That whole discussion is moot. They *were* comparatively ranked before the fight. 1 and 2 in the division, I think (since the Ring had removed Peterson).

And the Ring announced before the fight that fight was for its 140 lb championship. If it's a title bout, the winner is the champ and is necessarily ranked above the guy he beat.

Like, Sonny Boy Jaro (there's your journeyman) became the flyweight champ and outranked Wonjongkam and everyone else when he won that fight (and he'll now drop back down after losing).