Understanding boxing rankings across alphabet orgs

[Mark TKO]

I stopped looking at the alphabet boys ratings 25+ years ago and just go by the Ring also.

Much easier !

[Primo Carnera]

I stopped looking at the alphabet boys ratings 25+ years ago and just go by the Ring also.

Much easier !

Yeah, but Golden Boy bought it, that doesn’t always give a fair reflection now. Let’s face it, Money OWNS Boxing.

[TitoFan]

Thanks for your input, gents.

Speaking of rankings... what do you make of the following oddities.

David Benavidez is nowhere to be seen in the alphabet rankings. Did he step on someone's foot at a boxing convention or something? Or is he being kept a safe distance away from The Diva?

I won't mention Tyson Fury, because he retires more than some people change their underwear. But he is in none of the lists... and as far as I know he's still (cough) active.

Bivol is #1 in The Ring and WBA champ... but doesn't exist as far as the other orgs are concerned. (Yeah... I'll refer back to Grey's explanation on that one).



There's more... but the point is made, and I gotta agree with Spicoli. The disparity between lists is blinding. All that does is tear down any shred of credibility anyone might still want to assign to these rankings. They're worthless.

A cursory look through The Ring rankings gives me the impression they'd be the closest thing to a realistic list, although as Primo mentioned, it was bought by Golden Boy... which automatically takes away some of the objectivity these rankings need to have in order to be believable.

[Spicoli]

Thanks for your input, gents.

Speaking of rankings... what do you make of the following oddities.

David Benavidez is nowhere to be seen in the alphabet rankings. Did he step on someone's foot at a boxing convention or something? Or is he being kept a safe distance away from The Diva?

I won't mention Tyson Fury, because he retires more than some people change their underwear. But he is in none of the lists... and as far as I know he's still (cough) active.

Bivol is #1 in The Ring and WBA champ... but doesn't exist as far as the other orgs are concerned. (Yeah... I'll refer back to Grey's explanation on that one).



There's more... but the point is made, and I gotta agree with Spicoli. The disparity between lists is blinding. All that does is tear down any shred of credibility anyone might still want to assign to these rankings. They're worthless.

A cursory look through The Ring rankings gives me the impression they'd be the closest thing to a realistic list, although as Primo mentioned, it was bought by Golden Boy... which automatically takes away some of the objectivity these rankings need to have in order to be believable.

It really is a game of Ro sham Bo with a suitcase of stuffed plain white envelopes being handed around. aka Money talks. The omissions like you mention make it obvious. Fury to me is a complete sideshow lately and his word is dodgy, but with a "fight" farce signed now and clearly not retiring (until the day after Chisora)...how is he not ranked not the Ring? Ring is still a solid guideline but to be honest they've been suspect all the way back to 2012 or 2013 when they inserted Adrian Broner as the #5 p4p fighter in the world . The shat thing is for a lot of the top tier fighters, Bivol, Crawford, Fury etc the omissions are countered for them as another alphabet soup body has them up there with a strap or on the doorstep. But for legit lesser known contenders climbing ranks they can easily be cast out. Carlos Adames is coming off an impressive win and was just dropped by the wba but Sergio Martinez..yes that one..sits at #3. Much of the time all a guy has to do to get demoted is having the nerve to be ranked high by a competing body. Boxing has to be the sport in which numbers can and are so easily manipulated. From padded glossy win records, ko stats to maneuvering the ratings.

[Mark TKO]

I stopped looking at the alphabet boys ratings 25+ years ago and just go by the Ring also.

Much easier !

Yeah, but Golden Boy bought it, that doesn’t always give a fair reflection now. Let’s face it, Money OWNS Boxing.

I usually am pretty much in agreement with the rankings or there or thereabouts - though admittedly last few years I care less and my knowledge is limited