September/October Ratings

(as of 10/12)

I’ve been doing these monthly ratings since 1983. There are 3 criteria I use to rate fighters:

•Quality of Opposition

•Performance

•Activity

I am not ranking the best from 1 to 10; rather, this is to see who deserves a title shot. I rate all 18 divisions, a time-consuming activity to say the least. Therefore, commentary only appears every 3rd month.

Some mistakingly think the Champion in each division is the guy who I think is the best. This is not the case. There are 2 criteria by which I determine Champions: the 1st is lineage (The Man who beat The Man who beat The Man); and the 2nd is defeating another fighter also ranked in the top 3 in the division.

“Inactive List” is for fighters who have not fought in 6 or more months. It may mean that he is or will be dropping in the ratings due to his inactivity. It is unfair to other fighters for a guy to sit on his rating. If a fighter has a fight scheduled or is injured, I try to take this into consideration.

I do not recognize “Super Champions” or other such nonsense. If the WBA wants to take its world title recognition from a fighter, then it has stripped him as far as I’m concerned.

Heavyweights (over 195 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Vitali Klitschko (WBC)
2. Chris Byrd (IBF)
3. James Toney (IBA)
4. John Ruiz (WBA)
5. Jameel McCline
6. Lamon Brewster (WBO)
7. Lance Whitaker
8. Andrew Golota
9. Monte Barrett
10. Dominick Guinn

active: Toney

Crusierweights (195 lbs)
Champion: Jean-Marc Mormeck (WBA)
1. Wayne Braithwaite (WBC)
2. Johnny Nelson (WBO)
3. O’Neill Bell
4. Carl Thompson (IBO)
5. Kelvin Davis (IBF)
6. Guillermo Jones
7. Pietro Aurino
8. Virgil Hill
9. Dale Brown
10. Vincenzo Cantatore

active: Aurino
Inactive List: Jones

Lt. Heavyweights (175 lbs)
Champion: Zsolt Erdei (WBO)
1. Antonio Tarver (WBC, IBO)
2. Glenn Johnson (IBF)
3. Julio Gonzalez
4. Thomas Ulrich
5. Paul Briggs
6. Fabrice Tiozzo (WBA)
7. Clinton Woods
8. Rico Hoye
9. Medhi Sahnoune
10. Montell Griffin

active: Erdei, Johnson, Hoye, Griffin (out: Jones-lost, Michalczewski-inactive)

Super Middleweights (168 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Joe Calzaghe (WBO)
2. Danny Green
3. Robin Reid (IBO)
4. Mads Larsen
5. Manny Siaca (WBA)
6. Anthony Mundine
7. Mikkel Kessler
8. Rudy Markussen
9. Jeff Lacy (IBF)
10. Markus Beyer (WBC)

active: Green, Mundine (twice), Lacy, Beyer (out: Echols-displaced, Sanavia-lost)

Middleweights (160 lbs)
Champion: Bernard Hopkins (IBF, WBC, WBO)
1. Howard Eastman
2. Felix Trinidad
3. Felix Sturm
4. Oscar de la Hoya
5. Sam Soliman
6. Kingsley Ikeke
7. Maselino Masoe (WBA)
8. Raymond Joval
9. Sergei Tatevosyan
10. David Lopez (IBA)

active: Hopkins, Eastman, Trinidad, de la Hoya, Sturm (out: Schenk-inactive)

Jr. Middleweights (154 lbs)
Champion: Winky Wright (WBC)
1. Kassim Ouma (IBF)
2. Shane Mosley
3. Daniel Santos (WBO)
4. Antonio Margarito (WBO 147)
5. Verno Phillips
6. Keith Holmes
7. Javier Castillejo
8. Sergei Dzindziruk
9. Sergio Martinez (IBO)
10. Aslanbek Kodzoev

active: Santos, Margarito, Ouma, Phillips (out: Wells and Simms - both displaced)
Inactive List: Holmes

