January Ratings

(as of 1/25)

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.

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. Wladimir Klitschko (IBF, IBO, WBO)
3. Alexander Povetkin
4. Robert Helenius
5. Tomasz Adamek
6. David Haye
7. Ruslan Chagaev
8. Chris Arreola
9. Eddie Chambers
10. Derek Chisora

(out: Boswell-lost)
Inactive List: Haye, Chambers

Crusierweights (200 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
1. Marco Huck (WBO)
2. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (WBC)
3. Denis Lebedev
4. Yoan Hernandez (IBF)
5. Steve Cunningham
6. Antonio Tarver (IBO)
7. Danny Green
8. Lateef Kayode
9. Ola Afolabi
10. BJ Flores

Inactive List: Tarver

Lt. Heavyweights (175 lbs)
Champion: Bernard Hopkins (WBC)
1. Tavoris Cloud (IBF)
2. Jean Pascal
3. Chad Dawson
4. Zsolt Erdei
5. Beibut Shumenov (WBA)
6. Nathan Cleverly (WBO)
7. Karo Murat
8. Gabriel Campillo
9. Eduard Gutknecht
10. Dmitri Sukhotsky

Inactive List: Pascal, Erdei, Shumenov

Super Middleweights (168 lbs)
Champion: Andre Ward (WBA, WBC)
1. Lucian Bute (IBF)
2. Carl Froch
3. Mikkel Kessler
4. Robert Stieglitz (WBO)
5. Peter Quillin
6. Thomas Oosthuizen (IBO)
7. Glen Johnson
8. Karoly Balzsay
9. Sakio Bika
10. Andre Dirrell

(out: Pavlik-inactive)
Inactive List: Kessler

Middleweights (160 lbs)
Champion: Sergio Martinez
1. Daniel Geale (IBF)
2. Felix Sturm
3. Dmitry Pirog (WBO)
4. Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr (WBC)
5. Sebastian Zbik
6. Gennady Golovkin (WBA)
7. Marco Antonio Rubio
8. Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam
9. Grzegorz Proska
10. Matthew Macklin

Inactive List: Zbik, N’Jikam

Jr. Middleweights (154 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
1. Miguel Cotto
2. Saul Alvarez (WBC)
3. Cornelius Bundrage (IBF)
4. Carlos Molina
5. James Kirkland
6. Erislandy Lara
7. Delvin Rodriguez
8. Vanes Matirosyan
9. Austin Trout (WBA)
10. Demetrius Andrade

(out: Wolak-retired, Baysangurov-displaced)
Inactive List: Bundrage

Welterweights (147 lbs)
Champion: Floyd Mayweather (WBC)
1. Manny Pacquiao (WBO)
2. Andre Berto
3. Dejan Zavec
4. Victor Ortiz
5. Kell Brook
6. Selcuk Aydin
7. Mike Jones
8. Vyacheslav Senchenko (WBA)
9. Randall Bailey
10. Carson Jones

(out: Lujan-lost)

Jr. Welterweights (140 lbs)
Champion: Tim Bradley (WBO)
1. Lamont Peterson (WBA, IBF)
2. Amir Khan
3. Marcos Maidana
4. Devon Alexander
5. Lucas Matthysee
6. Danny Garcia
7. Humberto Soto
8. Mike Alvarado
9. Erik Morales (WBC)
10. Ashley Theophane

Lightweights (135 lbs)
Champion: Juan Manuel Marquez
1. Robert Guerrero
2. Brandon Rios
3. Ricky Burns
4. Antonio DeMarco (WBC)
5. Jorge Linares
6. Miguel Vazquez (IBF)
7. Urbano Antillon
8. Gavin Rees
9. Paulus Moses
10. Richard Abril

Inactive List: Guerrero, Antillon

Jr. Lightweights (130 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
1. Yuriorkis Gamboa
2. Takashi Uchiyama (WBA)
3. Takahiro Aoh (WBC)
4. Adrien Broner
5. Juan Carlos Burgos
6. Alejandro Sanabria
7. Daniel Ponce de Leon
8. Vicente Escobedo
9. Devis Boschiero
10. Juan Carlos Salgado (IBF)

(out: Litzau-displaced)

Featherweights (126 lbs)
Champion: Chris John
1. Orlando Salido (WBO)
2. Juan Manuel Lopez
3. Jhonny Gonzalez (WBC)
4. Celestino Caballero (WBA)
5. Eduardo Escobedo
6. Miguel Angel Garcia
7. Billy Dib (IBF)
8. Jonathan Barros
9. Jorge Lacierva
10. Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo

Jr. Featherweights (122 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
1. Toshiaki Nishioka (WBC)
2. Takalani Ndlovu (IBF)
3. Rafael Marquez
4. Steve Molitor
5. Masaaki Serie
6. Rendall Munroe
7. Akifumi Shimoda
8. Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym
9. Guillermo Rigondeaux (WBA)
10. Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr

(out: Ramos-lost, Arce-moved down)

Bantamweights (118 lbs)
Champion: Nonito Donaire (WBC)
1. Abner Mares (IBF)
2. Anselmo Moreno
3. Joseph Agbeko
4. Cristian Mijares
5. Jorge Arce (WBO)
6. Hugo Cazares
7. Vic Darchinyan
8. Eric Morel
9. Hugo Ruiz
10. Koki Kameda (WBA)

(out: Tuñacao-displaced)

Jr. Bantamweights (115 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
1. Yota Sato
2. Suriyan Sor Rungvisai (WBC)
3. Tomonobu Shimizu (WBA)
4. Alberto Rosas
5. Omar Narvaez (WBO)
6. Tomas Rojas
7. Tepparith Kokietgym (WBA)
8. Sylvester Lopez
9. Rolly Matsushita
10. Victor Zaleta

(out: Kameda-lost, Banal-displaced)

Flyweights (112 lbs)
Champion: Pongsaklek Wonkongjam (WBC)
1. Hernan Marquez (WBA)
2. Brian Viloria (WBO)
3. Moruti Mthalane (IBF)
4. Edgar Sosa
5. Milan Melindo
6. Giovanni Segura
7. Julio Cesar Miranda
8. Rocky Fuentes
9. Juan Carlos Reveco
10. Toshiyuki Igarashi

(out: Uicab-displaced)
Inactive List: Reveco

Jr. Flyweights (108 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
1. Roman Gonzalez (WBA)
2. Ulises Solis (IBF)
3. Donnie Nietes (WBO)
4. Ramon Garcia Hirales
5. Kompayak Porpramook (WBC)
6. Adrian Hernandez
7. Luis Lazarte
8. Ryo Miyazaki
9. Noknoi Sitthiprasert
10. Luis Ceja

(out: Keb Baas-inactive, Segura-moved up)

Strawweights (105 lbs)
Champion: VACANT
1. Kazuto Ioka (WBC)
2. Akira Yaegashi (WBA)
3. Juan Palacios
4. Denver Cuello
5. Wanheng Menayothin
6. Pornsawan Porpramook
7. Moises Fuentes (WBO)
8. Hekkie Budler (IBO)
9. Raul Garcia
10. Sammy Gutierrez

(out: Joyi-inactive, Rachman-inactive)

World Champions: 9 (of 17)


these ratings © Phrank da Slugger 2012