Top 10 Cruiserweight Boxers – World Rankings

Updating the Top 10 Cruiserweight Boxers World Rankings after Gilberto Ramírez defeated Arsen Goulamirian to win the WBA Cruiserweight Title

By admin | April 5, 2024

Cruiserweight Boxing Rankings

Last weekend was big for the cruiserweight division. With Gilberto Ramírez, one of the best light heavyweight boxers, moving down from Light heavyweight and taking the WBA title the Cruiserweight Rankings are shaken up. But before we move to the top 10, here are some honorable mentions of the Top 10 Best Cruiserweight Boxers – World Rankings.

Honorable Mention

Ryan Rozicki

Ryan Rozicki is a Canadian professional boxer and KO artist, with an active boxing record of 20 wins and only 1 loss.

Rozicki holds regional titles such as the recent North American Boxing Federation Cruiserweight title which he won by KO against Alante Green.

In his most recent fight, he faced off against Olanrewaju Durodola and won via 1st round knockout. His next fight has not been announced yet.

Badou Jack

Badou Jack is a Gambian-born Swedish professional boxer with a professional record of 28 wins, 3 losses, and 3 draws.

Jack has held world titles in three weight classes. He is the former WBC super-middleweight champion and WBA light-heavyweight world champion.

He held the WBC Cruiserweight title and won it after defeating Ilunga Makabu. Badou Jack dropped Makabu twice, before finally finishing him in the last round, and getting a TKO win.

Badou Jack recently vacated the WBC Cruiserweight Title and now looks to have sights for the WBC Bridgerweight Title. His next fight will be against Lukasz Rozanski.

Yuniel Dorticos

Yuniel Dorticós is a Cuban professional boxer with a record of 26 wins and 2 losses.

He is a former two-time world champion at cruiserweight. He held the WBA cruiserweight title from 2017 to 2018 and the IBF cruiserweight title from 2019 to September 2020.

In his most recent fight, he defeated Deibis Berrocal via TKO, and there is no official announcement about his next fight.

Top 10 Cruiserweight Boxers

10. Alexei Papin

Starting at #10 on the Top Cruiserweight Boxers list is Alexei Papin. He is a Russian professional boxer and former kickboxer, with an active boxing record of 16 wins and only 2 losses.

Papin is the former IBF International Cruiserweight champion and also challenged Illunga Makabu for the WBC Silver Cruiserweight title.

In his most recent fight, he faced off against Igor Vilchitskiy and won via 5th round knockout. His next fight has not been announced yet.

9. Ilunga Makabu

Ilunga Makabu is a professional boxer from the Congo. He has a professional record of 29 wins and 4 losses.

Makabu is the former WBC cruiserweight champion and won the title after defeating Michał Cieślak. He is also the former WBC Silver and WBC International Cruiserweight champion.

Makabu defended the WBC title twice, before losing it to Badou Jack in his most recent fight. Makabu had a tough fight, getting dropped twice before losing the fight in the 12th round via TKO.

In his most recent fight, Ilunga Makabu lost to Norair Mikaeljan via TKO and there is no announcement about when he will fight next.

8. Arsen Goulamirian

Arsen Goulamirian is an Armenian-Born Boxer fighting out of France, and he has a professional record of 27 wins and 1 loss.

Goulamirian is the current WBA Cruiserweight world champion. He won the interim title in 2018 after defeating Ryad Merhy and was later promoted to the WBA (Super) Cruiserweight world champion. Goulamirian has defended the title three times.

He defended the title three times before losing it to Gilberto Ramírez via Unanimous decision last weekend.

7. Richard Riakporhe

Richard Riakporhe is a professional boxer from Britain, and he has an undefeated record with 17 wins.

Riakporhe has held multiple regional titles at cruiserweight. He is the former British Cruiserweight champion and has held the WBA Inter-Continental and WBC silver Cruiserweight world titles as well.

