Ring Ratings Analysis

By Jake Donovan |

Ring Ratings Analysis

Above: Junto Nakatani’s sixth-round stoppage of Alexandro Santiago ignited talk of a position in the pound-for-pound top 10. (Photo by Naoki Fukuda)

Covering fight results to March 16, 2024

POUND FOR POUND: After a major shakeup during the last ratings period, the list of the sport’s most elite fighters remained intact over the past four weeks. A motion was made for Junto Nakatani (27-0, 20 KOs) to crack the top 10 after his third divisional title haul on Feb. 24 but did not get the votes necessary to pass.

One panel member accurately noted: “I thought Nakatani was dazzling against Santiago. However, should he replace Bam? For me, Bam (No. 10-rated Jesse Rodriguez) has the better resume and probably just holds on. Nakatani is in the 11-15 range and it’s just a matter of time.

HEAVYWEIGHT: The main event of the March 8 “Knockout Chaos” show in Riyadh saw England’s Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 knockouts) knock Francis Ngannou out in the second round to restore honor and glory in the sport. The win over the former UFC heavyweight champion did nothing, however, to advance the former two-time unified titlist beyond the No. 2 position.

The evening’s co-feature had a greater ratings impact. Joseph Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) survived two knockdowns to avoid getting “Big Banged” by Zhilei Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs). Parker won a majority decision and the two heavyweights traded positions; Parker moved up to No. 3, Zhang down to No. 4.

CRUISERWEIGHT: Badou Jack (28-3-3, 17 KOs) hasn’t fought since his 12th-round knockout of Junior Makabu to win the WBC title in February 2023. The former three-division titlist awaits a fight date for a planned shot at WBC bridgerweight titleholder Lukasz Rozanski, to which Ring senior writer Jake Donovan suggested we wait out the March 30 Arsen Goulamirian-Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez WBA title fight to make a decision. The motion did not carry the votes, and Jack was removed from No. 2 due to inactivity. Everyone below Jack moved up one spot; Ramirez entered at No. 10.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT: No movement or much activity. Ali Ismailov (12-0, 8 KOs) defeated Brian Norwood via fourth-round knockout on Feb. 20 in Detroit, Michigan. He remained at No. 10.

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT: One month after making his Ring Top 10 debut, Osleys Iglesias (10-0, 9 KOs) immediately gained ground. The 26-year-old Cuban southpaw made waves in a first-round knockout of Marcelo Coceres. His March 7 showstopper came just two weeks after Edgar Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) stopped unbeaten Padraig McCrory in the sixth round of their Feb. 24 WBA title eliminator.

It was pointed out that Coceres previously went nearly nine rounds with No. 8 Diego Pacheco (20-0, 17 KOs) last November and the full 10-round distance with Berlanga in October 2021. One panel member suggested a four-spot promotion to No. 6 for Iglesias. Cooler heads prevailed and agreed that a switch was warranted at the lower end of the top 10. Iglesias moved up to No. 9, and Berlanga dipped to No. 10.

MIDDLEWEIGHT: No movement or activity.

JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT: The most challenging part of Israil Madrimov’s vacant WBA title fight versus unbeaten Magomed Kurbanov was whether it would move forward. The unbeaten Uzbek had to wait out a second MRI review by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) before he was cleared for their March 8 fight on the Joshua-Ngannou undercard.

Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs) took care of the rest as he obliterated Russia’s Kurbanov (25-1, 13 KOs) inside of five rounds to win his first major title. The dominant performance was rewarded with a four-spot bump to No. 2. Brian Mendoza (22-3, 16 KOs), Sebastian Fundora (20-1-1, 13 KOs), Erickson Lubin (26-2, 18 KOs) and Jesus Ramos (20-1, 16 KOs) moved down one spot each as a result.

Tony Harrison (29-4-1, 21 KOs), previously No. 7, has not fought since March 2021 and does not have anything on the horizon. The former WBC titlist exits the rankings as a result.

