Boxing divisional rankings: Usyk holds heavyweight top spot; Catterall enters welterweight top 10

          Oleksandr Usyk, right, defeated Rico Verhoeven by 11th-round TKO on Saturday in Giza, Egypt. Photo by Mark Robinson/Getty Images
          • Andreas HaleMay 26, 2026, 08:51 AM ET
            Close
              Andreas Hale is a combat sports reporter at ESPN. Andreas covers MMA, boxing and pro wrestling. In Andreas' free time, he plays video games, obsesses over music and is a White Sox and 49ers fan. He is also a host for Sirius XM's Fight Nation. Before joining ESPN, Andreas was a senior writer at DAZN and Sporting News. He started his career as a music journalist for outlets including HipHopDX, The Grammys and Jay-Z's Life+Times. He is also an NAACP Image Award-nominated filmmaker as a producer for the animated short film "Bridges" in 2024.
            Follow on X

          The pyramids of Egypt provided the backdrop to several shifts in the divisional rankings over the weekend.

          Oleksandr Usyk's controversial 11th-round stoppage of kickboxer Rico Verhoeven may have raised eyebrows, but it wasn't enough to knock the unified champion from the top spot at heavyweight. There was movement in the glamour division, however, as Frank Sanchez's brutal second-round knockout of Richard Torrez Jr. on the undercard earned the Cuban a spot in the rankings at No. 10.

          Jack Catterall continued to impress since moving from 140 to 147 pounds with a dominant performance against previously unbeaten Shakhram Giyasov. After scoring a first-round knockdown, Catterall dominated Giyasov behind a sharp jab while showcasing his speed and power en route to a wide unanimous decision victory. The win sees him enter the rankings at No. 7, while Giyasov falls out of the rankings completely.

          Also on the card, Hamzah Sheeraz recorded the 17th stoppage victory of his past 18 fights with an emphatic second-round KO of previously unbeaten Alem Begic to capture the vacant WBO super middleweight title. He remains the No. 2-ranked fighter in the division.

          ESPN's divisional boxing rankings highlight the best in the sport in every weight class. Rankings will change based on recent results and performances. Fighters who have announced they are moving to a different weight class will be ranked in that new division, if warranted, only once they fight in that weight class. Fighters who currently own titles in two divisions can be ranked in both.

          Fighters who haven't competed in the past 12 months -- and don't have a fight scheduled -- will be dropped from the rankings until they fight again. Any fighter who tests positive for a performance-enhancing substance will also be removed. That boxer will be eligible to reenter the rankings after his next bout.

          For a list of the current champions in all weight classes, click here. For ESPN women's divisional rankings, click here.

          Jump to weight classes with changes: Heavyweight | Middleweight | Junior middleweight | Welterweight | Featherweight | Bantamweight

          HEAVYWEIGHT (UNLIMITED)

          CRUISERWEIGHT (UP TO 200 POUNDS)

          LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (UP TO 175 POUNDS)

          SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT (UP TO 168 POUNDS)

          MIDDLEWEIGHT (UP TO 160 POUNDS)

          JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT (UP TO 154 POUNDS)

          WELTERWEIGHT (UP TO 147 POUNDS)

          JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT (UP TO 140 POUNDS)

          LIGHTWEIGHT (UP TO 135 POUNDS)

          JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHT (UP TO 130 POUNDS)

          FEATHERWEIGHT (UP TO 126 POUNDS)

          JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHT (UP TO 122 POUNDS)

          BANTAMWEIGHT (UP TO 118 POUNDS)

          JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHT (UP TO 115 POUNDS)

          FLYWEIGHT (UP TO 112 POUNDS)

          JUNIOR FLYWEIGHT (UP TO 108 POUNDS)

          STRAWWEIGHT (UP TO 105 POUNDS)