Sherdog’s Official Boxing Rankings

If Floyd Mayweather retires, he will go out as the kingpin. | Photo: Esther Lin/Showtime

Sherdog.com is unveiling its first-ever divisional rankings for boxing. The collective minds of Sherdog’s boxing staff have spent weeks collaborating with painstaking detail to rank the top 10 boxers in each division, with five additional fighters hovering outside on the list of other contenders. Also included is the latest update to the pound-for-pound rankings.

Divisional boxing rankings will be released the first week of every month, with brief details regarding which fighters on each list have fights approaching and what happened during the previous month. Our policy in terms of how and where we rank the boxers is simple, just like our MMA rankings system. If a fighter is inactive for more than one full year with no new fight scheduled, he is temporarily removed from the division in which he is ranked. One exception: A fighter will be kept on the list if he has a fight fall through, as the onus for inactivity would fall on his would-be opponent.

A fighter can also fight outside of his current weight class, but an immediate return to his original division must be a certainty for him to remain ranked there. If a fighter engages in two consecutive bouts outside of his current weight class, he will be removed from said division and placed into the one in which he has been competing, provided he is deemed deserving.

The Sherdog boxing rankings voting committee: Andreas Hale, Brian Knapp, Gary Randall, Jordan Breen, Joseph Santoliquito, Mike Fridley, Mike Sloan.

Sherdog.com’s updated pound-for-pound rankings follow, along with its inaugural boxing divisional rankings:

POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (48-0, 26 KOs)

Mayweather is without question the world’s greatest boxer, but he is not doing himself any favors by fighting Andre Berto on Sept. 12. Berto is not ranked anywhere near the top 10 at welterweight, and “Money” is a monumental betting favorite to win. Mayweather is steadfast in claiming the Berto fight will be his last. Time will tell.

2. Wladimir Klitschko (64-3, 53 KOs)

Klitschko is without equal at heavyweight, but at least he will be taking on Tyson Fury in October. It seems likely that his career is winding down, but for now, he does not appear to be in danger of losing his undisputed title anytime soon.

3. Roman Gonzalez (43-0, 37 KOs)

Gonzalez has finally been exposed to American fight fans, and they want to see more of this explosive Nicaraguan. He is slated to face former world champion Brian Viloria in October, and provided he gets past him, the sky appears to be the limit for “Chocolatito.”

4. Sergey Kovalev (28-0-2, 25 KOs)

“Krusher” has lived up to that nickname in the ring, crushing everybody he has faced. The Russian knockout artist badly wants a unification fight with Adonis Stevenson, but he will have to wait for now.

5. Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KOs)

Ward was on the precipice of taking over the boxing world, but injuries and contract disputes derailed him for much of the past three years. He finally returned to action in June and trounced the overmatched Paul Smith, but, as has been the norm lately, it is not 100 percent certain when “S.O.G.” will fight next.

6. Guillermo Rigondeaux (15-0, 10 KOs)

It has been almost nine months since the Cuban star last stepped into the ring, and Rigondeaux does not have a fight lined up at the moment. Hopefully, that will change soon because he possesses some the best pure boxing skills in the world.

7. Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs)

Pacquiao lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in convincing fashion in May and will not return to the ring until 2016. Promoter Bob Arum said the Filipino superstar will fight once more before retiring.

8. Gennady Golovkin (33-0, 30 KOs)

Arguably the most exciting fighter in the world, “GGG” has been flattening everybody that steps into the ring with him. He claims he wants to fight only the best now, which is refreshing when you consider that strength of schedule has been the only knock against him. He is set to face another upper-echelon opponent in David Lemieux in October. It could be the toughest test of his career.

9. Timothy Bradley (32-1-1, 12 KOs)

Bradley was in danger of falling off the pound-for-pound list completely when he went winless in two fights since defeating Juan Manuel Marquez. He was lucky to escape a last-minute flurry from Jessie Vargas in June, as Bradley was almost knocked out in the waning moments of a fight he was dominating.

10. Terence Crawford (26-0, 18 KOs)

Crawford has been sensational so far, and he is set to defend his WBO junior welterweight title against Dierry Jean on Oct. 24. Should he get past Jean, let us hope he targets the rest of the best from this point forward.

Other Contenders: Saul Alvarez, Kell Brook, Miguel Cotto, Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman

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