May Ratings

(as of 5/30)

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 200 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
1. Vitali Klitschko (WBC)
2. James Toney (IBA)
3. Chris Byrd (IBF)
4. Lamon Brewster (WBO)
5. Hasim Rahman
6. Monte Barrett
7. Calvin Brock
8. Wladimir Klitschko
9. Luan Krasniqi
10. John Ruiz (WBA)

active: Brewster, Krasniqi (out: Golota-lost, Williamson-displaced)

Crusierweights (200 lbs)
Champion: Jean-Marc Mormeck (WBC)
1. O’Neill Bell (IBF)
2. Dale Brown
3. Johnny Nelson (WBO)
4. Wayne Braithwaite
5. Carl Thompson (IBO)
6. Steve Cunningham
7. Guillermo Jones
8. Pietro Aurino
9. Krzys Wlodarczyk
10. Enzo Maccarinelli (WBU)

active: Bell, Brown, Jones (out: Cantatore-inactive)
Inactive List: Nelson, Thompson

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

active: Gonzalez, Griffin, Adamek, Castro (out: Briggs-lost, Drews-displaced)

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

active: Calzaghe (out: Veit-lost)

Middleweights (160 lbs)
Champion: Bernard Hopkins (IBF, WBC, WBO, IBC)
1. Winky Wright
2. Felix Sturm
3. Kingsley Ikeke
4. Sam Soliman
5. Howard Eastman
6. Fernando Vargas
7. Fernando Zuniga
8. Sergei Tatevosyan
9. David Lopez
10. Jermain Taylor

active: Wright, Lopez (out: Trinidad-lost, de la Hoya-inactive)

Jr. Middleweights (154 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
1. Kassim Ouma (IBF)
2. Daniel Santos (WBO)
3. Sergei Dzindziruk
4. Verno Phillips
5. Javier Castillejo
6. Roman Karmazin
7. Joachim Alcine
8. Sergio Martinez (IBO)
9. Alex Garcia
10. Rodney Jones

active: Garcia, Jones, Alcine (out: Wright-moved up, Simms-inactive, Linton-displaced)

Welterweights (147 lbs)
Champion: Zab Judah (WBC, IBF)
1. Antonio Margarito (WBO)
2. Cory Spinks
3. Shane Mosley
4. Manuel Gomez
5. David Barnes
6. Oktay Urkal
7. Ernesto Zavala
8. Thomas Damgaard
9. Frederic Klose
10. Michel Trabant

active: Judah, Urkal, Klose, Gomez (out: Piccirillo-moved up, Rivera-lost, Collazo-displaced)

Jr. Welterweights (140 lbs)
Champion: Kostya Tszyu (IBF)
1. Arturo Gatti (WBC)
2. Floyd Mayweather
3. Miguel Cotto (WBO)
4. Vivian Harris (WBA)
5. Ricky Hatton (WBU)
6. Junior Witter
7. Ernesto Zepeda
8. Cesar Bazan
9. Souleyman Mbaye
10. Mohammad Abdulaev

active: none (out: Bojado-inactive)

Lightweights (135 lbs)
Champion: Diego Corrales (WBC, WBO)
1. Jose Luis Castillo
2. Joel Casamayor
3. Juan Diaz (WBA)
4. Acelino Freitas
5. Matt Zegan
6. Stefano Zoff
7. Julio Diaz
8. Aldo Rios (IBO)
9. Javier Jauregui
10. Almazbek Raiymkulov

active: Castillo, Corrales (out: Lazcano-inactive)

Jr. Lightweights (130 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
1. Marco Antonio Barrera (WBC)
2. Erik Morales
3. Jesus Chavez
4. Carlos Hernandez
5. Robbie Peden (IBF)
6. Cassius Baloyi (IBO)
7. Manny Pacquiao
8. Vicente Mosquera (WBA)
9. Yodsanan Nanthachai
10. Jorge Barrios (WBO)

active: Chavez, Hernandez (out: Nagy-displaced)

Featherweights (126 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
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. Johnny Tapia
8. Frank Archuleta
9. Hector Velazquez
10. Spend Abazi

active: Marquez

Jr. Featherweights (122 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
1. Oscar Larios (WBC)
2. Mahyar Monshipour (WBA)
3. Joan Guzman (WBO)
4. Israel Vazquez (IBF)
5. Manabu Fukushima
6. Shiji Kimura
7. Celestino Caballero
8. Toshiaki Nishioka
9. Armando Guerrero
10. Akihiko Nago

active: Caballero, Vazquez, Guerrero, Nishioka (Kanai-displaced)

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

active: Marquez, Carbajal, Mabuza, Garcia, Maludrottu

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

active: Navarro, Lukchaopormasak

Flyweights (112 lbs)
Champion: Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (WBC)
1. Vic Darchinyan (IBF, IBO)
2. Jorge Arce
3. Brahim Asloum
4. Omar Narvaez (WBO)
5. Hussein Hussein
6. Lorenzo Parra (WBA, NBA)
7. Jose Lopez
8. Mhikiza Myekeni
9. Daisuke Naito
10. Denkaosan Kaovichit

active: Kaovichit

Jr. Flyweights (108 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
1. Rosendo Alvarez
2. Hugo Cazares (WBO)
3. Nelson Dieppa
4. Juanito Rubillar
5. Roberto Vasquez (WBA)
6. Eric Ortiz (WBC)
7. Will Grigsby (IBF)
8. Jose Victor Burgos
9. Shingo Yamaguchi
10. Phichit Siriwat

active: Grigsby, Burgos, (out: Mendoza-displaced)

Strawweights (105 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
1. Ivan Calderon (WBO)
2. Yutaka Niida (WBA, NBA)
3. Muhammad Rachman (IBF)
4. Eagle Akakura
5. Juan Landaeta
6. Chana Porpaoin
7. Satoshi Kogumazaka
8. Rodel Mayol
9. Omar Soto
10. Katsunari Takayama (WBC)

active: Mayol

World Champions: 8 (of 17)