Cruiserweight Division Jumbles Up, Huck New No. 1: Boxing Rankings for Oct. 2, 2011

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Quickly we'll go through the first few, but I want to spotlight the new top ten at cruiserweight this week, as Marco Huck has moved into the No. 1 position after this past weekend's Steve Cunningham vs Yoan Pablo Hernandez fight.

Cruiserweight

Alexander Frenkel (8) and Guillermo Jones (9) are both out due to one year of inactivity. Frenkel actually went inactive a couple of weeks ago, but he supposedly had a fight with Enad Licina on 10/22, which now appears off. More on their replacements later.

Middleweight

Three ranked fighters were in action this past weekend, but nothing changes. Sergio Martinez holds on to the No. 1 spot with his win over Darren Barker, who doesn't move from No. 9, as he did better than most expected and proved his worthiness of the ranking. Andy Lee remains at No. 10 with his win over Brian Vera.

Junior Welterweight

Ashley Theophane drops out from his No. 10 spot, because Ajose Olusegun moves in at No. 8. Olusegun was right on the cusp of the top ten before this past weekend, when he dominated Ali Chebah in an exciting ShoBox performance. Theophane is a good fighter, and I suspect will be back here, at least when someone moves up in weight, and a few of these guys are close to that (Bradley, Khan, Alexander, maybe Maidana). Olusegun knocks Erik Morales and Zab Judah down to Nos. 9 and 10, respectively.

Featherweight

Rafael Marquez (5) is out after his move back down to super bantamweight and loss to Toshiaki Nishioka. In at No. 10 is Japanese featherweight champ Satoshi Hosono.

After the jump, spotlight on the cruiserweights.

1. Marco Huck (33-1, 24 KO)

Huck is on the best run in the division right now, and though his lone loss was to Cunningham, that was in 2007 and things have changed. He was creeping up really hard on Cunningham as it was, as the American continues to age and seems on the edge of really losing to top guys soon enough. Next: Huck faces Argentina's Rogelio Rossi on October 29. That might not seem a dangerous fight on paper, but Rossi is about 6'6" and could pose some matchup issues.

2. Denis Lebedev (22-1, 17 KO)

Russia's Lebedev should have gotten a points win over Huck in December 2010, for my money, but he didn't. I should make clear right now that the top four in this division is, in my view, very tight. There's not much separating these guys. Next: Lebedev wants a Huck rematch, but instead will face James Toney on November 4 in Russia. Supposedly, anyway. I still have my doubts that fight actually happens.

3. Steve Cunningham (24-3, 12 KO)

Cunningham drops to No. 3 after his controversial technical decision loss to Yoan Pablo Hernandez. I had it 57-56 for Cunningham at the time of stoppage, and momentum was going his way. But I also could have fairly seen 57-56 for Hernandez, if not the scores he actually got (58-55 and an absurd 59-54). Next: TBA. It won't be Hernandez, who will be giving Troy Ross the title shot that Cunningham avoided.

4. Troy Ross (24-2, 16 KO)

The Guyana-born, Canada-based Ross hasn't fought in about a year, so unless he figures something out fast he's all of a few weeks from being dropped due to inactivity. Ross has been trying to get a rematch with Cunningham since their controversial June 2010 fight, which was stopped and awarded to Cunningham via TKO-5 due to a cut on Ross. Next: Nothing yet, but word is he'll be getting his rematch for the IBF belt, now with Hernandez.

5. Yoan Pablo Hernandez (25-1, 13 KO)

The big Cuban southpaw might not last too long in this section of the rankings, but he jumps juts a little bit from last week. Next: TBA, probably Ross if reports are to be believed.

6. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (45-2-1, 32 KO)

The 30-year-old Pole, who holds the WBC belt, looks like he's at the back-end of his career, too, as his last two fights with Jason Robinson and Francisco Palacios have been harder than expected. Next: A fight on November 30 with Danny Green in Australia.

7. Antonio Tarver (29-6, 20 KO)

42-year-old Tarver believes he's the best cruiserweight in the world thanks to his win over Danny Green. He probably isn't, but even being in the discussion at his age is pretty damn good. Next: TBA. It might not be easy for him to find a fight he wants without going overseas again.

8. Ola Afolabi (18-2-3, 8 KO)

Afolabi is better than his record and gave Marco Huck a test in December 2009. He's won five straight since, but against rotten opposition. Next: TBA, probably something on the Wladimir Klitschko card in December.

9. Danny Green (31-4, 27 KO)

Green is back in thanks to inactivity of two other fighters. He's got a shot to make a statement in his next fight. Next: Wlodarczyk on 11/30.

10. Lateef Kayode (18-0, 14 KO)

I don't think Kayode is a special fighter, and his wins this year have disappointed more than impressed, but they're still better wins than other potential No. 10s have. Others considered were BJ Flores, Mateusz Masternak, and Pawel Kolodziej. Next: TBA, but he says it won't be ShoBox.