Bad Left Hook Boxing Rankings (Oct. 8, 2019): GGG holds No. 2 spot at middleweight, but for how long?

Rankings will be posted each Tuesday at Noon ET. (This week is late, yes.)

This week’s ranked fights:

• Cruiserweight: (1) Oleksandr Usyk vs TBA [heavyweight], Oct. 12
• Light Heavyweight: (3) Dmitry Bivol vs Lenin Castillo, Oct. 12
• Super Bantamweight: (5) TJ Doheny vs Jesus Martinez [featherweight], Oct. 12

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Upcoming Fights: (7) Kubrat Pulev vs Rydell Booker, Nov. 9 ... (2) Deontay Wilder vs (6) Luis Ortiz, Nov. 23 ... (3) Andy Ruiz Jr vs (4) Anthony Joshua, Dec. 7 ... (1) Tyson Fury vs (2) Deontay Wilder, Feb. 22

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Notes: One way or another, this is Usyk’s last week sitting on top of these rankings. We basically extended his time here when his May fight got scrapped, and if he winds up not fighting Saturday, that’s just too long. He’ll be out at cruiser either way.

Upcoming Fights: (1) Oleksandr Usyk vs TBA, Oct. 12 [heavyweight] ... (2) Mairis Briedis vs (4) Yuniel Dorticos, Dec. 14

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Upcoming Fights: (3) Dmitry Bivol vs Lenin Castillo, Oct. 12 ... (1) Oleksandr Gvozdyk vs (2) Artur Beterbiev, Oct. 18 ... (4) Sergey Kovalev vs Canelo Alvarez, Nov. 2

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Upcoming Fights: (4) Billy Joe Saunders vs TBA, Nov. 9 ... (10) Rocky Fielding vs Abdallah Paziwapazi, Nov. 15 ... (1) Callum Smith vs (9) John Ryder, Nov. 23

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Notes: GGG looked his age and maybe a bit under the weather in his debatable win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko on Saturday, but he holds steady at No. 2 here — it’s just that the gap between Nos. 2 and 6, perhaps, seem to have narrowed. Derevyanchenko proved again that he’s nobody to mess around with in a marquee fight, so I can’t really switch him even below Charlo right now. Golovkin is 37, so time is no doubt catching up to him, and furthermore, he’s really never been THE BIG DRAMA DESTROYER when in against true top-level competition (Canelo and Jacobs before this past Saturday). There are levels, and few truly dominate at the very top, at least in the manner GGG has against everyone else in his career. The question is whether or not Derevyanchenko is, in fact, that level of competition, or if Golovkin has truly slipped.

Upcoming Fights: (1) Canelo Alvarez vs Sergey Kovalev [light heavyweight], Nov. 2 ... (6) Jermall Charlo vs Dennis Hogan, Dec. 7 ... (3) Daniel Jacobs vs TBA [super middleweight], Dec. 13 ... (7) Ryota Murata vs Steven Butler, TBA

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Upcoming Fights: (4) Brian Castano vs Wale Omotoso, Nov. 2 ... (8) Dennis Hogan vs Jermall Charlo [middleweight], Dec. 7 ... (1) Julian Williams vs TBA, Jan. 18

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Upcoming Fights: (10) Kudratillo Abdukakhorov vs Luis Collazo, Oct. 18 ... (1) Terence Crawford vs Egidijus Kavaliauskas, Dec. 14 ... (1) Errol Spence Jr vs (6) Danny Garcia, TBA

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Notes: Baranchyk bounced back on Saturday with a stoppage of Gabriel Bracero, looking like his loss to Josh Taylor didn’t have any real impact on him whatsoever. That’s a good thing — Baranchyk is who he is, and trying to change would probably be a negative at this point. Is he limited? Sure. Is he fun to watch? Absolutely, and he’s dangerous against anyone, too.

Upcoming Fights: (1) Regis Prograis vs (2) Josh Taylor, Oct. 26 ... (4) Maurice Hooker vs TBA [welterweight], Dec. 13

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Upcoming Fights: (4) Robert Easter Jr vs Adrian Granados [junior welterweight], Oct. 26 ... (9) Devin Haney vs TBA, Nov. 9 ... (2) Richard Commey vs (8) Teofimo Lopez, Dec. 14

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Upcoming Fights: (1) Miguel Berchelt vs Jason Sosa, Nov. 2 ... (5) Jamel Herring vs Lamont Roach Jr, Nov. 9 ... (4) Andrew Cancio vs Rene Alvarado, Nov. 23

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Upcoming Fights: (2) Josh Warrington vs Sofiane Takoucht, Oct. 12 ... (7) Shakur Stevenson vs Joet Gonzalez, Oct. 26 ... (1) Leo Santa Cruz vs Miguel Flores [super featherweight], Nov. 23 ... (8) Can Xu vs Manny Robles III, Nov. 23 ... (4) Oscar Valdez vs Andres Gutierrez [super featherweight], Nov. 30 ... (5) Carl Frampton vs TBA, Nov. 30 ... (9) Kid Galahad vs Claudio Marrero, TBA

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• Upcoming Fights: (5) TJ Doheny vs Jesus Martinez [featherweight], Oct. 12

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Upcoming Fights: (1) Naoya Inoue vs (3) Nonito Donaire, Nov. 7 ... (6) Nordine Oubaali vs (9) Takuma Inoue, Nov. 7 ... (2) Luis Nery vs TBA, Nov. 23 ... (5) Zolani Tete vs John Riel Casimero, Nov. 23

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Upcoming Fights: (5) Jerwin Ancajas vs Jonathan Rodriguez, Nov. 2 ... (1) Juan Francisco Estrada vs (7) Kal Yafai, Dec. 13 ... (4) Kazuto Ioka vs Jeyvier Cintron, Dec. 31

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Upcoming Fights: (6) Andrew Selby vs TBA, Nov. 22 ... (8) Muhammad Waseem vs TBA, Nov. 22

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Notes: Milan Melindo, last week’s No. 8, went up to 115 and was stopped by Junto Nakatani, who is starting to bang on the door in that division. In steps Valladares, a five-year pro from Mexico who is starting to find his footing with three solid wins this year.

Upcoming Fights: (6) Elwin Soto vs (9) Edward Heno, Oct. 24 ... (7) Angel Acosta vs TBA [flyweight], Oct. 24

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Upcoming Fights: (5) Wilfredo Mendez vs Gabriel Mendoza, Oct. 26