September Ratings

(as of 9/17)

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. Hasim Rahman
5. Lamon Brewster (WBO)
6. Calvin Brock
7. Monte Barrett
8. Wladimir Klitschko
9. Luan Krasniqi
10. John Ruiz (WBA)

active: Rahman, Barrett

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

active: Bell, Cunningham, Jones, Braithwaite, Brown, Cantatore (out: Haye-displaced)

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

active: Woods, Gonzalez
Inactive List: Tiozzo

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

active: Green, Lacy, Reid, Beyer, Mundine, Calzaghe
Inactive List: Andrade

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

active: Taylor, Hopkins, Abraham, Eastman, Soliman, Zuniga (out: Vargas-moved down)

Jr. Middleweights (154 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
1. Roman Karmazin (IBF)
2. Kassim Ouma
3. Fernando Vargas
4. Daniel Santos (WBO)
5. Sergei Dzindziruk
6. Ike Quartey
7. Verno Phillips
8. Joachim Alcine
9. Alex Garcia (WBA)
10. Ricardo Mayorga (WBC)

active: Vargas, Ouma, Karmazin, Mayorga, Garcia, Alcine (out: Castillejo-lost, Jones-displaced)
Inactive List: Santos

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

active: Urkal

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

active: Witter, Kotelnik, Zepeda (out: Branco-displaced)
Inactive List: Bazan

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

active: Hlatshwayo, Freitas, Juan Diaz, Julio Diaz, Zegan (out: Santa Cruz-lost)

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

active: Pacquiao, Raheem, Morales (out: Baloyi-moved up, lost)

Featherweights (126 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
1. Juan Manuel Marquez (WBA)
2. Scott Harrison (WBO)
3. Injin Chi (WBC)
4. Humberto Soto
5. Chris John (WBA)
6. Joan Guzman
7. Rocky Juarez
8. Frank Archuleta
9. Spend Abazi
10. Thomas Mashaba (IBO)

active: Soto, Juarez, John, Guzman (out: Raheem-moved up, Tapia-lost, Velazquez-moved up, lost)
Inactive List: Chi

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

active: Larios, Nishioka, Sanchez (Guzman-moved up)

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. Jhonny Gonzalez
8. Genaro Garcia
9. Simone Maludrottu
10. Poonsawat Kratingdangym

active: Sahaprom, Vorapin (twice), Kratingdangym, Gonzalez (out: Morales-displaced)

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

active: Montiel, Tokuyama, Kawashima, Navarro. Guerrero, Lukchaopormasak (out: Johnson-inactive, Hernandez-moved up)

Flyweights (112 lbs)
Champion: Pongsaklek Wonkongjam (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. Rosendo Alvarez
10. Daisuke Naito

active: Arce, Darchinyan, Asloum, Wonkongjam (out: Kaovichit-displaced)
Inactive List: Lopez

Jr. Flyweights (108 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
1. Hugo Cazares (WBO)
2. Roberto Vasquez (WBA)
3. Nelson Dieppa
4. Juanito Rubillar
5. Will Grigsby (IBF)
6. Jose Victor Burgos
7. Brian Viloria (WBC)
8. Nobuaki Masuda
9. Takahisa Masuda
10. Shingo Yamaguchi

active: Masuda, Yamaguchi, Cazares, Vasquez, Viloria (out: Alvarez-moved up, Siriwat-lost, Ortiz-lost)

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

active: Kaneda, Porpaoin, Kogumazaka, Akakura (out: Takayama-lost)
Inactive List: Rachman, Soto

World Champions: 8 (of 17)


these ratings © Phrank da Slugger 2005