Former two-time junior welterweight titleholder Alberto Puello is now ranked No. 1 by the WBC at 140lbs, thanks to the man who previously sat in that first spot.
Dalton Smith had been ranked No. 1 and was the mandatory challenger for the WBC belt. Smith then captured the title in January, dethroning Subriel Matias via fifth-round technical knockout.
Smith’s ascension left a vacancy, and Puello, who had previously been No. 2, moved up to fill it in the WBC’s latest ratings update, which was released February 3. The new ranking follows a prior ruling that entitled Puello to a shot at newly crowned WBC 140lbs titlist Dalton Smith.
The WBC’s interim junior welterweight titleholder is Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz.
Puello, 24-1 (10 KOs), had won the WBC’s secondary interim belt himself in June 2024 with a split decision over Gary Antuanne Russell. When Devin Haney vacated the primary title less than two weeks later, Puello was upgraded.
Puello made one successful defense, defeating Sandor Martin by split decision in March 2025. He then lost to Matias last July in a controversial majority decision.
Puello also held the WBA title from 2022 until 2023, when he was stripped for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, a substance Puello said he took that helped him be able to conceive a daughter with his wife.
Puello is followed in the WBC’s ratings at 140lbs by Sandor Martin, Matias, Arthur Biyarslanov, Teofimo Lopez, Keyshawn Davis, Lindolfo Delgado, Pierce O’Leary, Jon Fernandez, Adam Azim, Jose Angel Gabriel Rosa, Kenneth Sims Jnr, Jack Rafferty, Mark Chamberlain and Frank Martin.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
