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Top 10 Light Heavyweight Boxing Rankings

Updating the Light Heavyweight Boxing Rankings after Artur Beterbiev defeated Dmitry Bivol to become the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion

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By Sunday Umoh | February 12, 2025

Who won the Light Heavyweight fight last night?

After his win over Bivol, Beterbiev has cemented himself as the best Light heavyweight boxer in the world, and the rest of the rankings have remained quite unchanged. However, we do have some new names like Imam Khataev from Russia entering the Top 10 Light Heavyweight Boxing Rankings. However, before we get to the rankings, here are some honorable mentions.

What is a Light Heavyweight in Boxing?

Light Heavyweight is a weight class of boxers that consists of boxers weighing between 165 pounds (75 kg) and to a maximum of 178 pounds (81 kg).

The following are the Best Light Heavyweight Boxers in the World.

Honorable Mention

  • Conor Wallace
  • Ali Ismayilov
  • Willy Hutchinson

Top 10 Light Heavyweight Boxers – World Rankings

10. Imam Khataev

Starting off the list, we have a new entry into the top 10. Imam Khataev is an undefeated Russian professional boxer, with 9 wins on his record. 

He is an Olympic Silver Medalist, winning silver in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and as a pro, he has held the North American Boxing Federation Light Heavyweight title. 

He is coming off a win against Yunior Menendez, and his next opponent has not been finalized yet.

9. Malik Zinad

Next up, we have Malik Zinad, a professional boxer from Libya who has 22 wins on his record with only 1 loss. 

Zinad has held multiple regional titles at light heavyweight including the  WBC Mediterranean and IBO Intercontinental light heavyweight titles. 

In his most recent fight, he also challenged Dmitry Bivol for his WBA (Super) and IBO light-heavyweight titles, but unfortunately, he came up short, losing via TKO in the 6th round.

8. Oleksandr Gvozdyk

Oleksandr Gvozdyk is a Ukrainian professional boxer with a professional record of 20 wins and 1 loss.

He is the former WBC light-heavyweight champion and has held multiple regional titles as well. He also challenged Artur Beterbiev for the IBF title but came up short. 

In his most recent fight, he fought David Benavidez with the WBC interim light heavyweight title on the line, however, he lost the fight via Unanimous Decision, and there is no official announcement about his next fight.

7. David Morrell

Next up, we have Cuban boxer David Morrell, who boasts an impressive professional record of 11 wins, and 1 loss, with 9 knockouts. 

A highly skilled southpaw, Morrell quickly rose through the ranks, becoming the WBA Super Middleweight Champion back in 2020, and defending it an impressive six times before moving up to light heavyweight, where he also captured the  WBA (Regular) light-heavyweight title.

In his most recent fight, he faced off against David Benavidez, however, he failed to defend his title and lost the fight by Unanimous decision.

6. Callum Smith

Callum Smith is a British professional boxer, with a record of 30 wins and 2 losses, with 21 knockouts. 

Callam Smith competed at super middleweight for most of his career where he reigned as the unified WBA and The Ring champion. After two successful title defenses, he suffered a defeat to Canelo Álvarez, losing his belts. Following the move to light heavyweight, Smith challenged Artur Beterbiev for the WBC, WBO, and IBF unified titles but fell short against the dominant champion. 

In his most recent bout, he bounced back with a victory over Carlos Galvan, putting himself back in the win column.

5. Anthony Yarde

British boxer Anthony Yarde holds an impressive professional record of 26 wins and 3 losses. 

He is the former WBO Inter-Continental Light Heavyweight Champion and has also challenged Sergey Kovalev for the WBO Light Heavyweight Championship, proving his place among the division’s elite. Recently, he added both the Commonwealth and WBO Inter-Continental light heavyweight titles to his resume. 

In his latest outing, Yarde secured a victory over Ralfs Vilcans, though his next fight has yet to be officially announced.

4. Joshua Buatsi

Title(s):

  • WBO Light Heavyweight Interim Champion

Joshua Buatsi is a British professional boxer who was born in Ghana. He is undefeated as a pro, and has 19 wins on his record.

He is the current WBO Interim Light Heavyweight Champion, and he previously held multiple regional and secondary titles including the WBA International, British and Commonwealth Light Heavyweight champion.

In his most recent fight, he defeated Willy Hutchinson via Split Decision, and as of now, there is no official announcement about his next fight.

3. David Benavidez

David Benavidez

Title(s):

  • WBA Light Heavyweight Regular Champion
  • WBC Light Heavyweight Interim Champion

Next up, we have David Benavidez, an American professional boxer with a record of 30 wins and 0 losses. 

David Benavidez recently moved up to middleweight and has had a couple of really good fights in the division. He defeated Oleksandr Gvozdyk to become the WBC Interim Light heavyweight world champion last year and is just coming off an impressive win over David Morrell. He also won the WBA (Regular) light heavyweight title, cementing himself as one of the top dogs of the division. 

As of now, there is no official announcement about his next fight.

2. Dmitry Bivol

Dmitry Bivol is a professional boxer from Russia, and he has an undefeated record of 23-1. 

He is the former unified WBA (Super) and IBO light heavyweight champion of the world. In 2016, he won the WBA interim light-heavyweight title and defended it twice before being promoted to the main title.

Bivol continued to defend the WBA light-heavyweight championship 11 times before losing it to Artur Beterbiev in his most recent fight. However, he will get a chance to avenge the only loss in his career and regain his title on February 22nd, in a much-anticipated rematch against Beterbiev.

1. Artur Beterbiev

Artur Beterbiev

Title(s):

  • WBC Light Heavyweight World Champion
  • IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion
  • WBO Light Heavyweight World Champion
  • WBA Light Heavyweight Super Champion
  • The Ring Light Heavyweight World Champion

Leading the pack at Light heavyweight, Artur Beterbiev, the Russian-Canadian powerhouse, boasts a flawless record of 21 wins with no losses. 

He currently reigns as the undisputed light heavyweight champion, holding all four major world titles, along with the IBO and The Ring Light Heavyweight belts.

In his last fight, Beterbiev cemented his undisputed status, edging out Dmitry Bivol via majority decision in a razor-close battle. With the rivalry far from settled, the two are set for a highly anticipated rematch on February 22nd—a fight that could redefine the division.

How would you rank these Contenders and Champions in the Light Heavyweight Boxing Rankings? Rank below to be added in the Power Rankings

Leave a comment

Players Count 10
  1. Ahmed Elbiali

    Light HW
  2. Mansur Elsaev

    Light HW
  3. Dmitry Bivol

    Light HW
  4. Callum Smith

    Light HW
  5. Nick Hannig

    Light HW
  6. Dominic Boesel

    Light HW
  7. Anthony Yarde

    Light HW
  8. Ali Izmailov

    Light HW
  9. Umar Salamov

    Light HW
  10. Braian Nahuel Suarez

    Light HW
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