Last weekend was another busy weekend for boxing as big events took place in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and Australia.
On Saturday night, Fabio Wardley proved himself to be one of the most dangerous heavyweights in the world
as he KO'd Justis Huni with one punch in the 10th round despite losing the majority of the fight at Portman Road.
Keyshawn Davis lost his WBO lightweight on the scales after missing weight by 4.3 pounds, leaving Abdullah Mason to step up and fill the main event slot in Norfolk, Virginia, where
he won by TKO5 against veteran gatekeeper Jeremia Nakathila.
On Sunday in Tokyo, Junto Nakatani further-solidified his position as a pound-for-pound star as he
won the vacant Ring bantamweight title with a bruising 6th-round stoppage win over Ryosuke Nishida. He also unified the WBC and IBF belts at 118 pounds.
Down Under, Ring cruiserweight titleholder
Jai Opetaia maintained his undefeated record with a 5th-round knockout victory against overmatched Italian Claudio Squeo at Queensland's Gold Coast Exhibition Centre.
Scroll down to read all of the changes made ... (bold/italics denotes movement in a division/list)
Heavyweight
Fabio Wardley jumps from No. 10 to No. 7. Zhilei Zhang, Martin Bakole and Efe Ajagba each drop a spot.
C OLEKSANDR USYK Ukraine 23-0-0 (14 KOs)
1 TYSON FURY U.K. 34-2-1 (24 KOs)
2 DANIEL DUBOIS U.K. 22-2-0 (21 KOs)
3 JOSEPH PARKER New Zealand 36-3-0 (24 KOs)
4 AGIT KABAYEL Germany 26-0-0 (18 KOs)
5 ANTHONY JOSHUA U.K. 28-4-0 (25 KOs)
6 FILIP HRGOVIC Croatia 18-1-0 (14 KOs)
7 FABIO WARDLEY U.K. 19-0-1 (18 KOs)
8 ZHILEI ZHANG China 27-3-1 (22 KOs)
9 MARTIN BAKOLE Congo 21-2-1 (16 KOs)
10 EFE AJAGBA Nigeria 20-1-1 (14 KOs)
Middleweight
Troy Isley and Etinosa Oliha swap places at No.7 and No. 8.
C (vacant)
1 JANIBEK ALIMKHANULY Kazakhstan 17-0-0 (12 KOs)
2 CARLOS ADAMES Dom. Rep. 24-1-1 (18 KOs)
3 HAMZAH SHEERAZ U.K. 21-0-1 (17 KOs)
4 ERISLANDY LARA Cuba 31-3-3 (19 KOs)
5 CHRIS EUBANK JR. U.K. 35-3-0 (25 KOs)
6 YOENLI HERNANDEZ Cuba 8-0-0 (7 KOs)
7 TROY ISLEY U.S. 15-0-0 (5 KOs)
8 ETINOSA OLIHA Italy 21-0-0 (9 KOs)
9 SHANE MOSLEY JR. U.S. 22-4-0 (12 KOs)
10 AARON MCKENNA Ireland 20-0-0 (10 KOs)
Lightweight
Keyshawn Davis, previously No. 2, drops out of the list after missing weight. Every fighter below him moves up a spot. New entry at No. 10 is Abdullah Mason.
C (vacant)
1 GERVONTA DAVIS U.S. 30-0-1 (28 KOs)
2 SHAKUR STEVENSON U.S. 13-0-0 (9 KOs)
3 WILLIAM ZEPEDA Mexico 33-0-0 (27 KOs)
4 RAYMOND MURATALLA U.S. 23-0-0 (17 KOs)
5 ANDY CRUZ Cuba 5-0-0 (2 KOs)
6 FRANK MARTIN U.S. 18-1-0 (12 KOs)
7 DENYS BERINCHYK Ukraine 19-1-0 (9 KOs)
8 TEVIN FARMER U.S. 33-8-1 (8 KOs)
9 SAM NOAKES U.K. 17-0-0 (15 KOs)
10 ABDULLAH MASON U.S. 19-0-0 (17 KOs)
Bantamweight
Junto Nakatani moves from No. 1 to Champion status. New No. 1 is Seiya Tsutsumi, previously No. 3. Previous No. 2 Ryosuke Nishida drops to No. 3 and previous No. 4 Yoshiki Takei jumps to No. 2. Every other fighter below that moves up a spot. New entry at No. 10 is Antonio Vargas.
C JUNTO NAKATANI Japan 31-0-0 (24 KOs)
1 SEIYA TSUTSUMI WBA Japan 12-0-3 (8 KOs)
2 YOSHIKI TAKEI WBO Japan 11-0-0 (9 KOs)
3 RYOSUKE NISHIDA Japan 10-1-0 (2 KOs)
4 TAKUMA INOUE Japan 20-2-0 (5 KOs)
5 DAIGO HIGA Japan 21-3-2 (19 KOs)
6 TENSHIN NASUKAWA Japan 7-0-0 (2 KOs)
7 JASON MOLONEY Australia 27-4-0 (19 KOs)
8 JEYVIER CINTRON Puerto Rico 13-1-0 (6 KOs)
9 KENNETH LLOVER Philippines 14-0-0 (9 KOs)
10 ANTONIO VARGAS U.S. 19-1-0 (11 KOs)
Junior bantamweight
Previous No. 5 Kosei Tanaka drops out of the list after retiring. Every fighter below him moves up a spot. New entry is Ricardo Malajika at No. 10.
