BANGKOK, Thailand – Headed by Southern California’s Dean Lohuis, 75 and who ranks up to the 50 top fighters in each weight class through a detailed index-card note system that factors in details including activity level, quality of competition, fight location and WBC loyalty, the body’s ratings committee meets every Sunday by teleconference to update its selections.
The committee kept its heavyweight ratings unchanged, leaving its week-long honoree at its convention here – three-belt champion Oleksandr Usyk – to select among either top-15-ranked former champion Deontay Wilder or interim champion Agit Kabayel, should the latter keep his belt by defeating the 20th-ranked Damian Knyba on January 10.
Former cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu was moved up from seventh to sixth by virtue of “loyalty”, according to Sulaiman after participating in a WBC Africa event earlier in 2025.
Lohuis dropped Makabu from fifth to 10th based on weak competition, but Sulaiman trumpeted the importance of WBC loyalty and his case prompted Lohuis to drop American Brandon Glanton from sixth to seventh.
Matchroom’s Kevin Rooney convinced the committee to move England’s light heavyweight Ben Whittaker to third, past David Morrell since Morrell – therefore fourth – is moving toward a WBO interim title fight versus Callum Smith.
At super middleweight, Sulaiman then petitioned for Cuba’s third-ranked Osleys Iglesias to be dropped from third to seventh because he believes Iglesias is beholden to fighting for the IBF belt.
Rooney sought to get unbeaten Diego Pacheco moved past Mexico’s former title challenger Jaime Munguia, but while Munguia fell behind ProBox TV’s Lester Martinez new number three, to fourth, Pacheco went up only to sixth behind Croatia’s Luka Plantic.
Plantic’s position may be tenuous because the Southern Californian fights the 10th-ranked Kevin Lele Sadjo of France for the WBC silver belt on December 13 in Stockton, California.
At middleweight, where Carlos Adames is champion, there was a request from representatives of Olympic champion Herbert Conceicao to move into the top 15. Though the WBC board promised to monitor future performances, the Brazilian must first prove he’s a middleweight; each of his nine professional contests have taken place above 160lbs.
A request from Brandon Adams, to move above Keith Thurman into second from third at junior middleweight, was approved on the strength of Adams’ recent form and activity. However, a further request from Adams’ management team – who also look after Charles Conwell – to remove the fifth-placed Callum Walsh so that Conwell could rise from 11th to 10th was rejected. Sulaiman stated that Walsh will remain in the middleweight rankings until reports of a move to super middleweight are confirmed.
Conor Benn, fresh off a win at middleweight over Chris Eubank Jnr, was elevated to the number-one position down at welterweight despite not fighting in the weight class since 2022. A shot at beltholder Mario Barrios awaits the Englishman, who was represented at the convention by Matchroom Boxing’s Rooney.
The status of junior welterweight champion Subriel Matias, the subject of a failed test and his defence against Dalton Smith uncertain, was briefly addressed with confirmation that a ruling will be made on December 3.
At lightweight, things threatened to get heated when Joe Gallagher – representing Zelfa Barrett – petitioned for his fighter to rise from 30th into the top 15. Eventually, on the strength of Barrett’s win over Liam Dillon, it was agreed he should move to 22nd.
A request from the fifth-placed Khalil El Hadri to switch places with Ryan Garner, fourth, at junior lightweight was rejected.
For now, there is an absence in the number-one spot at featherweight after it was confirmed by Lee Eaton of Queensberry Promotions that Brandon Figueroa, previously in that position, will challenge the WBA champion Nick Ball in 2026. As things stand, the Queensberry-promoted Nathaniel Collins – set for a rematch with the fourth-ranked Cristobal Lorente in January – stays at second, though his case for mandatory status will be heard on Wednesday.
There were no requests at junior featherweight or bantamweight.
At junior bantamweight, there was a request from Ricardo Malajike to move from third to second – above Tomoya Tsuboi, who knocked out Carlos Cuadras – and from Kenta Nakagawa to rise higher than 12th. Both were denied.
It was confirmed by Rooney that negotiations for a fight between flyweight champion Ricardo Sandoval and interim flyweight titlist Galal Yafai are close to being completed and that they will fight in the first quarter of 2026.
