Boxing Rankings (November 15, 2021): Kiko Martinez, David Benavidez, Jaime Munguia, Kid Galahad, more

Rankings go up on Mondays.

Ranked fights this week:

• Middleweight: (3) Demetrius Andrade vs Jason Quigley, Nov. 19
• Middleweight: (8) Janibek Alimkhanuly vs Hassan N’Dam, Nov. 20
• Junior Middleweight: (6) Tim Tszyu vs Takeshi Inoue, Nov. 17
• Welterweight: (2) Terence Crawford vs (4) Shawn Porter, Nov. 20
• Junior Featherweight: (1) Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs Jose Velasquez, Nov. 19
• Flyweight: (1) Julio Cesar Martinez vs (7) McWilliams Arroyo, Nov. 19
• Flyweight: (5) Artem Dalakian vs Luis Concepcion, Nov. 20

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Upcoming Fights: (8) Joseph Parker vs Derek Chisora, Dec. 18

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Upcoming Fights: TBA

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Notes: Golden Boy have pivoted back to calling him Gilberto Ramirez after trying out a flat Zurdo Ramirez. Specifically, they are officially calling him Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, but eventually you have to pick a horse with this, unless you want to be like the British and keep calling Canelo Alvarez “Saul” even though everyone else has stopped. They were probably better off just going with “Zurdo,” which is quite memorable, like “Canelo” or “Winky.”

Upcoming Fights: (5) Badou Jack vs Samuel Crossed [cruiserweight], Nov. 26 ... (1) Artur Beterbiev vs (4) Marcus Browne, Dec. 17 ... (6) Gilberto Ramirez vs Yunieski Gonzalez, Dec. 18 ... (3) Joe Smith Jr vs Callum Johnson, Jan. 15

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Notes: David Benavidez pretty much did as expected, stopping Kyrone Davis in the seventh round Saturday night on Showtime. It keeps Benavidez right where he was, with plenty of reason to believe he might get the coveted next crack at Canelo Alvarez. He’s unbeaten, a two-time titleholder, has fan and media buzz, and is considered maybe the last standing threat to Canelo Alvarez at 168 lbs, at least as far as fighters in the division right now.

I do think it’s good to see Benavidez not putting all his eggs in the Canelo basket or looking desperate for the fight, though. He’s also open to fighting his social media rival Jermall Charlo in order to prove more if he has to do that, and both Canelo-Benavidez and Charlo-Benavidez would be damn good fights to make.

Upcoming Fights: (5) Carlos Gongora vs Lerrone Richards, Dec. 18 ... (10) David Morrell Jr vs Alantez Fox, Dec. 18

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Notes: Similar to Benavidez at 168, Jaime Munguia did about as imagined, winning a wide decision over Gabriel Rosado in a very fan-friendly fight on DAZN. I don’t think Munguia really improved his standing much at 160; in all honesty, he and Golden Boy fell into a nice situation the minute Rosado goomed the crap out of “Bek the Bully” in June, because it gave them an obvious Munguia fight to make for the fall. Otherwise, Golden Boy are not exactly overflowing with great options for their handful of marketable fighters at the moment, Munguia included. If they can’t work out a big fight for him next, you might want to gird your loins for Munguia vs D’Mitrius Ballard on DAZN or Triller Fight Club or whatever they plan to go with next.

Upcoming Fights: (3) Demetrius Andrade vs Jason Quigley, Nov. 19 ... (8) Janibek Alimkhanuly vs Hassan N’Dam, Nov. 20 ... (1) Gennadiy Golovkin vs (5) Ryota Murata, Dec. 29

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Upcoming Fights: (6) Tim Tszyu vs Takeshi Inoue, Nov. 17 ... (7) Sebastian Fundora vs (10) Sergio Garcia, Dec. 5 ... (8) Michel Soro vs (9) Israil Madrimov, TBA

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Upcoming Fights: (2) Terence Crawford vs (4) Shawn Porter, Nov. 20 ... (3) Yordenis Ugas vs Eimantas Stanionis, TBA

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Upcoming Fights: (3) Jose Ramirez vs (7) Jose Pedraza, Feb. 5 ... (1) Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall, Feb. 26

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Upcoming Fights: (1) Teofimo Lopez vs (9) George Kambosos Jr, Nov. 27 ... (4) Devin Haney vs (8) Joseph Diaz Jr, Dec. 4 ... (6) Gervonta Davis vs Isaac Cruz, Dec. 5 ... (2) Vasiliy Lomachenko vs (5) Richard Commey, Dec. 11

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Upcoming Fights: (7) Azinga Fuzile vs Kenichi Ogawa, Nov. 27 ... (6) Chris Colbert vs (8) Roger Gutierrez, TBA

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Notes: Well! That was something, huh? I think all boxing fans who know his career like and respect Kiko Martinez, but no, nobody thought he was going to beat Kid Galahad, which he very much did on Saturday, knocking Galahad out in the sixth round (it was really the fifth round) to take the IBF title, becoming a two-weight world champion.

