The WBO’s latest ratings update – released June 23 but reflecting results through June 15 – includes the installation of four new No. 1 contenders.
At lightweight: Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes traded places. Mason, previously No. 2, is now No. 1 following his fifth-round TKO of the unrated Jeremia Nakathila on June 7. Noakes dropped from No. 1 to No. 2.
In the grand scheme, their respective ratings won’t matter. The WBO title is vacant following Keyshawn Davis coming in overweight for his canceled bout with Edwin De Los Santos, which would have headlined that same June 7 show. Expect the WBO to order Mason and Noakes to fight each other for its belt.
At featherweight: Bruce Carrington was dropped from the WBO’s top slot because he is scheduled to face Mateus Heita for the WBC interim belt on the July 26 undercard of Xander Zayas vs. Jorge Garcia Perez. That meant Luis Nery moved up from No. 2 to No. 1.
The WBO featherweight titleholder is Rafael Espinoza.
At junior featherweight: Similarly, Sam Goodman was removed from his No. 1 position in the WBO’s rankings after signing to fight Nick Ball for the WBA featherweight title on August 16. With Goodman gone, Carl Jammes Martin rose from No. 2 to No. 1.
Naoya Inoue is the undisputed champion at 122lbs.
At strawweight: Ronald Chacon, 33-3-1 (KOs), has for some reason been moved up from No. 3 to No. 1 even though he has only competed within the strawweight limit once in his career – and that was in 2018.
Chacon lost to Regie Suganob at junior flyweight in November 2023 and has won three fights since. He knocked out an 0-3 foe in April 2024, won a technical decision over a 4-8-2 opponent last September (Chacon weighed in at 106lbs) and, most recently, stopped a 22-13 fighter this past March.
Meanwhile, the previous No. 1, Victorio Saludar, is now down at No. 2. He hasn’t fought at strawweight in more than a year. And the previous No. 2, Dianxing Zhu, is now in the No. 8 slot. Zhu’s last fight was indeed at 105lbs and was less than a year ago.
Oscar Collazo owns the WBA and WBO titles.
The WBO’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. He is scheduled to face IBF titleholder Daniel Dubois on July 19 for the undisputed championship.
Joseph Parker has the WBO’s interim belt; Moses Itauma is the WBO’s No. 1 contender.
Cruiserweight: Gilberto Ramirez has the WBA and WBO world titles; he is scheduled to defend against Yuniel Dorticos (No. 8) on June 28. Chris Billam-Smith is the WBO’s No. 1 contender.
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. He is expected to fight Artur Beterbiev (No. 1) in their rubber match later this year.
Callum Smith is the WBO interim titleholder; Beterbiev is the No. 1 contender for the WBA, WBC and WBO belts.
Super middleweight: Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is the undisputed champion with all four world titles; he is scheduled to defend against Terence Crawford (unranked at 168lbs) on September 13.
Diego Pacheco is the WBO’s No. 1 contender. He is scheduled to face the unranked Trevor McCumby on July 19.
Middleweight: Janibek Alimkhanuly has the IBF and WBO world titles; Denzel Bentley is the WBO’s No. 1 contender.
Junior middleweight: The primary WBO world title is vacant due to Sebastian Fundora opting to have a rematch with Tim Tszyu rather than take on his mandatory challenger, Xander Zayas. Fundora remains the WBC titleholder. As for Zayas (No. 1), he is scheduled to face Jorge Garcia Perez (No. 2) for the vacant title on July 26.
Terence Crawford is the WBO interim titleholder and the primary WBA titleholder.
Welterweight: Brian Norman Jnr has the world title; Alexis Rocha is his No. 1 contender.
Junior welterweight: Teofimo Lopez Jnr has the world title and is the lineal champ; Alfredo Santiago is his No. 1 contender.
Lightweight: The world title was left vacant when Keyshawn Davis came in overweight for a June 7 bout with Edwin De Los Santos. Expect that vacancy to be filled by a fight between Abdullah Mason (No. 1) and Sam Noakes (No. 2).
Junior lightweight: Emanuel Navarrete has the world title. Charly Suarez, who lost a highly controversial technical decision to Navarrete on May 10 – which has since been rendered a “no contest” – remains his No. 1 contender. The WBO has ordered a rematch.
Featherweight: Rafael Espinoza has the world title; Luis Nery is his No. 1 contender
Junior featherweight: Naoya Inoue is the undisputed champion with all four world titles; Inoue and interim WBA titleholder Murodjon Akhmadaliev are expected to fight on September 14. Carl Jammes Martin is the WBO’s No. 1 contender.
Bantamweight: Yoshiki Takei has the world title; Christian Medina is his No. 1 contender.
Junior bantamweight: Phumelele Cafu has the world title; he is scheduled for a unification bout with WBC and lineal champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez on July 19. Roman Gonzalez is Cafu’s No. 1 contender.
Flyweight: Anthony Olascuaga has the world title; Juan Carlos Camacho is his No. 1 contender
Junior flyweight: Rene Santiago has the world title; Regie Suganob is his No. 1 contender.
Minimumweight: Oscar Collazo has the WBA and WBO world titles; Ronald Chacon is the WBO’s No. 1 contender.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter. David’s book, “,” is available on Amazon.