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In boxing, body of work matters.
What just unfolded before our eyes does as well.
When trying something new, tinkering to get to the right formula is part of the fun. In an effort to highlight which prominent fighters are fighting the genuine contenders around them, and which could do more, this strength of schedule/competition index hit an inevitable snag.
What happens when a fighter with a limited body of work beats a fighter with a deep one? Teofimo Lopez’s win over Vasyl Lomachenko begged the question.
In limiting this examination of competition so far to fighters’ last five fights and/or three years of activity, the purpose is to give enough credit for body of work without giving too much credit for a resume largely acquired well earlier. As structured, it wasn’t quite reactive enough to anyone’s most immediate results.
It was an issue in addressing where not only Lopez but also someone like Jermell Charlo, who lost ground for a controversial decision loss to Tony Harrison despite a revenge win and unification of a very good Jr. middleweight class, have been ranked so far.
The solution devised is simple: Weigh the combination of a fighters’ last five fights and/or three years of work, and their unique wins against rated foes over that time, against a fighters results in their last two fights in isolation.
This tweak to the formula, hopefully the last for a bit, makes room for Lopez, Charlo, Mairis Briedis, and Tyson Fury in the top ten. Lomachenko remains but drops from the top spot. Anthony Joshua, whose last two include a loss to a then-unrated Andy Ruiz, falls out as does Ken Shiro whose overall body of work is strong but comes without a rated foe in his last two starts.
It’s still far from perfect. The solution removes Oleksandr Usyk from the top ten who hasn’t faced a rated heavyweight in two starts in that class. He is also too punished for Tony Bellew, who was a quality win, being between classes when he fought Usyk and thus ranked by neither TBRB or Ring at the time. There isn’t a good way around that one right now but Usyk is likely to fight bigger heavyweight names and the results will dictate placement.
Terence Crawford, despite being perceived as one of the leading candidates for the top pound for pound spot, slipped dramatically in this comparison of rated competition. Brook was unrated by TBRB or Ring coming into Crawford, and in fact did not have a win against a fighter rated by either in any weight class since Shawn Porter. Regardless of whose fault it is, one of the sport’s most talented fighters isn’t getting to make the most of the back end of his prime. In terms of the way competition is evaluated here, Crawford just scratches the top thirty.
Here’s how it shakes out for the November update:
1) Saul Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KO)
Overall Points Rank: 2 (35.94 pts)
Unique Rated Wins Rank: 3 (4 unique wins)
Last Two Starts Rank: 2 (18.84 pts)
Age: 30
Lineal Titles: World/TBRB/Ring Middleweight (2015-Present, 4 Defenses)
Current Alphabet Titles: WBA Middleweight (2018-Present, 1 Defense)
Additional Titles: WBC Super Welterweight (2011-13, 6 Defenses); Ring/WBA Super Welterweight (2013); WBC Middleweight (2015-17, 2 Defenses; 2018-19, 1 Defense); WBO Super Welterweight (2016-17); IBF middleweight (2019); WBO Light Heavyweight (2019); TBRB/Ring Magazine Middleweight (2018-Present, 1 Defense)
Record in Title Fights: 13-1-1, 7 KO (14-1-1, 8 KO including WBA secondary title fights)
Last Five: Sergey Kovalev KO11 (#2 – 175[++]), Daniel Jacobs UD12 (#2 – 160), Rocky Fielding TKO3 (#9 – 168[+]), Gennady Golovkin MD12, D12 (#1 – 160)
Three Year Activity Kicker: No
Next Opponent: December 19, 2020 vs. Callum Smith (27-0, 19 KO)
The Take: The end of the Golden Boy/DAZN/Alvarez partnership takes a twist into Alvarez fighting on DAZN again after all. Callum Smith gives Alvarez a chance to further his place as leader of this pack and cement his claim as a four-division titlist. The results of the two Golovkin fights make a big impact on Alvarez’s placement. The draw in the first fight and win in the second both have detractors, more for the former. Flip either, or both, into the loss column and this reads a lot different but the official outcomes are what they are. So too is Alvarez’s sheer willingness. As the biggest money draw in the sport right now, Alvarez is in a position to pick and choose few enjoy (or will be again when current promotional and network issues resolve). Because of that, like Leonard, Mayweather, Pacquiao, and other rainmakers before him, the bar of public opinion is often higher for him than his peers and who he isn’t fighting is often an argument against who he is. The bottom line on Alvarez is, from Austin Trout to Erislandy Lara to Golovkin, he has fought the fighters many insisted he would avoid and makes a habit of giving those who earn a bite at the biggest apple around their chance to bare their teeth.
