Rankings (July 11): Vargas on the move at featherweight, more

Rankings go up on Mondays.

Ranked fights this week:

• Lightweight: (5) Ryan Garcia vs Javier Fortuna, July 16
• Junior Bantamweight: (2) Kazuto Ioka vs Donnie Nietes, July 13
• Flyweight: (6) Ricardo Sandoval vs David Jimenez, July 16
• Junior Flyweight: (5) Daniel Matellon vs Ivan Garcia, July 16
• Minimumweight: (7) Erick Rosa vs Carlos Ortega, July 15

---

Upcoming Fights: (2) Oleksandr Usyk vs (4) Anthony Joshua, Aug. 20 … (5) Andy Ruiz Jr vs (9) Luis Ortiz, Sept. 4 … (6) Joe Joyce vs TBA, Sept. 24

---

Upcoming Fights: TBA

---

Upcoming Fights: (2) Artur Beterbiev vs (9) Anthony Yarde, TBA … (5) Callum Smith vs (8) Mathieu Bauderlique, TBA

---

Upcoming Fights: (1) Canelo Alvarez vs Gennadiy Golovkin, Sept. 17 … (10) Carlos Gongora vs Oscar Riojas, Aug. 13

---

Upcoming Fights: (1) Gennadiy Golovkin vs Canelo Alvarez [super middleweight], Sept. 17

---

Notes: A reshuffling in the back end of the top 10. Israil Madrimov was well on his way to a win over Michel Soro, or so it seemed, before a third round clash of heads resulted in a technical draw in their second fight to not produce a WBA mandatory challenger.

I thought Soro was looking pretty beat out there, but two rounds is just two rounds. He does drop to No. 10, while Madrimov stays at No. 7. The WBA might feel forced to order a third eliminator between the two of them, which seems like a waste of time, but it would also seem unfair to give Madrimov the mandatory order, I think. They’ll have to do one of those or, I guess, order Madrimov against someone else for another eliminator. That’s possible good news for Jermell Charlo, who may not be asked by the WBA for anything for a bit.

Tony Harrison is in at No. 8; as I’ve said before, I like to reevaluate divisions from time to time, and right now I think he deserves the spot after a really nice performance beating Sergio Garcia in April. Last week’s No. 10, Magomed Kurbanov, actually won on Saturday, beating Patrick Texeira, but I didn’t think the performance was all that great, and would he even be here if he’d lost to Liam Smith as he should have? Kurbanov is in the game, though.

Upcoming Fights: TBA

---

Upcoming Fights: (6) Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Michael McKinson, Aug. 6

---

Upcoming Fights: (6) Batyr Akhmedov vs Alberto Puello, Aug. 20 … (9) Jose Pedraza vs Richard Commey, Aug. 27

---

Upcoming Fights: (5) Ryan Garcia vs Javier Fortuna, July 16 … (8) Isaac Cruz vs Eduardo Ramirez, Sept. 4 … (1) Devin Haney vs (3) George Kambosos Jr, TBA

---

Upcoming Fights: (7) Hector Garcia vs (9) Roger Gutierrez, Aug. 20 … (1) Shakur Stevenson vs (6) Robson Conceicao, Sept. 23

---

Notes: Rey Vargas is now a two-division champ, beating Mark Magsayo for the WBC belt on Saturday. It was an interesting fight that showed the flaws and strengths of both men.

Vargas jumps up to No. 3, Magsayo dips to No. 5. Magsayo is someone I could see falling out of the rankings before he ever jumps back up any; he’s had multiple fights where he scraped by or was lucky to win or had to stage a big rally. He wasn’t out-classed by Vargas, but I also thought he lost it as much as Vargas won it.

As for Vargas, his very best days are probably behind him, but his length and skill will make him tough for anyone except maybe Navarrete, and he won’t be fighting Navarrete, so it doesn’t matter that much other than speculation.

I’m not putting Brandon Figueroa in just yet. Yes, he stopped Carlos Castro, but, I mean, Carlos Castro wasn’t in the top 10 here. Figueroa’s a good fighter, and a guy I’d like to see fight anybody, because he’s fun to watch. But this is actually a very solid top 10. There’s not one guy on this list I think Figueroa would waltz over or anything; everyone here could present some real challenges. I know I’m higher on Villa and Lopez than most, and maybe Figueroa overwhelms them similar to how he did Castro, but then maybe not.

Upcoming Fights: (9) Joet Gonzalez vs Isaac Dogboe, July 23 … (1) Emanuel Navarrete vs Eduardo Baez, Aug. 20 … (10) Luis Alberto Lopez vs Yeison Vargas, Aug. 20

---

Upcoming Fights: TBA

---

Upcoming Fights: TBA

---

Upcoming Fights: (2) Kazuto Ioka vs Donnie Nietes, July 13 … (1) Juan Francisco Estrada vs (5) Joshua Franco, Aug. 20

---

Notes: Giemel Magramo won easily over the weekend, staying busy in a fight at 115. That’s not unusual at the lower weights or anything, so I don’t know that it indicates any permanent move on. If it does, I’ll change it later.

Upcoming Fights: (6) Ricardo Sandoval vs David Jimenez, July 16

---

Upcoming Fights: (5) Daniel Matellon vs Ivan Garcia, July 16 … (7) Masamichi Yabuki vs Thanongsak Simsri, Aug. 11

---

Notes: Ginjiro Shigeoka picked up another win last week. I really think he might be the best fighter in this division right now, but he also will have to prove that a bit more to jump up the rankings. I think he’s got the goods. I don’t know that he’ll get a chance to prove it in a world title fight at this weight.

Upcoming Fights: (7) Erick Rosa vs Carlos Ortega, July 15 … (2) Knockout CP Freshmart vs (3) Wanheng Menayothin, July 20 … (1) Petchmanee CP Freshmart vs Tsubasa Koura, Aug. 30

---

Upcoming Fights: (1) Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua, Aug. 20 … (6) Canelo Alvarez vs Gennadiy Golovkin, Sept. 17 … (9) Shakur Stevenson vs Robson Conceicao, Sept. 23

---

Upcoming Fights: (3) Amanda Serrano vs Brenda Carabajal, Aug. 6 … (4) Seniesa Estrada vs Anabel Ortiz, Aug. 6 … (2) Claressa Shields vs (8) Savannah Marshall, Sept. 10 … (5) Mikaela Mayer vs (10) Alycia Baumgardner, Sept. 10