Pavel Sosulin started 2025 outside of the WBA’s rankings of its top 15 junior middleweights and finished the year rated No. 1.
That No. 1 slot had been vacant ever since the man who previously held the position, Jaron Ennis, defeated Uisma Lima in October and received the secondary WBA interim title. The WBA’s primary belt at 154lbs belongs to Abass Baraou.
Sosulin had been No. 2 behind Ennis. In the WBA’s latest regularly scheduled ratings update, released January 1, Sosulin got an upgrade.
Sosulin is 12-0 (6 KOs) – or 14-0 (7 KOs) if you include his two IBA Pro victories, which BoxRec lists separately.
Sosulin first entered the WBA’s rankings in its February update (released in March) at No. 14. He moved up one month later to No. 11, and then one month after that to No. 9 following an April ninth-round technical knockout win over the 22-3-1 Lucas Brian Ariel Bastida.
He then was pushed down to No. 10 for a couple of months before jumping all the way to No. 3 after winning a split decision in July against the previous third-rated junior middleweight, Magomed Kurbanov.
One month later, Sosulin was No. 2, where he remained for four months until now.
Coming after Sosulin in the WBA’s latest junior middleweight rankings is Caoimhin Agyarko at No. 2, followed by Isaac Lucero, Yoenis Tellez, Andreas Katzourakis, Israil Madrimov, Piergiulio Ruhe, Ismael Flores, Emeka Nwokolo, Jackson Blanco, Brandon Adams, Denis Nurja, Ruslan Selimyan, Alex Bray and Yan Marcos.
The IBF has ordered Agyarko and Adams to fight in an elimination bout, according to BoxingScene’s Jake “Jazz Hands of Stone” Donovan.
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.