In his most recent fight, he defeated Dylan Bregeon via TKO. Although his next fight has not been officially confirmed, there are talks about him fighting Chris Billam-Smith for his next fight.

6. Lawrence Okolie

Lawrence Okolie is a professional boxer from Great Britain, and he has an undefeated professional record of 19 wins and 1 loss.

Okolie is the former WBO cruiserweight champion of the world, and he won the title after defeating Krzysztof Głowacki back in March of 2021. He has defended the title twice since.

In his most recent fight, he defended his title against Chris Billam-Smith which he lost by majority decision. Okolie was knocked down three times during the fight and was deducted two points for constantly holding.

5. Gilberto Ramírez

Title(s):

WBA Cruiserweight Super Champion

Next up in our rankings, we have Gilberto Ramírez. A Mexican professional boxer with a record of 46 wins and only 1 loss.

Ramírez is the current WBA Cruiserweight world champion, and has previously held the super middleweight title as well, which he defended 5 times.

He became the cruiserweight champion recently after defeating Arsen Goulamirian in a decisive fight which ended with a unanimous decision in his favor.

4. Mairis Briedis

Mairis Briedis is a Latvian professional boxer with a record of 28 wins and 2 losses.

Briedis is a three-time world champion at cruiserweight. He won the WBC title in 2017, and the WBO title in 2019, and is also the former unified IBF and the Ring cruiserweight world champion.

Recently, Briedis lost the title to Jai Opetaia. He had a slow start, and even though he rallied in the later rounds, and even broke Opetaia’s jaw, it was too little too late, and he lost via unanimous decision. His next fight is a rematch against Jai Opetaia on May 18th.

3. Norair Mikaeljan

Title(s):

WBC Cruiserweight World Champion

Norair Mikaeljan, AKA Noel Gevor is an Armenian professional boxer with 27 wins and 2 losses.

He is the current WBC cruiserweight world champion and has previously held multiple regional titles as well, including the WBC Silver and International Cruiserweight titles.

He won the Vacant WBC world title recently, after defeating Ilunga Makabu via an impressive third-round TKO. Mikaeljan outclassed his opponent from start to finish, solidifying his position with a dominant performance.

2. Chris Billam-Smith

Title(s):

WBO Cruiserweight World Champion

Now in the Top 5 of the Cruiserweight Boxers Rankings list is Chris Billam-Smith. Billam-Smith is a professional boxer from England, and he has a record of 18 wins with only 1 loss.

He is the current WBO Cruiserweight world champion and has previously held multiple regional titles including the European, Commonwealth, and WBA Continental Cruiserweight titles.

In his most recent fight, he defeated Mateusz Masternak via referee stoppage. Billam-Smith applied pressure and winning the first five rounds overcoming a cut above his left eye in the fourth round. Before the eighth round Masternak was unable to continue due to rib injury. He is scheduled to fight Richard Riakporhe for his next fight

1. Jai Opetaia

Title(s):

IBF Cruiserweight World Champion
The Ring Cruiserweight World Champion

In at number 1 on the Top 10 Cruiserweight Boxers Rankings list is Jai Opetaia. Opetaia is an Australian Professional boxer, with an undefeated record of 23 wins and 0 losses.

As of last weekend, Jai Opetaia is the current unified IBF and The Ring cruiserweight world champion. He has also held multiple regional titles including the WBA Oceania and WBO Global cruiserweight titles

He won the IBF and The Ring cruiserweight titles after defeating Mairis Briedis. Opetaia took the lead on the scorecards in the early rounds and though Briedis had a comeback in the later rounds, Jai Opetaia won the fight via a unanimous decision.

Opetaia took on Jordan Thompson for his first title defense and knocked him out in the 4th round after a short but dominating performance. In his most recent fight, he defended his title against Ellis Zorro, winning by an impressive 1st round KO.

How would you rank these Contenders and Champions in the Top 10 Cruiserweight Boxers Rankings list? Rank below to be added in the Power Rankings