December Ratings

(as of 12/22)

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. Andrew Golota
6. Hasim Rahman
7. Lamon Brewster (WBO)
8. Lance Whitaker
9. Monte Barrett
10. Jameel McCline

active: Klitschko (out: Guinn-lost)

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. Pietro Aurino
7. Guillermo Jones
8. Dale Brown
9. Virgil Hill
10. Vincenzo Cantatore

active: none
Inactive List: Hill, Jones, Cantatore

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

active: Johnson, Tarver, Gonzalez

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

active: Lacy, Beyer, Echols (out: Larsen-inactive)

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

active: Sturm
Inactive List: Masoe, Tatevosyan

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

active: none
Inactive List: Castillejo, Holmes, Martinez

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

active: Gomez
Inactive List: Damgaard, Piñeda

Jr. Welterweights (140 lbs)
Champion: Kostya Tszyu (IBF)
1. Arturo Gatti (WBC)
2. Floyd Mayweather
3. Vivian Harris (WBA)
4. Miguel Cotto (WBO)
5. Ricky Hatton (WBU)
6. James Leija
7. Demarcus Corley
8. Henry Bruseles
9. Francisco Bojado
10. Souleyman Mbaye

active: Cotto, Hatton, Corley

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

active: Castillo, Casamayor, Freitas, Zegan (out: Jauregui-displaced)
Inactive List: Lazcano, Clark

Jr. Lightweights (130 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Marco Antonio Barrera (WBC)
2. Erik Morales
3. Carlos Hernandez
4. Yodsanan Nanthachai (WBA)
5. Robbie Peden
6. Cassius Baloyi (IBO)
7. Janos Nagy
8. Daniel Seda
9. Lehlo Ledwaba
10. Jorge Barrios

active: Barrera, Morales, Hernandez, Nagy (out: Casamayor-moved up, Chavez-inactive, Santos-inactive)

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

active: Juarez, Pacquiao, John, Velazquez (out: Barrera-moved up)

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

active: Nakazato, Kimura, Larios
Inactive List: Valbuena, Nakajima

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

active: Marquez, Sahaprom
Inactive List: Carbajal

Jr. Bantamweights (115 lbs)
Champion: Katsushige Kawashima (WBC)
1. Masamori Tokuyama
2. Martin Castillo (WBA)
3. Ivan Hernandez (WBO)
4. Mark Johnson
5. Fernando Montiel
6. Jose Navarro (IBA)
7. Gerson Guerrero
8. Eric Morel
9. Medgoen Lukchaopormasak
10. Gerry Peñalosa

active: Castillo, Guerrero, Peñalosa (out: Perez-inactive)

Flyweights (112 lbs)
Champion: Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (WBC)
1. Vic Darchinyan (IBF)
2. Omar Narvaez (WBO)
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, Narvaez, Darchinyan, Hussein
Inactive List: Sakata

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

active: Aguirre, Arce (out: Ortiz-displaced)
Inactive List: Burgos, Cazares

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

active: Kogumazaka, Bustos, Akakura, Calderon (out: Aguirre-moved up, Kaneda-lost)

World Champions: 12 (of 17)