Using the ratings of the published issues of Ring Magazine, and the archived ratings of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB) since their debut in October 2012, and under the assumption they act as a reasonable gauge of the state of each of boxing’s seventeen weight divisions over the last decade, a select group of fighters was evaluated with two questions in mind:

1. What fighters rated by Ring, TBRB, or both, did the men considered face?

2. What were those opponents rated divisionally when they fought?

Things like being a future or former titlist don’t matter here, nor do title defenses. Those are important things to consider for many but this isn’t meant to be the last word on what makes a great run. It’s just one lens to look from based on the simple question of what would happen if we looked at just the two questions outlined. 

With four belts per division, lineal crowns, Ring Magazine belts and more around to win, this is not a cumulative look at every fighter for the decade. Instead, a baseline was established by looking at the pound for pound ratings published by Ring Magazine in print form and then a review of the archived pound for pound ratings of the TBRB for any fighters who appeared on those lists but not Ring’s.

It left a pool of more than fifty fighters to consider; heavyweights Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, and Deontay Wilder were also scored. Heavyweights often fall short of pound for pound consideration but represent the peak of the sport in literal terms. None of the three made the top twenty regardless.

For the Ring lists, because they represented the full ten years, a point system was used for each month printed. In the final part of this series, the results of that top twenty and how it was generated will be shared.

For this series, a different point system was tallied using the most recent ratings available in an issue of Ring or the most recent archived TBRB ratings prior to a fight. The rules worked like this:

1.    Wins over rated opponents started at 11 points for a recognized champion (TBRB/Ring) down to one point for defeating a number ten contender. Draws got half credit. No points were given for a No Contest or No Decision but the result will be noted.

2.    Losses to rated opponents were given an inverse score, beginning with -1 for a champion down to -11.

3.    Losses to unrated opponents received a universal score of -12 (with some logical exceptions that will be explained when applied).

4.    If there is a difference between a fighter’s Ring and TBRB rankings, the average of the two numbers was used (i.e. a win over a fighter rated second by one body and fifth by the other would be worth 3.5 pts).

5.    If a fighter was rated by only Ring or TBRB, half credit was given for a win. A loss total would come from an average of -12 and the point loss that would apply to the rating that was in place.

6.    Moves between weight classes were adjusted for by taking into consideration the body weight shift between weight classes. In other words, if a rated Jr. welterweight jumped up to beat a rated welterweight, the math would work like this: 147/140 multiplied by the divisional rating. It works in reverse for a win over a fighter from a fighter rated lower (i.e. 160/168 multiplied by the smaller man’s rating in his class). In an over the weight class fight, the divisions the men were rated in were used.

7.    All divisions were treated equally based on the idea fighters can only face the men in their division while they are there and all point totals were applied based on official results.

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15) Danny Garcia - 37 Points

Record for the Decade: 20-2, 11 KO

Record Against Rated Opponents: 8-2

Rated Opponents in the 2010s: UD12 Erik Morales (Ring #5 - 140), TKO4 Amir Khan (Ring #3 - 140), KO4 Erik Morales (Ring #6/TBRB #8 - 140), UD12 Zab Judah (Ring #4/TBRB #7 - 140), UD12 Lucas Matthysse (Ring/TBRB #1 - 140), MD12 Mauricio Herrera (Ring Unrated/TBRB #7 - 140), MD12 Lamont Peterson (Ring/TBRB #2 - 140), UD12 Robert Guerrero (Ring Unrated/TBRB #9 - 147), L12 Keith Thurman (Ring #2/TBRB #3 - 147), L12 Shawn Porter (Ring/TBRB #4)

Garcia posted a run through the 140 lb. division from 2012-13 he never quite matched again before or after. He ended what had been a fan-friendly resurrection for Morales at Jr. welterweight, toppled a Khan coming off a highly contested decision loss to Lamont Peterson, and held off a late surge from Judah to set up his biggest win. Garcia impressed the boxing world with a classy display that included a knockdown of a Matthysse who looked the part of destroyer coming in. Losses to Thurman and Porter were both highly competitive affairs for a fighter who won titles in two weight classes and the lineal crown at 140 lbs.

Missing in the Numbers: Garcia had his share of close calls. With a little different luck, he might never have gotten to his first title opportunity when he did; Ashley Theophane came up on the wrong side of a debated decision in Garcia’s first fight of the decade. Both Herrera and Peterson, particularly the former, in their favors had strong cases among many viewers after their battles with Garcia.

14) Sergio Martinez - 37.2 Points

Record for the Decade: 7-1, 4 KO

Record Against Rated Opponents: 6-1

Rated Opponents in the 2010s: UD12 Kelly Pavlik (Ring Champion - 160), KO2 Paul Williams (Ring #2 - 160), TKO8 Sergey Dzinziruk (Ring #8 - 154), RTD11 Matthew Macklin (Ring #3 - 160), UD12 Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (Ring #3 - 160), UD12 Martin Murray (Ring #7/TBRB #8 - 160), KO by 10 Miguel Cotto (Ring #3/TBRB #5 - 154)

Martinez overcame a late start in the sport and a few questionable calls in the previous decade to earn a crack at Kelly Pavlik for the middleweight crown to begin the 2010s. Martinez made the most of it, coming off the floor in the seventh to pull away for a big decision win. He followed it with a memorable knockout of Paul Williams, avenging a 2009 decision loss. Martinez faced a series of solid contenders in his reign, including a lopsided decision over Chavez remembered almost entirely for Martinez’s survival during a dramatic final ninety seconds. 