Welterweights (147 lbs)
Champion: Cory Spinks (WBC, IBF)
1. Zab Judah
2. Michele Piccirillo
3. Kermit Cintron
4. Thomas Damgaard
5. Jawaid Khaliq (IBO)
6. Cosme Rivera
7. Manuel Gomez
8. Rafael Piñeda
9. Frederic Klose
10. Ernesto Zavala

active: Judah, Zavala (out: Margarito-moved up)
Inactive List: Damgaard, Khaliq

Jr. Welterweights (140 lbs)
Champion: Kostya Tszyu (IBF)
1. Arturo Gatti (WBC)
2. Floyd Mayweather
3. Miguel Cotto (WBO)
4. Vivian Harris (WBA)
5. Sharmba Mitchell
6. James Leija
7. Ricky Hatton (WBU)
8. Oktay Urkal
9. Demarcus Corley
10. Juan Valenzuela

active: Cotto, Hatton
Inactive List: Valenzuela

Lightweights (135 lbs)
Champion: Jose Luis Castillo (WBC)
1. Diego Corrales (WBO)
2. Julio Diaz (IBF)
3. Juan Lazcano
4. Juan Diaz (WBA)
5. Acelino Freitas
6. Matt Zegan (WBF)
7. Jason Cook (IBO)
8. Stefano Zoff
9. Michael Clark
10. Javier Jauregui

active: none

Jr. Lightweights (130 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Erik Morales (WBC)
2. Joel Casamayor
3. Carlos Hernandez
4. Yodsanan Nanthachai (WBA)
5. Jesus Chavez
6. Robbie Peden
7. David Santos
8. Cassius Baloyi (IBO)
9. Janos Nagy
10. Daniel Seda

active: none (out: Salido-moved down)
Inactive List: Chavez, Santos

Featherweights (126 lbs)
Champion: Manny Pacquiao
1. Juan Manuel Marquez (IBF, WBA)
2. Marco Antonio Barrera
3. Scott Harrison (WBO)
4. Injin Chi (WBC)
5. Rocky Juarez
6. Zahir Raheem
7. Chris John (WBA)
8. Frank Archuleta
9. Johnny Tapia
10. Hector Velazquez

active: Marquez (out: Martinez-lost)

Jr. Featherweights (122 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Oscar Larios (WBC)
2. Israel Vazquez (IBF)
3. Joan Guzman (WBO)
4. Manabu Fukushima
5. Mahyar Monshipour (WBA)
6. Shigeru Nakazato
7. Jose Luis Valbuena
8. Yoddamrong Sithyodthong
9. Jorge Lacierva
10. Shiji Kimura

active: Sithyodthong
Inactive List: Guzman, Valbuena

Bantamweights (118 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Rafael Marquez (IBF)
2. Veeraphol Sahaprom (WBC)
3. Ratanachai Sor Vorapin (WBO)
4. Silence Mabuza (IBO)
5. Cruz Carbajal
6. Genaro Garcia
7. Diego Morales
8. Jhonny Gonzalez
9. Simone Maludrottu
10. Frederic Patrac

active: Sahaprom, Morales, Maludrottu, Patrac (out: Bredahl-retired)

Jr. Bantamweights (115 lbs)
Champion: Katsushige Kawashima (WBC)
1. Masamori Tokuyama
2. Luis Perez (IBF)
3. Ivan Hernandez (WBO)
4. Mark Johnson
5. Fernando Montiel
6. Martin Castillo
7. Jose Navarro (IBA)
8. Jason Booth (IBO)
9. Eric Morel
10. Gerson Guerrero

active: Kawashima, Johnson, Hernandez (out: Muñoz-inactive)
Inactive List: Booth

Flyweights (112 lbs)
Champion: Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (WBC)
1. Omar Narvaez (WBO)
2. Vic Darchinyan
3. Brahim Asloum
4. Mzukisi Sikali (IBO)
5. Lorenzo Parra (WBA)
6. Hussein Hussein
7. Jose Lopez
8. Luis Maldonado
9. Takefumi Sakata
10. Mhikiza Myekeni

active: Wonjongkam, Parra, Lopez (out: Pacheco-inactive)

Jr. Flyweights (108 lbs)
Champion: Jorge Arce (WBC)
1. Jose Victor Burgos (IBF)
2. Rosendo Alvarez
3. Hugo Cazares
4. Nelson Dieppa (WBO)
5. Juanito Rubillar
6. Bebis Mendoza
7. Shingo Yamaguchi
8. Phichit Siriwat
9. Nobuaki Masuda
10. Erik Ortiz

active: Alvarez, Mendoza, Masuda (out: Hatakeyama-lost)

Strawweights (105 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Eagle Akakura (WBC)
2. Ivan Calderon (WBO)
3. Yutaka Niida (WBA)
4.Muhammad Rachman (IBF)
5. Jose Aguirre
6. Noel Arambulet
7. Daniel Reyes
8. Juan Landaeta
9. Chana Porpaoin
10. Rodel Mayol

active: Rachman, Reyes

World Champions: 12 (of 17)