2) Errol Spence Jr. (26-0, 21 KO)
Overall Points Rank: 4 (28.81 pts)
Unique Rated Wins Rank: 4 (4 unique wins)
Last Two Starts Rank: 3 (16.31 pts)
Age: 30
Current Alphabet Titles: IBF Welterweight (2017-Present, 4 Defenses); WBC Welterweight (2019-Present, 0 Defenses)
Previous Titles: None
Record in Title Fights: 5-0, 3 KO
Last Five Opponents: Shawn Porter SD12 (#4 – 147), Mikey Garcia UD12 (#1/#2 – 135[–]; Unrated/Champion -140[-]), Carlos Ocampo KO1 (Unrated), Lamont Peterson RTD7 (#6/#8 – 147), Kell Brook KO11 (#2/#3 – 147)
Three Year Activity Kicker: No
Next Opponent: December 5, 2020 vs. Danny Garcia (36-2, 21 KO)
The Take: Spence is scheduled to return from his horrific auto accident last year and he’s going right back at legitimate top ten action. Spence could have picked a lighter touch than the experienced Garcia; we’ll know where Spence is by night’s end. While there is frenzied debate about who would win a fight with Terence Crawford, the work of each over their last five contests is advantage Spence. The Texas Olympian has matured with serious class and character in the ring. He’s played the road warrior in winning his first belt against Brook, dominated a smaller elite talent in Garcia, and pulled out a competitive unification win over Porter with a knockdown to boot. Crawford might be the generational clash, but there are mines along the road as the wait rolls on. So far, Spence has met every challenge.
3) Naoya Inoue (20-0, 17 KO)
Overall Points Rank: 3 (33.2 pts)
Unique Rated Wins Rank: 2 (5 unique wins)
Last Two Starts Rank: 7 (13 pts)
Age: 27
Current Alphabet Titles: IBF Bantamweight (2019-Present, 2 Defenses); WBA “super” Bantamweight (2019-Present,1 Defense)
Additional Titles: WBC Light Flyweight (2014, 1 Defense); WBO Super Flyweight (2014-18, 7 Defenses); Ring Magazine Bantamweight (2019-Present, 2 Defenses)
Record in Title Fights: 13-0, 11 KO (15-0, 13 KO including WBA secondary title fights)
Last Five: Jason Moloney KO7 (#6/#5), Nonito Donaire UD12 (#3/#4 – 118), Emanuel Rodriguez KO2 (#3/#6 -118), Juan Carlos Payano KO1 (#5 – 118), Jamie McDonnell TKO1 (#2/#5 – 118 [+])
Three Year Activity Kicker: No
Next Opponent: TBA
The Take: While his reign at Jr. bantamweight wasn’t all it could have been, Inoue has been making the most of his prime since moving to bantamweight. Five straight top ten opponents, five straight wins. It’s the longest current streak of top ten wins in the sport. With a little more luck on the count against Donaire, it could have been five straight top ten stoppages. Regardless, Donaire gave him some scary moments and we learned Inoue is more than an offensive dynamo. Foes who know what sort of frightful finishing pop awaits them now have to reckon with the evidence that Inoue can take as good as he gives and come back harder. Losing a unification bout with Johnriel Casimero to COVID was unfortunate but considering the growing war of words (and tweets), there’s no reason Casimero can’t be revisited now that Inoue and Casimero have cleared their decks.
