Ring Ratings Analysis Through fights of March 8, 2025 • By Brian Harty
JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT: No. 2-rated Jack Catterall came out on the “L” end of a split decision against the unbeaten Arnold Barboza (No. 9 going in), with Barboza’s greater activity in the final rounds clinching the razor-thin upset. Catterall dropped to No. 5 and Barboza jumped up to No. 4 as a result. March 1 was an active day at 140, with Gary Antuanne Russell (unrated) winning a unanimous decision over Jose Valenzuela (No. 10) and Alberto Puello (No. 2) notching a toss- up split decision over Sandor Martin (unrated) – both on the Davis-Roach undercard – while Subriel Matias (No. 7) pleased his hometown fans in Puerto Rico with an eighth-round stoppage of Gabriel Valenzuela (unrated). Matias stayed put; Russell and his new WBA title moved in at No. 8 as Valenzuela dropped out; Martin came in at No. 9, and the strength of his performance was further recognized by moving Puello down to No. 4. All the movement also ousted No. 9-rated Andy Hiraoka from the ratings. LIGHTWEIGHT: Context is everything, and in a fight against the calm, always-balanced Keyshawn Davis, Denis Berinchyk’s jumpy, zig-zag-and-crash style, which had been his ticket to winning all 19 of his pro contests and a WBO title, made him seem like a starving scavenger looking to steal a scrap before the trap snapped shut. And his luck ran out fairly quickly, as Davis chomped him with a left hook to – you guessed it – the body for a knockdown in Round 3, then did it again for the knockout in the fourth. Berinchyk handed over his belt and slipped from No. 6 to No. 9 after the loss, while Davis (No. 5 going into the fight) jumped over close friend Shakur Stevenson to crack the top three. There were some on the panel who suggested lowering Gervonta Davis from No. 1 to below Vasiliy Lomachenko, despite the Ukrainian’s inactivity, but Tank retained his position at the top. Roach’s future at 135 is unclear and he still holds a belt at 130, so he remained unrated for the time being. Those in favor of including him proposed No. 5. JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHT: Eduardo Hernandez rose from No. 9 to No. 8 after a near-shutout victory over fellow Mexican Rene Tellez Giron, marking his third straight win since a final-round stoppage loss to then- titleholder O’Shaquie Foster in late 2023.
Steve Willis, perhaps as confused as everyone else watching, didn’t call a knockdown, which is what happens in roughly 100% of other cases when a fighter voluntarily takes a knee. Accusations of favoritism were hurled, as a knockdown could’ve meant a win for Roach. Has Davis gotten too comfortable as a star? Does he believe that being the A-side means that he can D-cide the rules mid-fight? Suffice to say the post-fight social media chatter wasn’t kind. Regardless of the controversy, the ratings panel argued over whether Davis (No. 8 on the list) had upheld his pound-for-pound credentials in fighting on even (and to some, losing) terms with a skilled but light-fisted titleholder from a lower division. The pro- “keep” side pointed to the names on his strong resume and said he had an off night; the pro-“drop” panelists pointed to the same resume and said names, yes, but not that strong, and added that “off” can be swapped for “revealing” in such a crowded pound- for-pound landscape. It was eventually decided that Davis would drop out, and David Benavidez was voted into the vacancy at No. 10. HEAVYWEIGHT: Joseph Parker held his position at No. 3 after the dust from The Last Crescendo had settled, but all the other heavyweights who fought that night experienced movement. Martin Bakole, who replaced an ailing Daniel Dubois two days before he was supposed to face Parker, was knocked out in the second round after getting clipped on the dome by a right hand from the Kiwi. The late sub from the Congo dropped from No. 6 to No. 7 and went home with a nice paycheck. Agit “Voodoo Child” Kabayel, ranked No. 5 when the sun rose on the morning of the event, finished the night at No. 4 after chopping down a mountain named Zhilei Zhang with the edge of his hand. Kabayel was floored himself in the fifth round, but the steady investment he’d made in body shots paid off in the sixth, when an exhausted Zhang took one final punch to the gut and went down for the count. He slipped from No. 4 to No. 6 on the list. LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT: As with the pound-for-pound list, Beterbiev (division champ going in) and Bivol (No. 1 contender) switched places in the 175-pound ratings.