Galahad probably isn’t really the fifth-best featherweight in the world, but results are results sometimes, and there was nothing controversial about this. He caught Galahad getting lazy and over-confident and made him pay. He knocked Galahad out, period. So here’s Kiko Martinez! It will probably be short-lived, yes, but he’s earned the spot. And he was more than “probably” supposed to lose to Galahad, too.

Galahad drops to No. 10. He was winning that fight handily, but didn’t stay on the gas and found Martinez less breakable than Jazza Dickens was in August, with that not meant as a shot at Dickens. Kiko has a next-level motor, doesn’t give up on fights, and Galahad couldn’t convince him that he wasn’t capable of winning. If they do the rematch, Galahad will probably be the favorite again, but you also have to wonder what this loss will take from him mentally, because it was a rough one in his hometown and everything.

Upcoming Fights: (2) Gary Russell Jr vs Mark Magsayo, TBA ... (6) Leigh Wood vs Michael Conlan, TBA

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Upcoming Fights: (1) Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs Jose Velasquez, Nov. 19 ... (2) Stephen Fulton Jr vs (3) Brandon Figueroa, Nov. 27 ... (10) Ra’eese Aleem vs Eduardo Baez, Nov. 27

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Notes: With Takuma Inoue moving up to 122 lbs this past week (officially and successfully), we had an opening. In is former titleholder Rau’shee Warren, who at 34 looks like he can take one more run at a world title. The best chance he’d have at winning another one is probably John Riel Casimero, and Casimero’s pretty damn good, too. It’s a tough climb, but Warren has an unbreakable sort of spirit. I don’t think there’s a title fight could be offered that he’d turn down, and given how few options Top Rank have for Naoya Inoue, Warren wouldn’t be the worst choice for a return to the States opponent early next spring or whenever, if they can make the deal with PBC; they could get it done if they wanted, it’s not like Warren is some money headliner for PBC.

Upcoming Fights: (2) Nonito Donaire vs Reymart Gaballo, Dec. 11 ... (3) John Riel Casimero vs Paul Butler, Dec. 11 ... (1) Naoya Inoue vs Aran Dipaen, Dec. 14

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Upcoming Fights: (9) Donnie Nietes vs TBA, Dec. 11 ... (1) Juan Francisco Estrada vs (4) Chocolatito Gonzalez, TBA ... (3) Srisaket Sor Rungvisai vs Carlos Cuadras, TBA

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Upcoming Fights: (1) Julio Cesar Martinez vs (7) McWilliams Arroyo, Nov. 19 ... (5) Artem Dalakian vs Luis Concepcion, Nov. 20 ... (2) Sunny Edwards vs Jayson Mama, Dec. 11 ... (3) Junto Nakatani vs Cristian Gonzalez, Dec. 29

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Upcoming Fights: (3) Masamichi Yabuki vs (5) Kenshiro Teraji, TBA

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Upcoming Fights: (10) Ayanda Ndulani vs Siphamandla Baleni, Nov. 26 ... (9) Vic Saludar vs Erick Rosa Pacheco, Dec. 9 ... (1) Knockout CP Freshmart vs Robert Paradero, Dec. 14 ... (4) Wilfredo Mendez vs Masataka Taniguchi, Dec. 14 ... (2) Petchmanee CP Freshmart vs (3) Wanheng Menayothin, Jan. 25

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Upcoming Fights: (7) Terence Crawford vs Shawn Porter, Nov. 20 ... (5) Teofimo Lopez vs George Kambosos Jr, Nov. 27 ... (6) Vasiliy Lomachenko vs Richard Commey, Dec. 11 ... (3) Naoya Inoue vs Aran Dipaen, Dec. 14 ... (8) Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall, Feb. 26 ... (10) Juan Francisco Estrada vs Chocolatito Gonzalez, TBA

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Notes: Terri Harper’s loss to Alycia Baumgardner obviously drops her out. Baumgardner doesn’t take the spot, despite how sharp she looked. I’m going with Chantelle Cameron, who has two belts at 140 and will look to fully unify next year against either Kali Reis or Jessica Camara. But figuring this all is still very much a work in progress for everyone, and Baumgardner is probably top 20 or so now at the very least. I said repeatedly before that fight that she was not someone to be overlooked against Harper, and man, she really wasn’t. There’s no two ways about it, she smoked Harper.

As for Baumgardner, there are great fights she can make if she doesn’t have to do an immediate Harper rematch, and I stand by saying Harper and team would be crazy to go right back in with Baumgardner. This was not close or anything, Terri was getting pieced up from the start. Baumgardner could unify with Mikaela Mayer or Hyun Mi Choi, Delfine Persoon is at 130 now, Tasha Jonas is still out there, Amanda Serrano floats between weights on a whim, and Baumgardner could try 135 because it’s not like Katie Taylor is overwhelmed by good opponents at the moment.

Upcoming Fights: (1) Katie Taylor vs Firuza Sharipova, Dec. 11 ... (2) Claressa Shields vs Ema Kozin, Dec. 11 ... (7) Seniesa Estrada vs Maria Santizo, Dec. 18