Who will become Britain’s next world champion? Rankings update
Whisper it quietly, but British Boxing could be about to enter a golden new era. At present we have three world champions in David Haye, Amir Khan and Ricky Burns. Potentially joining them in the next few months could be Rendall Munroe, Brian Magee, Nathan Cleverly and Kell Brook.
Whilst the ‘big four’ sanctioning bodies are often a law unto themselves, no less than 30 British fighters appear in the top 15 of the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO’s latest ratings. Interestingly, the likes of Danny McIntosh, Paul Smith, Ashley Theophane and Nigel Wright, who aren’t considered to be the no.1’s in their respective weight divisions domestically, are all eligible to challenge for a version of a world title.
To see where ‘the Brits’ currently appear in the world rankings, read on.
Heavyweight
David Haye WBA champion
Audley Harrison WBA 13
Albert Sosnowski WBC 14
Sam Sexton WBO 13
Cruiserweight
Enzo Maccarinelli WBA 3, WBC 8, IBF 13, WBO 7
Herbie Hide WBC 2, WBO 11
Light-heavyweight
Danny McIntosh WBC 13
Nathan Cleverly IBF 4, WBO 3
Super-Middleweight
Brian Magee WBA 1, WBC 5, IBF 10, WBO 13
Carl Froch WBA 8, WBC 2, IBF 9, WBO 1
Paul Smith WBC 8, IBF 12, WBO 5
Middleweight
Matthew Macklin WBA 5, WBC 5, IBF 8, WBO 7
Darren Barker WBC 13, IBF 13, WBO 13
Light-Middleweight
Ryan Rhodes WBC 4, IBF 4
Welterweight
Matthew Hatton WBA 6
Kell Brook WBC 15, WBO 1
Ashley Theophane IBF 7
Michael Jennings WBO 9
Light-Welterweight
Amir Khan WBA champion
Ajose Olusegun WBC 1
Paul McCloskey WBC 4
Gavin Rees WBO 14
Lightweight
John Murray WBC 3, WBO 9
Nigel Wright IBF 11
Kevin Mitchell IBF 12, WBO 14
Super-Featherweight
Ricky Burns WBO champion
Featherweight
Martin Lindsey IBF 9
Super-Bantamweight
Rendall Munroe WBC 1, WBO 9
Jason Booth IBF 14, WBO 12
Bantamweight
Jamie McDonnell WBC 14
Super-Flyweight
No Brits ranked in the top 15
Flyweight
No Brits ranked in the top 15
*NB With the exception of the IBF who updated their rankings on 22 September, the above ratings do not take into account the results from the recent Magnificent Seven show. So expect the likes of Enzo Maccarinelli, Michael Jennings and Sam Sexton’s positions to fall. Derek Chisora, fresh off his victory over Sexton, should gatecrash at least one of the sanctioning bodies’ top 15 in next month’s rankings.
