Eddie Chambers probably didn’t win himself any fans with his less-than-scintillating majority decision over Samuel Peters on Friday in Los Angeles.

However, a victory over one of the biggest names in a weak division who wore a major belt only a year ago cannot be ignored. Thus, the Pittsburgh-born Philadelphian moves into THE RING’s heavyweight Top 10 at No. 6 and Peter drops out.

Oleg Maskaev (No. 7 last week) also drops out. This advances Alexander Dimitrenko (No. 8 last week), Chris Arreola (No. 9 last week) and David Haye (No. 10 last week) one place each. John Ruiz reenters at No. 10.

“While Eddie Chambers’ comprehensive decision victory over Sam Peter was far from thrilling, it was enough for Chambers to crash the ratings and send Peter packing,” said Nigel Collins, editor of THE RING magazine.

“We also dropped Oleg Maskaev, who hasn’t tallied a significant win since he stopped Hasim Rahman in August 2006. The decision to return John Ruiz at No. 10 was a difficult one, but when we examined the records of other candidates in a very limited field, it was impossible to overlook the fact that Ruiz held Ruslan Chagaev (No. 3) and Nicolay Valuev (No. 5) to split decisions in Germany.”

Any fan who finds the 37-year-old Quietman’s reentry in THE RING’s heavyweight rankings distressing, should take heart. Change is in the air.

The month of March witnessed the ousting of three former beltholders (Sultan Ibragimov, Maskaev and Peter) and one former cruiserweight titleholder (Juan Carlos Gomez), as well as the addition of two young heavyweights — one a slickster, the other a slugger — and one dynamic-punching young former cruiserweight champ.

Chambers (34-1, 18 knockouts) just turned 27. Arreola (26-0, 23 KOs) and Haye (22-1, 21 KOs) are both 28.

With 29-year-old Alexander Povetkin (16-0, 12 KOs), the No. 4 contender, and 26-year-old Alexander Dimitrenko (29-0, 19 KOs), six of THE RING’s heavyweight Top 10 are in their 20s.

The combined records of the young guns is an astounding 127-2, with 93 KOs.

You want new blood in the heavyweight division, you got it.

But enough about the big boys, there was significant movement among the sub-featherweight divisions this week.

BANTAMWEIGHTS:

Fernando Montiel (39-2-1, 29 KOs), who had risen to No. 2 at junior bantamweight before announcing he would move up to bantamweight, makes his 118-pound debut at No. 10 after knocking out Diego Silva. Montiel’s inclusion pushed out William Gonzalez (No. 10 last week). Roberto Vasquez (27-3, 20 KOs) slips from No. 8 to No. 9 after losing a decision to Hugo Cazares (28-5-1, 20 KOs) at junior bantamweight.

“Montiel is an excellent fighter, borderline pound-for-pound, and could probably beat a lot of the fighters rated above him at 118 pounds,” Collins said. “But he’ll have to prove it in the ring to advance in his new weight class, as THE RING ratings are based on results within the division and most of Montiel’s achievements have been at lower weights.”

JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHTS:

Former RING junior flyweight champion Cazares (No. 9 at flyweight last week) enters the 115-pound class at No. 10 on the strength of his victory over Vasquez, a former WBA junior flyweight titleholder. Cazares’ entrance forces out Raul Martinez (No. 10 last week). Martinez is scheduled to challenge IBF titleholder Nonito Donaire (No. 1 at flyweight) on April 19, and will be rated at 112 pounds if his performance against Donaire warrants it.

FLYWEIGHT:

The vacancy created by Cazares’ move up to junior bantamweight is filled by Brian Viloria (24-2, 14 KOs) who enters at No. 10. Moruti Mthalane (22-2, 15 KOs), No. 10 last week, advances to No. 9 through attrition.

MILESTONES

Steve Cunningham (21-2, 11 KOs) reached 250 consecutive weeks in THE RING’s cruiserweight rankings, making the former IBF titleholder the longest-reigning contender in the 200-pound Top 10.