1. Mairis Briedis (IBF) - The Latvian hero is 27-1, the IBF champion and the World Boxing Super Series champion. His only official loss at cruiserweight is to the prior undisputed world champion Oleksandr Usyk. Although he's had some controversy (disputed decision over Noel Mikaelian and dirty tactics vs. Krzysztof Glowacki), his recent win over Yuniel Dorticos made this an easy decision. Fun fact: Briedis owns a 2015 KO win over notable heavyweight Manuel Charr.
2. Ilunga Makabu (WBC) - From the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Makabu is on a great streak, with four straight quality wins over contenders (Michal Cieslak, Alexsei Papin, Dmitry Kudryashov), with an exciting victory over Ola Durodola just this month.
3. Yuniel Dorticos - Former IBF champion showed well in his loss to Briedis and owns wins over Andrew Tabiti, Mateusz Masternak and Dimitry Kudryashov.
4. Arsen Goulamirian (WBA) - The Armenian-born Goulamirian has gotten a bit lost, or at least underpublicized, in the shuffle of multiple WBA champions per weight class, but he's 26-0 with some good wins. He di dnot fight in 2020, however, and risks falling if ihis inactivity continues.
5. Krzysztof Glowacki - Former WBO champion from Poland got done dirty in 2019 when referee Robert Byrd shamefully ignored ridiculous fouls by Mairis Briedis leading to a TKO loss for Glowacki. Eventually, Briedis was ordered to give Glowacki an immediate rematch, but opted instead to vacate and fight in the World Boxing Super Series final, where he became IBF champion. Then, the snake-bitten Glowacki contracted coronavirus on the eve of a fight for the vacant WBO title vs. Lawrence Okolie. Glowacki-Okolie will be rescheduled.
6. Noel Mikaelian a/k/a Noel Gevor Most people who saw the fight think
poor judging robbed Mikaelian of a win vs. Briedis in 2018. Bounced back with a respectable win over Jesse Bryan in December.
7. Lawrence Okolie - Former European and British champion's best win came against previously undefeated Yves Ngabu. Will fight Glowacki for vacant WBO title next, with a Boxingtalk top five spot on the line for the winner.
8. Alexsei Papin - Lost a majority decision to Makabu in 2019 and came back with a quality TKO of Ruslan Fayfer.
9. Kevin Lerena - South African holds the the IBO championship, but may be done at cruiserweight, as his next fight will likely be the first bridgerweight (224-pound weight limit) fight.
10. Michal Cieslak - From Poland, Cieslak had a strong 2019 with wins over Ola Durodola and Youri Kalenga before suffering his first career loss vs. Makabu in early 2020. Bounced back with stay busy win in November.
11. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk - He's 39 and been around forever, but this former WBC champion has won five straight since a 2017 loss to Murat Gassiev. Hasn't fought since 2019, so inactivity will soon cost him this spot in the ratings.
12. Constantin Bejenaru - A 2017 win over Thabiso Mchunu keeps Bejenaru in the top ten, but his last action was a loss to Goulamirian.
13. Thabiso Mchunu - The South African retired former WBA champion Denis Lebedev in 2019 but has been inactive since. Time to fight or get dropped from the top 20.
14. Evgeny Tischenko - Listed at 7-0, Tischenko is a 2016 Olympic champion with ten additional pro fights in the World Series of Boxing
15. Mateusz Masternak - Perennial fringe contender recently posted a respectable win over Taylor Mabika to remain relevant.
16. Ryad Merhy - Belgian contender is 29-1 with the lone loss coming against Goulamirian. His last fight was a nice win over previously undefeated Imre Szello.
17. Richar Riakporhe - This 6'5" Britt is said to be a crude puncher but he's surged to the British title on the strength of four straight quality wins.
18. Aleksei Egorov - This Russian is recommended for the top twenty by a 2019 win over South Africa's Thomas Oosthuizen
19. Jai Opetaia - Australian is 20-0. Defeated Ben Kelleher in October and is doing his best to clean up the domestic scene.
20. David Light- Australian is 17-0 and moves up from #28 with wins in November and December.
21. Tommy McCarthy - Moves up from #36 by winning European championship against Bilal Laggoune
22. Kamshybek Kunkabayev - Kazakh is listed at just 2-0, but pro fights in the World Series of Boxing make 6-2 his accurate record. Has amateur wins over some notable heavyweights like Bakhodor Jalolov and Justus Huni.
23. Ola Durodola - He's 33-7 and 39 years old, but he's one of the more active cruiserweights, going 4-1 against decent opposition since the start of 2019. Latest loss, to Makabu in a WBC title shot, may have finished him off as a serious contender.
24. Dmitry Kudryashov - This frighteningly powerful Russian puncher split two fights with Durodola, but has losses to Dorticos and and Makabu.
25. Dilan Prasovich - moves up from #37 with a win over previously undefeated (but untested Eden Puhalo). He's an unqualified WBO mandatory contender, so his title shot will come before he deserves it.
26-40: 26. Artur Mann, 27. Ali Ismailov, 28. Joel Tambwe Djeko, 29. Imre Szello, 30. Yury Kashinsky, 31. Chris Billiam-Smith, 32. Efetobor Apochi, 33. Fabio Turchi, 34. Roman Fress, 35. Yves Ngabu, 36. Ruslan Fayfer, 37. Youri Kalenga, 38. Tervel Pulev, 39. Ryan Rozicki, 40. Richard Rivera
MORE: 41. Deon Nicholson, 42. Sefer Seferi, 43. Deon Jumah
OUT FROM LAST RATINGS- Andrew Tabiti (inactivity), Nikodem Jezewski (lost to Okolie); Bilal Laggoune (lost to McCarthy)
WATCH LIST: Chris Billiam Smith vs. Deion Jumah; Krzysztof Glowacki vs. Lawrence Okolie;