Missing in the Numbers: Martinez was lucky not to lose his crown one fight prior to what would be his final fight against Cotto. Fighting at home in Argentina against Murray, Martinez suffered a knockdown in round eight but did just enough in the closing rounds to post his last successful title defense.

13) Leo Santa Cruz - 38.13 Points

Record for the Decade: 26-1, 15 KO

Record Against Rated Opponents: 7-1

Rated Opponents in the 2010s: RTD5 Eric Morel (Ring #5 -118), KO3 Victor Terrazas (Ring #7/TBRB #2 -122), UD12 Cristian Mijares (Ring #7/TBRB #5 - 122), MD12 Abner Mares (Ring #4/TBRB #5 - 126), TKO5 Kiko Martinez (Ring Unrated/TBRB #7 -122), L12 Carl Frampton (Ring #2/TBRB #1 - 122), MD12 Carl Frampton (Ring #2/TBRB #1 - 126), UD12 Abner Mares (Ring/TBRB #6 - 126) 

With belts from bantamweight to featherweight, the lanky Santa Cruz was a consistent force in the lower third of boxing’s 17 weight classes. A pair of memorable rivals filled out his resume with a pair of entertaining wins over fellow three-division titlist Abner Mares and a split with Carl Frampton. The second Frampton fight marked an immediate reversal of Santa Cruz’s lone lone loss to date and showed off the skill that underlines a high volume style. 

Missing in the Numbers: Santa Cruz largely never made fights at Jr. featherweight or featherweight with Guillermo Rigondeaux or Gary Russell, respectively. Both could have added a lot to his total without costing him much. As was, Santa Cruz largely took his foot off the gas down the stretch of the decade, facing only a rated Mares in notable action since the Frampton rematch in January 2017.

12) Nonito Donaire - 40.75 Points

Record for the Decade: 19-5, 12 KO, 1 KOBY

Record Against Rated Opponents: 10-5

Rated Opponents in the 2010s: KO4 Wladimir Sidorenko (Ring #10 - 118), TKO2 Fernando Montiel (Ring #1 - 118), Omar Narvaez (Ring #1 - 115), SD12 Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (Ring #8 - 122), UD12 Jeffrey Mathebula (Ring #6 - 122), Toshiaki Nishioka (Ring/TBRB #1 - 122), KO3 Jorge Arce (Ring Unrated/TBRB #7 - 122), L12 Guillermo Rigondeaux (Ring/TBRB #1 - 122), TKO9 Vic Darchinyan (Ring #5/TBRB #7 - 122), Tech. Dec 5 Simpiwe Vetyeka (Ring #4/TBRB #1 - 126), TKO by 6 Nicholas Walters (Ring #4/TBRB #5 - 126), L12 Jessie Magdaleno (Ring #6/TBRB Unrated), L12 Carl Frampton (Ring #3/TBRB #2 - 126), RTD4 Ryan Burnett (Ring #3/TBRB #2 - 118), L12 Naoya Inoue (Ring Champion/TBRB #1 - 118) 

Already a former flyweight titlist, Donaire started the decade at 115 lbs. and won titles all the way to featherweight before returning to what was likely his real home on the scale: bantamweight. His knockout of Fernando Montiel and Fight of the Year loss to Inoue almost eight years apart spoke to Donaire’s toughness, persistence, power, and longevity. While he had several losses, well more than half his fights over the last ten years were against top ten fare with four of his five losses coming to top five opponents. He beat three men who led their divisions when he beat them in Montiel, Narvaez, and Nishioka, held unified titles in two weight classes along with, briefly, the lineal throne at Jr. featherweight, and was the one man among the biggest names of the decade at 122 to accept a showdown with Rigondeaux. 

Missing in the Numbers: What might have been had Donaire stayed put at bantamweight instead of chasing the scale? Four of his five losses in the decade came above 118 lbs. While the volume of challenges he faced is fantastic, it’s fun to wonder what might have been had he faced Abner Mares, Shinsuke Yamanaka, or Anslemo Moreno there. 

11) Vasyl Lomachenko - 42.9 Points

Record for the Decade: 14-1, 10 KO

Record Against Rated Opponents: 7-1

Rated Opponents in the 2010s: L12 Orlando Salido (Ring #2/TBRB #6 - 126), KO5 Roman Martinez (Ring #5/TBRB #6 - 130), RTD9 Jason Sosa (Ring #10/TBRB #8 - 130), RTD6 Guillermo Rigondeaux (Ring #1/TBRB Champion - 122), TKO10 Jorge Linares (Ring Champion/TBRB #1 - 135), UD12 Jose Pedraza (Ring/TBRB #3 - 135), KO4 Anthony Crolla (Ring #4/TBRB #7 - 135), UD12 Luke Campbell (Ring #2/TBRB #7 - 135)

Over half of the current unified lightweight titlist’s have come against top ten fare while ultimately winning belts in three weight classes. His 2020 campaign will begin with a unification clash at lightweight so he’s not ready to fall back yet. The Ukrainian amatuer legend came within a split decision of winning a belt in only his second pro fight against a cagey (and over the featherweight limit) Orlando Salido. He’s not come close to losing again yet behind a combination of beautiful footwork, athleticism, and ring intelligence.

Missing in the Numbers: Consider this: two of Lomachenko’s best wins don’t count for this approach. When Lomachenko handed both current featherweight titlist Gary Russell and former featherweight titlist Nicholas Walters their first defeats, neither were rated by Ring or TBRB. Lomachenko has never faced a fighter with a losing record. His career opponents sport a combined 90% win rate to date at 431-39-16.

Previous Installments

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com