As each sanctioning body releases its normally scheduled updates, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is entering their respective rankings in a new position – no longer the undisputed champion, but still rated highly.
Canelo, 63-3-2 (39 KOs), lost to Terence Crawford on September 13. Since then, he has received No. 1 slots from the WBC (behind Crawford and interim titleholder Christian Mbilli) and the WBO.
Now the WBA – in its update released October 1 – has followed suit.
Canelo is at No. 1, behind Crawford and interim titleholder Jose Armando Resendiz, who upset Caleb Plant in May for that secondary belt.
Canelo supplanted Bektemir Melikuziev, who is now No. 2. They are followed by Jermall Charlo, Hamzah Sheeraz, Plant, Darius Fulghum, Callum Simpson, Pavel Silyagin, Diego Pacheco, Bek Nurmaganbet, Junior Younan, Edgar Berlanga, Juergen Doberstein, Edin Avdic and Uwel Hernandez.
The other notable change in the WBA’s super middleweight rankings is that Lester Martinez, who had previously been No. 3 after Melikuziev and Charlo, is no longer listed. That is likely because Martinez fought WBC interim titleholder Christian Mbilli to a draw on the undercard of Canelo-Crawford.
Sanctioning bodies tend to remove fighters who hold or are vying for other organizations’ belts. Then again, delisted fighters tend to return to the rankings shortly after failing to capture those titles.
The IBF will be the next sanctioning body to update its rankings. Don’t expect Canelo to gain a fourth No. 1 ranking, however.
The IBF prefers to keep its top spots vacant unless a boxer wins an elimination bout for that ranking. That eliminator was held September 4, with Osleys Iglesias stopping Vladimir Shishkin. Canelo will likely enter the IBF’s ratings at No. 2 behind Iglesias.
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.