4) Jose Ramirez (26-0, 17 KO)
Overall Points Rank: 7 (20 pts)
Unique Rated Wins Rank: 10 (3 unique wins)
Last Two Starts Rank: 6 (13.5 pts)
Age: 28
Current Alphabet Titles: WBC Super Lightweight (2018-Present, 4 Defenses); WBA Super Lightweight (2019-Present, 1 Defense)
Additional Titles: None
Record in Title Fights: 5-0, 1 KO
Last Five: Viktor Postol MD12 (#4 – 140), Maurice Hooker TKO6 (#4/#5 – 140), Jose Zepeda MD12 (Unrated), Antonio Orozco UD12 (#5/#4 – 140), Amir Imam UD12 (Unrated)
Three Year Activity Kicker: No
Next Opponent: TBA
The Take: This might feel high for Ramirez but there is quality here. By the numbers Ramirez has three top five wins in his last four starts and a then-unrated Jose Zepeda has picked up some big wins since to underline Ramirez’s quality of opposition. A little bit of luck never hurt anyone and Ramirez danced on the edge of defeat with both Zepeda and Postol in highly competitive affairs the judges saw Ramirez’s way. Heading into 2021, all eyes are on a potential showdown with Josh Taylor that could be one of the best fights in boxing. Ramirez’s win over Hooker gave him half of the major hardware in the division but we can’t crown the true champ at Jr. welterweight until Ramirez-Taylor goes down.
5) Teofimo Lopez (16-0, 12 KO)
Overall Points Rank: 8 (19.5 pts)
Unique Rated Wins Rank: 19 (2 unique wins)
Last Two Starts Rank: 1 (19.5 pts)
Age: 23
Lineal Titles: World/TBRB/Ring Lightweight (2020-Present, 0 Defenses)
Current Alphabet Titles: IBF Lightweight (2019-Present, 1 Defense); WBA Lightweight “Super” (2020-Present, 0 Defenses); WBO Lightweight (2020-Present, 0 Defenses)
Record in Title Fights: 2-0, 1 KO
Last Five: Vasyl Lomachenko UD12 (Champion/#1); Richard Commey TKO2 (#1/#3), Masayoshi Nakatani UD12 (Unrated), Edis Tatli KO5 (Unrated), Diego Magdaleno KO7 (Unrated)
Three Year Activity Kicker: No
Next Opponent: TBA
The Take: Lopez has gone from barely more than a prospect to top of the lightweight division in two quick hops. The ways he did it suggest a ceiling that will only get higher over time. Still only 23, Lopez won his first belt with a devastating knockout of a Richard Commey who had never been stopped. Lopez followed by outworking, outboxing, and ultimately solving one of the best technical packages in the sport. Vasyl Lomachenko made him work for it in the second half of the fight but it wasn’t nearly enough. It announces the arrival at the elite level of a notable crop of blue chip talents around 135 lbs. Who will be the next to join Lopez as the future unfolds?
6) Josh Taylor (17-0, 13 KO)
Overall Points Rank: 5 (23 pts)
Unique Rated Wins Rank: 8 (3 unique wins)
Last Two Starts Rank: 9 (10 pts)
Age: 29
Current Alphabet Titles: IBF Jr. Welterweight (2019-Present, 2 Defenses); WBA Super Lightweight (2019-Present, 1 Defenses)
Additional Titles: Ring Magazine Jr. Welterweight (2019-Present, 0 Defenses)
Record in Title Fights: 3-0, 1 KO
Last Five: Apinun Khongsong KO1 (Unrated), Regis Prograis MD12 (#1 – 140), Ivan Baranchyk UD12 (#6/#7 – 140), Ryan Martin TKO7 (Unrated), Viktor Postol UD12 (#2/#3 – 140)
Three Year Activity Kicker: No
Next Opponent: TBA
The Take: The World Boxing Super Series provided a platform and opponents for Taylor to go from hot rising contender to halfway toward undisputed at Jr. welterweight. The best fight in his division right now would be with the man who holds the other two major alphabet straps, Jose Ramirez. Both took care of business in their last outings to clear the way to make it happen. The winner of that fight if it happens, based on promotional and network alignments, might be staring down the barrel at Terence Crawford sooner than later. Taylor has the sort of foes that could move him up, or down, with a bullet.
