Rankings go up on Mondays at Noon ET.
Ranked fights this week:
- Junior Middleweight: (5) Erislandy Lara vs Greg Vendetti, Aug. 29
- Junior Welterweight: (2) Jose Ramirez vs (5) Viktor Postol, Aug. 29
- Flyweight: (7) Cristofer Rosales vs Jeno Tonte, Aug. 29
Notes: As he nears his 41st birthday, Alexander Povetkin is back in the top five after his stunning KO win over Dillian Whyte, who tumbles from No. 5 to No. 8. You could still argue Whyte at 6 or 7, surely, but the grouping after Wilder is all pretty tight down through Parker. I mean, Parker has a win over Ruiz and nearly knocked out Whyte himself. I tend to agree with Lewis that if/when Whyte rematches Povetkin in December, Dillian will still come in as the favorite. He got caught with a perfect, crushing uppercut. He was looking in control and had dropped Povetkin twice in the fourth round. But IT IS WHAT IT IS! And he got hit with that shot. And he lost. So he falls and Povetkin rises again, even if just briefly. And who knows? Maybe he does it twice. Either way Whyte should probably fully settle his coaching team before the week of the fight next time.
Upcoming Fights: (1) Tyson Fury vs (3) Deontay Wilder, TBA ... (2) Anthony Joshua vs (7) Kubrat Pulev, TBA ... (4) Andy Ruiz Jr vs Chris Arreola, TBA ... (10) Oleksandr Usyk vs Derek Chisora, TBA
Upcoming Fights: TBA
Notes: Joe Smith Jr is having a hell of a year. In January he beat Jesse Hart, which surprised many, maybe most, and on Saturday he pretty much dominated Eleider Alvarez before knocking him out. That may have been the most complete Smith performance yet, and at 30 he may be truly hitting his stride. We had some discussion about who deserves to be No. 3, and I’m sticking with Kovalev for now, but the Smith supporters have a solid argument, too. Alvarez tumbles all the way down to No. 9; I mean, I’m not really sure I’d be confident picking him over Callum Johnson if they fought, because Johnson’s similar to Smith in that he’ll definitely come at you. Alvarez has always been a frustrating fighter to watch, rarely really boxes to the best of his ability, but then again maybe it just seems like that, because the evidence also supports him not being as good as we’re generally supposed to think he is. At 36, Alvarez has just the two losses, but Smith kicked his ass and I really don’t know where he goes from here. Even Jean Pascal — whom Alvarez beat in 2017 — would probably fancy his chances in a rematch right now.
Upcoming Fights: (1) Artur Beterbiev vs Adam Deines, Sept. 25 ... (7) Badou Jack vs Blake McKernan [cruiserweight], Nov. 28
Upcoming Fights: TBA
Notes: Rob Brant picked up a solid return win on Saturday, bashing up Vitalii Kopylenko’s eye until the fight was stopped. Brant’s now working with trainer Brian McIntyre, and he looked sharp and a little less jittery than he sometimes does. He’s now gunning for that rubber match with Ryota Murata as soon as international travel is easier, which could be a while.
Upcoming Fights: (4) Sergiy Derevyanchenko vs (5) Jermall Charlo, Sept. 26 ... (2) Gennadiy Golovkin vs Kamil Szeremeta, TBA
Upcoming Fights: (5) Erislandy Lara vs Greg Vendetti, Aug. 29 ... (1) Jermell Charlo vs (2) Jeison Rosario, Sept. 26
Notes: Shawn Porter had zero trouble with Sebastian Formella on Saturday, other than it went the distance. Formella was very tough and came to fight, I’m not knocking the guy, but he was just not in Porter’s league, mainly because he lacked the power to dent Shawn. We didn’t learn anything new, but it got Porter active and back in the win column.
Upcoming Fights: (7) Yordenis Ugas vs Abel Ramos, Sept. 6 ... (8) Sergey Lipinets vs Kudratillo Abdukakhorov, Oct. 10 ... (1) Errol Spence Jr vs (6) Danny Garcia, Nov. 21
Upcoming Fights: (2) Jose Ramirez vs (5) Viktor Postol, Aug. 29 ... (1) Josh Taylor vs Apinun Khongsong, Sept. 26 ... (8) Mario Barrios vs Ryan Karl, Sept. 26
Upcoming Fights: (9) Rances Barthelemy vs Alberto Puello [junior welterweight], Sept. 6 ... (1) Vasiliy Lomachenko vs (2) Teofimo Lopez, Oct. 17 ... (6) Gervonta Davis vs Leo Santa Cruz [junior lightweight], Oct. 24 ... (4) Luke Campbell vs (10) Ryan Garcia, TBA
Upcoming Fights: (3) Jamel Herring vs Jonathan Oquendo, Sept. 5 ... (2) Leo Santa Cruz vs Gervonta Davis, Oct. 24 ... (1) Miguel Berchelt vs (5) Oscar Valdez, TBA
Upcoming Fights: (5) Tugstsogt Nyambayar vs Eduardo Ramirez, Sept. 19 ... (9) Ryan Walsh vs Jazza Dickens, Sept. 30 ... (6) Emanuel Navarrete vs (10) Ruben Villa, Oct. 17
Upcoming Fights: (3) Daniel Roman vs Juan Carlos Payano, Sept. 26 ... (6) Brandon Figueroa vs Damien Vasquez, Sept. 26 ... (10) Carlos Castro vs Christopher Diaz, Oct. 24
Upcoming Fights: (2) Luis Nery vs Aaron Alameda [junior featherweight], Sept. 26 ... (5) John Riel Casimero vs Duke Micah, Sept. 26 ... (3) Nordine Oubaali vs (4) Nonito Donaire, Dec. 12 ... (1) Naoya Inoue vs (8) Jason Moloney, TBA
Upcoming Fights: (1) Juan Francisco Estrada vs TBA, Oct. 17 ... (7) Joshua Franco vs Andrew Moloney, TBA
Upcoming Fights: (7) Cristofer Rosales vs Jeno Tonte, Aug. 29
Upcoming Fights: TBA
Upcoming Fights: TBA