C JESSE RODRIGUEZ U.S. 21-0-0 (14 KOs)
1 FERNANDO MARTINEZ Argentina 18-0-0 (9 KOs)
2 JUAN FRANCISCO ESTRADA Mexico 44-4-0 (28 KOs)
3 KAZUTO IOKA Japan 31-4-1 (16 KOs)
4 PHUMELELE CAFU South Africa 11-0-3 (8 KOs)
5 CARLOS CUADRAS Mexico 44-5-1 (28 KOs)
6 ANDREW MOLONEY Australia 27-4-0 (17 KOs)
7 DAVID JIMENEZ Costa Rica 17-1-0 (11 KOs)
8 PEDRO GUEVARA Mexico 42-5-1 (22 KOs)
9 WILLIBALDO GARCIA Mexico 23-5-2 (13 KOs)
10 RICARDO MALAJIKA South Africa 15-2-0 (11 KOs)
Strawweight
Ginjiro Shigeoka, previously No. 4, drops out of the list due to mandatory retirement after suffering a severe brain injury. Every fighter from No. 5 to No. 8 moves up. Joey Canoy stays at No. 9. New entry is Vic Saludar at No. 10.
C OSCAR COLLAZO Puerto Rico 12-0-0 (9 KOs)
1 MELVIN JERUSALEM Philippines 24-3-0 (12 KOs)
2 PEDRO TADURAN IBF Philippines 18-4-1 (13 KOs)
3 KNOCKOUT CP FRESHMART Thailand 27-1-0 (10 KOs)
4 YUDAI SHIGEOKA Japan 9-2-0 (5 KOs)
5 SIYAKHOLWA KUSE S. Africa 9-2-1 (4 KOs)
6 DIANXING ZHU China 14-1-0 (12 KOs)
7 YUNI TAKADA Japan 16-8-3 (6 KOs)
8 RYUSEI MATSUMOTO Japan 6-0-0 (4 KOs)
9 JOEY CANOY Philippines 24-5-2 (15 KOs)
10 VIC SALUDAR Philippines 26-6-0 (16 KOs)
Pound-for-pound
Junto Nakatani moves up to No. 6 and Jesse Rodriguez drops to No. 7.
1 OLEKSANDR USYK Ukraine 23-0-0 (14 KOs)
2 NAOYA INOUE Japan 30-0-0 (27 KOs)
3 TERENCE CRAWFORD U.S. 41-0-0 (31 KOs)
4 DMITRY BIVOL Russia 24-1-0 (12 KOs)
5 ARTUR BETERBIEV Russia 21-1-0 (20 KOs)
6 JUNTO NAKATANI Japan 31-0-0 (24 KOs)
7 JESSE RODRIGUEZ U.S. 21-0-0 (14 KOs)
8 CANELO ALVAREZ Mexico 63-2-2 (39 KOs)
9 KENSHIRO TERAJI Japan 25-1-0 (16 KOs)
10 DAVID BENAVIDEZ U.S. 30-0-0 (24 KOs)
Ratings panel comments
P4P list
Tom Gray: It was a great win by Nakatani, but I've seen him box far better than that. Early on, he was rushing his work, overreaching on the left hand, and was made to pay on the counter by Nishida. It wasn't as polished a showing as what we've seen from him in the past. Don't get me wrong, I believe he intentionally came out for a firefight, took risks, and still won almost everything. Regardless, I can't endorse moving Junto above Bam at this point. I'm a huge fan of both guys, but Bam has a better resume, which is as clear as day, and his performance level and accomplishments are every bit as good.
Diego Morilla: I like Nakatani over Bam, yes. I am a fan of Nakatani and I have doubted Bam in the past. Cafu is going to be a solid challenge for Bam to claim his position back.
Anson Wainwright: I stick with Junto going over Bam. He blew away Cuellar (who I had high hopes for) and although he got hit a little more than usual, he took out Nishida in six rounds. I thought this would go further. I'd move him up and let's see if Bam impresses and can jump back over him next month. That way at least he gets movement for that impressive win.
Keyshawn Davis missing weight
Yuriko Miyata Nishiwaki: I think a fighter, especially with a title, who misses making weight is not worthy of being rated anywhere.
Dougie Fischer: I'm in agreement with dropping Davis now. He's never fighting at 135 pounds again, and we won't see him in the ring for months. It'd be weird seeing him ranked No. 2 at lightweight after he lost his WBO belt on the scales.