For many, the fight of the night in Riyadh was the bomb-laden battle between No. 6-rated Callum Smith and No. 3-rated Joshua Buatsi – two countrymen who went at it with knockout intentions from the first round yet somehow went all 12, at the end of which Smith won a unanimous decision that was marred by a ridiculously wide scorecard of 119-110 from judge Steve Gray. It was a thoughtful brawl, adjustments made on both sides throughout but edged by Smith’s use of combinations that often made audible use of a walloping body shot, and it was ultimately a fight in which individual spite seemed to give way to two bleeding warriors just wolfishly grinning as they mutually enjoyed the thrill of combat. It was a career-rejuvenating performance for Smith, who was deflated and mulling retirement after a stoppage loss to Beterbiev in January 2024. In the ratings, he rose to No. 3 while Buatsi sank to No. 5. MIDDLEWEIGHT: Carlos Adames capped Hamzah Sheeraz’s KO streak at 15 and edged out the win in most observers’ eyes, but some wildly erratic scorecards resulted in a split draw. In recognition of majority reality, Adames went from No. 3 to No. 2 and Sheeraz did the opposite. JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT: Both were undefeated in the boxing ring and in the grammatical arena of alliteration, but somebody’s “O” had to go as Xander Zayas and Slawa Spomer teed off on the undercard of Denys Berinchyk-Keyshawn Davis in New York City. It steadily turned into a rout as the long-armed Zayas time and again showcased his fondness for liver punches (and some a bit lower), but the game Spomer never broke under the pressure and finished on his feet when referee Charlie Fitch finally intervened in the ninth round. It was a solid win over a second-tier player at 154, good enough for Zayas to replace Brian Mendoza at No. 10 on the list. In another fight that proved the time- honored importance of body punching, Vergil Ortiz Jr. overcame a strong start from Israil Madrimov and gradually sapped the Uzbek’s strength with torso blows en route to earning a unanimous decision victory. The still-undefeated Ortiz went from No. 5 to No. 2, knocking Madrimov down a notch to No. 3.
POUND FOR POUND: The rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol was good, as expected, but let’s just take a few seconds to recognize another name: Alan Masferrer. If you haven’t seen the trailer he directed for “The Last Crescendo,” go hook yourself into the other renaissance happening in boxing – the one where creative people are getting free reign to torch the crusty 24/7 model of “drama” in favor of something more innovative, more entertaining and even abstract. Most of the high-concept previews for the Riyadh Season shows have been good (even fun, heaven forbid), but this one pushed it to a new place – and while the level of surrealism probably didn’t click with everyone,
it’s great to see the sport getting respect as a place where artists can take chances to do something we’ve never seen before. Boxing sometimes has a problem with that. Back to the fight: Like the first encounter, Beterbiev-Bivol 2 was another high-IQ battle between two elite light heavyweights and another close bout that went the distance, but this time Bivol got the majority decision and the undisputed championship that came with it. The result on the P4P list was straightforward: Beterbiev went down a notch to No. 5, Bivol went up a spot to No. 4. Junto Nakatani rose from No. 9 to No. 8 after knocking out David Cuellar in the third round. The move took him one step closer
Dmitry Bivol (left) and Artur Beterbiev switched pound-for-pound spots after Bivol’s victory in their rematch.
to Naoya Inoue (No. 2) in the hypothetical rankings, a trend that mirrors the real-world fantasies of fight fans as the two countrymen spiral toward a potential matchup. And then there was Tank. In a bizarre ninth round against Lamont Roach Jr. – a fight that was arguably tilting in Roach’s direction – Gervonta Davis suddenly dropped to a knee and effectively called “time out” while he went to his corner to get his face wiped off. Referee
26 RINGMAGAZINE.COM
RINGMAGAZINE.COM 27
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker