israel González |
| 4 | Kazuto Ioka | Japan | 26(15)-2 | WBO | WTKO Kosei Tanaka |
| 5 | Jerwin Ancajas | Philippines | 32(22)-1-2 | IBF |
FLYWEIGHT
World Champion Mthalane hasn’t lost since Donaire in 2008 and has been World Champion for eleven years, including wins over Bantamweight-rated Casimero, and Akira Yaegashi, who he retired. World Champion Martínez has convincingly beaten top 8-15 fighters in his last 4 fights. Unbeaten Nakatani beat former Light Flyweight-rated Milan Melindo and then became World Champion. Artem Dalakian is also an unbeaten World Champion but the names he has beat are not as strong. Sho Kimura has lost a MD against #1-contender Kosei Tanaka and also went to the decision against Light Flyweight-rated Canizales but he had three strong World Title bout wins before his losses. He then beat veteran Merlito Sabillo in 2 rounds. Other World Champion, veteran Luis Concepción, only has two fights on this weight class, after two defeats in Super Flyweight.
| 1 | Moruti Mthalane | South Africa | 39(26)-2 | IBF | |
| 2 | Julio César Martínez | México | 17(13)-1 | WBC | WUD Jay Harris, WTKO Moisés Calleros |
| 3 | Junto Nakatani | Japan | 21(16)-0 | WBO | WKO Giemel Magramo |
| 4 | Artem Dalakian | Ukraine | 20(14)-0 | WBA | WUD Josber Pérez |
| 5 | Sho Kimura | Japan | 19(2)-3-2 | WUD Merlito Sabillo |
LIGHT FLYWEIGHT
Unbeaten World Champion Teraji has 9 consecutive World Championship fight wins, including names such as former top 5 López and Melindo and comes off two consecutive early TKO wins. Kyoguchi is also an unbeaten World Champion and beat #4 Hekkie Buddler although he only has three fights on this weightclass. World Champion Alvarado hasn’t lost since 2014, including a TKO win over Petalcorin in 7 Rounds, a bit less impressive than Teraji’s TKO over Petalcorin in 4, but he is on the mix. Budler now hasn’t fought in 2 years but it was justified not to fight this year amid a pandemic. A former Minimumweight #1, his win over now retired Ryoichi Taguchi put him up in the ranking of this weightclass although he lost to Kyoguchi (TKO) last time out. World Champion Canizales did not manage to beat Taguchi unlike Budler, but he did get a Draw. Nevertheless he is still unbeaten and beat Flyweight-rated Sho Kimura last time out. World Champion Elwin Soto has not faced the same opposition level as these five.
| 1 | Kenshiro Teraji | Japan | 17(10)-0 | WBC |
| 2 | Hiroto Kyoguchi | Japan | 14(9)-0 | WBA Super, The Ring |
| 3 | Félix Alvarado | Nicaragua | 35(30)-2 | IBF |
| 4 | Hekkie Budler | South Africa | 34(10)-4 | |
| 5 | Carlos Canizales | Venezuela | 22-0-1 | WBA |
MINIMUMWEIGHT
Moonsri was the highest rated with a 54-0 record until his loss to now #2, Moonsri. Niyomtrong is new #1 with his unbeaten record and 13 consecutive World Championship wins since 2014, which include a win over #4 rated, Byron Rojas, who has only lost to Niyomtrong (2xUD) in the last 8 years, including a win over former #1, Hekkie Budler. World Champion Pedro Taduran has only lost to Moonsri (UD) while other World Champion Wilfredo Méndez (PUR) does have a loss to unranked Leyman Benavides (NIC) from two years ago.
| 1 | Thammanoon Niyomtrong (Knockout CP Freshmart) | Thailand | 21(7)-0 | WBA Super | WUD Norihito Tanaka |
| 2 | Panya Pradabsri (Petchmanee CP Freshmart) | Thailand | 35(22)-1 | WBC | WTKO Mehrdad Kalvandi, WUD Héctor Villa, WRTD Wichet Sengprakhon, WUD Chayaphon Moonsri |
| 3 | Chayaphon Moonsri (Wanheng Menayothin Kaiyanghada) | Thailand | 54(18)-1 | LUD Panya Pradabsri | |
| 4 | Byron Rojas | Nicaragua | 27(11)-4-3 | ||
| 5 | Pedro Taduran | Philippines | 14(11)-2-1 | IBF | DTD Daniel Valladares |
POUND FOR POUND
| 1 | Saúl Alvarez | México | 54(36)-1-2 | The Ring, WBC, WBA Super | WUD Callum Smith |
| 2 | Terence Crawford | United States of America | 37(28)-0 | WBO | WTKO Kell Brook |
| 3 | Naoya Inoue | Japan | 20(17)-0 | WBA Super, IBF, The Ring | WKO Jason Moloney |
| 4 | Errol Spence Jr. | United States of America | 27(21)-0 | WBC, IBF | WUD Danny Garcia |
| 5 | Manny Pacquiao | Philippines | 62(39)-7-2 | WBA Super | |
| 6 | Tyson Fury | England | 30(21)-0-1 | WBC, The Ring | WTKO Deontay Wilder |
| 7 | Teófimo López | Honduras | 16(12)-0 | WBA Super, IBF, WBO, The Ring | WUD Vasyl Lomachenko |
| 8 | Juan Francisco Estrada | México | 41(28)-3 | WBC | WTKO Carlos Cuadras |
| 9 | Vasyl Lomachenko | Ukraine | 14(10)-2 | LUD López | |
| 10 | Gervonta Davis | United States of America | 24(23)-0 | WBA Super | WKO Leo Santa Cruz |
COUNTRY POINTS TABLE
| Country | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | POINTS | |
| 1 | México | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 52 |
| 2 | United States of America | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 39 |
| 3 | Japan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 20 |
| 4 | Thailand | 1 | 2 | 2 | 19 | ||
| 5 | England | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17 | |
| 6 | Russian Federation | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 7 | Ukraine | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| 8 | Cuba | 2 | 8 | ||||
| 9 | Nicaragua | 2 | 1 | 8 | |||
| 10 | Republic of South Africa | 1 | 1 | 7 | |||
| 11 | Honduras | 1 | 5 | ||||
| 11 | Scotland | 1 | 5 | ||||
| 11 | Latvia | 1 | 5 | ||||
| 14 | France | 1 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 15 | Philippines | 1 | 3 | 5 | |||
| 16 | Democratic Republic Of The Congo | 1 | 3 | ||||
| 17 | Uzbekistan | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 17 | Armenia | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 19 | Venezuela | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 19 | Ghana | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 19 | Poland | 1 | 1 |
