Rankings (April 3): Where does Joshua stand at heavyweight? Robeisy, more

Rankings go up on Mondays.

Ranked fights this week:

Junior Middleweight: (3) Sebastian Fundora vs Brian Mendoza, Apr. 8

Junior Middleweight: (7) Israil Madrimov vs Raphael Igbokwe, Apr. 8

Junior Featherweight: (2) Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs (6) Marlon Tapales, Apr. 8

Junior Flyweight: (1) Kenshiro Teraji vs Anthony Olascuaga, Apr. 8

Not ranked but the winners will be:

Lightweight: Shakur Stevenson vs Shuichiro Yoshino, Apr. 8

Bantamweight: Takuma Inoue vs Liborio Solis, Apr. 8

Flyweight: Jesse Rodriguez vs Cristian Gonzalez, Apr. 8

Notes: Anthony Joshua got back in action and scored his first win since 2020, beating Jermaine Franklin by decision in London. It was the “smallest” fight Joshua has had since 2015, his first non-world title fight since 2016. Honestly, it might have been the “smallest” fight he’s ever had, in a way.

I thought he looked about like he’s looked in recent years. There was nothing too exciting and nothing that troubled me any more than his most recent fights. He’s still a top star, still a top contender. Do I think he can beat Tyson Fury? No, but I didn’t think he could before. It’s up to the people behind Joshua to make their cases, specifically guys like Joyce, Bakole, Sanchez, Hrgovic, and some just outside the top 10.

Upcoming Fights: (5) Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang, Apr. 15

Upcoming Fights: TBA

Upcoming Fights: (3) Joshua Buatsi vs Pawel Stepien, May 6

Upcoming Fights: (1) Canelo Alvarez vs (6) John Ryder, May 6

Upcoming Fights: (4) Carlos Adames vs Julian Williams, June 24

Upcoming Fights: (3) Sebastian Fundora vs Brian Mendoza, Apr. 8 … (7) Israil Madrimov vs Raphael Igbokwe, Apr. 8 … (9) Magomed Kurbanov vs Michel Soro, May 6 … (6) Erickson Lubin vs Luis Arias, June 24

Upcoming Fights: (6) Vergil Ortiz Jr vs (7) Eimantas Stanionis, Apr. 29

Upcoming Fights: (8) Ryan Garcia vs Gervonta Davis, Apr. 22 … (6) Gary Antuanne Russell vs Kent Cruz, May 13 … (3) Jack Catterall vs TBA, May 27 … (2) Josh Taylor vs (9) Teofimo Lopez, June 10

Upcoming Fights: (3) Gervonta Davis vs Ryan Garcia [junior welterweight, technically], Apr. 22 … (1) Devin Haney vs (2) Vasiliy Lomachenko, May 20 … (5) George Kambosos Jr vs (10) Maxi Hughes, TBA

Upcoming Fights: (2) Joe Cordina vs (3) Shavkat Rakhimov, Apr. 22 … (9) Zelfa Barrett vs Alex Dilmaghani, Apr. 22

Notes: Robeisy Ramirez won his first world title, beating Isaac Dogboe to take the previously vacant WBO title. It was a clear win, dominant in ways but not dominant the way we usually use that word. I said if he really impressed I’d think about putting him in the top spot, so you can probably guess that I don’t think he really impressed. I’ll get into it more on the podcast on Tuesday, but I do think he’s one of the best featherweights in the world, and I also think his success now that he’s top level is going to depend a lot on matchups.

Upcoming Fights: (1) Mauricio Lara vs (4) Leigh Wood, May 27 … (6) Luis Alberto Lopez vs Michael Conlan, May 27

Upcoming Fights: (2) Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs (6) Marlon Tapales, Apr. 8 … (9) Liam Davies vs Jason Cunningham, Apr. 29 … (1) Stephen Fulton Jr vs Naoya Inoue, July 25

Upcoming Fights: (3) Vincent Astrolabio vs (4) Jason Moloney, May 13 … (1) Nonito Donaire vs (9) Alexandro Santiago, TBA … (2) Emmanuel Rodriguez vs Melvin Lopez, TBA

Upcoming Fights: (2) Fernando Martinez vs Jade Bornea, June 24

Upcoming Fights: TBA

Upcoming Fights: (1) Kenshiro Teraji vs Anthony Olascuaga, Apr. 8

Upcoming Fights: (1) Panya Padabsri vs (10) Yudai Shigeoka, Apr. 16 … (4) Ginjiro Shigeoka vs Rene Mark Cuarto, Apr. 16

Upcoming Fights: (6) Mikaela Mayer vs Christina Linardatou, Apr. 15 … (2) Katie Taylor vs (8) Chantelle Cameron, May 20

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