The WBA’s latest ratings update – released June 1 – includes the installation of two new No. 1 contenders.
At super middleweight: With Christian Mbilli fighting for the WBC’s interim title on June 27, he was pulled from his top slot in the WBA rankings. And this past Friday, Bektemir Melikuziev (previously No. 3) defeated Darius Fulghum (previously No. 4) via close unanimous decision in an elimination bout – placing Melikuziev as the WBA’s new No. 1 at 168lbs. Fulghum dropped to the sixth spot.
Saturday’s fight card in Las Vegas, meanwhile, also had repercussions on the WBA’s super middleweight rankings.
In the main event, Caleb Plant lost an upset split decision and the WBA’s interim title to Jose Armando Resendiz, who had been ranked only at No. 15 entering the bout. Plant now sits at No. 4.
And in the co-feature, Jermall Charlo made his return to the ring after 18 months away and stopped Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna in six rounds.
Charlo had been unranked entering the fight. LaManna was rated 11th. Depending on your cynicism, LaManna was either inserted into the super middleweight rankings a couple months back on the strength of a March victory over an 11-6-1 opponent, or because he had signed to face Charlo, and a win for Charlo over a ranked contender would help set up a desired grudge match with Plant.
Unsurprisingly, Charlo has entered the WBA’s newest rankings at No. 2.
At junior bantamweight: John “Scrappy” Ramirez has returned to the No. 1 slot he last held more than a year ago, though it’s fair to wonder just how the WBA deemed him worthy of returning.
As of March 2024, Ramirez was ranked first – and in line to fight David Jimenez (ranked fifth at the time) for the interim title. Ramirez lost to Jimenez in April 2024, dropping a clear unanimous decision on the undercard of Devin Haney-Ryan Garcia.
Ramirez subsequently dropped to the No. 6 slot, then No. 7. He returned to the ring in December and outpointed Ephraim Bui – undefeated at 10-0 but also unranked by the WBA. Still, that was apparently enough for Ramirez to receive an upgrade to No. 2.
And that’s where Ramirez had been for the past several months, situated just behind Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez.
Not anymore.
Now, the WBA has decided to switch them up, moving Ramirez to No. 1 and Gonzalez to No. 2. (Of course, one can also question what Chocolatito had done lately to merit his own high placement by not just the WBA, but also the WBC and WBO.)
Neither man is the mandatory challenger for WBA titleholder Fernando Martinez, who topped Kazuto Ioka in their rematch last month. The next person in line for Martinez should be Jimenez.
The WBA’s titleholders and No. 1 contenders in each weight class are:
Heavyweight: Oleksandr Usyk has the WBA, WBC and WBO world titles. He was previously the undisputed champion before vacating the IBF belt. Usyk remains the lineal champ. Kubrat Pulev has the WBA’s secondary “regular” belt; Fabio Wardley is the WBA’s No. 1 contender. Usyk is scheduled to face IBF titleholder Daniel Dubois on July 19 for the undisputed championship. Wardley has a June 7 date against Justis Huni.
Bridgerweight: Muslim Gadzhimagomedov has the WBA title; Julio Cesar La Cruz is his No. 1 contender.
Cruiserweight: Gilberto Ramirez has the WBA and WBO world titles; Yuniel Dorticos is the WBA’s No. 1 contender. They are scheduled to fight on June 28.
Light heavyweight: Dmitry Bivol has the IBF, WBA and WBO world titles. He was previously the undisputed champion before vacating the WBC belt. Bivol remains the lineal champ. David Benavidez is both the WBA’s secondary “regular” titleholder and is therefore the WBA’s mandatory challenger – and he is also the WBC’s primary titleholder. Artur Beterbiev is the No. 1 contender for the WBA, WBC and WBO belts. Bivol and Beterbiev are expected to fight their rubber match later this year.
Super middleweight: Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is the undisputed champion with all four world titles; Jose Armando Resendiz is the WBA interim titleholder and is ostensibly the mandatory challenger for Canelo; Bektemir Melikuziev is the WBA’s No. 1 contender. Canelo is expected to defend the undisputed championship against Terence Crawford (unranked at 168lbs) this September.
Middleweight: Erislandy Lara has the world title; Yoenli Hernandez is his No. 1 contender.
Junior middleweight: Terence Crawford has the world title; Jermell Charlo is the “champion in recess” and would be in line for a title shot if and when he returns to the division; Yoenis Tellez is the WBA’s interim titleholder. Abass Baraou is the No. 1 contender.
Welterweight: Jaron “Boots” Ennis has the IBF and WBA world titles; Rolando “Rolly” Romero has the WBA’s secondary “regular” title; Shakhram Giyasov is the WBA’s No. 1 contender.
Junior welterweight: Gary Antuanne Russell has the world title; Andy Hiraoka is his No. 1 contender.
Lightweight: Gervonta “Tank” Davis has the world title; William Zepeda is his No. 1 contender and is also the interim WBC titleholder. Davis is expected to have his rematch with Lamont Roach Jnr on August 16. Zepeda is scheduled to challenge WBC titleholder Shakur Stevenson on July 12.
Junior lightweight: Lamont Roach Jnr has the world title; Albert Batyrgaziev is the interim titleholder and is ostensibly the mandatory challenger for Roach; Elnur Samedov is the No. 1 contender. Roach is expected to have his rematch with lightweight titleholder Gervonta “Tank” Davis on August 16.
Featherweight: Nick Ball has the world title; Mirco Cuello is his No. 1 contender.
Junior featherweight: Naoya Inoue is the undisputed champion with all four world titles; Murodjon Akhmadaliev has the WBA’s interim title; Ramon Cardenas is the No. 1 contender. Inoue and Akhmadaliev are expected to fight on September 14.
Bantamweight: Antonio Vargas has the world title; Seiya Tsutsumi is the “champion in recess”; the No. 1 slot is currently vacant
Junior bantamweight: Fernando Martinez has the world title; David Jimenez is the interim titleholder and is ostensibly the mandatory challenger for Martinez; John “Scrappy” Ramirez is the No. 1 contender.
Flyweight: Kenshiro Teraji has the WBA and WBC world titles; Yankiel Rivera is the WBA’s No. 1 contender.
Junior flyweight: Erick Rosa has the world title; Kyosuke Takami is his No. 1 contender.
Minimumweight: Oscar Collazo has the WBA and WBO world titles; Yuni Takada is the WBA’s No. 1 contender.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter. David’s book, “,” is available on Amazon.