Michel Soro (35-4-2, 24 KOs), Charles Conwell (18-0, 13 KOs) and Serhill Bohachuk (23-1, 23 KOs) all moved up as a result. The vacancy makes room for Germany’s Jack Culcay (33-4, 14 KOs) to enter at No. 10.

WELTERWEIGHT: The only real activity was the lack of action from most of the division. Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs) has not fought since April 2022. He was originally granted a grace period, given his two canceled fight dates versus Vergil Ortiz, but still has nothing scheduled as of mid-March, so he was removed. Everyone below Stanionis moved up one place, while a spirited debate determined who would enter at No. 10.

Venezuela’s Roiman Villa (26-3, 24 KOs) was the suggested candidate. Two members vehemently opposed. “Villa just got brutally beaten by Boots (Jaron Ennis, No. 2 at 147). I don’t see why he should be in our ratings. I liked [Jin] Sasaki,” argued one member in a motion that was seconded. However, the majority ruled with the original suggestion; Villa is now at No. 10.

Shakhram Giyasov (15-0, 9 KOs) was the only top 10 fighter to see action in the past four weeks. His technical decision win over Pablo Cesar Cano on Feb. 24 was not enough to improve his attrition-based No. 6 placement.

JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT: No movement after plenty of activity in the prior ratings period.

LIGHTWEIGHT: Mexico’s William Zepeda (30-0, 26 KOs) continues his red-hot rise through the 135-pound division. A brutal body attack forced England’s Maxi Hughes (26-7-2, 5 KOs) to quit after four rounds in their March 16 DAZN headliner in Las Vegas.

Zepeda’s performance and overall body of work was enough to advance two spots to No. 3. Hughes, previously No. 9, exits the rankings. Ukraine’s Denys Berinchyk (18-0, 9 KOs) cracks the top 10, right at the No. 10 spot.

JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHT: Eduardo Nuñez (26-1, 26 KOs) cracked the top 10 the hard way – on the road in his first career fight outside of Mexico. He continued his perfect knockout-to-win percentage with an 11th-round stoppage of former IBF titlist Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (17-2-1, 14 KOs) in their Feb. 16 title eliminator.

Rakhimov was previously No. 8 and exited the top 10 with his second straight defeat. Nunez entered at No. 10, while Otar Eranosyan (14-0, 7 KOs) and Albert Bell (25-0, 8 KOs) moved up to No. 8 and No. 9, respectively.

FEATHERWEIGHT: One of the most active divisions from a movement standpoint during this period. It began with the exit of Mauricio “Bronco” Lara (26-3-2, 19 KOs), who was removed from No. 7 and the division altogether after a 10-round draw versus Daniel Lugo at 130 on Feb. 16.

IBF titlist Luis Alberto Lopez (30-2, 17 KOs) supplanted former WBA titlist Leigh Wood (28-3, 17 KOs) at the No. 1 spot after a March 2 eighth-round knockout of No. 8 Reiya Abe (25-4-1, 10 KOs), who exited the top 10 as a result.

Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 9 KOs) made a dramatic entrance to the title stage and Ring top 10 with a come-from-behind, 12th-round knockout of Otabek Kholmatov to win the WBA title. Their instant classic between unbeaten contenders was held on the same show as Lopez-Abe. Ford trailed on two of the three scorecards but forced the stoppage with just seven seconds to go. The initial motion suggested he enter at No. 10. Enough support was offered for the Camden, New Jersey southpaw to debut all the way at No. 7.

Mexico’s Rey Vargas (36-1-1, 22 KOs) returned to 126 for the first time since his July 2022 WBC title win over Mark Magsayo. Many viewers considered him lucky to have escaped with a draw versus Liverpool’s Nick Ball (19-0-1, 11 KOs), whose solid outing in their March 8 title fight was enough to advance all the way to No. 4 after debuting at No. 10 just three weeks earlier.

JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHT: Liam Davies (16-0, 8 KOs) continued his power surge with a second-round knockout of Mexico’s Erik Robles (15-2, 9 KOs). The third straight win inside the distance was enough for the unbeaten Brit to advance to No. 8.

Also of note was the confirmation that division boss Naoya Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs), No. 2 pound-for-pound, will defend his undisputed championship versus No. 5 Luis Nery (35-1, 27 KOs) on May 6 in Tokyo.

BANTAMWEIGHT: Shakeups galore, largely thanks to a pair of title fights on the same Feb. 24 show in Tokyo. Japan’s Junto Nakatani (27-0, 20 KOs) entered at No. 1 after a sixth-round knockout of Mexico’s Alexandro Santiago (28-4-5, 14 KOs) to win the WBC title and his third divisional strap. Nakatani was previously No. 2 at 115. Santiago moved down from No. 3 to No. 6 with the defeat.

The same show saw Takuma Inoue (19-1, 5 KOs), Naoya’s younger brother, deliver a ninth-round, body shot knockout of former IBF 115-pound titlist Jerwin Ancajas. Inoue defended his WBA title for the first time with the win and earned a three-spot promotion to No. 5. The jump came after panel members rejected the initial proposal for Santiago to remain one spot ahead of Inoue.

Nakatani’s divisional splash forced out Mexico’s David Cuellar (26-0, 17 KOs), who was previously No. 10.

JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHT: The difficult but necessary decision was made to remove Nicaragua’s Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (51-4, 41 KOs) from the top 10. The legendary former four-division champion is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer. However, he has not fought since December 2022 and has no prospects on the horizon other than a likely move to bantamweight. He was dropped from his No. 2 ranking and from the top 10 altogether on February 18.

Former unified strawweight titlist Francisco “Chihuas” Rodriguez Jr. (37-6-1, 25 KOs) was removed as well on February 18 due to inactivity. The former No.7-Ring rated contender hasn’t fought since January 2023; his last bout at 115 was a November 2022 points loss to Nakatani. He is due to face countryman Jose Javier Torres on March 16 at 112.

The double demotion saw Jonathan Rodriguez (25-2-1, 17 KOs) and Pedro Guevara (40-4-1, 22 KOs) both enter the top 10. They each moved up one spot just one week later after Nakatani was removed from 115 to compete one division higher. John “Scrappy” Ramirez (13-0, 9 KOs) entered at No. 10 during the Feb. 25 ratings vote.

FLYWEIGHT: No movement and minimal activity. As previously reported, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez has declared his intention to return to 115 for a shot at Ring champion Juan Francisco “El Gallo” Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs), though the targeted June 29 championship remains in the discussion stage.

JUNIOR FLYWEIGHT: South Africa’s Sivenathi Nontshinga (13-1, 10 KOs) avenged his lone career defeat with a 10th-round knockout of Adrian Curiel in their Feb. 16 rematch in Oaxaca, Mexico. Nontshinga regained the IBF title and advanced to No. 2 in the Ring top 10 in the process. Curiel (24-5-1, 5 KOs) fell to No. 3, while former titlists Hekkie Budler (35-5, 11 KOs) and Elwin Soto (21-3, 13 KOs) were bumped down one place each.

Puerto Rico’s Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzalez (28-3-1, 14 KOs) prevailed in a March 2 win over Rene Santiago to defend his WBO title in their all-Boricua matchup in San Juan. The fight was enough to avoid dropping out due to activity and remain at No. 1.

STRAWWEIGHT: No movement or activity at the weight. However, a discussion will soon have to come regarding WBA titlist Thammanoon Niyomtrong (24-0, 8 KOs), better known as Knockout CP Freshmart. The sport’s longest-reigning current titleholder has not fought since July 2022. His year-plus long saga with previous mandatory Erick Rosa presented enough problems to warrant a grace period, though he has seemingly exhausted that line of credit.