There are a whopping seven new fighters ranked No. 1 in the latest ratings update from the WBC, which was released on August 8.
We’ve already covered three of the most noteworthy names in separate articles: Hamzah Sheeraz at super middleweight, Jaron “Boots” Ennis at junior middleweight and Manny Pacquiao at welterweight.
The other four divisions with new No. 1 contenders are junior lightweight, featherweight, flyweight and junior flyweight.
At junior lightweight: We already knew that a planned elimination bout between Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez (previously ranked No. 1) and Mark Magsayo (previously No. 2) was on hold due to Hernandez being injured. But now, a couple months after that was reported, the WBC has pulled Hernandez from its rankings altogether, listing him as unavailable for medical reasons.
Magsayo, 28-2 (18 KOs), was moved into the top spot. The former featherweight titleholder was most recently seen last month outpointing Jorge Mata (who wasn’t ranked in the top 15 at the time) on the preliminary undercard of Mario Barrios vs Manny Pacquiao.
The WBC titleholder at 130lbs is O’Shaquie Foster, who is expecting to defend next against his counterpart at 126lbs, Stephen Fulton.
At featherweight: The No. 1 spot at 126lbs was left vacant following Bruce Carrington’s wide decision win a couple weeks ago over Mateus Heita (previously ranked 11th), which earned the Brooklynite the WBC’s interim belt.
Filling that vacancy is Nathaniel Collins, who was previously in the No. 2 slot. Collins, 17-0 (8 KOs), is coming off a fourth-round TKO win in May over the 15-1-1 Lee McGregor (who wasn’t ranked in the top 15 at the time).
The WBC’s primary featherweight titleholder is the aforementioned Fulton; Rey Vargas is its “champion in recess” due to an injury.
At flyweight: Kenshiro Teraji dropped the WBA and WBC titles to Ricardo Sandoval (previously ranked No. 2 by the WBC and No. 3 by the WBA) in a split decision loss on July 30.
Teraji has landed at No. 3 in the WBA’s ratings and No. 1 with the WBC. He pushed down the WBC’s previous No. 1, Seigo Yuri Akui, whom Teraji stopped for the WBA belt in March in the 12th round of an absolute war. Akui now sits at No. 3.
Meanwhile, Francisco Rodriguez Jnr is surprisingly at No. 2. Rodriguez had defeated Galal Yafai for the interim WBC belt in June, but that title was returned to Yafai after Rodriguez tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing drug.
At junior flyweight: Carlos Canizales’ decisive knockout of Panya Pradabsri in their August 1 rematch left the No. 1 slot vacant at 108lbs. That allowed Erick Badillo to move up from the No. 2 position. Badillo, 18-0 (8 KOs), is coming off a July decision over the 15-2-1 Gerardo Zapata, who was ranked sixth at the time.
The WBC’s titleholders and No. 1 contenders in each weight class are:
Heavyweight: Oleksandr Usyk is the undisputed champion with all four world titles; Agit Kabayel is the WBC’s interim titleholder; Lawrence Okolie is the WBC’s No. 1 contender.
Bridgerweight: Kevin Lerena still has the world title at 224lbs after going up to heavyweight and losing to Okolie last month; Krzysztof Wlodarczyk is the interim titleholder; Andrew Tabiti is the No. 1 contender.
Cruiserweight: Badou Jack has the world title; Noel Mikaelyan, who was previously the “champion in recess” and lost to Jack on May 3, is his No. 1 contender. They have reached a deal for a rematch.
The WBC’s interim titleholder is Michal Cieslak. He will be ordered to face Yamil Peralta (ranked No. 3).
Light heavyweight: David Benavidez has the WBC world title and also has the WBA’s secondary “regular” title (and is therefore the WBA’s mandatory challenger to one of the three belts held by lineal champion Dmitry Bivol). Benavidez will face Anthony Yarde (No. 5) in November.
Artur Beterbiev is the No. 1 contender for the WBA, WBC and WBO belts. With his rubber match against Bivol not happening this year, Beterbiev will instead take on Deon Nicholson (ranked 11th by the WBA) on the undercard of Benavidez-Yarde.
Super middleweight: Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is the undisputed champion with all four world titles; he is scheduled to defend the undisputed championship against Terence Crawford (unranked by the WBC at 168lbs, rated No. 1 by the WBO) on September 13.
Christian Mbilli is the WBC’s interim titleholder. Hamzah Sheeraz is the WBC’s No. 1 contender.
Middleweight: Carlos Adames has the world title; Meiirim Nursultanov is his No. 1 contender.
Junior middleweight: Sebastian Fundora has the WBC world title; Vergil Ortiz Jnr is the interim titleholder; Jaron “Boots” Ennis is the No. 1 contender.
Welterweight: Mario Barrios has the world title; Manny Pacquiao is his No. 1 contender.
Junior welterweight: Subriel Matias has the world title; Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz is the interim titleholder; Dalton Smith is the No. 1 contender. Matias-Smith is in the works for a potential spot on the November 22 show headlined by David Benavidez-Anthony Yarde.
Lightweight: Shakur Stevenson has the world title; Andy Cruz is his No. 1 contender.
Junior lightweight: O’Shaquie Foster has the world title; he is expected to face featherweight titleholder Stephen Fulton next. Mark Magsayo is the No. 1 contender.
Featherweight: Stephen Fulton has the world title; he is expected to challenge junior lightweight titleholder O’Shaquie Foster next.
Bruce Carrington is the interim titleholder. Nathaniel Collins is the No. 1 contender; Rey Vargas is the champion in recess.
Junior featherweight: Naoya Inoue is the undisputed champion with all four world titles; Inoue and interim WBA titleholder Murodjon Akhmadaliev are scheduled to fight on September 14.
Alan David Picasso is the WBC’s No. 1 contender.
Bantamweight: Junto Nakatani has the IBF and WBC world titles but is expected to vacate and move up to 122lbs; Tenshin Nasukawa is the WBA and WBC’s No. 1 contender.
Junior bantamweight: Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez has the WBC and WBO world titles and the lineal championship; he is scheduled for a unification bout with WBA titleholder Fernando Martinez on the November 22 undercard of David Benavidez-Anthony Yarde.
Carlos Cuadras is the WBC’s No. 1 contender.
Flyweight: Ricardo Sandoval has the WBA and WBC world titles; Galal Yafai is the WBC’s interim titleholder; Kenshiro Teraji is the WBC’s No. 1 contender.
Junior flyweight: Carlos Canizales has the world title; Erick Badillo is his No. 1 contender.
Minimumweight: Melvin Jerusalem has the world title; Knockout CP Freshmart is his No. 1 contender.
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.