7) Mairis Briedis (27-1, 19 KO)
Overall Points Rank: 15 (14 pts)
Unique Rated Wins Rank: 21 (2 unique wins)
Last Two Starts Rank: Tie – 4 (16 pts)
Age: 35
Lineal Titles: World/TBRB/Ring Cruiserweight (2020-Present, 0 Defenses)
Current Alphabet Titles: IBF Cruiserweight (2020-Present, 0 Defenses)
Additional Titles: WBC Cruiserweight (2017-18, 1 Defense); WBO Cruiserweight (2019)
Record in Title Fights: 4-1, 1 KO
Last Five Opponents: Yuniel Dorticos UD12 (#2 – 200), Krzysztof Glowacki TKO3 (#4 – 200), Noel Gevor UD12 (Unrated), Brandon Deslaurier UD10 (Unrated), Oleksandr Usyk L12 (#1 – 200)
Three Year Activity Kicker: No
Next Opponent: TBA
The Take: While he has a loss to Usyk, what Briedis has done since in the World Boxing Super Series is enough to make room for him here. After giving Usyk the toughest fight of his career, he’s won four in a row including consecutive wins over a pair of top four men in his division. The Dorticos win was perhaps his most impressive as a professional. Briedis boxed a disciplined, smart fight that never let Dorticos establish a consistent offense. The big question for Briedis is what comes next…does he reign on or follow Usyk up the scale to tempt the unlimited class for boxing’s most prestigious honors?
8) Jermell Charlo (34-1, 18 KO)
Overall Points Rank: 34 (7.5 pts)
Unique Rated Wins Rank: 6 (4 unique wins)
Last Two Starts Rank: Tie – 4 (16 pts)
Age: 30
Lineal Titles: World/Ring Jr. Middleweight (2020-Present, 0 Defenses)
Current Alphabet Titles: WBC Super Welterweight (2019-Present, 1 Defense); WBA Super Welterweight “Super” (2020-Present, 0 Defenses); IBF Jr. Middleweight (2020-Present, 0 Defenses)
Additional Titles: WBC Super Welterweight (2016-18, 3 Defenses); Ring Magazine Jr. Middleweight (2020-Present, 0 Defenses)
Record in Title Fights: 6-1, 5 KO
Last Five Opponents: Jeison Rosario KO8 (#2/#1 – 154), Tony Harrison KO11 (#6/#3 – 154), Jorge Cota KO3 (Unrated), Tony Harrison L12 (Unrated), Austin Trout UD12 (#7/Unrated – 154)
Three Year Activity Kicker: Yes – Erickson Lubin KO1 (#8/Unrated)
Next Opponent: TBA
The Take: Jermell Charlo cemented his claim to the top spot in one of boxing’s deepest divisions, avenging a highly debatable loss and scoring one of the more memorable body shot knockouts in recent memory. The loss to a then-unrated Harrison hurts in an evaluation that respects official outcomes. It may have made Charlo more dangerous in the long run. With men like Erislandy Lara, Julian Williams, and Jarrett Hurd still there to make fresh, challenging fights Charlo has plenty of room to rise in the near future.
9) Vasyl Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KO; 20-2, 10 KO incl. World Series of Boxing contests)
Overall Points Rank: 1 (37.73 pts)
Unique Rated Wins Rank: 1 (5 Unique Wins)
Last Two Starts Rank: 24 (4 pts)
Age: 32
Current Alphabet Titles: None
Previous Titles: WBO Featherweight (2014-16, 3 Defenses); WBO Super Featherweight (2016-18, 5 Defenses); WBC Lightweight (2019); WBA Lightweight (2018-20, 3 defenses); WBO Lightweight (2018-20, 2 Defenses); Ring Magazine Lightweight (2018-20, 3 defenses)
Record in Title Fights: 13-2, 9 KO
Last Five: Teofimo Lopez L12 (#1/#2 – 135), Luke Campbell UD12 (Ring Magazine #2/TBRB #7 – 135), Anthony Crolla KO4 (#4/#7 – 135), Jose Pedraza UD12 (#3 – 135), Jorge Linares (Champion/#2 – 135[+])
Three Year Activity Kicker: Yes – Guillermo Rigondeaux RTD6 (#1/Champion – 122 – [–])
Next Opponent: TBA
The Take: Despite the loss to Lopez, Lomachenko remains one of only two fighters examined for this list with five wins over fighters rated by Ring and TBRB but diminishing returns set in soon. The Rigondeaux victory isn’t quite three years old yet but the date nears. Even with the loss to Lopez, Lomachenko’s consistency of opposition has been commendable. One would have to go back to the summer of 2017 to find a Lomachenko opponent who was unrated by TBRB or Ring in any division. All of that is small consolation on the heels of a tough defeat but Lomachenko remains one of the best in the world.
10) Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 21 KO)
Overall Points Rank: 15 (14 pts)
Unique Rated Wins Rank: 38 (1 unique win)
Last Two Starts Rank: 11 (9.5 pts)
Age: 32
Lineal Titles: World Heavyweight (2015-Present, 6 Defenses)
Current Alphabet Titles: WBC Heavyweight (2020-Present, 0 Defenses)
Additional Titles: IBF Heavyweight (2015), WBA Heavyweight; TBRB/Ring Heavyweight (2020-Present, 0 Defenses)
Record in Title Fights: 6-0-1, 3 KO (including lineal title fights); 2-0-1, 1 KO (sanctioning body title fights only)
Last Five Opponents: Deontay Wilder TKO7 (#2/#1 – Heavyweight), Otto Wallin UD12 (Unrated), Tom Schwarz TKO2 (Unrated), Deontay Wilder D12 (#2 – Heavyweight), Francesco Pianeta UD10 (Unrated)
Three Year Activity Kicker: No
Next Opponent: TBA
The Take: Tyson Fury is one of the more interesting stories in recent memory. He upended the long reigning king of boxing’s flagship class, Wladimir Klitschko, and then his life came apart outside the ring. Fury worked himself back into shape, resumed his career, and is riding high off a knockout of Deontay Wilder. If we get a COVID vaccine, boxing is inching toward what should be a massive stadium showdown with unified titlist Anthony Joshua. It would be arguably the biggest fight in UK boxing history and will be up there with the most attended fights of all time if butts can return to seats.
Rest of the Top Thirty: Artur Beterbiev (Ranked 21 on Overall Points/40 on Unique Wins/8 on Last Two Starts), Josh Warrington (9/11/30), Petchmanee CP Freshmart (22/41/9), Manny Pacquiao (53/7/13), Roman Gonzalez (37/29/11)
Here’s how it works.
Using the most recent ratings available in a print issue of Ring or the most recent archived Transnational Boxing Rankings Board ratings prior to a fight:
1- Every primary WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO titlist, some select recent former titlists, and fighters who appeared in either the Ring or TBRB pound for pound top ten in the last year or so were evaluated based on the official results against their last five opponents and what those opponents were rated heading into the fight.
2 – Wins over rated opponents started at 11 points for a recognized TBRB or Ring champion down to one point for defeating a number ten contender. Draws got half credit. No points were given for a No Contest or No Decision but the result will be noted.
3 – Fighters who have produced a higher activity level were given a kicker score for any wins over rated opposition in the last three years no later than November 1, 2017. Everyone evaluated was scored for their last five opponents even if that was past the three year mark.
4 – Losses to rated opponents were given an inverse score, beginning with -1 for a champion down to -11.
5 – Losses to unrated opponents received a universal score of -12.
6 – Wins over unrated opponents were worth nothing.
7 – If there is a difference between a fighter’s Ring and TBRB rankings, the average of the two numbers was used (i.e. a win over a fighter rated second by one body and fifth by the other would be worth 7.5 pts).
8 – If a fighter was rated by only Ring or TBRB, half credit was given for a win based on the single rating. A loss total would come from an average of -12 and the point loss that would apply to the rating that was in place.
9 – Moves between weight classes were adjusted for by taking into consideration the body weight shift between weight classes. In other words, if a rated Jr. welterweight jumped up to beat a rated welterweight, the math would work like this: 147/140 multiplied by the divisional rating score. It works in reverse for a win over a fighter rated lower (i.e. 160/168 multiplied by the smaller man’s rating in his class). In an over the weight class fight, the divisions the men were rated in were used.
10 – Fighters from a higher class are noted with a [+], from a lower [-], after the weight limit of their respective weight class.
11 – The totals generated result in a rating.
12 – *Change – Each fighter evaluated is given a score for how many unique wins they have against rated opponents; beating the same opponent twice counts for only one unique win. They are then rated based on unique wins. The rating for total points and unique wins is averaged.
13 – That score is then averaged against a rating for the score generated for each man’s last two wins to generate the final rating.
14 – All divisions were treated equally based on the idea fighters can only face the men in their division while they are there and all point totals were applied based on official results.
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at [email protected]